Livestream link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqhXjbNFOLA

Join us for the second event from the Collaborative Democracy Network where we will explore innovations in democratic engagement from across the world and the UK context.
Please bring your lunch and join us for this exciting event.

With 49% of the world's population going to the polls in 2024, this is a huge year of elections around the world. What can we learn from democratic engagement from across the globe and what's the UK context? How can we use these innovations to support politicians to make bold policy decisions and strengthen our democracy?

These new approaches to democracy are gaining traction not just in the UK but across the world, giving politicians the tools to work more closely with the public so that we can face the challenges of our time together. As we seek to encourage and equip more UK politicians to embrace and champion these new approaches, what can we learn by taking a wider view? We'll discuss the best and worst of what is going on elsewhere, whether the UK is different and if so why, and in particular whether there is a risk of a gap between politicians and innovators - and how to bridge it if there is.

Speakers:

Lisa Witter, co-Founder of Apolitical and CEO of Apolitical Foundation
Claudia Chwalisz, Founder and CEO of DemocracyNext
Cllr. Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council
Miriam Levin, Director of Participatory Programmes, Demos (Chair)

About the Collaborative Democracy Network

The Collaborative Democracy Network is a new network created by Demos. It is for politicians, policymakers and civil society to come together to discuss innovations that put people at the heart of policy making.

If we’re going to build a more collaborative democracy that supports politicians to work with the public on the difficult choices that lie ahead, we’re going to have to do policy making differently. This means bold thinking about what’s possible, looking honestly at what the challenges will be, and drawing inspiration from democratic innovation from across the world.

Demos will be hosting a series of regular events bringing together leading voices in participatory ways of working with politicians, policy-makers and civil society from across the UK. Together we will explore how collaborative democracy can become a reality, creating better policy making processes, strengthening citizenry, and renewing trust in our democracy.

About Demos

Demos is the leading cross-party think tank. Building on nearly 30 years of creativity, ideas and impact, Demos is working to shape a more collaborative democracy, in which power is devolved, citizens participate in policy making, and together as a nation we find answers to the challenges of our century.

We have diverse experiences in participatory decision making and policy formation - from citizens’ assemblies, to community conversations, to democratic tech such as Pol.is. We’ve learnt that it’s crucial to make participatory processes a partnership between politicians, policy-makers and citizens in order to have real impact.

Local to Global: Innovations in Collaborative Democracy