After two-and-a-half years apart, Canada’s DemocracyXChange (DXC) Summit returns to Toronto from March 23 to 25, featuring an in-person keynote address by Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, press freedom fighter and author of a new memoir, How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.
Ressa spent decades exposing state-sponsored corruption in South-East Asia as an investigative journalist for CNN. She is an expert on the weaponization of social media, and she touches down in Toronto to kick off Canada’s marquee conference on democracy, which takes place at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and OCAD University.
Co-presented by OCAD University, the Leadership Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, and Open Democracy Project, the fourth DemocracyXChange Summit will bring together students, researchers, practitioners, public servants, community organizers, and leaders from the private, public and not-for-profit sector to connect, learn and emerge with new partnerships, plans and actions to strengthen democratic institutions and civil society.
WHY THIS SUMMIT MATTERS
#DXC23 is the event of the year for change-makers who care about defending democratic values, and want to help tackle some of the most pressing problems of our generation, from countering far-right extremism to rampant nationalism, growing disinformation online, and a lack of representation at today’s tables of power.
“With so many forces challenging the idea of democracy globally and within Canada, it is critical that we bring together a multi-stakeholder group which includes public and private sector leaders, students, community organizers, artists and designers to work collectively to protect democratic practices and reimagine our future,” says Ana Serrano, OCAD U President and Vice-Chancellor and Co-Chair of Open Democracy Project.
“This work includes foresighting activities such as the vibrant Democracy Futures workshops planned for Friday, March 24 and facilitated by OCAD U’s Super Ordinary Lab where invited summit participants will address how we intentionally design our sustainable, equitable and just futures,” adds Serrano.
SUMMIT’S CORE THEMES
In their report, Rebuilding Canada’s Public Square, research from the TMU Leadership Lab found that more than one in three Canadian residents report encountering harmful content online at least weekly, and that number rises to about half of those who regularly use social media for news and current events.
Social media platforms are having a toxic influence on society and democracy, enabling hate speech and harassment, and fuelling real-world violence and exploitation.
To beat back this trend and mobilize new solutions, DemocracyXChange 2023 will include live talks, hands-on workshops, networking opportunities, and special guests, with a focus on three core themes:
- Integrity of information
- Economic and social inequality, and
- Trust in governance
“We’re at a pivotal moment for democracy in Canada and democracies around the world,” says Karim Bardeesy, Executive Director of the Leadership Lab and the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship at TMU. “It’s time to re-connect pro-democracy voices, confront the corrosive forces that erode public trust, and reignite progress that delivers positive change for people.”
DEMOCRACY FUTURES WORKSHOP
This year, the summit will include a special new feature, the Democracy Futures workshop being held on Friday, March 24.
Designed by OCAD U’s Super Ordinary Laboratory under the leadership of Professor Suzanne Stein and OCADU CO., in collaboration with TMU’s Leadership Lab and Brookfield Institute, participants will consider the question, “How might we create a resilient, successful and sustainable democracy?”
Workshop facilitators will guide groups focused on four themes (climate change, social inequality, misinformation and trust in governance) to uncover new insights, connections, implications and opportunities for a future democracy that is resilient.
Participants will draw on their own areas of expertise, ranging from policy, governance, economics to environment technology and culture, while working through various tools and processes of strategic foresight.
Strategic foresight is an approach to rigorously look at different possibilities of how the future may unfold over time, given the changing and dynamic core drivers of change. This approach identifies causal factors, implications, and actions to help foster a preferred future, as envisioned and articulated through the workshop and conference proceedings.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have co-developed a shared understanding of the factors that may support or threaten democracy, and identify top areas of actions across stakeholder groups.
Limited spaces are available for #DXC23 registrants to participate in the Democracy Futures workshop. To ensure representation across diverse sectors, registrants will be invited to apply.
REGISTRATION OPEN – EARLY BIRD TICKETS
Register Now: Early-bird tickets are available until March 8, including a special discounted rate for students who are essential voices in the fight for democracy.
More speakers and event details will be added in the coming weeks.
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