Despite its inner contradictions and imperfections, democracy still remains an ancient guarantee that we live in a society, that we must respect each other, that we must listen and defend the vulnerable ones and protect our right of freedom, our right to live and love in this world, honoring the people who gave their lives to improve our present life (giving us beside the right of fighting tyrannies, arbitrariness, prejudice and ignorance).
Democracy is our tool to protect society against individualism and contain the overflows of the economic and political powers and all that threats of abuse against those who had neither the luck nor the conditions to defend themselves. Democracy is our human triumph against our own power.
Alvaro Javier Magaña
Procorp, Universidad de Chile
Santiago de Chile, Chile
Fields of Action
It sets a stage on which diverse actors can come together and democratically collaborate in shaping their present and future world. It engages diverse people and publics in co-design and co-production processes concerning different aspects of their everyday life.
It increases the opportunities for citizens to participate in deliberative processes. It focuses on transparency (which enables citizens to be aware of the on-going process of governance) and deliberative methods (which is the opportunity to be better involved in decision making processes).
It refers to all the design initiatives that are particularly responsive to the goals of democracy. It may deal with the provision of basic human rights (such as access to food, shelter, health care, and education) and, more in general, with the transition towards a more resilient, fair and sustainable society.
It addresses the structural elements that function as frames and regulators of human action in a democratic system. It focuses on institutions (such as: branches of government, agencies, bureaus, courts, and offices) and procedures (such as: laws, regulations, rules, and protocols).