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Mehr Demokratie e.V. - Promotion of Direct Democracy and Citizen Participation

About the Association

Mehr Demokratie e.V. is a German non-profit organization, founded on July 12, 1988, in Bonn, initially under the name "IDEE (Initiative Democracy Develop)". The association has been advocating for the expansion of direct democracy and citizen participation in Germany and the European Union for over 35 years.

Key Products and Services

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Consultation and Support: Mehr Demokratie advises initiators of citizen and popular petitions and supports the implementation of these processes.
Research and Publications: The association scientifically evaluates the practice of direct democracy and publishes statistics and research papers on democratic issues.
Lobbying: Mehr Demokratie engages in lobbying with parties and German governments to promote the expansion of democracy.
Citizen Participation Procedures: The association initiates and accompanies citizen participation procedures, including the first nationwide citizen councils in Germany[1][2].

Main Mission and Values

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The main mission of Mehr Demokratie is to empower people to determine the rules of their coexistence themselves. The association stands for the values of freedom, responsibility, and human dignity. It promotes direct democracy as a complement to representative democracy to strengthen citizen participation at all political levels[1][2].

Sustainability Goals and Initiatives

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Subsidiarity and Basic Units: The working group "Building Democracy" focuses on strengthening democracy in small basic units such as municipalities and neighborhoods. This is to be achieved through the establishment of future forums and the use of neighborhood citizen councils based on random selection to democratically determine and achieve sustainability and resilience goals[3].
European Citizen Initiatives: Mehr Demokratie has participated in Europe-wide initiatives, such as the self-organized European Citizen Initiative "Stop TTIP", which opposed undemocratic trade agreements like CETA and TTIP[2].
Nationwide Referendums: The association advocates for the introduction of nationwide referendums and has developed its own draft law for this purpose[2].

Organization and Financing

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Mehr Demokratie is structured into a federal association and fourteen state associations and has state offices and federal offices. The association is supported by about 40 people in full-time or part-time roles and has a board of over 50 people from science, culture, politics, and art. Mehr Demokratie is primarily funded by membership fees and donations and does not receive government funding. At the beginning of 2021, the association had more than 10,000 members and supporters[1][2].

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