Taichung to host 2019 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy

2018/03/05

Taichung City in central Taiwan will host the 2019 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, highlighting the nation’s success in promoting political participation and the metropolis’s growing international reputation, the city government said March 1.
 
 The decision was sealed with the signing of a memorandum of understanding the same day between Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung and forum Co-presidents Bruno Kaufmann and Joe Mathews. Set to run Oct. 2-5, the event aimed at deepening democratic engagement in cities and local communities worldwide is expected to attract more than 300 government officials, journalists and scholars from over 30 countries and territories.
 
 Lin said the forum will spotlight recent measures to strengthen Taiwan’s democratic development, including amendments to the Referendum Act that decrease the voting age to 18 as well as lower the thresholds for initiating and passing referendums.
 
 Seminars and workshops at the event will provide a great opportunity for local academics and officials to exchange views with foreign counterparts, paving the way for the further application of direct democracy practices in Taichung, he said.
 
 According to Lin, the city is dedicated to strengthening citizens’ democratic engagement. Recent efforts in this regard include the implementation of participatory budgeting—a decision-making process allowing citizens to help decide public funding allocation—and the establishment of a committee for teenagers and young adults to take part in policymaking, he said.
 
 Lauding Taichung’s democratic environment, Kaufmann said he is impressed by the solid participatory foundation laid by the city government. The forum also hopes the metropolis will become a founding member of a new world league of democratic cities set to be launched at this year’s meeting Sept. 26-29 in Rome, he added.
 
 The global forum has been staged on six occasions since the inaugural edition in 2008 in Aarau, Switzerland. Declarations at the conclusion of each event offer insights and recommendations for communities across the world in the implementation of direct democracy.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2&post=130251)