People Powered

09/23/2026

Working with AI in digital participation? Bring your questions and challenges to our practitioner workshop on September 30, co-organized with OECD and Bertelsmann Stiftung.

In small breakout rooms, you’ll hear how practitioners are using AI in their work, from spotting integrity risks in citizen complaints in Bogotá to gathering public input on Thailand’s constitution. Then you’ll talk through your own challenges with peers who are working on similar questions.

Case study speakers from Bogotá Mayor’s Office (Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá), OpenCouncil, , WeVis and Co-operation Ireland.

📅 Wednesday, September 30 · 90 minutes
🕘 9 am ET / 3 pm CEST / 8 pm Bangkok

🔗 Register via the link in our bio

Democracy OpenGovernment

09/22/2026

09/11/2026

Next Wednesday. Five speakers. One question that matters.

How is AI changing citizen participation, and are practitioners ready for what comes next?

Register now! https://www.peoplepowered.org/news-content/ai-is-changing-citizen-participation-are-we-ready

A chatbot helps residents in Bogotá access public services and share their views. In Derry, an AI tool helps facilitators surface common ground. Elsewhere, thousands of consultation responses are read in a fraction of the time it would take a team of analysts.

Different tools, same question: what should AI actually be doing in democratic participation, what needs guardrails, and what should it be kept away from?

A new report from the OECD and Bertelsmann Stiftung, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Citizen Participation, takes that question seriously — 50 use cases from 22 countries, nine types of AI application, and a clear-eyed look at the risks.

Join us September 16 for a webinar with practitioners already using these tools, and September 30 for a hands-on workshop.

Link in bio to register.

09/08/2026

"AI should be banned in education" is a common narrative, but is this best for students and faculty?

American University in Bulgaria - AUBG considered a ban, but enforcement would have been impossible, and students faced growing pressure to use it anyway.

So they tried something different: students and faculty co-created the rules together. The expectation was deadlock. But instead, there was remarkable consensus on regulation, and administrators said they were ready to implement the recommendations in full.

The approach, supported by People Powered's Digital Democracy Accelerator, is now scaled across six European universities as part of the AI Aware Universities initiative.

Learn more and get involved:

Six universities tackled AI governance by letting students help make the rules. The results may change how we think about AI policy.

09/04/2026

10 days left to share your democracy story.

80+ creators from 34 countries have applied to tell stories about the future of democracy. The call closes September 14.

Two months ago, we asked a simple question: what happens when you invite creatives to share in a space that's usually dominated by experts and policymakers?

The Democracy Stories Lab is an open call from People Powered and the Democracy Narratives Alliance for short videos, illustrations, and graphics about voice, power, and collective decision-making. Content can be original or already published.

🏆 4 winners — $1,000 each
🏅 5 honorable mentions — $500 each

Apply here: https://www.peoplepowered.org/democracy-stories-lab

Share this with the creators in your network!

08/20/2026

A chatbot helps residents in Bogotá access public services and share their views. In Derry, an AI tool helps facilitators surface common ground. Elsewhere, thousands of consultation responses are read in a fraction of the time it would take a team of analysts.

Different tools, same question: what should AI actually be doing in democratic participation, what needs guardrails, and what should it be kept away from?

A new report from the OECD and Bertelsmann Stiftung, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Citizen Participation, takes that question seriously — 50 use cases from 22 countries, nine types of AI application, and a clear-eyed look at the risks.

Join us September 16 for a webinar with practitioners already using these tools, and September 30 for a hands-on workshop.

Link in bio to register.

08/20/2026

A chatbot helps residents in Bogotá access public services and share their views. In Derry, an AI tool helps facilitators surface common ground. Elsewhere, thousands of consultation responses are read in a fraction of the time it would take a team of analysts.

Different tools, same question: what should AI actually be doing in democratic participation, what needs guardrails, and what should it be kept away from?

A new report from the OECD and Bertelsmann Stiftung, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Citizen Participation, takes that question seriously: mapping 50 use cases from 22 countries, nine types of AI application, and the risks that come with them, from exclusion and skewed outputs to the temptation to simulate public opinion rather than consult the public.

We're hosting two events with them to work through what it means in practice: a webinar on September 16 unpacking the findings, with case studies from Co-operation Ireland and WeVis — and a hands-on workshop on September 30 where practitioners compare approaches in facilitated breakout groups. Both events use deliberAIde to summarize and visualize the discussion in real time.

Register for both:

Join us on September 16 and 30 to explore what AI means for participatory democracy.

08/17/2026

📢 We're hiring a Resource Mobilization Director.

People Powered is looking for a senior fundraising leader to build the resource mobilization strategy for the next phase of our work. This includes diversifying our funding base, opening new relationships with foundations, governments, and multilateral institutions, and shifting funding and financial power toward participatory democracy organizations in the Global Majority.

$92,000–$109,000 USD · Fully remote, open worldwide · Applications close September 4

Full details and application link: https://www.peoplepowered.org/news-content/were-hiring-resource-mobilization-director

Know someone who should see this? Please share.

A senior, global fundraising role shaping how participatory democracy gets funded. Remote, worldwide. $92,000–$109,000 USD. Applications close September 4.

07/22/2026

Happening tomorrow: What does the evidence actually say about citizens' assembly impact?

We reviewed 66 studies across five continents to find out — what are citizens' assemblies changing for people, communities, and governments, and what conditions make the difference?

🔹 Ryan Gem, People Powered and Maria Milosh, University of Chicago: presenting findings from People Powered's recent CA impacts research brief
🔹 Miles Brackenbury, FIDE – North America: sharing insights from evaluating the Victoria-Saanich Citizens' Assembly in Canada
🔹 Shelly Khun, citizens' assembly participant: sharing on her experience in a recent CA in Kentucky to recommend changes to the city's governing charter
🔹 Melisa Ross, Global Citizens’ Assembly Network: facilitating and sharing insights from her own research

📅 July 23
🕘 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST / 6 PM CEST

With promotional partners: Columbia World Projects, Iswe Foundation, Integrating Citizen Deliberation for Impact (i4i)

Join us to learn why some assemblies deliver real impact, and others don’t. And what we've learned about effective advocacy and assembly design.

07/14/2026

The Democracy Stories Lab is officially open for applications.

We're looking for creators anywhere in the world to share visual stories about what the future looks like when people genuinely get to shape the decisions that affect their lives. Short videos, illustrations, graphics — content that opens up new conversations about voice, power, fairness, and collective decision-making.

Your content can be original or already published, as long as it's yours and it engages with narrative frameworks from the Democracy Narratives Alliance's research on how to talk about democracy.

🏆 4 winners — $1,000 each
🏅 5 honorable mentions — $500 each

Plus amplification across the People Powered and DNA networks and a global screening event.

📅 Deadline: September 14, 2026

Whether you work in art, comedy, civic tech, gaming, or community organizing, if you have something new to say about democracy, we want to see it.

Apply now: https://www.peoplepowered.org/democracy-stories-lab

P.S. Do you know a talented creator in your network? Share this with them.

The world needs compelling storytelling about democracy—the ways we work together to collectively make the decisions that shape our lives. When democracy stories touch people’s hearts and minds, they can move them to participate in many forms of public life and, in doing so, create social and po...