#DemocracyinAction

Services:

Research, Virtual Reality, Advocacy

Links:

Year:

2025

Partners:

Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society
Centre for African Development Studies
IMF-CSIC
Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Management and Social Communication
Magdeburg University of Applied Sciences
Fondazione Santagata
Institute of Public Affairs
DE/MO

#DemocracyinAction identifies solutions for increasing meaningful political expression and participation in four key areas of grassroots social transformation of untapped potential: 1) nightivism (urban nighttime cultural life for political engagement); 2) women’s rights mobilization; 3) racial and ethnic civic participation through cultural expression; 4) youth activism and civic education.

The project’s research strategy aligns with the EU’s enshrined principle of subsidiarity, to deliver new insights on how bottom-up arts and culture can channel inclusive political expression and advance societal well-being at a time when democracy faces unprecedented challenges. Pilots cover all EU regions, together with cases in the Americas, Africa, Middle East and Asia, in democratic and non-democratic contexts. It considers online and offline realities as inextricably intertwined, with smartphones forever within reach

Approach

Our comparative, transdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder approach is founded on creative, participatory methodologies. Collaboration with community centres, theatres, exhibition halls, among other spaces, brings tested creative tools to mobilize people into civic participation and mitigate polarization. Working with digital designers and developers, #DemocracyinAction tests the unknown potential of virtual immersive spaces, including novel trends of virtual nightclubs, to deliver cutting-edge policy recommendations for a democratic and safe use and design of social media and metaverse environments. These tools and recommendations will offer forward-looking pathways to scale up grassroots' potential and enhance positive political participation at local, national and EU levels.