On the 21 March we launched the All-Island Better Democracy Network at our event called Democracy Lounge as part of the brilliant annual Imagine Festival of Politics and Ideas in Belfast.
The launch was a great opportunity to gather together around the idea of what a better democracy could look like, and to talk about alternatives in a way that was accessible, informal and fun. We were delighted to see people travelling to Belfast from across the island of Ireland to share their thoughts and get involved in the conversation.
This network is a response to what we see as a real crisis of democracy, evident in declining trust in our institutions, our politicians and, just as importantly, in each other. There are real reasons for this decline in trust. Solutions are harder to find. Addressing the crisis in democracy needs new ways of thinking, being, and doing. It will involve many more diverse people having an active say in the decisions that affect them, electoral politics less vulnerable to populism and polarisation, and the ability to respond to the many crises we face with collective long term wellbeing in mind. In practice, addressing these issues might need a mix of reforms and radical departures, but we are confident that solutions are out there.
Democracy Lounge used the open space format to begin a conversation about what those solutions might look like. Prompted by the simple question 'what kind of democracy do you want to live in?' attendees pitched topics and facilitated conversations on those topics. Discussion on the day included the potential for a 'house of citizens', the relationship between democracy and capitalism, how to create agonistic spaces, institutional resistance to democratic reform, and compulsory voting.
It was incredible to see a room buzzing with ideas, energy, and a real appetite to get stuck into difficult and important conversations.
Democracy as an idea can sometimes feel captured by formal institutions and distant from the realities of everyday life, but events like these are a great reminder that we all have a stake in what democracy means, and increasingly, we all have the power to create and recreate it in new ways in our capacity as citizens.
The Network is just getting started, and we hope that you can join us online on Thursday, 2 May, for a conversation on where we want to put our energies to improve democracy over the next 12 months.
![Better Democracy Final [Recovered] White Logo-30](https://26204813.hs-sites-eu1.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Better%20Democracy%20Final%20%5BRecovered%5D%20White%20Logo-30.png?upscale=true&width=800&upscale=true&name=Better%20Democracy%20Final%20%5BRecovered%5D%20White%20Logo-30.png)
