From March 2 to 5, we were in Nairobi, Kenya, participating in People Powered, a gathering that brought together leaders in participatory democracy, researchers, and public sector representatives from around the world for days of learning, exchange, and collaboration
This year's theme, "Global Challenges, Participatory Solutions," explored how citizen-driven approaches can address the world's most pressing problems, with a focus on the climate crisis, the need for more inclusive democracies, and shifting narratives.
Political imagination
"We attended the People Powered gathering to exchange strategies on how, in this moment of disruption, we can strengthen democratic ecosystems with diverse actors. These are essential conversations to rebuild political imagination," said Anaid Alcázar, Democracy Program Coordinator at Fundación Avina.
The discussions took place in a context in which people around the world are demanding transformative change: political systems that work and solutions that respond to the complexity of today’s crises. As distrust in institutions grows and authoritarianism becomes more appealing, bold democratic practices capable of delivering concrete results are increasingly necessary.
“People Powered is a valuable space for rethinking democracy. People from different contexts and territories build bridges to take action in the face of today’s challenges,” Alcázar emphasizes.
At Fundación Avina, where Democratic Innovation is a strategic pillar for generating impact, it is essential to engage with these spaces to think and act—drawing on our philanthropic ecosystem—in a courageous and connected way, co-creating innovative participatory solutions that can strengthen the future of democracies.
