Elevate Democracy

The first Elevate Festival 2005 was held under the motto "Independent People / Independent Movements". In 2007, democracy was the main theme and also featured in events of 2012 and 2013. Elevate always understood democracy as the participatory organization of society that goes far beyond representative democracy. Around the world, social movements are actively pursuing a bottom-up democracy. Already in the 1990s, some of these were successful in Latin America and increasingly influenced political and social developments in those countries. In the USA and Europe, the current economic crisis stimulated new movements. "Occupy" managed to arouse public discourse on important social and political issues over several months. In Europe, developments varied greatly between countries such as Greece, Spain and Iceland. What are their experiences and future perspectives? What initiatives exist in Austria, and how can people participate?