šŸ° July news: People Powered turns 4! ā€” plus 2 big publications & more

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People Powered Turns 4!

Hi friend!

This week People Powered celebrates our 4th birthday! Weā€™ve come a long way, alongside our global community of members and partners. Here is a quick look back at what weā€™ve accomplished so far, in our efforts to build a more participatory democracy around the world:

  • 30 participatory programs launched or improved ā€“ 92% in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe or Latin America

  • 926 people trained or supported through our capacity-building programs

  • 14,000+ people have used our resources

  • 150+ members who build our programs and resources

  • $4.3M in new funding for members and member priorities

  • And so much more!

Now, we want to grow these impacts, with you, so more people can participate in the decisions that affect their lives. If youā€™re an organization or individual working on participatory democracy, join us as a member. And if you want to support our work, we love birthday gifts! 

Letā€™s build a People Powered future together.

Thank you for being part of our journey and for your continued support.
The People Powered Team

From waves to ecosystems: A new approach for defending and expanding democracy

People Powered Co-Executive Director Josh Lerner just released a white paper that charts a new vision for democracy. Commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative, From Waves to Ecosystems: The Next Stage of Democratic Innovation proposes a major shift in how we defend and expand democracy. 

In the past, we have built up competing waves of democracy, constantly searching for one magical innovation that will make democracy work. The emerging next stage of democratic innovation, however, focuses on connecting different democratic practices into balanced and sustainable ecosystems.

Learn key takeaways from our four global learning webinars!

Itā€™s been a busy few months of events! Weā€™ve just wrapped up our series of learning webinars with the Open Government Partnership and Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion (TAI) Collaborative, with close to 600 participants. We brought thought leaders from governments, civil society, and international organizations and foundations together to dive deep into challenges and opportunities for democratic innovations. Read the recaps and watch the recordings below!

Inclusion by default: strategies for more inclusive participation

In theory, participatory processes offer a meaningful route for everyday people to have more power over decisions that affect their lives. In practice, participation faces challenges in ensuring that everybody is really included. People Powered staff Luiza Jardim and Maria Lucien published an article in the Deliberative Democracy Digest to discuss barriers to participation and offer approaches to help make participation inclusive by default.

Are you interested in improving inclusion in your participatory and deliberative programs? Take our inclusion courses designed to give you an easy guide to inclusivity, with a strong focus on women, youth, and displaced people.

Beyond Elections: A new media series & newsletter with Proximate

This year, four billion people around the world are participating in elections. Yet many find that democracy in its current form isn't meeting their needs. People Powered believes in exploring new pathways. Beyond Elections is a curated collection of original stories, op-eds, and conversations ā€“ developed in collaboration with Proximate ā€“ that delve into participatory democracy. This initiative is crucial for highlighting innovative democratic practices and reimagining how democracy can work between and beyond election cycles.

Read the first edition and subscribe to receive future editions straight in your inbox.

  • Extituto released its publication Resetting Democracy: The South Side of Global Deliberation on Wednesday. Download it for free.

  • Kudzaiishe Seti was interviewed by the UNESCO Human Rights Defender Hub. He shares some powerful insights about the work of human rights defenders on climate justice leadership in Africa, and mentions the importance of his participation in the Climate Democracy Accelerator. Check the podcast here!

  • Politize (Brazil) has expanded its work to Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina! And there are several PP members partnering in the expansion in those countries. If you can help, write to latam@politize.com.br

  • Delibera Brasil released a new Portuguese podcast series called ParticipaCAST available on Spotify and YouTube. It features interviews with leaders who recently implemented citizensā€™ assemblies in Brazil.

Stakeholder participation guide. This resource from Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) provides guidance for users on how to conduct effective stakeholder participation in assessing the impacts of government policies and actions.

Manual for the implementation of youth participatory budgeting. This guide from UNICEF introduces youth participatory budgeting, providing clear and applicable guidelines for implementing a program.

Nationwide citizens' assembly on energy costs (Poland). This is a video and report on the process and proposals from Polandā€™s first national citizensā€™ assembly on energy poverty, organized by our member Shipyard Foundation.

See more featured resources from on the Resource Center!

  • Participatory Grantmaking Community: Start Well and Deepening Practice Community Cohorts for Participatory Grantmaking (Deadline: July 31)