So I planned to got to these:

• Speed Dating: discuss our ideas for a better Europe (10:00 to 10:30)
• Brexit Breakfast Briefing (10:30 to 11:30)
• Advanced principles in democracy: let’s challenge basic democracy and find a consensus (12:00 to 2:30)
• User experience = Supporter engagement: websites for political engagement (13:00 to 14:30)
• Where to from here? Redesigning democracy (16:00 to 18:00)
• Festival closing party (20:00 to 22:00)

Here’s how I’ve got on so far!

#EUsupergirl

I got to den Burg just after 10, but couldn’t find the ‘speed-dating’ bit, so I went into he main pavilion. #EUsupergirl started a song, but a guitar-string broke so she and Petros Fassoulas went into conversation with host Joe Lynom. A good mixture of chat and thought and dedication. I can’t find the link to the livestream just now, unfortunately.

I then went on a wonder and painted a t-shirt. (yes I had permission!) and then went on to a session that asked participants to explore our concepts of democracy and its personal meaning to us. This led, slowly, to a discussion of sortition. Feelings were mixed: what if, perchance, all the people chosen by sortition were copies of Nigel Farage. So fear of the edge-case is stronger than statistics says it should be. I gave full disclosure – my wife is a civil servant – and then suggested that not only is it important to have sane, intelligent, capable people making decisions, but that the public servants who feed them information and work out options for decision-makers to choose from also need to be competent. In short, we need non-arses at the top of a good foundation’. I think this went OK. The participants were germane, dutch (from Texel and elsewhere), italian I think. This session was run by the people in the right-hand photo.

I then went in search of food, more gloves. (Yes I lost the pair I bought yesterday already.) I bought two pairs – fleecy its with a Velcro extra cover, and more thinsulate gloves, and some karabiners to attach them to myself.

off-duty festival volunteers

Food was a vegan Pad Thai, followed by a beer and some chat with these folk. I didn’t get any names yet. We were all attracted by the fire.

I’ll write more later when I can. Meanwhile enjoy Texel’s warmth!

outdoor fire at DemocracyAlive!