Welcome
Welcome to the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, a five-day international event that includes the two-day U.S. Conference on Initiative and Referendum, the
first meeting of its kind in the 21st century.
A century ago, a San Francisco lawyer was elected governor
of California and convinced voters to adopt the most
robust system of direct democracy in the Americas.
Today, as we honor this centennial, hard questions
are being asked about the state that direct democracy
has helped make.
California’s political and fiscal problems are being analyzed
around the world. Californians themselves are engaged
in a great debate about how to combat this dysfunction
– and how best to reshape their constitution for this
new century.
At the heart of this debate is the state’s system of direct democracy. Is California’s use of the ballot initiative and referendum to blame
for the state’s problems? Or do initiative and referendum offer solutions
to those problems? Or is direct democracy both disease
and cure?
These same questions are not being asked only in California.
They are being revisited across the United States,
the Americas and in the more than 100 countries in which direct democracy is practiced around
the world. Is the democracy we have now enough to meet
the challenges of the 21st century – the troubles of financial markets, economic volatility,
transnational health perils and climate change? Or
do countries, states and municipalities need to change
their constitutions and build a new democratic infrastructure
that brings the views of the people more directly to
bear on how such challenges are addressed?
In San Francisco, where the Golden Gate Bridge marks
the intersection of the continent and the ocean, the
2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy — the third global forum after Aarau/Switzerland 2008 and Seoul/South Korea 2009 — will focus on another intersection, that between constitutions
and direct democracy. What are the best ways to use
direct democracy for the making and remaking of constitutions?
And what systems and structures of direct democracy
belong in those constitutions?
Join us for a unique gathering this summer with academics,
journalists, activists, elected officials, political
professionals and – best of all – citizens from all over the state, the nation and the
world. Register before May 1 at www.2010globalforum.com and become part of a new global network
of citizens in charge.
Sincerely,
Joe Mathews and Bruno Kaufmann,
Co-Presidents of the 2010 Global Forum Host Committee
