“If Zohran Mamdani is serious about delivering on his promises, he needs more than policies — he needs institutions that empower working people. Popular assemblies offer a way to build a new, bottom-up political culture in New York City.” jacobin.com/2025/12/mamd...

📰 New Strategies for Renewing Democracy Faced with rising attacks on democracy, the EU has raised a Democracy Shield. But marching into battle with only a shield is a recipe for defeat. To reverse democratic backsliding, we also need new strategies for expanding democracy👇🏼 philea.eu/opinions/bey...

Applications are open for our Democratic Innovations Accelerator (DIA)! ⏰ We'll be supporting 40 selected participants working on youth-led participatory programs with free mentoring, training and tools. Apply by Nov 30: nets4dem.eu/democratic-i...

Congratulations to @celinasu.bsky.social for launching her new book Budget Justice in NYC tonight! Go read it! Lots of insights into #participatorybudgeting and other movements to build public power over public money. ❤️ press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

I'm shaking almost too hard to type. I entered SLC airport and heard screams and cries for help. I could see people gathered around, watching. I sped over to discover this woman face down on the floor, four grown men pushing her down, while she cried "HELP ME" and pled for her child.

Why don’t Democrats create visual imagery to change the #shutdown story? For example: 1️⃣ Set up a negotiation room with chairs for the key players. 2️⃣ Show up every day. 3️⃣ Take pictures and video, of Democrats literally at the negotiation table, and Republicans absent. 4️⃣ Share & repeat. Be creative!

This isn’t government efficiency. It’s putting people’s lives at risk, by cutting the essential government services that they rely on.

As democratic practices decay in the United States and elsewhere, the tendency is to defend existing institutions. But building new paths is just as important. Read more from @joshalerner.bsky.social nonprofitquarterly.org/three-emergi...

New Article Alert: Looking for better ways to defend/protect/promote/renew/expand democracy? In @npquarterly.bsky.social I lift up three of the most promising strategies for renewing democracy from around the world. Try them out! nonprofitquarterly.org/three-emergi...

The real highlight of #TheLifeofaShowgirl is how it reminded me to listen to #BRAT again. 🙏🏼

Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher. Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

From a 2 million-strong online petition in France to new insights on Euroscepticism, crowdlaw and disinformation, there's plenty happening in democratic innovation. Learn more in the latest Nets4Dem newsletter 👇 bit.ly/47M5eZM

“Democracy is, in the beginning and in the end, a belief that we can live together despite difference and choose the future together.” @anandwrites.bsky.social 🙏🏼 open.substack.com/pub/anandwri...

Deadline extended to July 6! Apply to the People Powered’s Accelerators & Mentorships for support, resources, and training in participatory democracy and citizenship engagement. Details: www.peoplepowered.org/news-content... #Democracy #PeoplePowered

I'm laughing my ASS off at the Cuomo commercials telling us he's ready on DAY ONE to make housing affordable in NYC because he is experienced, LMAO!!!! Yes he's experienced at being bought by big real estate & at insuring that you won't be able to afford to live in the city if you're working class.

This is an illegal war of aggression. There is no direct threat, no provocation, no need, and no Congressional approval. The only people this serves are the autocrats trying to cling to power.

#NoKings in Kings County, or anywhere in the US!

Yes! When urban planners learn from organizers they get more done. @nextcity.org nextcity.org/urbanist-new...

Like for the mayoral election, I can’t believe some of these options made it to the ranked choice bagel ballot! Come on NYC, we can do better. #TeamEverything www.wnyc.org/bagelvote

Globally, communities are facing urgent challenges, and participatory democracy is delivering solutions. So far, we've helped launch or improve 85 participatory programs, supported 1,100 democracy champions + more! See how we’re building a more inclusive future: www.peoplepowered.org/our-impact

Join me at the @epd.eu annual conference in Brussels, to reboot democracy!

You don't have to push for democracy alone. Join 200+ global members for learning, funding, and real impact. 🌍 New members this month could win a global feature, and contributions are matched 4-to-1. Apply now: www.peoplepowered.org/news-content... #PeoplePowered #ParticipatoryDemocracy

Some fun news: I’m thrilled to join the Board of Directors of Thrive Philanthropy, a global grantmaker that accelerates just, sustainable, plant-based food systems around the world. Check them out, and let me know if you’re interested in learning more! www.thrivephilanthropy.org

I’m so thankful to Michael Cross-Barnet for shared Caitlin’s powerful story in this Washington Post article. The trauma is cruel. Sharing it is resistance, and humanity. You can read it here, not behind a paywall: www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...

Flying back to the US from Europe. Emptiest flight I’ve been on. I imagine like trains into Germany back in 1934.

Opportunity alert: Apply now for the Accelerators and Rising Stars Mentorships to grow your participatory democracy project. Deadline: July 1, 2025 Includes training, mentorship, and funding. With @nets4dem.eu and global partners. Apply here: www.peoplepowered.org/news-content...

Q&A on democracy in Germany: How can local community participation help prevent the rise of far right parties like AfD? By bringing people together to share grievances, feel heard, and understand those who are different. @peoplepowered.org

This is a must read report for anyone working on democracy, participation, and deliberation. It’s the rare report that shows you how you’ve been doing your work wrong, and offers practical guidance on how to do it better. Take a look!👇🏼

Read this piece from two of our world's best thinkers on democracy. It offers a practical but revolutionary idea for the United States.

What if #CitizensAssemblies were a core part of government? We make the case for a House of the People — a permanent, randomly selected 4th branch. Democracy needs more voices. By @joshalerner.bsky.social & Marjan Ehsassi 🔗 www.peoplepowered.org/news-content...

📰 It's time for a fourth branch of government. In @bostonglobe.com today, Marjan Ehsassi & I call for creating a randomly selected House of the People. Our institutions of democracy are failing. We need to try a new approach. Read how it could work and why this is feasible and strategic even now.

Spectacular view of 100,000 people attending the #HandsOff march in NYC

The Peace Corps inspires Americans to be better people that contribute to a better world. It’s imperfect, but it makes us more perfect. #peacecorps

📢 Join us to explore how public participation is being embedded into governance around the world—featuring global case studies, tools & data. With @opengovpartnership.org , @taicollab.bsky.social and more! 🔗 Register: www.peoplepowered.org/events-conte... #MainstreamingParticipation

The #TeslaTakedown actions get bigger each week. People are fed up and rising up!

Columbia University has a $15 billion endowment. It could have weathered the loss of $400 million and kept operating as normal. It made the discretionary choice to prioritize the size of its endowment over human rights and democracy.

🚀 From digital tools to AI in democracy—our March newsletter is packed with insights, success stories, and funding opportunities for participatory democracy changemakers. 📰 Read it here: www.peoplepowered.org/news-content... #DigitalDemocracy #AI

🚨 We’re hiring! ✨ Are you a university student interested in participatory democracy? Passionate about research and social justice? We’re looking for an RA to support our open-access database. 🗺 Check out the poster below for more details! 📝 Those interested should apply by March 31, 2025.

How do we make #participatorybudgeting a regular part of how our local governments function with #peoplepower at the center? Join us for this special learning session on PB Ballot Initiatives and Charter Amendments! Come learn and engage with our panelists. RSVP today: bit.ly/PBlearnCABI

Shame on Paul Weiss. Corporate law not only bows down to Trump, but also volunteers $40M in free labor. History will judge you as criminally complicit.

The MAGA regime is dragging us back centuries, to the darkest chapters of our history from the Red Scare to the internment of Japanese Americans, when people in power would silence, seize and sequester people based on what they looked like or where they came from.

We just wanted to take a moment to thank all our new supporters! Tomorrow, there will be more of us!

ICE stripped a German green card holder naked, drove him from Boston to Vermont to Rhode Island, put him in a cold shower, deprived him of medication, sleep and food until he collapsed. No one knows why he was detained.

How about we turn Schumer’s book talks into retirement parties?

"Start with your closet. Identify all the T-shirts you haven’t worn in three years. Then throw away all your clothes, including the ones you’re wearing." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dog...

New Yorkers: Call Sen. Gillibrand’s office to vote NO on cloture and NO on the Republican Spending Bill. They vote in the morning. ☎️: (202) 224-4451

Excellent article on why US democracy aid is under attack and what we can do about it. One key takeaway: Emphasize how funding for democracy makes us all safer and stronger. @carnegieendowment.org carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Can participation bridge the #DigitalDivide? 🌍💡 Brazil’s Plataforma Brasil Participativo engaged 1.5M people in policymaking. This latest research explores key lessons & 9 ways to make digital democracy more inclusive. Read here: 🔗 www.peoplepowered.org/news-content...