Interdependent
Democracy Innovation Lab
We convened cross-movement social justice leaders to co-create a strategy to build and sustain thriving, interdependent democracies and recognize, anticipate, and respond to anti-democratic, anti-human practices.
Interdependent
Democracy Innovation Lab
We convened cross-movement social justice leaders to co-create a strategy to build and sustain thriving, interdependent democracies and recognize, anticipate, and respond to anti- democratic, anti-human practices.
Our Approach
The Interdependent Democracy Innovation Lab fosters ideation, collaboration, and experimentation to reimagine how we practice democracy at the local level. In 2023, Everyday Democracy convened a multiracial, intergenerational cohort of 18 cross-movement social justice leaders for a sustained period of shared inquiry, relationship-building, and co-creation. Recognizing that we need one another to survive and flourish, participants worked together to imagine a democracy that replaces exclusion and exploitation with care, equity, and shared responsibility.
Our Approach
The Interdependent Democracy Innovation Lab fosters ideation, collaboration, and experimentation to reimagine how we practice democracy at the local level. In 2023, Everyday Democracy convened a multiracial, intergenerational cohort of 18 cross-movement social justice leaders for a sustained period of shared inquiry, relationship-building, and co-creation. Recognizing that we need one another to survive and flourish, participants worked together to imagine a democracy that replaces exclusion and exploitation with care, equity, and shared responsibility.
This work was guided by four core questions:
- What would change if we fully accepted our interdependence as a defining truth of democracy?
- How can democracy better serve everyday people while remaining rooted in liberatory values?
- What ways of being together are essential to resisting anti-democratic and anti-human practices?
- How do we heal from systems of oppression while also surviving and transforming them?
This work was guided by four core questions:
- What would change if we fully accepted our interdependence as a defining truth of democracy?
- How can democracy better serve everyday people while remaining rooted in liberatory values?
- What ways of being together are essential to resisting anti-democratic and anti-human practices?
- How do we heal from systems of oppression while also surviving and transforming them?
Core Framework
Lab participants co-created a definition of interdependent democracy and a core framework to guide future practice, learning, and experimentation.
- Definition of Interdependent Democracy: A model of local governance that prioritizes the inherent interconnection among individuals, communities, and the natural world through sustained collective practice over time.
- Roots: The wisdoms, histories, and lineages that ground and nourish interdependent democracy.
- Pillars: The core beliefs, values, and conditions that guide democratic practice.
- Streams: Concrete practices, processes, and tools that bring interdependent democracy to life.
Illustrated by Sara Yukimoto-Saltman
What’s Next
Building on this foundation, the Interdependent Democracy Innovation Lab is advancing the framework through:
- Applying the framework to strengthen democratic practice and equity in community, organizational, and civic contexts
- Supporting a community of practice to test and refine the framework in real-world settings
- Developing an Interdependent Democracy toolkit and learning hub
- Expanding and deepening the national community of practice
Core Framework
Lab participants co-created a definition of interdependent democracy and a core framework to guide future practice, learning, and experimentation.
- Definition of Interdependent Democracy: A model of local governance that prioritizes the inherent interconnection among individuals, communities, and the natural world through sustained collective practice over time.
- Roots: The wisdoms, histories, and lineages that ground and nourish interdependent democracy.
- Pillars: The core beliefs, values, and conditions that guide democratic practice.
- Streams: Concrete practices, processes, and tools that bring interdependent democracy to life.
Illustrated by Sara Yukimoto-Saltman
What’s Next
Building on this foundation, the Interdependent Democracy Innovation Lab is advancing the framework through:
- Applying the framework to strengthen democratic practice and equity in community, organizational, and civic contexts
- Supporting a community of practice to test and refine the framework in real-world settings
- Developing an Interdependent Democracy toolkit and learning hub
- Expanding and deepening the national community of practice
