National Assembly in Iceland takes place tomorrow

The National Assembly of 2010 (Þjóðfundur 2010) will be taking place tomorrow, Saturday 6th November 2010, at the Laugardalsholl in Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik.

The assembly, organised by a group of grassroots organisations, involves 1,000 Icelandic citizens, all of which were selected by random means from the National Population Register. An additional 4,000 citizens have also been invited to ensure that the full 1,000 attend on the day.

The selection of citizens will represent a cross-section of Icelandic society with attending participants spanning all six constituencies of Iceland. Additionally, there is an equal division between both age and gender; the youngest being 18 and the oldest 89.

Johanna Sigurdardottir, the Prime Minister of Iceland, is among the randomly selected participants invited to the assembly tomorrow, however, it has not yet been confirmed if she is attending the event.

The National Assembly aims to establish viewpoints and feelings of the Icelandic public concerning the organisation of the country’s government and its constitution. The assembly then attempts to influence the government and other decision makers in Iceland with the information gathered.

This will be the second time that an assembly has taken place, the first was on 14th November 2009 following the Icelandic financial crisis of 2008–2009.