FIDE Forum 2026: From novel to normal
On 18 – 19 November, democracy enthusiasts are gathering in Vienna to face the new reality. Engaging citizens is no longer an option – it's a necessity.
The Deliberative Wave has demonstrated the capacity of randomly selected citizens to address the growing gap between citizens and government. What was once described as a wave of experiments needs to become infrastructure.
That’s why the FIDE Forum is launched: a conference for practitioners, public officials, political parties, NGOs, and funders to move this field from the margins to the mainstream. Not to debate whether deliberation works. To build the infrastructure, lift the standards, and create the political will to make it permanent.
Over the past decades, thousands of deliberative processes have delivered some of the most difficult questions governments struggle to answer alone. More than 80,000 citizens have contributed to key decisions, including constitutional reform, national legislation, and public spending.
The evidence is in. The experiments are over.
What remains is even harder: making this permanent.