Since I’ve conceptualised it, in 2019, I’ve made sure that the Greater London Authority (GLA) Civic and Democratic Participation programme is co-designed with Londoners who are under-registered and under-represented, and co-delivered with borough and other statutory colleagues and with a broad, pan-London civil society coalition of support.
Hence, building on the established GLA-led annual London Voter Registration Week, which has been increasing voter registration rates in London year-on-year for the past 6 years, it was only time to now conceptualise and coordinate another annual celebration of democracy – the London Democracy Week.
Together with our community delivery partner, Shout Out UK, we’ve produced democratic education videos on the role and make-up of the GLA and other democratic institutions, and we’ve delivered stalls and other sessions with education institutions. Our coalition partners have supported London Democracy Week on their social media and have imbedded awareness raising of civic and democratic rights in their usual activity, from advice provision to community events, by using our partner pack full of accessible information materials, including in community language, British Sign Language, Easy Read, print, video and more.
In the middle of London Democracy Week, on 12 March, we’ve brought together at City Hall, our GLA Democratic Participation Phase 3 grantees. We’ve spoken about the impact and innovation of their work to date, but also about low levels of trust in the political system, the need to increase democratic education, our collective and individual duty to make civic life and the democratic system accessible, structural barriers and how they disproportionally impact some communities, and much more besides.
Over the next months, I am looking forward to telling the story of individual grantee projects, as they continue to deliver events across London, design information hubs, produce information and education materials, and create a democratic participation legacy in London.
At a time of ongoing rise in misinformation and disinformation, and of reduced trust in politics and institutions, I am also looking forward to continuing to grow, with the support of our partners and Londoners, the reach and impact of the annual London Democracy Week (due to take place annually in March) and the other projects that make up the GLA Civic and Democratic Participation programme.
As always, the story of our work and all our resources can be found on the GLA Democracy Hub.
