The new online platform will allow anyone active on issues of modern direct democracy to create a profile to showcase their work, to promote upcoming events and to get in touch with experts and others working on the same topics. All of this information will be presented on a map of the world, making it easy to search for initiatives and events globally. The platform will also host a news section with the latest stories on citizen participation, examples of best practices and background analyses to inspire and nurture initiatives everywhere.

The popularity of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, which hosted over 800 participants from over 80 countries this year, shows that many people are concerned with and working on direct democracy issues. Activists, experts and officials join the Global Forum each year, looking for experiences and lessons learned from other projects around the globe to reinforce and inspire their projects at home. Democracy International now wants to create a space where this process can continue year-round and also encourage exchange between those who are not able to attend the Global Forum.

The interactive platform is currently being constructed and will see an official launch by the end of the year. At the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy last month in Rome, a blueprint of the platform was already presented, and participants were invited to create a preliminary profile and sign up to receive news as soon as the platform is launched. They were also, quite literally, invited to put themselves on the map of the global community working on direct democracy issues and present their initiatives through short video messages.

In a feedback workshop, the functionalities of the platform were presented and discussed with interested participants and community building experts. The first reactions were largely positive and Democracy International is committed to developing the platform further with the input of the ultimate users of the platform, people working on direct democracy issues around the world.

Signing up for the platform is already possible at www.democracy-international.org/global-community