Democracy
Distrust in institutions, voter abstention, polarisation in public debate, the feeling of not being heard and difficulties in accessing one’s rights… The foundations of democratic life are being challenged, while many citizens are seeking new ways to take part in decisions that affect them. Beyond voting, how can we give citizens greater agency, make institutions more accessible and develop new forms of participation that renew democratic life?
Percentage of adults participating in civic or political activities, European Union, 2022
In Europe, less than one in ten adults engage in civic life
The rate was 12.1% in 2015. France is above the average, at 11.9%.
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Why is Digital Matchmaking Necessary in Job Searching?
Socialbee is a digital platform that connects talents with refugee or migration experiences to companies across Germany.
How Can Joint Paving Influence Community Building?
Lioba Huss studies at the University of Social Design, co-founded the paving project in 2025, and is now part of the operational project management of the competition.
Why reconcile ecology, social justice, and democracy?
Amandine Lebreton is the director of Le Pacte du pouvoir de vivre, an alliance of 65 organizations aiming to demonstrate that it is possible to reconcile ecological transition, social justice, and democracy.
Why democratize access to law?
Sabrina Gabteni is a lawyer and founder of Avocajust, a legal tech company created in 2023 to connect citizens with lawyers and make law more accessible.
Why Unite the Voices of the World?
Majid Haddouchi is the founder of Glot, a simultaneous translation and subtitling solution for multilingual events. The solution is accessible to people with disabilities or specific comprehension needs.
Why Unite to Defend Democracy?
Mathilde Rivoire is the General Coordinator and Taoufik Vallipuram is the spokesperson for the Fonds pour la Démocratie, a philanthropic fund aimed at collecting donations from private donors, foundations, patrons, and the general public to redistribute to associations working to protect, promote, and reinvent democracy.
Why Restorative Justice Helps Combat Recidivism
Thomas Germain is the General Director of APCARS. Ugo Picard is the head of the Île-de-France regional restorative justice service at APCARS, a socio-judicial association that works with both offenders and victims in the courts of Paris, Créteil, Bobigny, and Marseille.
Why Reinvent Our Social Models?
Yolaine Proult is the General Director of France Tiers-Lieux.
Why Citizen Engagement is a Powerful Driver of Equal Opportunities?
Oriane Penny-Lepastier is the General Director of L'Institut de l'Engagement, an association that promotes and supports youth civic engagement.
Why Communication Can Address Societal Issues?
Anne-Cécile Sarfati is the founder and president of ACTUALLY, dedicated to promoting a fairer society by integrating ecological transition and societal impact, particularly gender equality and equal opportunities, through communication and information.
Why Bringing Other Narratives to the Public Debate Can Have a Positive Impact?
Lucila Rodríguez-Alarcón (Bilbao, 1973) is the co-founder and CEO of Fundación Por Causa, an organization that brings together tools from journalism, research, communication, and sociology to provide alternative narratives to the public debate.
Why Encouraging Democratic Participation Can Unite and Support Large-Scale Impact Initiatives
Lucas Lefebvre is the Director of Philanthropy and Development at Make.org Foundation, a foundation dedicated to mobilizing and coordinating civil society actors, citizens, associations, foundations, and businesses in the design and implementation of public interest projects with impact.
Why Technology Can Be a Means for Democratic Transparency
Víctor Hidalgo is a telecommunications engineer and Global Solutions Director at Assembly Voting, a Danish company with a global outlook that has been working for over twenty years to make voting systems in public and private institutions more transparent.
Why Encourage the Engagement of French Citizens in Social Innovation?
Damien Baldin is the General Director of the La France s'engage foundation, created in 2014 by François Hollande, then President of the Republic, who aimed to imagine an initiative to encourage French citizens to engage for others.
Why Everyone Should Be Able to Assert Their Rights
Caroline Joly has been a lawyer and president of Droits d’urgence for nearly 2 years. The association supports the most marginalized individuals in all areas, thanks to its mobile team of lawyers and volunteers.
Why Voting is Also Useful in Business?
Gilles Mentré is the co-founder of Electis, a tool that allows secure online voting.
Why Citizens Have the Power to Make a Difference
Axel Dauchez co-founded Make.org. This independent web platform launches large consultations to define citizens' expectations and priorities, inspiring concrete changes in society.
Why a training school can enable a different approach to politics?
Alice Barbe founded the Académie des futurs leaders to support and train engaged individuals eager to become true political leaders.
Why Defend Meritocracy?
Serge Weinberg founded Télémaque in 2005. The goal? To help the best students from challenging backgrounds succeed in their studies and professional lives.
Why Europe Will Save Us?
Grégoire Chauvière le Drian leads the Paris office of the EIB, whose main ambition is to put Europe at the service of the environment.