About the work of the Serbski Sejm

At the beginning of June, a group called „Wokolniki“ tried to give a visual impression of the work of the Serbski Sejm, but unfortunately failed. For such an endeavour, the arbitrary cutting together of remarks taken out of context, some of which were made during session breaks, is simply not useful.

Unless that was not the aim. Unless the aim was to launch a kind of campaign, which is currently also being carried out in the social media, with means that are not a whit better than those of the Sejm members whose pause remarks were so nicely highlighted.

After an exchange both before and at our last meeting, the „Process Support“ Committee was tasked with reviewing what had happened and how the Sejm's stance could be communicated most effectively.

We assume that there is obviously a serious interest in our way of working and that it makes more sense to simply present it instead of dealing with the attempt mentioned at the beginning.

The best way to gain honest knowledge is to attend our public meetings, to speak up with questions, suggestions or criticism and to talk to us directly. In addition, our minutes are quite comprehensive and can be viewed on our website. Anyone who would like to make a video reportage can also contact us without any problem and obtain the corresponding rights.

Nevertheless, we would like to answer the question about our working methods, which, to our delight, seem to be of particular interest to the younger generations.

Every Member of Parliament has an equal and unrestricted right to speak freely and in his or her own way on any subject, both inside and outside our meetings, according to his or her own knowledge and conscience. There are only two firm commandments: Each delegate is responsible for his/her own statements and their consequences. Common positions, on the other hand, are worked out together.

In our decision-making processes we practise the consensus principle, i.e. there is not, as is usual elsewhere, only a debate followed by a decision according to the majority principle, but we argue with each other under certain circumstances until we have reached a consensus.

Especially in such a colourfully mixed parliament, which actually reflects social realities, very different needs and views naturally collide and are communicated in very different ways. So if we don't agree right away, discussions can be long and sometimes emotional. Unfortunately, it happens from time to time that the discourse takes on unpalatable forms.

Since it is our goal to listen to the quiet voices, to take them seriously, to consider them and to make them effective in reaching consensus, we regularly reflect on our work process. This also includes exploring what can be said so that an open, accepting and transparent exchange is possible without limiting the communicative space by overstretching the general willingness to be tolerant.

The „Process Support“ committee is in charge of this work. It observes, collects critical comments from inside and outside and then works out possible strategies for improving the joint work. This is an ongoing process, which we are convinced will never be finished, because democracy, and especially a consensus-based democracy, is constantly developing and must continue to develop.

So if you have questions, comments, criticisms or others, please enter into an open discourse with us!