Rebuilding democracy from the local up
We're a Castlemaine-based community group trialing local innovations which return people to the heart of our democracy.
We have been working since 2024 (and since 2016 as “Democracy for Dinner”) including facilitating events, engaging people in elections and more. (More about us)
Latest updates
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Focus for 2026 and 2027: Building a People's Assembly in Mount Alexander Shire
What we are aiming to do
- Recruit a broad, representative panel of community members
- Design and run a community-led people's assembly on a topic important to our community
- Support the participants with training in things like: managing disagreement, self awareness, reaching consensu
Why it matters
- Provides a means to solve a tricky issue with voices from all of ourcommunity
- Brings in voices not usually heard in decision-making
- Shows that diverse residents can work well together, even when theydisagree
- Builds trust and connection across our community
- Creates a model for tackling future big questions, locally and beyond
How you can get involved
- Subscribe for updates
- Join our working groups
- Spread the word
- Promote on Instagram or Facebook
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Our timeline
MAY – SEPT 2026
Building broad community awareness and partnerships
SEPT-NOV 2-26
Recruit a representative community panel (lotterystyle)
NOV - DEC 2026
First session to test the model
First half 2027
Main process — 2-3 community roundtables
Mid-late 2027
Evaluation, reporting, and sharing lessons