This panel brings to Byline the radical idea that our only chance of tackling the power of the tech oligarchs, the rise of authoritarianism, climate collapse, perpetual wars for the last resources, AI unchecked... is to address the fundamental crisis which is in the way humanity comes together to make decisions. Four speakers with varied but deep experience and reflections on this idea, whose time has come.

Panel:

Jamie Kelsey, long-time activist and a leading voice in the democracy renewal movement, involved in campaigns from Reclaim The Streets to Extinction Rebellion. In 2024, he founded One World Or None to promote new democracy models through popular culture.

Jane Suiter, Irish political scientist and director at Dublin City University, known for pioneering citizen deliberation through projects like We the Citizens and Ireland’s citizens’ assemblies. Her work has influenced major democratic reforms in Ireland and informed global citizen governance efforts.

Peter Geoghegan, edits Democracy for Sale, an Investigative newsletter with more than 28,000 subscribers. His recent book, Democracy for Sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics, was a Sunday Times bestseller’

Joe Mulhall, historian, writer and anti-fascist and music journalist. He is Director of Research at the UK’s largest anti-fascism organisation, HOPE not hate.