World Forum for Democracy

The World Forum for Democracy was launched in 2012 on the initiative of Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland. The first edition took place between 5 and 11 October 2012 and was titled "Bridging the gap: democracy between old models and new realities".[1] The discussions dealt with a broad range of issues, including the fate of democracy in post-Arab Spring countries, youth and democracy, the democratic potential of the internet and the impact of the economic crisis on democracy. The Forum was inaugurated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Other speakers included Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman and Egyptian activist Nawal El Saadawi.

The second World Forum ("Re-wiring Democracy: connecting institutions and citizens in the digital age") was held between 23 and 29 November 2013 and addressed the impact of new information and communication technologies on democratic practices.[2] The discussions on the initiatives presented at the Forum were organized in 21 "labs", each focusing on a different aspect of e-democracy.[3] The debates covered subjects such as liquid democracy, participatory budgeting, e-government platforms and the use of crowdsourcing in law-making. Speakers at this year's Forum included Abdou Diouf, Secretary General of La Francophonie, and Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance at the London School of Economics.[4]

The 2013 Forum introduced the "Democracy Innovation Award", a prize awarded by the Council of Europe to one of the showcased initiatives in recognition of its contribution to the enhancement of public participation in the democratic process. Based on the votes cast by Forum participants, the award was given to Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET).[5]

The third World Forum for Democracy ("From participation to influence: can youth revitalise democracy?") took place between 3 and 5 November 2014 and tackled the issue of youth participation.[6] The lab discussions focused on initiatives to promote the inclusion of young people in the decision-making process and encourage civic engagement among youth. On the first day of the Forum, a keynote address was delivered by Jeremy Rifkin on his theory of the "zero marginal cost society". Other speakers included Chantal Mouffe, Director of the Centre of Democracy at the University of Westminster, Felipe Jeldres, President of the International Union of Socialist Youth, and Yves Leterme, Secretary-General of International IDEA.[7] This edition featured six "unconferences", whose agendas were determined by the attendees themselves prior to the Forum.[8] The 2014 Democracy Innovation Award was presented to the Turkish initiative "Generation Democracy".[9]

The fourth edition of the Forum, “Freedom vs control: For a democratic response”, took place from 16–21 November. The objective of the 2015 Forum is to identify ways of reinforcing democratic oversight over security responses, to address fear driven by violent attacks, and to guarantee media freedom in a context of increased security measures. Decision-makers, opinion leaders and social innovators will debate the approaches to be adopted at the international, national, regional and local level in order to ensure the protection of freedom in democracy facing violence and extremism. These exchanges will be based on initiatives and ideas which have been selected through an open call and will be submitted for critical review by Forum participants.

The Forum's debates should help inspire states, local authorities and organisations across the world and pave the way for future work by the Council of Europe and other organisations in this field. The choice of this topic lies on a common sentiment that links together democracies worldwide: the sentiment of exposure to a diverse range of threats, from violent extremism to economic, technological, environmental and geopolitical risks. Modern societies are aware that these threats (especially violent attacks driven by ideology) can reinforce conflicts, destabilise society and, as a consequence, discourage social cohesion. Moreover, the increase in online control has led to a lack of personal data protection. On the one hand, a certain level of control might preserve citizens’ safety, but on the other hand it might represent a threat to freedom and democracy. The World Forum for Democracy will analyse the delicate balance between security and freedom and how it can be maintained in a democratic society when it is under threat: can freedom and control coexist in a democratic world?

The main goal of the Forum is to suggest solutions and promote measures which will ensure security and safeguard democracy. In the era of communication technology this is particularly important. The forum will raise awareness of new ideas on democratic responses to security challenges. These ideas will be examined under three main lenses, or challenges.

* Challenge 1 – Ensuring security and bringing surveillance under control

The first challenge questions the importance of mass surveillance in order to defend citizens from threats, for instance from terrorism. The growing tension between the concern for safety and the protection of freedoms is one of the key challenges facing democracies today. The revelations of intelligence agency interception of digital networks have undermined trust in government's capacity to oversee these agencies. How much freedom are we prepared to give up in order to defend our societies from terrorism? How can democracies deal with security risks linked to the digital revolution without jeopardising fundamental democratic values?

If it is true that mass surveillance is a key in the fight of terrorism and organised crime, to what extent can citizens accept this lack of privacy and the restriction of personal freedom?

* Challenge 2 – Liberating society from fear and nurturing the desire for freedom

The second challenge addresses the fear generated by violent attacks driven by ideology. Such fear discourages social inclusion and can generate negative feelings among citizens; for example, discrimination, segregation and stigmatization. It will be discussed whether or not fear is rooted in the ignorance of the culture of “the other”. Moreover, it will be questioned how it is possible to orient public opinion towards a more open and positive perception in order to encourage a more open and inclusive society. These actions aim to reduce anxiety and discourage extreme and violent ideologies. Education should foster shared humanistic values and encourage trust between citizens and the institutions.

* Challenge 3 – Freedom of information in the “age of terror”

This third challenge analyses a wide range of topics: from the importance of whistleblowing, to the protection of freedom of expression, one of the main pillars of a democratic society. What should be the adequate response of media to ideological violence and terrorism? What is the impact of media ownership, and the control of major internet companies over personal and other data, on freedom and democratic debate? If whistleblowing is a necessary element of democratic control over institutions, how can whistleblowers be protected by the risk of abusive prosecution?

Recognising the importance of educating children for democracy from the early ages, the Council of Europe offered to them a dedicated space, “Children’s Forum”, to allow them to express freely, to participate, to learn voting as the parliamentarians do, to cast their vote, to learn and ask questions about their rights, to innovate, in a context which allowed their voice heard at European level.

On 3 March 2016, the Council of Europe hosted in its hemicycle the Children's Forum, an event part of the World Forum for Democracy. 1200 students from 45 primary schools of Alsace region, France, who took part in a civic education project run by the Alsatian Themis Association, came to present their proposals for enhancing democracy and human rights.

The proposals were focused on one of the following three main themes: living together and participation, citizens of Internet, and all different, all equal. The students were assisted in this work by their teachers and ten proposals were shortlisted by a jury and further presented and put on open vote during the Children Forum. The winner received the trophy of the Children's Forum.

In order to reach out to a wider range of contributors and enrich the debate, the Forum welcomes the organisation of “satellite events” by universities renowned in the sphere of political studies and international relations, non-governmental organisations, municipalities and other institutions.

The organising institutions are free to decide independently about the dates and format of the event, the speakers and the specific topic(s). The satellite events can take place any time during the year. Possible formats include seminars or a seminar series, lectures in schools, surveys, social media campaigns, hackathons, local implementation of innovation initiatives presented in previous Forums, radio/TV debates, or lightning talks with public at large (at NGOs, schools, community centres, etc.).

In 2015, four outstanding universities organised satellite events related to the Forum's topic:

• College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium: “The challenges of free speech and democratic debate online”
• Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany: “Digital whistleblowing: blessing or curse?”
• Central European University, Budapest, Hungary: “Freedom from fear in a diverse society”
• Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, the Netherlands: World Forum for Democracy “Freedom vs control”

The incubator for participatory democracy is based on an alliance of democracy innovators, brought together by the Council of Europe at the World Forum for Democracy. Its purpose is to connect city governments in Europe and beyond with democracy innovators to replicate and scale up democratic innovations. The incubator supports initiatives - digital and offline - that contribute to the redistribution of political power towards citizens, and that support the broadest possible citizen participation in the cities’ decision-making procedures. The incubator builds an open infrastructure to boost democracy for inclusive and innovative cities. In the frame of World Forum for Democracy 2015, 30 experts, researchers, elected representatives from cities, social and democratic innovators, grassroots activists and civil servants gathered in a so-called “Hackaton” - a collaborative workshop where they thought about and discussed the best ways to support the development of transparent, participative and collaborative democracy.

The 2016 World Forum for Democracy took place in Strasbourg, 7–9 November. It focused on the relationship between education and democracy. It examined whether they can reinforce each other and together address the risks of new social divides. In particular, the forum explored how education and democracy can nurture active citizens with critical and analytical skills, and how through fostering grassroots innovation and bottom-up democratic reform, it can help develop civic engagement and improve opportunities for all.

Acknowledging the central role of education at personal and societal level, and the relation between the acquired degree of education and the active participation in elections and generally into a democratic society, the relation between access to education and the prospect to become an informed, conscious and active citizen, the Forum sought to respond to questions as:

Is education fulfilling its democratic mission or is it failing to build the key qualities for democratic citizenship? What is role of different education actors – teachers, learners, families, civil society organisations, public authorities, and the media? Is it necessary to reform the organisation and functioning of educational institutions in order to better respond to the requirements of democracy? How non-formal and informal education can break the link between social inequality and political inequality and help nurture active citizens and leaders from disadvantaged backgrounds to drive sustainable change?

The 2017 World Forum for Democracy will take place in Strasbourg, 8-10 November 2017. It is focused on "a growing disconnect between citizens and political elites, and dramatic changes in the media ecosystem", as well as "new political and media actors and practices are emerging, offering new opportunities for members of the public to participate in political life."[10]