Are you interested in furthering democratic innovation and participation in Europe and beyond?
At the crossroads of tradition and innovation, Europe's democratic landscape is experiencing a meaningful transformation. Innovative participatory and deliberative democracy models in Europe are still evolving and expanding unevenly, and some regions excel as changemakers while others face unique challenges.
To support the next generation of changemakers, we are excited to announce that the first Nets4Dem Democratic Innovations Accelerator (DIA) led by People Powered and Coglobal will launch on 8th May! This will allow governments and organizations to apply for expert mentorship and training to run innovative participatory democracy programs in Europe.
Register for our launch event to learn how the DIA can help you start or improve an innovative democracy program. Don't miss this opportunity to get insights and inspiration from government leaders and democracy practitioners.
Date: 8th May
Time: 11 AM–12 PM CEST / 5–6 AM ET
Speakers: To be announced soon
Topics covered in the event:
What is the new Nets4Dem initiative, and how can you get involved?
Assess if you and/or your organization are fit for the Democratic Innovations Accelerator. You will also learn how you can benefit from the program
Obtain practical information on submitting a successful application to the DIA.
The discussion will offer insights into how we can collectively shape the future of democracy in Europe. There will also be a dedicated info session on the DIA where participants can ask for application support.
Nets4Dem event partners: Coglobal, Democracy Reporting International, Eurocities, European Partnership for Democracy, Demos Helsinki
Speakers
The speakers joining us include:
Caroline Schlenker - Caroline is in charge of the involvement of migrant inhabitants in the participatory democracy work at Grenoble-Alpes Métropole for the Citizen Participation department. She will showcase the implementation of democratic innovations in the territory like the AGORA (part of the Eurocities-led EU project UNITES) as an example of a case of success.
Paul Zoubkov - As lead of the strategic and programmatic work of Democracy Reporting International - DRI across Europe, Paul will present the key features of the Nets4Dem project (coordinated by DRI) and in which framework the DIA is developed.
Sahib Singh - Senior expert at Demos Helsinki, a leading Nordic think-tank and partner of Nets4Dem. He works extensively on democratic futures as an essential part of deep societal transitions, focusing on the use and embedding of democratic innovations in diverse European governance contexts. Sahib will show what we mean by democratic innovations and how the scene of these innovations is around Europe.
Zoë Wilkins - Zoë supports the participatory climate democracy work at People Powered. This includes the Climate Democracy Accelerator program, which supports civil society and government to design together plans for climate action, being a previous successful example of the accelerator programs functioning.
Alisa Aliti Vlasic (Moderator) - Alisa is the project manager of the Nets4Dem project under a joint position between People Powered and Coglobal.