KRIA Icelandic Constitution Archive

KRIA is a community effort to gather and preserve the content around the citizen-driven Icelandic constitutional reform process. In 2011, Iceland rewrote its constitution using a historically open process. It reshaped the dialogue on how a population can use available technology, consensus building, and civic engagement when reinventing the governmental processes supporting the needs of their constituents. What resulted was a proposed constitution that was affirmed by a public referendum. While Parliament has yet to ratify the proposal, the effort is still alive and well, and is gaining traction and interest globally. Yet there’s a threat that this historically relevant process will disappear without documentation. Bits and pieces of this whole process have been kept in a variety of formats and locations. With proper documentation, this process can be a valuable resource for generations to come. Much of what went into making this proposed constitution a unique and relevant document can be preserved and made readily available to all. Because it was the first crowdsourced national constitution in history, there hasn’t been a blueprint on how it should be cataloged… until now. This effort is a collaboration with the Icelandic National Archives, the University of Washington, the University of Iceland, the Icelandic Constitutional Society, peacebuilding organization Build Up and the University College Cork.