Session 8

Are decision-makers ready for participation?

Making a change with meaningful participation beyond tokenism

Organised by the Austrian National Public Health Institute (GÖG)

The new World Health Assembly resolution highlighted that social participation is not only an expression of good governance but also a cornerstone for achieving universal health coverage, health, and well-being. However, participation is not a panacea and the session will not shy away from exploring the challenges, especially when the scope for action is limited.

Democratic decision-making needs a balance between direct and indirect (representative) elements to weigh up interests and avoid either dominance of elites or lobbies or the construction of a "façade" and "tokenism", using participation for symbolic gestures and public relations.

The speakers in this session will use examples to show how this plays out in reality by highlighting the balance between representative elements and avoiding mock participation. Both, success stories and failures will be discussed interactively with speakers and audience to reflect on what resources and structures are needed for meaningful participation with real impact on policy and practice.