A healthy, thriving democracy needs citizens, civil society organisations (CSOs) and elected politicians to work together to build constructive dialogue and trust. At FTSQ we’re launching a new, ambitious initiative called “Circular Democracy” to help bridge the communication gap that we feel is wider than ever.
The challenges we face
Today’s democracy faces many tests. People trust government less. Fewer are getting involved in politics limiting their participation to voting every few years (and many don’t do even that). Increasingly more voters support extreme political groups. False information is spreading. Elected officials often feel spammed by CSOs and their supporters. Additionally, the growth of AI makes it harder to differentiate between genuine citizen voices and AI bots. At the moment, these representatives often aren’t technically equipped to share their views or to explain their actions (or in-action!) to the campaigners and citizens. As a result, they miss out on the opportunity to really hear the genuine voices of their constituents. These, in turn, become less interested and less engaged in the democratic process. This process itself then loses its legitimacy in the eyes of the voters. Meanwhile, CSOs find it more and more difficult to fulfill their essential role of amplifying the citizen voices and shaping the policy. It is harder than ever for voters, politicians and CSOs to cut through the noise around them and engage in a meaningful dialogue.
Bridging the communication gap
In order to bridge this communication gap, we are currently prototyping a set of innovative digital tools which will facilitate true communication and effective feedback flows between citizens, CSOs and politicians. Such new, innovative channels would enable genuine and direct sharing of opinions, creating a space for a truly inclusive democratic conversation. They would allow the people to engage in policy-making and make it easier for them to hold their elected representatives accountable on a regular basis, not only on election day. The representatives, on the other hand, will find it easier to hear their constituents and gauge the public sentiment. We believe this change is possible through the right use and implementation of new tools used for online campaigning, as well as the channels in which representatives can engage with their constituents.
The need for innovative tools
We envision a new landscape where revised digital channels can serve as bridges between citizens and their elected officials; fostering transparency, understanding and dialogue.
These revised channels would:
- Help the representatives understand the character of online campaigns, their scale and progress (How many people took action? Where are they? What are their demands?);
- Help to demonstrate that the campaign supporters are genuine citizens through automating the validation of the participants (i.e. show that they are not AI bots, or show that the results have not been skewed in any way);
- Help representatives share their views and explain their positions, both to the CSOs that coordinate the campaigns as well as to the citizens directly.
One of many arrows in the quiver
We recognise that online activism is just one of many tools to improve democracy, such as citizen assemblies, civil resistance, and direct democracy, and understand it will take many people and actions over years to achieve our goal, but we hope to contribute and help on that journey and that circular democracy will be part of it.
A call to collaborate
The Circular Democracy initiative is our vision for how empowering citizens through better digital communication channels can, not only address the shortcomings of modern democracy, but also revitalise trust in our political institutions.
We want to provide the revised tools to CSOs, trade unions, social movements and representatives. We’re proud to support efforts that let citizens speak up, having already collaborated closely with almost 400 organisations in over 40 languages. Our focus is to provide the best possible software to help organisations make a difference, and see HOW they’re making difference – through clear metrics and KPIs.
As we embark on this project, we invite you to connect with us at contact@fixthestatusquo.org, especially if you are interested in participating in this effort by utilising this transformational tool for your future campaigns.
Together, let’s pave the way for a more engaged, responsive, and inclusive democratic process that truly reflects the voice of the people!