From 4 to 6 September, actors from the entire German-speaking area will come together in Ingolstadt to strengthen our democracies. Because when democratic forces join together, a Mitmacht emerges.

Mitmacht [composition of the two German terms for participation and force] is the new democracy festival for the German-speaking area: about 100 actors from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as from various sectors and organizations, will be in Ingolstadt. They come together to pitch their insights, ideas, and inspirations for collective strategies to strengthen democracy.

Mitmacht is the right place for everyone who wants to share something to empower others. For all those who have ideas and want to make them better in exchange. For all those who are looking for comrades-in-arms on an equal footing to get things rolling.

What does the festival aim to achieve?

Learning from each other, making a common cause: At the Mitmacht festival, practical experiences, inspirations, and knowledge from all areas of the democracy world are shared, and what can now take us further is specifically worked out. A festival as a catalyst for strategies.

How do others move forward successfully, and what can we take away for ourselves? Where do future ideas arise, and how do we drive them forward more intensively? What interfaces do we need to build, and how can we mobilize resources through them? In short: Where are the great opportunities for our collective strategies – and how do we seize them? At Mitmacht, the threads come together.

What’s on the agenda?

This year, the festival focuses primarily on two topics: societal participation and democracy in the digital world. With better participation in democratic processes, an important perennial issue moves into the strategic focus. Additionally, we are tapping into a rapidly developing future area around AI, algorithms, and digital tools with the digital block.

From the organizers’ perspective, successful solutions in both areas have great potential to exert leverage for strengthening democracy. But other topics will also be represented. The three-day program includes good-practice impulses, interactive workshops, networking formats, as well as creative contributions that create shared experiences to activate our collective imagination. The majority of the program was curated through a call for participation, thus shaped by the Factor D network itself.

Programme, details and tickets via faktor-d.org/mitmacht-2024