DRD2024: Vancouver

Join us September 18-22 for the annual gathering of leaders and organizations working to strengthen deliberative democracy around the world.


MADRID > PARIS > MANCHESTER > BERLIN > COPENHAGEN > VANCOUVER


The annual Democracy R&D conference is the leading international event for people who fund, run, commission, study and advocate for Citizens’ Assemblies.

We’ll make it worth the trip to Canada, eh?

We’re featuring five events over five days in two amazing coastal cities


SEPTEMBER 18 VANCOUVER

Join Australia’s leading facilitation team, MosaicLab, for a special morning workshop to hone your skills.

In the afternoon and evening, attend a special celebration, seminar and public dialogue marking the 20th Anniversary of the BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, presented by Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.


SEPTEMBER 19-20
VANCOUVER

Two jam-packed days of talks, panels and workshops begin on Vancouver’s historic and vibrant Granville Island. Meet leaders in the field and celebrate the achievements of the past year while looking ahead to the future of Citizens’ Assemblies and a more deliberative democracy.


SEPTEMBER 21-22
VICTORIA

Join us for the launch of a new Citizens’ Assembly in British Columbia’s capital: The Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly on Municipal Amalgamation and attend a special seminar with the assembly’s organizers.

In the afternoon, join the crew from Denmark’s Democracy Fitness brigade to train up and become a certified DF coach. Come learn how to build and strengthen the democracy muscles in your community.

  • A global round-up of assemblies from the past year and for the year ahead

  • Deliberative democracy and inequality

  • Deliberation in schools and universities

  • Convincing policy-makers and politicians to commission deliberative processes

  • Transborder and multilingual Citizens’ Assemblies

  • Adjacent deliberative innovations

  • Regulating technologies with Citizens’ Assemblies

  • New approaches to civic lotteries

  • Deliberation and parliamentary renewal

  • Deliberative democracy and populism

We’re planning a program jam-packed with sessions to help propel the deliberative wave.

  • Learning from traditional approaches to Indigenous governance

  • Delivering quality: Standards and evaluation Citizens’ Assemblies

  • New deliberative practices in Latin American

  • Developing effective communication strategies

  • Strengthening practitioner/academic collaboration

  • Staging successful national assemblies

  • Municipal assemblies and urban planning

  • Building a global CA alumni network

  • Juries or parliaments: The future of assemblies as complementary and competitive mechanisms

  • And more…

We can’t wait to welcome you to Vancouver.
FAQs — Here’s what you need to know:

DRD2024 is coming to Granville Island — a thriving artistic and cultural hub in the heart of Vancouver. Plenary events will be located at Performance Works, a community theatre, and workshops will take place less than 100 metres away at Arts Umbrella, a multi-purpose arts and community space.

Formerly a site for heavy industry and shipping, Granville island now boasts dozens of shops, theatres, and restaurants as well as community spaces and a hotel and brewery. Granville Island’s famous Public Market is also open daily from 9 am to 7 pm! 

Vancouver is situated on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

How do I get to Granville Island? 

While Granville Island is reachable on foot, by bus, or by car, you might prefer to hop on a False Creek Ferry or Aquabus for a drop-off right next to the Granville Island Public Market. To embark, there are several docks located downtown Vancouver at the Aquatic Centre, Yaletown, Science World, the foot of Hornby Street, or the foot of Davie Street. 

Democracy R&D 2024 is hosted by Canada’s MASS LBP in partnership with Australia’s newDemocracy.

MASS is internationally recognized for its work to popularize deliberative processes and has led more than 50 Reference Panels and Citizens’ Assemblies, contributing approximately 60,000 volunteer hours to policy-making in Canada since 2007.

newDemocracy is an independent, non-partisan research and development organisation. It aims to discover, develop, demonstrate, and promote complementary alternatives which will restore trust in public decision making.

Each annual event is made possible by the ongoing work of Democracy R&D — an international network of organizations, associations, and individuals helping decision makers take hard decisions and build public trust.

DRD2024 Vancouver is this year’s gathering of the fast-growing Democracy R&D network. It’s one of the best opportunities to meet, engage and learn from more than 200 democracy practitioners from around the world in a collaborative, stimulating, and collegial environment.

2024 also marks the 20th anniversary of British Columbia’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform making it a great time for the DRD network to come to North America and celebrate everything that has been achieved since this seminal event.

Like past DRD annual events, our program will feature a mix of plenary sessions, workshops and member-led sessions.

Some of our features and themes for DRD2024 include:

  • The CA Showcase: Assemblies from the past year and in the year ahead

  • Measuring impact: Democratic dividends and policy change

  • The next twenty years: anticipating the future of the deliberative wave

  • Ensuring healthy relationships to keep the movement strong

  • Practitioner learning exchange

  • Making the case: Convincing the politicians and policy-makers

  • Common resources for practitioners and advocates

  • Complementary or competitive: The evolving relationship between legislatures and assemblies

  • How practitioners and academics can learn from one another

  • New approaches and innovations in assembly design

  • Effective advocacy and assembly communications strategies

  • How AI and other tech-enhancements impact assemblies

  • Student and Youth assemblies: examples and opportunities

  • Aligned innovations: new ideas to support deliberative culture

  • Building the deliberative wave in the United States

  • Increasing inclusion and access

  • Multilingual assemblies: technologies and practices

A full program will be released later this spring. And if you would like to propose a workshop or session, we want to hear from you. Just check out the section below.

Democracy R&D annual events are brought to life by the panels and workshops proposed and delivered by DRD members.

In addition to a lively open space segment on the second day, DRD2024 Vancouver will feature approximately 16 slots for member programming. If you have an idea for a workshop or panel and are willing to take the lead in organizing and delivering this segment, we want to hear from you no later than June 1, 2024. Just complete the form below and a DRD2024 organizer will be in touch. Slots will be assigned by the organizing committee.

We have set aside a number of tickets to DRD2024 Vancouver for individuals working in the field of public deliberation who are not yet members of Democracy R&D. Individuals wishing to purchase non-member tickets should have a strong interest in citizens’ assemblies and be able to help either directly or indirectly introduce and popularize citizens’ assemblies to their jurisdiction. To request a non-member ticket, please complete this form. Non-member tickets will be allocated on the basis of the individual’s demonstrated ability to help advance the work of Democracy R&D.

Request a non-member ticket to DRD2024

Vancouver is an expensive city. We highly recommend making reservations for your accommodations as soon as possible. Some popular websites for booking include: Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, VRBO and Hostelworld. Our team has also curated a list of hotel options with frozen hotel rates and offers for you and your team.

Century Plaza Hotel

Address: 1015 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y5

Rates: 

The hotel has offered a net rate of CAD $349.00 + tax for a studio room per night and CAD $379.00 + tax for a one-bedroom suite per night. The rooms will be offered based on availability. Reservations are pre-paid and fully non-refundable for stay dates September 18, 19, 20, 2024. 

The rate is available until end of day March 15, 2024.

To make a reservation: 

  • Reserve through this secure link: Book Now at Century Plaza Hotel

  • Contact the hotel and request the group rate for “Democracy R&D / DRD2024 Conference.” You can reach the hotel via email – reserve@century-plaza.com – or phone – 1-800-663-1818. For quickest response, please contact them between 8:00am to 4:00pm PST daily.

The Parker Hotel Vancouver

Address: 1379 Howe St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R5

Rates: The hotel has offered a rate of CAD $399 + tax per room per night from Wednesday, September 18 to Friday, September 20, 2024. There is a maximum of 40 rooms available at this rate. 

To make a reservation:

Grand Park Hotel & Suites Downtown Vancouver

Address: 718 Drake St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2W6

Offer: The hotel has offered a rate of approximately CAD $340 + tax per room per night, subject to fluctuation. Rooms include the deluxe queen rooms and double/double standard rooms. Group reservations are eligible for a 25% discount on top of the best available rate at time of booking. 

To make a reservation:  Please contact the hotel directly to make a group reservation. They can be reached by email –  info@grandparkvancouver.com – or by phone at +1-604-669-9888. 

OPUS Hotel

Address: 322 Davie St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5Z6

Offer: The four-star hotel has offered a rate of CAD $479 per room per night for Superior King rooms from Wednesday, September 18 to Friday, September 20, 2024.  Please note there is a hotel destination fee (CAD $8 CAD/night) that will be added onto the bill. 

To make a reservation: 

  • Reserve through this secure link: Book Now at the OPUS Hotel

  • Call the hotel (+1 866-642-6787 toll-free) and request for the “DRD2024 conference rate”. 

Sylvia Hotel

Address: 1154 Gilford St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2P6

Offer: The hotel has not offered any discounts, but is holding a block of 20 rooms for DRD2024 conference participants. The block includes a variety of rooms to choose from. The cancellation policy is 30 days prior to the arrival or you will be subject to a charge of one night's room plus tax. The block will be available until August 20, 2024.

To make a reservation: 

  • Call the hotel – Local: 604.681.9321 // Toll-Free: 1.877.681.9321. The hotel will require a credit credit card number and expiry date to hold the rooms. 

We are delighted to announce pre-conference partnerships with Australia’s MosaicLab and Simon Fraser University’s Wosk Centre for Dialogue and the University of British Columbia.

On the morning of September 18th, Australia’s Mosaic Lab — an internationally renowned facilitation and process design firm — will host a half day master class in facilitation for deliberation. Registration will be limited and ticketed separately. Please note: This pre-conference training opportunity is not included in the DRD2024 ticket.

To join the pre-registration list and be the first to know more about the training and how to enrol, please complete the form below.

In the afternoon of September 18th, the Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia’s Centre for the Inclusive Democracy will host a symposium celebrating the 20th anniversary of the BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. Come hear from some of the organizers of the Assembly, to think back and look ahead to the next twenty years of deliberative innovation. A full program including an evening public event will be announced later this spring.


Get notified when tickets for the
Facilitation for Deliberation Master Class with Australia’s MosaicLab become available.


Get notified when tickets to 20th anniversary celebration and symposium for the BC Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform become available.

We are delighted to announce that DRD2024 participants can register to attend two post-conference events in British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria.

On the morning of September 21st, join the team from MASS LBP as they launch the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly on Municipal Amalgamation. Observers can see the first morning of the Assembly in action and watch the introduction and briefing process as conducted by a team which has led more than fifty assemblies and reference panels across Canada.

To register to attend the launch of the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly, please complete the form below.

In the afternoon of September 21st through September 22nd, Denmark’s Democratic Fitness brigade will conduct a master class that will qualify participants to be Democratic Fitness trainers and use the DF methodology and activities in your own communities and jurisdictions. To pre-register for the DF master class, please complete the form below.


Register to attend the morning launch of the Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly


Get notified when more information and tickets for the Democratic Fitness master class become available.

Regrettably, Democracy R&D has fewer resources this year to subsidize travel and ticket costs to DRD2024 Vancouver. To inquire about obtaining a subsidy, please send an email to david.schecter@democracyrd.org.

The Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a short ride on public transit to downtown Vancouver and is easily accessible by car, bike, and bus. The SkyTrain's Canada Line is a great option that provides rapid rail service linking YVR to downtown Vancouver and parts of Richmond. Trains leave the airport station approximately every seven minutes during most times of the day. For more information visit the YVR website for convenient transportation options. 

Accessibility: There are a number of courtesy shuttle buses that provide service to and from YVR and can accommodate wheelchairs and mobility aids. Please contact them directly to arrange for a booking. A list of service providers can be found here. 

For arrivals at the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), please visit the YXX website for reliable transportation options. While the SkyTrain does not service the YXX airport, there are several shuttle bus options available. 

The Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a short ride on public transit to downtown Vancouver and is easily accessible by car, bike, and bus. The SkyTrain's Canada Line is a great option that provides rapid rail service linking YVR to downtown Vancouver and parts of Richmond. Trains leave the airport station approximately every seven minutes during most times of the day. For more information visit the YVR website for convenient transportation options. 

Accessibility: There are a number of courtesy shuttle buses that provide service to and from YVR and can accommodate wheelchairs and mobility aids. Please contact them directly to arrange for a booking. A list of service providers can be found here. 

For arrivals at the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX), please visit the YXX website for reliable transportation options. While the SkyTrain does not service the YXX airport, there are several shuttle bus options available. 

Assuming no rain, Vancouver is very walkable and is equipped with transit that supports contactless fare payment using Interac Debit, American Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards along with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

If you are planning to travel to and from Granville Island by ferry, fares can be purchased on-site from ferry operators – False Creek Ferry or Aquabus. The Granville Island ferry dock is located next to the Granville Island Public Market. There are also several docks located downtown Vancouver at the Aquatic Centre, Yaletown, Science World, the foot of Hornby Street, or the foot of Davie Street.

For your convenience, we recommend flying into the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). To save time upon arrival, you can make your customs and immigration declaration via the ArriveCAN app or the web version online up to 72 hours prior to arrival. ArriveCAN is supported by the YVR airport. For a list of other participating airports, please visit the Canada Border Services Agency website. 

For participants who would like to participate in the post-conference events in Victoria, we suggest taking a seaplane from downtown Vancouver. The seaplane, run by HarbourAir, starts at $99 CAD for a one-way ticket and arrives at Victoria Harbour downtown in 35 minutes. To book your tickets, visit the HarbourAir website. 

Alternatively, BC Ferries offers a ferry service from the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. From downtown Vancouver, you can take the SkyTrain's Canada Line south to Bridgeport Station, then transfer to bus #620 to get to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, then board the ferry as a walk-on passenger. The trip takes approximately 1.5 hours. Once you arrive on Vancouver Island at the Swartz Bay terminal, you can take bus #70 to downtown Victoria. To book your tickets, visit the BC Ferries website. 

For more information on traveling between the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, visit the Destination Vancouver website. 

Tickets are refundable within 14 days of purchase until July 31, 2024. After this date, tickets purchased will be final sale.

If you require a refund, please email drd2024@masslbp.com with your full name, email, and the number of tickets you would like to be refunded.

Please email drd2024@masslbp.com for any questions or concerns. We will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.