Join PBP for an in-person convening in Orange, New Jersey on September 26-27, 2025
What does a sustainable democracy really look like? How can we build systems of governance that reflect the many and not just the few? At this critical moment, we’re gathering to share lessons in building participatory democracy together.
Register now!
Space is limited, so register early! The deadline for registration is Monday, September 15.
This event will convene participatory democracy researchers, practitioners, and advocates, with the goal of sharing practices and knowledge, building relationships, strengthening networks, and sparking new collaborations. We’re doing this with the goal of making our work and field more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.
Who this convening is for?
Researchers, academics, and educators - people in the field who are interested in researching, evaluating, and building learning communities for participatory democracy and participatory budgeting
Practitioners and advocates - people who advocate for and implement participatory democracy and participatory budgeting
Local organizers in New Jersey, seeking to build and strengthen participatory democracy in their communities.
We also want to center the participation and perspectives of people with identities that are most often excluded from or marginalized in decision-making–including in our own fields.
This includes people of color, poor and working class people, people who identify as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, young people, formerly incarcerated people, and immigrants–and people living at the many intersections of these identities.
Convening Goals & Guiding Principles
These are the outcomes we hope to achieve:
Knowledge and practice exchange
A network of local, regional and national practitioners, advocates and researchers
Local engagement
A concrete project or movement to collaborate on/through
A space for presenting alternative governing structures
Connections with cultural practitioners
A smaller space within the conference for people to build meaningful connections
Here are the principles we’re using to shape the learning exchange:
- Place-based: centering local work and community history
- Intentional/Conscious Inclusivity: community members, elders, system impacted, etc
- Variety and Innovation: diversity of practices/processes/perspectives, exploring alternatives and new ways of doing
- Creativity and Care: Integrating arts and culture; prioritizing care, play, food
- Relational: making connections across locale, skill, and time; peer learning
- Equity: Naming and addressing the impacts of systems of oppression
Participants will share research and practices; explore where the field is falling short and brainstorm solutions; and experiment with participatory practices together. We aspire for this to be a creative, collaborative, and care-filled convening that can charge us all up for the work ahead.
Session topics
Through this convening, we seek to add depth and rigor to how we understand participatory democracy as a tool for creating justice and equity. We’re looking to our community to help shape this convening by proposing session topics. A few examples of potential session topics include:
Deepening participatory democracy with participatory action research
People’s Budgets, budget justice, and addressing the “whole budget pie”
Evaluating participatory budgeting for equitable outcomes
Reimagining community safety beyond policing through community-led decision making
Using arts and culture to make PB more accessible
Peoples’ assemblies
The role of social movements in government
This Learning Exchange is made possible thanks to the generosity and support of the