Democracy Event

Florence Guild

Host - Jon Yeo – Head of Curation, TEDxMelbourne Speakers - Yasmin Poole (Youth Advocate), Kyle Redman (newDemocracy Foundation) and Andrea Carson (Political Scientist & Journalist What is Democracy? Recently we've seen democracy take some wild and extraordinary turns. With left and right politics looking more similar than different, it has allowed extreme politics and the vocal minority to hold the interest of the community. Whether we like it or not, it has forced us to think about democracy and wonder if it works in most countries. Has traditional democracy become complacent? Are the needs of the people now too complex for democracy to truly understand the community's needs and respond quickly? We ask the question - What IS democracy today and does it actually meet our needs? With so much news and opinion coming from social media and a few media networks, who has the responsibility in curating these extreme views and yet still allow the vigorous conversations required of a modern democracy?