Ep. 175
The Deep Dive explores Consul Democracy, an open-source toolkit designed to enhance citizen participation in government. It emphasizes the platform’s global use, having been adopted by over 250 cities, including Madrid, Sao Paulo, and Glasgow. Key features include spaces for online debate, citizen proposal evaluation, formal voting, participatory budgeting, and collaborative drafting of laws. The platform is hosted on GitHub and adheres to the Aferro GPLv3 license, ensuring modifications remain open-source. Originally developed for Madrid’s e-participation website in 2015, it is now supported by the Consul Democracy Foundation and a vibrant community of contributors. Recent updates include the introduction of an AI-powered civic assistant project and recognition from organizations like People Powered for its effectiveness. The platform aims to foster deeper democratic engagement by enabling actual interaction and collaboration between citizens and governments. Users can explore the tool through a demo on the website or access the code on GitHub. Overall, Consul Democracy represents a significant step towards transparent and participatory governance, raising important questions about the future of civic technology and AI.