Trust Democracy is pleased to announce that its 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 12 May at St Andrew’s on The Terrace, 30 The Terrace, Wellington, and via Zoom, and will feature an address by Associate Professor Matheson Russell on the topic ‘More Referenda, Better Democracy?’
At a U3A Wellington City session on 25 October 2024, Keitha Booth, a Trust Democracy member and international open government reviewer, explored how countries use their Open Government Partnership (OGP) memberships to systematically work with civil society to improve democratic participation, accountability and transparency, including through the use of technology. Now that the NZ Government has decided to remain in the OGP, she suggests ways to reinvigorate NZ’s open government programme based on her independent reviews of four OGP members and Taiwan, thus ensuring that open government in NZ does not continue to wither.
Trust Democracy Committee member Anna Curnow describes how local government is starting to embrace more deliberative and participatory approaches for its “superpower” of being close to its communities.
Watch the video or read the transcript of Dr. Emily Beausoleil speaking to Trust Democracy’s 2024 AGM on whether democracy in settler-colonial societies like ours is a weapon or a tool. Download her presentation slides and access Trust Democracy’s AGM reports, statements and minutes.
Listen to interviews Prof John Gastil recorded while in New Zealand and find out about the events he presented at on the future of democracy and promising democratic innovations in Auckland and Wellington in June 2024.
After travelling 17,000 kilometres to the 2023 Open Government Partnership Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, Trust Democracy’s Chair, Simon Wright, reflects on one of the most energising and inspiring conferences he has attended. It was just a shame that he was the only New Zealand delegate. It would have been hugely beneficial for New Zealand ministers, politicians, officials and civil society reformers to have been there too.
Watch the video or read the transcript of ‘Democratic innovation: why we need it and how we can do it’, a webinar featuring Art O’Leary on his experience of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly and Colin Megill on Polis, one of the most promising tools for enabling large-scale online deliberation. The webinar was held on 14 June 2023 and was moderated by Anne Bardsley from Koi Tū: the Centre for Informed Futures at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland.
Watch the video or read the transcript of Professor Michael Baker speaking to Trust Democracy’s 2023 AGM about disinformation, science, trust, democracy, and the newly established Public Health Communication Centre, download his presentation slides and access Trust Democracy’s AGM reports, statements and minutes.
Watch video recordings of Sanjay Pradhan, Helen Clark, Helmut Modlik, Andrew Ecclestone and Suzanne Snively presenting, and answering questions, at the Strengthening Democracy through Open Government event at the Victoria University of Wellington on 13 April 2023.
Read the transcript of the Strengthening Democracy through Open Government event featuring Sanjay Pradhan, Helen Clark, Helmut Modlik, Andrew Ecclestone and Suzanne Snively and moderated by Barbara Allen that was held at the Victoria University of Wellington on 13 April 2023.
