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How to organise a Democracy Day
Democracy Days bring young people into contact with elected representatives and aim to bridge knowledge gaps around our democratic institutions and the electoral process.
Democracy Days can be run as a one-day conference comprised of interactive educational workshops followed by a question and answer session. Here is how to best to arrange a Democracy Day based on the Electoral Commission's highly successful events in Wales.
Structure of the day
There are no set times for the day and you could mix-and-match the timings to suit your needs.
Morning session: Three one-hour rolling workshops run by guest facilitators. Examples of facilitators chosen for the morning workshops in Wales include:
- The National Assembly for Wales Education Unit
- Local authority representatives, including local electoral officers
- Local or national newspaper editors and journalists
- Lobbyists
- Youth organisations
Afternoon session: One hour question and answer style session attended by all delegates. This session involves normally includes locally elected democratic representatives and is chaired by a local or national journalist.
Issues to consider
Inviting speakers: Decide whether or not the elected representatives you invite will be local councillors, Assembly Members, Members of Parliament or even Members of the European Parliament. This may depend on which particular election or event you are looking to promote.
Another issue to bear in mind that if you hold an event with local representatives during the official election campaign period there are special rules associated with this. See our fact sheet on election expenditure for more information.
Choosing delegates: This can be critical it may be helpful to discover which schools or colleges in your area are currently teaching politics or citizenship as part of the curriculum and which times of the year are best for them to attend an event like this.
Perhaps some local youth groups or forums in your area would wish to take part? It is important that you have a definite pool of interest (minimum of around 50 delegates) before confirming venue, facilitators and participants.
Choosing the venue: This is equally important. You will require smaller breakout rooms for the morning sessions and a larger room for the question and answer session. Maybe there are suitable facilities within your own organisation or local authority which could minimise cost?
Certificates: It may also be an idea to present participants with a certificate to show that they have been involved in the day. This can be an added incentive to schools to send students.
Estimated timeline: Minimum of three months preparation dependent on term times, election timing, etc
Estimated budget: Up to £5,000 mainly on venue hire and catering but this can be offset by working through your own organisation or local authority.
How to organise a Democracy Day
Democracy Days bring young people into contact with elected representatives and aim to bridge knowledge gaps around our democratic institutions and the electoral process.
Democracy Days can be run as a one-day conference comprised of interactive educational workshops followed by a question and answer session. Here is how to best to arrange a Democracy Day based on the Electoral Commission's highly successful events in Wales.
Structure of the day
There are no set times for the day and you could mix-and-match the timings to suit your needs.
Morning session: Three one-hour rolling workshops run by guest facilitators. Examples of facilitators chosen for the morning workshops in Wales include:
- The National Assembly for Wales Education Unit
- Local authority representatives, including local electoral officers
- Local or national newspaper editors and journalists
- Lobbyists
- Youth organisations
Afternoon session: One hour question and answer style session attended by all delegates. This session involves normally includes locally elected democratic representatives and is chaired by a local or national journalist.
Issues to consider
Inviting speakers: Decide whether or not the elected representatives you invite will be local councillors, Assembly Members, Members of Parliament or even Members of the European Parliament. This may depend on which particular election or event you are looking to promote.
Another issue to bear in mind that if you hold an event with local representatives during the official election campaign period there are special rules associated with this. See our fact sheet on election expenditure for more information.
Choosing delegates: This can be critical it may be helpful to discover which schools or colleges in your area are currently teaching politics or citizenship as part of the curriculum and which times of the year are best for them to attend an event like this.
Perhaps some local youth groups or forums in your area would wish to take part? It is important that you have a definite pool of interest (minimum of around 50 delegates) before confirming venue, facilitators and participants.
Choosing the venue: This is equally important. You will require smaller breakout rooms for the morning sessions and a larger room for the question and answer session. Maybe there are suitable facilities within your own organisation or local authority which could minimise cost?
Certificates: It may also be an idea to present participants with a certificate to show that they have been involved in the day. This can be an added incentive to schools to send students.
Estimated timeline: Minimum of three months preparation dependent on term times, election timing, etc
Estimated budget: Up to £5,000 mainly on venue hire and catering but this can be offset by working through your own organisation or local authority.
