2022 Global Forum Programme

This track is about a host of innovative methods to strengthen democracy. We’ll look at technology, new opportunities for collaboration, and citizens’ growing social and cultural expectations that they themselves will participate in decision-making. What are the best ways we know now to better draw on the intelligence of the people? How can we increase deliberation, especially in the digital world? How do participation and co-determination tools need to be interlinked and combined in such a way as to make them useful for a resilient democracy of tomorrow? 

Co-Hosted by Mehr Demokratie

12:00-13:30    1.1. Panel:  By the many! How to democratise democracy in the 21th century.

With technological and societal advances, both the possibilities for democracy and the expectations of democracy have grown. The demands for more direct democracy and citizen participation are growing louder around the world. How can we use both new, digital tools and old concepts of democracy, such as lottocracy, to create more resilient democracies?

13:00-13:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

13:30 - 14:30:     Lunch

14:00-14:30    Lunchtime yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

14:30-16:00    1.2 Workshop: Shaping democracy with sortition      

“Lottocracy” is the buzzword. The best-known form is citizens' assemblies. In these new democratic spaces, academics sit next to craftswomen, pensioners next to young people, locals next to immigrants. Their task is to jointly propose solutions to political and social problems. These randomly selected citizens' assemblies, in combination with referendums, can also improve the quality of direct democracy. How such assemblies work and why we need them will be explained in this workshop.

14:30-16:00    1.3 Workshop: Imagine all the people... towards citizen participation in the digital realm

300.000 people knocking at your door with thousands of ideas. Explore this digital democracy scenario with us and learn about best practices from all over the world. More and more cities are making their decision making processes more open, transparent and participatory with the help of free and open source democracy software. This revitalises urban, digital discourse and empowers citizens to shape the fate of municipal interaction themselves. This workshop focuses on different scenarios, best practices and the importance of open source for digital participation. Join us to prepare the world for real digital democracy.

15:30-15:45    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

16:30-18:00    1.4 Workshop: Transparency laws - the path to an open society

The prerequisite for any participation is free information. Those who cannot easily find out about state affairs are discouraged from truly participating. So finding paths to a more open, democratic and inclusive society requires more transparency. What are transparency laws? Where do they already exist and what do you need to consider when calling for more transparency?  These and more questions around transparency policy will be brought to your attention in this workshop. 

16:30-18:00    1.5. Workshop: How to build a Europe of the people?          

The European union is the most complex structure of cooperation between states ever. But today it finds itself at a crossroad: Will Europe find its own way in a seemingly bipolar world between China, Russia and others on the one hand and the us on the other? Will it update its democratic structures to rise to the challenges of our times? Europe’s defining core, next to the protection of human rights, should become the systemic and inclusionary participation of its citizens. We want to discuss with you: How do we make Europe into a project of the people?

17:00-17:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

The climate challenge is also a challenge for modern democracies. As governments and social movements search for effective ways to tackle the climate crisis, they are increasingly turning to direct and participatory tools of democratic engagement. The expectations associated with these tools are varied. Does citizens’ deliberation lead to more radical policy measures? How much consensus do we need to pursue societal transformation democratically? And do democratic and participatory tools legitimise policy decisions—or create more doubts about the interests behind them?

Co-Hosted by the Stiftung Mercator, Germany

12:00-13:30    2.1. Workshop: Finding the right tool for the job: Innovative citizen participation for climate action    

Many instruments are being developed to  better engage with the “silent majority” of citizens, at the local, national and supranational levels. These instruments include public consultations, focus groups, citizens’ assemblies, and participatory budgeting. Many of these are actively applied in the climate debate, both by governments and civil society. In this workshop we’ll look at which instruments suit which contexts.   

12:00-13:30    2.2. Workshop: Citizens’ Assemblies on Climate: lessons from around the globe     

Citizens’ assemblies have proven a particularly popular tool to address the climate crisis. In recent years, we have witnessed climate assemblies from the local to the global level in a variety of implementations. From Uster to North Macedonia, to the COP26 Climate Conference. What are the lessons-learned from these diverse experiences? What are the opportunities and pitfalls? What are characteristics of a good citizens’ assembly process?

13:00-13:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

13:30 - 14:30:     Lunch

14:00-14:30    Lunchtime yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

14:30-16:00   2.3. Panel: Tackling the climate crisis with more democracy     

The climate crisis has given rise to strong calls for participatory tools of democratic engagement. In this panel, we will investigate why the climate crisis specifically has generated such momentum for direct and participatory democracy. We will discuss expectations and impacts linked to different tools of participation. And we will look at how instruments of democratic engagement can be successfully linked to the work of social movements and civil society.

15:30-15:45    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

 16:30-18:00    2.4 Workshop: The climate engagement geography: Effectively linking democratic participation, civil society & social movements             

Civil society organisations and social movements are important players in shaping the discourse on the climate crisis and in mobilising public pressure on political decision-makers. While some civil society actors welcome more deliberative practices of citizens’ engagement in climate policy, others fear it as competition to the involvement of organised civil society. This workshop looks at the role deliberative practices of citizens’ engagement can play vis-à-vis civil society and social movements in the political arena. How can complementarity and effective linkage look?

16:30-18:00    2.5 Workshop: Climate on the ballot: Leveraging local direct democracy for global action 

Around the globe, citizens have sought to use direct democracy to enforce  binding decisions on climate change, especially on the local level. However, the climate crisis does not stop at city or country borders. How can direct democratic action on the local level engender impact on the global level. 

17:00-17:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

The pandemic has stress-tested our democratic institutions. Now it’s time to take stock of how we do democracy. How can we build good supporting infrastructure for our democracies? Who has the right to take part in decision-making? How can we include young people and the rights of future generations? To answer these questions, we will invite participants to do comparative work, considering the experience of their own community in contrast to what we are learning about our host country of Switzerland, and our 2023 Global Forum host, Mexico, to ground our thinking.

Co-Hosted by Swiss Democracy Foundation & Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs

12:00-13:30    3.1. Workshop: Promising forms of youth participation in Europe        

The workshop “Promising forms of youth participation in Europe” will treat best practices of youth participation and demands from young people for their successful implementation. We will discuss these best practices from central Europe in a global context and try to see how these possibilities could spread globally.

Co-hosted by Federation of Swiss Youth Parliaments FSYP

12:00-13:30    3.2. Workshop : Smart democracy - Fostering participation through digital platforms         

In the past years, technological platforms have played an increasingly important role in informing and persuading voters. Done right, tools like this can provide an important support infrastructure to voters. Smartvote International, is such a tool that matches voters with candidates and parties that share their policy positions.  In this workshop, we’ll look at best-practices and experiences for participation tools.

Co-hosted by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs

13:00-13:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

13:30 - 14:30:     Lunch

14:00-14:30    Lunchtime yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

14:30-16:00    3.3. Workshop: The Direct Democracy Navigator - The Starting Point for Information, Facts and Comparative Analyses about Direct Democracy Laws Worldwide  

The Direct Democracy Navigator is a unique open information platform, gathering the characteristics of over 2000 direct democracy instruments around the world on the local, regional, national and transnational levels. In this workshop, we’ll look at how the navigator is being used, and at its potential as a resource for research on the basis of three concrete examples. 

Co-hosted by the Direct Democracy Navigator at Liechtenstein Institute

14:30-16:00    3.4. Workshop: How democratic are algorithms?

Increasingly algorithms and artificial intelligence negotiate our access to democracy. What is the impact of this and how can we come to an ethical use of artificial intelligence in public administration? In this workshop, we will investigate how governance structures can be developed in such a way that digitisation benefits everyone.

Co-Hosted by AlgorithmWatch Switzerland

15:30-15:45    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

16:30-18:00    3.5. Panel: How can we include the opinions, beliefs, and wishes of young people and the rights of future generations?

In this session, we will look at the current challenges around democratic inclusion and infrastructure with a particular focus on including young people and the rights of future generations. What are the barriers to participation for young people? How can we ensure that intergenerational equity is taken into account?

Co-Hosted by Foraus

17:00-17:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

Increasingly we are facing challenges that are transnational in nature and can only be tackled on the global level. However, on this transnational level, direct and participatory democratic instruments are still lacking. How can citizens participate effectively in global decision-making? How can we create synergies between local and national models of democracy and the transnational level? How can digital tools be used to strengthen global democracy?​    

Co Hosted by GloCo & Democracy International

12:00-13:30    4.1. Panel: Building a Global Democracy "Now is the time for transnational democracy.” ​

 We have urgent global problems, and we also have the technology to build a global democracy to let people try to resolve them.. ​ So why haven’t we? What obstacles stand in the way to creating digital-based governance that crosses borders?  What elements are needed to build democratic infrastructure on the global level? ​How might global popular movements play a role? What is the role and responsibility of nation states? ​

13:00-13:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

13:30 - 14:30:     Lunch

14:00-14:30    Lunchtime yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

14:30-16:00    4.2 Workshop: What (digital) tools do we need for a transnational democracy?

To rise to the task of global challenges, we need to build democratic infrastructure that surpasses national borders in a way that radically differs from international relations today. Yet, certain key activities will remain relevant. In this workshop, we will jointly identify the 2-4 key elements of transnational democracy and discuss them in groups in order to define what will be needed.

Co-hosted by GloCo

14:30-16:00    4.3. Workshop: The European Citizens’ Initiative - Understanding campaigner challenges and the value of an online support platform

The workshop will aim to gather an in-depth and practical understanding of campaigner experiences including challenges faced by backers of citizens initiatives. The support infrastructure of the European Citizens’ Initiative—from the European Citizens’ Initiative Forum, to the Central Online Collection System—will be detailed and considered. The feedback from this workshop will be used to improve the existing support tools for future ECI organisers. ​   

Co-hosted by Democracy International

15:30-15:45    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

16:30-18:00    4.4. Workshop: Transnational Democracy from the top or from the bottom?

What are the pathways towards achieving more democracy past the nation state? Do we work “Top-down,"  by working to democratise existing multilateral institutions such as the UN, the EU and others? Or can we build a global democracy ourselves, alongside existing institutions​.

Co-hosted by GloCo

16:30-18:00    4.5. Workshop: Democracy under threat - civil society action across borders

Around the world recent advances to democracy are being reversed, but democracy activists continue their work. What does international solidarity mean in this context? How can democracy activists around the world support each other? What are the potential roles of local communities, democratic regions, and nation-states in collaborating around democracy protection?​

Co-hosted by Democracy International

17:00-17:15    Quick yoga break     

Session by Elisabeth Erlandsson Kaufmann

Participants interested in further exploring topics of transnational democracy, can join the excursion to Uster on Friday, where further workshops on the topic will be offered.