Global Issues

Democracy

How can we strengthen democracy in Germany and Europe?

News

Common Ground – Shaping Regions Across Borders

“It’s up to us to give people a voice”

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Dossier

Justice concerns all of us

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Dossier

How citizen participation strengthens a vibrant democracy

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Opinion

Democracy — A Muscle That Needs to be Exercised

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Expertise

The Lottery of Life

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Discussion

Citizen participation: "We need real participation"

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Report

Citizen participation: The journey is also the reward

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Common Ground: Claudia Chwalisz, Innovative Citizen Participation Lead at OECD in Paris

Report

For the Bundestag, dialogue between its members and their citizens is vital

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News

More Democratic Awareness at Schools in Brandenburg

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Interview

"To figure out how to improve democracy accessible knowledge is key"

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Interview

What Is the Future of Democracy?

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Inaugural Event in Berlin

Common Ground – Shaping Development across Borders

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Impulse

A Toast to Democracy!

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Fighting Hate Speech Online: How Companies Like ALBA Take Up a Stance

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Discover our projects

Democracy

Common Ground: Shaping Regions Across Borders

With Common Ground, we promote the cross-border participation of the population in shaping and developing their border region. In the long-term,...

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Democracy

The Hub for Democratic Culture

We support the development of a decentralized platform of stakeholders from politics, civil society, media, business, and academia. The goal is to...

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Democracy

Business Council for Democracy #BC4D

We promote new alliances to protect democracy in the digital age. BC4D provides services that teach people in a professional context to recognize...

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Democracy

It’s Complicated.

People and their democracy in Germany, France, Britain, Poland, and the United States. This representative study puts attitudes toward democracy in the five countries under the microscope.

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Democracy

Strong Teachers – Strong Students

We support vocational teachers in dealing with right wing extremism amoung their pupils. Through the teachers, the pupils are emboldened to reflect...

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Democracy

The Consul Project

The award-winning open-source platform for citizen participation “Consul” ensures open, transparent, and democratic governance.

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Democracy

NETTZ

Hate speech on the internet has regrettably become an increasingly pressing social issue. The NETTZ network aims to confront the current trend by supporting moral courage on digital media as well as cultivating a positive...

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Democracy

Civic Scouts at Work

We support a needs-based training and further development program for enterprises in Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Hungary.

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Democracy

VOTO – Making Voting Simple

VOTO is a digital voting aid used in local elections that helps increase young voter turnout. It playfully provides information about parties and...

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Democracy

Developing and Mobilizing Platforms for Democracy

We support International IDEA in creating platforms to mobilize, connect and update global democracy supporters.  

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Democracy

worldlab

The worldlab project brings together young people in preparatory and regular classes of vocational and general education schools to discuss shared values.

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Democracy, Inequality

Wellbeing Ecomomy Alliance

Co-designing economic policies to address multiple interlinked crises.

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Democracy

Exploring Worldwide Democratic Innovations

We explore emerging innovations in democratic participation around the world through research, with a view to proposing recommendations for...

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Democracy

“Crisis-Dialogue-Future” Competence Center

Together with the Competence Center, we use dialogue and participation to support municipalities in addressing conflicts and crises on the ground.

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Democracy

demoSlam

DemoSlam relies on dialogue to foster understanding. It draws together people with contrasting opinions, equipping them with the space and tools to tolerate difference and relearn the ability to handle conflict.

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Democracy

My City Talks

The “My City Talks” project brings people with different political views together to talk face to face. It helps draw people out of their filter bubbles, build empathy, and identify shared values – all while strengthening...

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Democracy

Achieve more. With participation.

In five municipalities, the project is testing how to reach people who are not usually involved in participation processes. Based on the experience...

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Democracy, Inequality

Citizens' council ZUKUNFT:STEUERN

A feasibility study is examining whether the topic of "justice and taxes" is suitable for a nationwide citizens' council.

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Democracy

Everyday Spaces. Making a bigger impact, together

Together with the Federal Association for Socioculture, we support ten tridems in developing and testing ideas for low-threshold democracy work.

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Our focus

Competencies for democratic culture

In complex and pluralistic societies, knowing how a political system and its institutions work is not sufficient. If citizens want to participate both politically and socially, they need the right competencies to engage with a constructive culture of debate, both on and offline, as well as the ability to tolerate differences, change their perspectives, compromise, and think critically. We advocate for low-threshold and real-life teaching of the skills necessary to maintain a healthy democracy and focus on finding innovative formats and unusual places to this end.  

Citizen Participation

Involving citizens in political decision-making processes can increase their trust in politics and institutions as well as their sense of satisfaction with democracy. Strong participation formats achieve notably better qualitative results, raise acceptance among the population, and, alongside representative democracy, bring about broader legitimacy. We strengthen innovative and inclusive formats for civic participation that can be linked into the political sphere. We aim to target those people who have so far felt ignored by traditional approaches. Of particular importance are transnational participation processes in Germany’s border regions with its neighbors.

  • We are focusing our funding on projects that aim to reach out to people in their working age. For this reason we cannot fund projects that target mainly children and youngsters.
  • We can only support individuals within the context of project-specific calls for submissions. This also applies to individual PhD projects or other scholarships. Please check our current open calls to see whether there is anything suitable for you. 
  • Humanitarian aid is an important approach to relieving distress in acute emergency situations and requires special expertise. However, our strategic focus is on the overall configuration of the immigration society. Therefore, we ask you not to submit requests related to acute emergency aid.
  • Unfortunately, we are not able to assume the costs for purchase of materials or infrastructure projects.

Contact person

Jacqueline Sachse
Team Assistant
Phone+49 711 46084-490
e-mail to Jacqueline Sachse