From 1-8 October 2022, the Geneva Democracy Week celebrated its seventh edition under the theme “Constructing democracy”.
As every year, the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy contributed to this initiative with a rich programme of events that explored themes such as diversity and constitutional rights; democracy, media and philanthropy; political participation among the youth; populism and citizen participation in Latin America; participatory authoritarianism; democratic oversight on large-scale recovery and resilience programmes; and participation through art and AI.
As highlighted by AHCD’s Executive Director Christine Lutringer in an interview, “The Institute and its community bring a unique contribution to Democracy Week by placing the debates in their broader, global and transnational context. In our events and workshops we will discuss the dynamics of participation and protest in various regions of the world. We build on the research activities conducted by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy to decentre the gaze in order to understand the plurality of democratic experiences”.
Key highlights from the Geneva Democracy Week 2022 include:
Peggy Cooper Davis, Jamil Chade and Milan Vaishnav opened the Institute’s programme for the Geneva Democracy Week in an event that explored the pivotal role of constitutions and policies in promoting diversity and human rights in Brazil, India, and the United States—a timely conversation given the tight result of the Brazilian elections the day before.
The following day, key actors from Swiss media, foundations, and institutions participated in an event on the implications of changes in media ownership and funding—including by philanthropies—for democracy.
AHCD Research Fellow Yanina Welp launched her new book entitled The Will of the People. Populism and Citizen Participation in Latin America
Participants in the policy workshop organised by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy and the SNSF Sinergia project “Reversing the Gaze” authored a joint policy brief on the implications of the energy crisis on the management and expenditure of public funds in Europe.
Watch the public event of this workshop here
The programme was been nurtured by ongoing projects and collaborations, and by the ideas of the Institute’s students. Four AHCD researchers presented their work on youth political participation in Europe at an event on youth disenfranchisement with colleagues from the European University Institute. AHCD teamed up with La Fabrique de la paix for an event on artificial intelligence and political participation, and with a range of partners for a webinar on participatory authoritarianism. An event on civic engagement in India and engaged research was co-organised with the student initiative on Asia. AHCD also organized its annual “Meet and Greet" for the Institute’s PhD community.