Andorra Citizens' Assembly Kicks Off to Shape 25-Year National Strategy

The Citizens' Assembly for the "Tracem el futur d’Andorra en un món que canvia" process began Tuesday at the Congress Centre in Andorra la Vella. The 50 selected members started the second phase, tasked with reviewing more than 100 proposals from public consultations to create strategic guidelines for Andorra's development over the next 25 to 30 years.

Organized by the Government, General Council, and communes with direct public input, the assembly selected its participants from 457 to nearly 480 voluntary applicants. The group reflects Andorra's diversity in nationality, gender—with equal representation of men and women—age, parish, employment, education, economic sectors, and household types. Manel Riera, co-president of the Steering Committee alongside Elisenda Vives, called the high number of applications an "success" that shows widespread public interest.

This stage follows the initial phase launched last October, which featured open forums and sessions with associations. Those generated ideas across five areas: health and social welfare; energy transition and environment; demographics, housing, territorial planning, and connectivity; economic diversification and digital transformation; and identity, culture, and education. Proposals were collected without aiming for agreement, Riera explained.

Over three days, from January 13 to 15, participants will group similar ideas, prioritize them, and shape them into practical yet forward-looking strategies. The goal is to define a national model through "collective intelligence," as Andorra currently lacks one, Riera said.

The assembly's work will yield a public report in March, distributed to involved institutions and parliamentary groups. While non-binding—"obviously, the results cannot be binding," Riera stressed—the process has support from the full parliamentary spectrum, either explicit or implicit. This backing should make political groups open to the findings, though no formal review is guaranteed, similar to past reports from Andorra Research and Innovation or the Chamber of Commerce. Results will return to the public by the end of the first quarter of 2026 after further synthesis. Secretary of State for Equality and Citizen Participation Mariona Cadena described the phase as "decisive."