Democracy Camp

Project Idea

Our time is characterized by lots of challenging crises. Europe's future depends on the ability to overcome all these: the financial crisis, the refugees crisis, the employment crisis, the climate crisis and other crises. All these crises are embedded by a democracy and representation crisis. Many people are disappointed and frustrated by hegemonic politics, which make far-reaching decisions over their heads and no longer with them. More and more they do not feel represented by their elected politicians and lose their confidence in democratic structures. Because of that, overcoming this democratic crisis is key to satisfactory solve all the other crises.

At a "Democracy Camp", which will last three days, we want to discuss the causes of the democratic crisis and create future-oriented solutions. Guiding idea of this camp is that this democratic shortage is to be solved in "bottom-up-processes". On the one hand, the people should take possession of their democracy again from below. On the other hand, vitalization of democracy should start at lower state levels to be able to create a bigger understanding of decisions made by higher state levels up to the European level. This guiding idea should also be reflected in the program structure of the camp. During these three days, the program will deal with problems and opportunities of muncipal level and of regional and national level and lead up to a deeper consideration of decision making and influencing on EU level.

The "Democracy Camp" should bring together all people and civil society organizations, that care for the development of democracy and should also set an impulse for a democracy movement. In workshops, seminars, discussions, open spaces etc. we want to find ways to successfully interfere in politics and how democratic participation and direct democracy can work.

Organizational Planning

We will invite to cooperation in planning and organizing the "Democracy Camp" and will form a project team.

The "Democracy Camp" will take place in late summer 2016. The three days should fall onto a "long weekend" with Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Leading criteria for the choice of the location are, alongside fitting facilities for some 150 participants, good accessability with public transport from all Austria and sufficient sleeping accomodation in suitable closeness as well as a simple free accommodation option (gym or the like).

In the project description Upper Austria is provisionally mentioned as place of the "Democracy Camp". But it is entirely possible that finally the fitting location for the "Democracy Camp" will be found in another state of Austria.

One part of the organizational team will undertake the detail planning on site.

Contentual Planning

The other part of the organizational team will undertake the contentual detail planning of the "Democracy Camp" and will engage speakers and facilitators of workshops, seminars, open spaces and discussions.

Thereby we will revert to the advisory body of mehr demokratie! consisting of democracy experts in Austria and in neighbour countries. Further we will utilize the active involvement of mehr demokratie! in the international networks of "Democracy International - the global coalition for democracy" and of "Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe", a European think tank for direct democracy.

In a first brainstorming we have gathered the following possible aspects for the three days of the Democracy Camp:

preliminary idea for the 1st day - community level (muncipality):

• citizens council: chance for experienced political education or also threat of „participation as instrument of power“?
• transparency and freedom of information
• direct democracy on community level

preliminary ideas for the 2nd day - regional and national level:

• How should direct democracy be shaped?
• Can the existing voting right (with one cross for a party and one preference vote) represent the will of the voters in a contemporary and differenciated way? (electoral system in which vote is cast for a candidate rather then for a party; split one's vote & cumulate etc.)
• Are our media in working order for communication infrastructure of democracy? (concentration of media, newspaper ads by governments etc.)
• What is necessary that civic engagement succeeds? (politicians have party financing, public financed authorities etc. What do citizens need that civic engagement does not end in self exploitation and frustration?)
• How many political levels do we need?

preliminary ideas for the 3rd day - European level (EU):

• upgrading of European Citizens Initiative to an EU-Referendum
• TTIP, CETA, TISA: democracy as trade barrier?
• Refugees: right to vote for foreigners?
• observation threats, big data

Cooperation

In the "Demoracy Camp" compagnioned NGOs and organizations will be involved from the very beginning. We will also invite companioned European NGOs especially from German speaking countries to the "Democracy Camp".

For cooperation we can build on campaigns in which mehr demokratie! brew broad alliances with"big" and "small" NGOs (e.g. "European Citizens Initiative without ID-Nr!" about implementation of European Citizens Initiativen into Austrian law, "demokratie2013" about debate on improvement of direct democracy).

The "Democracy Camp" should set an impulse for a democracy movement.

Our public relation activities and promotion will address our target group of the "Democracy Camp", namely people and initiatives that want to further develop democracy.