Hi members,

We hope you had a great time in the past months - we had a one-week break in August, and we feel recharged and ready for the exciting and busy months we have ahead of us! 🔋⚡️In this September member update, register for September workshops, get ready for PP Decides 26, and check out nine new members that have just joined the PP community!

PP Decides 26 is coming! This time, we will be discussing the future horizons of participatory democracy

On September 8, we will launch our annual participatory process, in which members decide the priorities for the following year! This time, PP Decides will discuss the future horizons of participatory democracy. Stay tuned, as you will hear more about it next Monday!

⚠️Please note that you will receive an email from Common saying that we are adding you to their platform – that's the name of the platform we will use for PP Decides this year! More instructions will be available on September 8.

In the meantime, you can already register for one of the Zoom sessions we will have for PP Decides. Join one of our September member workshops, in which we will have a few enlightening talks to put us in the mood for discussing the future of participatory democracy:

Please note that AI notetakers will not be allowed into the session. Notes and key takeaways will be shared after the workshop.
Feel free to catch up on the results of this process from last year, which included budget allocations, new board members, and organization priorities.

People Powered public event: AI for Digital Democracy

Join us on September 16 for the release of new guidance based on global case studies for AI for Digital Democracy!

In 2021, People Powered members voted to develop a practical global guide on digital participation to help governments and organizations more effectively engage people online. In 2022, the organization launched the Digital Participation Guide and Resource Center to synthesize global knowledge and provide practical guidance. The latest version incorporates extensive new research and learning on AI.

In the upcoming webinar, you’ll:

• Get an early look at the new guide and its section on AI-powered participation

• Hear recent case studies from experts across sectors and regions

• Learn how to choose the right tools and platforms to meet your participation goals

• Explore both the potential and risks of AI for democratic engagement

Community Updates

• Will you attend Climate Week in New York (USA), or will be in the city from September 23 to 27? Let us know, as we will host a small-in-person gathering!

• Many events happening in October as well! You can always check the calendar of events here, and also find out members attending those events by populating this collaborative spreadsheet.

• Our member Celina has published the book Budget Justice! Anyone interested in a book club?

• Funding opportunity for organizations or individuals that are building better politics in Europe: apply for Ideation Grants of The Better Politics Fund by September 24. 

• Check out how Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente has engaged citizens to PD through bird watching!

• Consul is looking for 2-3 pilot organizations/governments that want to use their digital participation platform for free for one year.

• Will you be in London for International Day of Democracy (September 15)? Join Katy Rubin (The People Act) and Claudia Chwalisz (DemocracyNext) to talk about democratic renewal with Jon Alexander.

• DemSoc has shared their experience as part of NetZeroCities: "Supporting cities in strengthening climate democracy: Lessons from Aachen and Barcelona."

Help us grow the community!

We’re always expanding our network with new individuals and organizations practicing participatory democracy around the world. Know anyone who would be interested? They can apply to become a People Powered member here! Feel free to reach out to the Community Building team at membership@peoplepowered.org if you’d like to recommend someone for membership. 

Welcome to our newest members!

We are excited to introduce two new organizational members and seven new individual members this month! Here’s some information about them:

Just a reminder that you can access the Member Directory Airtable via this link. Use the password PPmembers24 to log in!

New organization members:

• Youth Lead the Change Germany (YLCG) supports cities across Germany in planning, implementing, and facilitating youth-led participatory budgeting processes. Our main contact there is Clara Kallich.

• MIGHT Foundation is a Ugandan non-partisan and non-profit organization that organizes national Music, Dance and Drama (MDD) accountability dialogues, where children and youths hold their leaders to account and involve residents in policymaking decisions on ending swamp degradation and reclamation through the use of a combination of MDD and legislative theatre. Our main contact there is Mpagi Derrick.

New individual members:

• Alba Gutierrez Fraile, based in Germany, is passionate about participatory democracy and has collaborated with organizations and networks like Political Watch, Access Info Europe, Coalición Pro-Acceso, Polétika, as well as funders such as Open Society Foundations and EDGE Funders Alliance, and international efforts like the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

• Irene Alonso Toucido, from Spain, works at the intersection of participatory democracy, deliberation, and social justice. She manages research and advocacy projects on transparency and accountability, leading Spain’s Coalition Pro-Acceso, pushing for stronger access to information and anticorruption policies and co-designing civil society’s role in Spain’s OGP process.

• Angela Di Gregorio is a Professor of the University of Milan (Italy), and manages a national project on deliberative and participative democracy in comparative perspective (2022-2026).

• B. Shine Cho, from South Korea, earned a Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a dissertation on institutional changes in Seoul’s participatory budgeting system. Currently, his work explores civic engagement through digital technologies, with a particular interest in civic tech, civic hacking, and data-based policy. He is also an active organizer of Code for Korea, a leading civic hacking group in South Korea.

• Dr. Gareth Mace, based in the United Kingdom, is an independent consultant and recent PhD graduate focusing on the interaction of design, embeddedness, and outcomes of participatory budgeting.

• Yahaira Graxirena, based in the USA, is a transportation planner and participatory democracy advocate who bridges the gap between technical policymaking and community-driven change. As Director of Access and Mobility at the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission and staff to the Central Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization, she specializes in designing inclusive public engagement strategies that amplify the voices of marginalized communities in transportation infrastructure planning. 

• Felipe Tannus Moreira da Costa, from Brazil, is a Director of the Open Government and Citizenship Department of the Municipality of Osasco. There, he promotes participatory democracy, open government and transparency. He was also a participant of the People Powered Climate Democracy Accelerator!

Join us in offering a warm welcome to our new members! We look forward to engaging and learning from them.

Hope to see you this month! 💙

We hope we can see many of you during our PP Decides meetings in September 🙂

Have a good rest of your week!

The People Powered team