Omar and I arrived at the door of the OECD - together - on October 13th 2016.
The Global Forum on Building Trust & Reinforcing Democracy launched their new report Government Unstuck: Resilient Democracies in a Fast-Changing World:
“democratic governments … have been faced with a period of rapid change and disruption that requires fast and deep transformation. The OECD Trust Survey shows that low trust in government is, for the large part, driven by citizens’ perceptions that they lack a voice in decision making… There is a sense that governments are “stuck” and that a significant transformation is now required to ensure that democratic governments deliver for citizens”.
I have worked alongside citizens of all ages and backgrounds, reporting back to regional health and social care commissioning boards in the fields of dementia, migration, housing, digital care; co-designed and delivered strategic policies, re-designed services and published a book of cartoons about dementia. Most important to mention is that I have been impressed and inspired by the speed at which communities can tap into existing resources and organise, organise, organise.
It was great to hear such concepts being presented by distinguished leaders from across the world. But, policy frameworks are one thing and genuine involvement is another. Talking the talk is very different from walking the walk.
“Stronger trust and better policies emerge when governments engage citizens throughout policy and delivery functions. Practices that give citizens a bigger role in agenda-setting and institutionalise new participation methods and tools, such as citizens’ assemblies and national dialogues, help ensure decisions are informed by societal needs and perspectives and build ownership of decisions taken”, OECD.
Max Rashbrooke spoke most vehemently of all the speakers about the need for urgency: democracy is under threat. Authoritarian, xenophobic parties are using current conditions to their advantage to reinforce their views of the world, while healthy civic spaces are in decline. His vision was for everyday democracy which is “woven into the fabric of people’s lives”.
I am hoping that this event, and the context on the Parisian streets outside, will be the catalyst for people to wake-up and recognise the urgency to do democracy differently.
Here I share a summary of some key themes emerging:
ACCOUNTABILITY
Inkosi Miami Buthelezi, South Africa Minister for Public Service & Administration:
“Where there is no trust, this goes to the heart of the legitimacy of democracy - by the people for the people… seeing a visible disconnect between government and citizens : as soon as governments take power they forget who gave them the mandate… where there is institutionalisation of unscrupulous people, institutions must be held accountable”.
INCLUSION
Manuel Olmedo Palacios, Spain: Secretary of State for Justice, Ministry of the Presidency, Justice Relations with the Parliament
“There cannot be democracy if we are leaving people behind”.
SOLUTION FOCUSED
Gonçalo Saraiva Matias, Portugal: Cabinet of the Prime Minister and State Reform (link)
“We’ve had enough talk, we want solutions… moving towards an interoperable community.”
RE-DESIGN
Sigmund Freund, Dominican Republic : Minister of Public Administration
“Start from the beginning and redesign … for example, changing procurement rules”
SHARED UNDERSTANDING
“Voice means more than having the power to speak up - it means being understood”.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, Ghana; Minister of State for Public Sector Reforms
“The citizen view should be part and parcel of policies … must ensure effective feedback loops to be able to manage expectations where it is not possible… institutionalise the feedback loop”.
SOCIAL DIALOGUE
Veronica Nilsson, General Secretary; Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
“civic space is reducing… we need to remember the effectiveness of social dialogue as a concept… bringing people together, leads to longer lasting outcomes… the importance of inviting people early in the process and not too late as a token gesture”.
HUMANISM
“when considering AI, how can we not lose the aspect of humanism”
THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED PROCESS
Art O’Leary, Chief Executive of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the Irish Electoral Commission - Citizen Assemblies Ireland
“Design an engagement programme where people are given enough information to make informed decisions… We chose two intractable problems - reproductive health and marriage equality … the results were checked back with the Irish people. Government had underestimated the nuances and understanding of the Irish people… Why did it work? We had a large representative group who we worked with for seven months. They were informed and educated about the subject… their final view was an informed view”.
“Silence is more important than sound”, said Musician Miles Davis.
Why am I including this quote? I look at who is missing and ask why are they missing. Their silence is louder than any words. As Sabine Junginger, Professor of Civic Design, asked; “Why is civil society not represented in this room today?” Arguably the loudest omission during this ecologically precarious time - as glaciers melt in the Arctic and the Mont Blanc massif - are voices representing the Earth and Indigenous Communities.
How can public institutions not only come unstuck, but reengineer and reframe their democracy offer as a reciprocal exchange so that all human beings can be heard, understood and their lived experience can contribute to service improvement and transformation for other human beings.
In our work at humanKINDER, setting the scene and formalising the act of welcome can determine the level of trust, thus influencing the success, durability and outcomes of process. Food is used as a tool to create the conditions which catalyse trusted spaces, relationships and reciprocal learning processes. Dialogue, exchange and democratic participation go hand in hand with preserving culture, human dignity and sharing precious moments together.
Recipes of HOPE has been tested in nine countries with people representing over sixty cultures. Jolof Rice is added for Nigeria by Dapo Oyewole, Secretary General, Conference of Speakers & Presidents of African Legislatures. He further went on to describe the use of Kola Nuts as currency to enter any compound in Nigeria and how they are traditionally exchanged before an official meeting could commence.
The event was concluded with a superb exchange with Bilal Ata Aktas, Founder of Paris Centre of Democracy (PADEM), “a new think-and-do-tank dedicated to exploring and strengthening democratic life in a shifting geopolitical context”. PADEM hosts Democracy Dinners which “reimagine democratic participation as an everyday, relational practice rather than a distant institutional process. By using food as democratic infrastructure, we convene intimate, curated dinners built around specific cultural and geopolitical pairings”.
I am delighted to say that our conversations about food and over food will continue as Recipes of HOPE was invited to join Democracy Dinners for a Sudanese pop-up dinner in Paris in January 2027.
A Recipes of HOPE reunion dinner - at Tunisian Restaurant Eddar - with Mohammad Omar, Emma Barrett Palmer, Economist Stewart Butler and Journalist Riaz Ahmad, October 2026;
