Festival for
Democracy

Zoe Daniel spent nearly three decades as a journalist, including as the ABC's Washington Bureau Chief and a foreign correspondent across Africa and Asia. In 2022 she became the first woman elected to the seat of Goldstein, running as a community-backed independent, and championed reforms on women's safety and economic equality, climate, and integrity in politics.

Zoe now works in advocacy, communications and governance, and is the inaugural Independent Chair of Mental Health Victoria. She is the author of Storyteller, Angel and Greetings from Trumpland.

Keynote, 10:30 am · Community-led movements, with Voices for Bendigo, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Iain Walker has been with the newDemocracy Foundation since 2011 and now leads its political advocacy. newDemocracy is a non-partisan, non-issue-aligned research foundation exploring ways to do democracy better, with a focus on giving everyday citizens a substantive role in our parliaments, akin to the jury system in our courts.

It designs, operates and oversees citizens' assemblies and juries in Australia and internationally, including work for state Premiers on both sides of politics, the Irish Parliament, the OECD and the UN Democracy Fund, and more than 30 projects in Australia.

Dinner and citizens' assemblies, 7:00 pm · People's Assembly launch, 8:15 pm

Linea Sveistrup is a Danish democracy practitioner, Democracy Fitness instructor and consultant at We Do Democracy, currently working with the newDemocracy Foundation in Australia. She recently stepped down as Chair of the Danish Youth Climate Council, where she advised the Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities on young people's perspectives in climate policy.

Introduction to Democracy Fitness, 2:00 pm · Democracy Fitness stream, 3:00 pm

Kate Lawrence is an equalist, a democracy dabbler and a writer. She recently produced an epic nine-part podcast series, Democracy After Disaster. She hails from Macedon, is active in Landcare and community theatre, and now writes plays.

Special guest, Resilience through community connectedness, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

West End Resilience is a neighbourhood group in Castlemaine's West End that helps neighbours look out for one another, from sharing fire-safety messages and supporting each other through the COVID lockdowns to exploring community energy options for the area.

Resilience through community connectedness, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Voices for Bendigo is a community-led, non-partisan movement founded on truth, integrity, respect and inclusion. Inspired by Voices for Indi, it launched in October 2026 to give people across Central Victoria, from Rochester and Heathcote to Bendigo, Castlemaine and Kyneton, more say in the decisions that affect their lives. It is not running a candidate and will continue beyond the state election.

Community-led movements, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Really Local helps people in Mount Alexander Shire take part in local democracy. It began in 2016 as Democracy for Dinner and became Really Local in 2024. Its work includes meet-the-candidates forums, UnAssembly with local young people, and now the Mount Alexander People's Assembly, launching at this festival.

Founder Bryn Davies is Democracy and Government Lead at the Castlemaine Institute and spent nearly two decades in the Victorian public service.

Welcome, 10:15 am · Building a People's Assembly, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm · People's Assembly launch, 8:15 pm

Joel Backwell joins us from Regen Melbourne, which is exploring a people's assembly for Greater Melbourne.

Special guest, Building a People's Assembly, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Jim Buckell is a writer and facilitator with Really Local and the Groupwork Centre. His stream explores the three forces in play when we make decisions: human, structural and process.

How Do We Decide? stream, 3:00 pm

Lucy Mayes is a Castlemaine-based facilitator and author. Her Playing Field Games stream pilots playful “prosocial games” designed to help groups cooperate, build trust and decide together.

Playing Field Games stream, 3:00 pm

Musical MC Will Tait hosts the Dinner for Democracy, sharing stories from the day and leading the room in writing a “musical letter” to decision-makers, which he puts to music for the night's finale.

Stories from the day, 6:30 pm · Musical letter, 8:30 pm