Deadline: 11 July 2017
The Council of Europe is seeking applications for its “World Forum for Democracy 2017” that will engage with decision-makers, young people and opinion-formers to review novel initiatives and approaches which can enhance democratic practices and help parties and media, but also other political actors, to re-connect to citizens, make informed choices and function optimally in 21st century democracy.
The 2017 World Forum for Democracy will focus on the role of political parties and media in the context of rising populism.
Key Questions
The World Forum for Democracy will explore ideas and initiatives which address some of the following questions:
- Given the complexity of political agendas and the vacuum of convincing answers, how to express protest or accede to power without populism?
- How to nourish political culture which embraces a long-term perspective and resist populism?
- Are there social structures that can replace political parties in building social capital and providing frameworks for grassroots political debate participation and decision making? Is there a danger of such social structures (e.g. faith groups) becoming more politicised?
- Should stronger intra-party democracy be encouraged or would internal leadership debate only lead to more personification of politics and weaker parties?
- How to make sure that online media and communities foster pluralism and deliberation rather than extremism and polarisation?
- Can we support the emerging online media with user-based rather than advertisement based business models which have a strong ethos of pluralism and user participation?
- Should there be changes in the voting systems (issue-based voting in addition to or instead of party-based voting, limitations of mandates, non-partisan legislatures, popular recall etc.)?
Eligibility Criteria
Youth Applicants should:
- Be aged 16-30 (exceptions can be made in special cases)
- Be resident in Europe; 15 places will be made available for participants from other regions outside the European continent
- Be able to communicate and work in English
- Be actively involved in civil society democracy initiatives
- Be motivated to contribute to developing new ideas on youth and democracy
- Be ready to share own challenges faced in relation to populism and its effects on society
- Be ready to adopt a solution-oriented approach by bringing in new ideas and visions on the question of populism
- Be available to participate fully in the World Forum for Democracy and the preparation process beforehand.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online via given website.
For more information, please visit World Forum for Democracy.