On 22 September 2026, ScaleDem held a workshop at the International Observatory on Participatory Democracy – OIDP Conference to present the initial findings of its Reversing the Gaze initiative, which brings non-Western perspectives into the debate on scaling up democratic innovations. Co-facilitated by Vladislava Gubalova (GLOBSEC) and Léo Police (Missions Publiques), the session engaged 28 participants in a guided discussion built around the project’s analytical compass and its four pillars: scaling in, scaling out, scaling deep and scaling high.
Participants’ experiences largely confirmed the project’s initial findings, while adding useful nuance across all four dimensions. Enabling factors also varied by pillar, ranging from sustained funding and strong institutional buy-in to community ownership and clear feedback mechanisms.
The workshop’s findings will feed into the ongoing “reversing the gaze” strand of ScaleDem, following four earlier regional workshops.
Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter for further updates.
Cover image by Connor Forsyth on Pexels