With the People: City Mayors Rethinking Power. What Europe’s Mayors Teach Us About Participative Democracy

How can citizen participation strengthen democratic institutions and rebuild trust between people and their local government? With the People (2025, approx. 20 min), directed by Lorraine Blumenthal in partnership with the Better Politics Foundation and the Alliance of European Mayors, follows three European cities that answer this question from very different perspectives.

In Stockholm, Mayor Karin Wanngård creates summer jobs for young people and joins residents on neighbourhood security walks. In Poznań, Michał Lakomski leads participatory budgeting and digital tools that let residents report problems in their city. In Bologna, Mayor Matteo Lepore opens city votes to students and migrants and convenes a citizens' assembly on climate poverty.

After the screening, former elected leaders discuss what governing with citizens means in practice: what it asks of those in office, where it meets resistance, and what it makes possible for local democracy. The discussion is moderated by Suki Capobianco, Co-CEO of the Better Politics Foundation.

Date and venue TBC.