Democratic Crossroads - The Power of Participation: What's holding us back?

What would Australia look like if we fully participated as citizens in our democracy?

Australia’s democracy is highly regarded around the world. In the 19th century, we set global benchmarks for democratic innovation, introducing secret ballots and extending voting rights. Today, our democratic institutions and practices continue to rank highly on measures like accountability, the rule of law, and control of corruption (World Bank). 

However, while support for democracy is high, the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute recently found that all surveyed groups expressed dissatisfaction with Australia's democracy. Among the general population group, major concerns include the influence of corporations on government decision-making and dissatisfaction with democratic processes, such as ‘not having a say’, lack of representation, and lack of differentiation between the major parties. Predominant concerns about how Australia's democracy is working, and potential threats to it in the future, lie within Australia and its political system rather than external to it. 

Meanwhile, Australians appear to be becoming more civically and politically disengaged. We aren't participating in local sports clubs, religious organisations, or political parties at anywhere near the rate we used to. Recent surveying by the Australian Public Service Commission found that civic engagement among Australians is low, with limited involvement across a range of democratic activities. The most common reasons were 'I'm not interested', 'my participation won't make a difference,' and 'I don't have time'.   

What are the political and societal consequences of declining satisfaction and participation?  This Folio Conversation with Emma Fletcher will help us understand the role of civic participation in a democracy, the transformative power of participation, and the barriers and opportunities to harness its full potential to improve the lives of all citizens. 

This event is part of a collection of events and curated content on the theme, Democratic Crossroads. It's a huge year for democracy, as most of the global population heads to the polls in 2024. Democracy is widely reported as in decline and under threat on numerous fronts. How should concerned citizens navigate these challenges, and where are the opportunities for democratic renewal and innovation?

Conversation Leader

Emma Fletcher is CoCEO of democracyCo, a leader in democratic engagement with a strong and proud pedigree of policy, politics, and deliberative democracy strategy, design and implementation. Their team has earned a global reputation for tackling some of today’s toughest questions, by creating the conditions for meaningful dialogue and fostering the type of understanding and collaboration that creates powerful, lasting change.

Emma has been successfully designing and delivering large-scale, complex engagement projects for over a decade, often on polarising or controversial issues. She is an extraordinary strategic thinker and planner and her engagement designs are informed by her wealth of experience in public policy, politics, and Parliaments in Australia and the UK.

democracyCo was founded in the shadow of Emma’s greatest A-Ha! moment, when she experienced first-hand the ‘smarts and expertise which reside in community' and decided to channel her energy into raising opportunities for people to have a greater influence and agency.

Prior to founding democracyCo, Emma led the South Australian Government’s centre for community engagement — the Participation and Partnerships team. This work was recognised by the United Nations, receiving a second placing in the category 'Fostering participation in policy making through innovative mechanisms'. They also received an award from IAP2 International for best practice community engagement, a commendation from the Future Gov 2.0 awards for leading use of social media by government in Asia Pacific, and national recognition for the best open data initiative ‘Unleashed’.

Event Format

Online Folio Conversations are not like your normal webinar or panel discussion.

We bring Folio members and guests — from different sectors, disciplines, occupations, and backgrounds — into connected conversation with leading thinkers and doers from Australia and abroad.

We prioritise interactive dialogue between our Conversation Leader and all attendees. We follow the Chatham House Rule to promote open, honest, and inclusive dialogue.

Folio Conversations are an open invitation to better understand the issues, each other, and the world around us. We encourage all attendees to bring their curiosity and actively listen and share their perspectives and experiences.