---
title: People Powered
type: network
status: active
country: US
website: https://www.peoplepowered.org
logo: /assets/org-logos/people-powered.webp
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-09
  form: https://www.peoplepowered.org/connect
  source: https://www.peoplepowered.org
summary: A global hub for participatory democracy — connecting government practitioners,
  researchers, and advocates through mentorship, training, accelerator programmes,
  and a resource centre. Serves as a membership organisation for the participatory
  democracy field worldwide.
concepts:
- participatory-budgeting
- citizens-assembly
- deliberative-democracy
- democracy-tools
location:
  latitude: 40.6782
  longitude: -73.9442
  name: Brooklyn, New York, USA
  precision: city
events:
- date: '2026-09-21'
  title: International Observatory on Participatory Democracy Conference (OIDP 2026)
    — 25th annual, 'Hope and renewal in the face of a global crisis of democracy,'
    Kraków
  url: https://www.peoplepowered.org/events-content/oidp-2026
  quote: The International Observatory on Participatory Democracy (OIDP) will return
    for its 25th annual conference in Kraków from 21–23 September 2026
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-13'
  end_date: '2026-09-23'
  notable: false
  type: conference
  location: Kraków, Poland
  country: PL
- date: '2026-09-29'
  title: Athens Democracy Forum 2026 — 14th edition, with Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy
    Prize, organized by Democracy & Culture Foundation with New York Times
  url: https://www.peoplepowered.org/events-content/athens-democracy-forum-2026
  quote: The Athens Democracy Forum returns for its 14th edition, convening in the
    Greek capital from 29 September – 1 October 2026
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-13'
  notable: false
  type: conference
  location: Athens, Greece
  country: GR
- date: '2026-10-01'
  title: Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) Global Forum 2026 — co-located with Athens
    Democracy Forum, hybrid
  url: https://www.peoplepowered.org/events-content/gdc-global-forum-2026
  quote: The Global Democracy Coalition will hold its annual Global Forum on 1 October
    2026 in Athens, working alongside the Athens Democracy Forum.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-13'
  notable: false
  type: conference
  location: Athens, Greece
  country: GR
- date: '2026-11-02'
  title: World Forum for Democracy 2026 (Council of Europe) — 14th edition, 'Democratic
    Foresight,' Strasbourg
  url: https://www.peoplepowered.org/events-content/world-forum-for-democracy-2026
  quote: The 14th World Forum for Democracy... will take place in Strasbourg from
    2–4 November 2026 under the theme "Democratic Foresight."
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-13'
  notable: false
  type: conference
  location: Strasbourg, France
  country: FR
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-08-09
    date: 2026-08-09
    note: Site live and actively publishing as of August 2026
last_checked: '2026-08-09'
---

People Powered is a global membership hub for participatory democracy, serving as a field-building organisation for the practitioners, governments, researchers, and advocates working on citizen participation worldwide. It does not itself run participatory processes — it builds the capacity of those who do, bridging the gap between isolated local experiments and a coherent global field with shared standards, evidence, and infrastructure.

Programmes include the Climate Democracy Accelerator, the Mainstreaming Participation Accelerator, a mentorship programme connecting experienced practitioners with those starting new processes, training modules on participatory budgeting, citizens' assemblies, and legislative theatre, a digital participation resource centre, and the Democracy Stories Lab (launched July 2026, an open call for visual stories about the future of democracy). The organisation also runs the Democracy Narratives Alliance, working on how democracy is talked about — an explicit communications-strategy approach to democratic renewal that is unusual in a field dominated by process design and tool-building.

People Powered's role in the landscape is meta-level: it is the connective infrastructure for the field rather than a frontline practitioner. Its membership model (organisations join, access resources, and shape strategy collectively) makes it structurally similar to FIDE or Democracy R&D but with a broader scope — covering the full range of participatory mechanisms rather than focusing on citizens' assemblies specifically.

## Links

- Website: [peoplepowered.org](https://www.peoplepowered.org)

## See also

- [Participatory Budgeting](../concepts/participatory-budgeting.md)
- [Citizens' Assembly](../concepts/citizens-assembly.md)
- [Deliberative Democracy](../concepts/deliberative-democracy.md)
- [FIDE](fide.md)
- [Digidem Lab](digidem-lab.md)