Looking back, moving forward: DemocracyNext’s 2024 Impact Report
During this time of geopolitical instability, we're working to strengthen citizen agency and democratic resilience
As we mark DemNext’s third birthday, and the International Day of Democracy, we’re thrilled to share our 2024 Impact Report.
Inside, you’ll find:
Inspiring stories from three flagship projects
Insights into our evolving approach
A transparent look at our finances
A vision of what’s next.
→ Help us double our impact by sharing this with five people who believe in a stronger democracy, and encouraging them to sign up to this newsletter.
Why we exist
DemNext was founded on a simple but powerful belief: democracy works best when people have a real voice.
We’re part of the growing global #DelibWave - championing deliberative democracy and citizens' assemblies as vital institutions for building a more inclusive, resilient, and effective democracy.
In 2024, we saw the ripple effects everywhere:
🌍 Cities embracing deliberative approaches to urban planning
🎭 Cultural institutions opening their doors to citizen-led decision-making
💻 Technology playing an increasingly vital role in enhancing meaningful deliberation
These shifts prove that another democratic future is not only possible, it’s already happening.
Thank you!
Our progress in just three years wouldn’t be possible without you - our partners, collaborators, supporters, and community. Together, we’re creating a more just, joyful, and collaborative democracy.
Your actions help the #DelibWave to gain momentum. Whether it’s:
Donating or upgrading to a paid subscription to support our work
Encouraging your friends to sign up to our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn (help us reach our goal to double our community by forwarding this on to 5 people!)
Sharing our papers and Assembly Guide with colleagues
Joining discussions here on Substack and on LinkedIn
Or simply talking about our mission with your family and friends
Stay connected
Follow us on LinkedIn this week as we celebrate three years of DemNext and the International Day of Democracy with stories, reflections, and next steps.
Together, let’s keep building the future of democracy.
📡 On our radar
📍 In ‘Designing Inclusive Engagement: How Toronto Is Rethinking Public Participation’, Hollie Russon Gilman, Sarah Jacob, and Daniel Fusca (New America) explore how Toronto is redesigning its public engagement processes to make them more inclusive, accessible, and effective - offering lessons for cities everywhere.
💬 Poland’s First Youth Citizens’ Assembly: Designing a Safer Digital Future, by Ryan Gem (People Powered) describes how Poland brought together young people to help shape digital safety policy - a powerful example of youth inclusion in democratic reform.
👂🏼 In episode 6 of the Democracy: Differently podcast, Jess sits down with our International Advisory Council Member, Nicole Curato (University of Birmingham), to discuss her book Democracy in a Time of Misery and why emotions are not a weakness but a critical force in democratic life, offering a more global, inclusive lens on deliberation.
🌳 The launch of Izmir’s 50-member citizens’ assembly is aimed at directly feeding citizen-generated proposals into the city’s climate action plans - a bold move toward participatory, bottom-up climate governance in Turkey.
🐝 Upcoming events
15 September, London, UK
DemNext International Advisory Council Member, Jon Alexander hosts DemNext CEO Claudia Chwalisz and Legislative Theatre practitioner Katy Rubin at The Conduit to explore modes of democracy that seek to involve and work with people, not deliver for them. If you’re not a Conduit member, you can still register here. If you’re not able to make it in person, bookmark this livestream YouTube link here.
23 September, Mannheim, Germany
James Macdonald-Nelson and Gustav Kjær Vad Nielsen will run a workshop "Co-curating Democracy: Cultural Institutions and the Future Spaces of Citizens’ Assemblies”, at the ‘Culture in the +2 degree society Climate resilience of cultural institutions’ conference.
26 September, Berlin, Germany
James will moderate a panel at Berlin’s AEDES Architecture Forum as they kick off a year-long programme, including presentations by Katarina Bramsen Buhl from C.F. Møller’s Democratic Design Department in Copenhagen, Aurelija Matulevičiūtė-Goldschmidt, Senior Urban Practitioner at TSPA Planners and Consultants in Berlin, Roeland Dudal, Director of Architecture Workroom in Brussels, and Oliver Seidel, Co-Founder of Cityförster in Hanover.