event

Deliberative Democracy in a Digital Era

Thu. May 15th, 202512:00 PM - 1:00 PM (PDT)
Live Online

Democratic deliberations are a worldwide phenomenon, with national and subnational governments re-envisioning citizen-informed policymaking. The digital era, including developments in artificial intelligence, offers a new approach to conducting deliberations. California is one of a handful of democracies experimenting with its value with the recently deployed Engaged California program.

Engaged California was developed with input from leading scholars and practitioners on deliberative democracy in California, the United States, and across the world, including Carnegie California. Learnings from Taiwan, Europe, Colorado, Texas, New Hampshire, and citizens' assemblies in California have been integrated into the program’s approach. The first use case is focused on people affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles County, with plans to expand the use of the program’s tools into other areas, including increasing government efficiency.

Please join us for a discussion on emerging trends in digital democracy and deliberations with a particular focus on how efforts in California are informed by, and will inform, efforts around the world. Ian Klaus, founding director of Carnegie California, and Amy Tong, senior counselor to Governor Gavin Newsom, will share opening remarks. Micah Weinberg, a nonresident scholar at Carnegie California, will moderate a panel conversation with Richard Youngs, a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Zabrae Valentine, principal at The Public Good Group, and Joe Matthews, renovating democracy fellow at the Berggruen Institute.

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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Ian Klaus

Founding Director, Carnegie California

Ian Klaus is the founding director of Carnegie California. He is a leading scholar on the nexus of urbanization, geopolitics, and global challenges, with extensive experience as a practitioner of subnational diplomacy.

Joe Mathews

Renovating Democracy Fellow, Berggruen Institute

Joe Mathews, a Program Design Partner for the Carnegie-advised project Engaged California, is an LA-based journalist who writes about California and local government and democratic practice worldwide. He's the founder-columnist at the planetary publication Democracy Local, a Renovating Democracy fellow at the Berggruen Institute; syndicated California columnist at Zocalo Public Square, and co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.

Amy Tong

Senior Counselor to Governor Gavin Newsom, State of California

Amy Tong is senior counselor to Governor Gavin Newsom, where she focuses on the governor’s top priority of making government efficient, effective, and engaged, and by utilizing AI and innovation in the improvement of service delivery to Californians. Prior to that, she was appointed secretary of Government Operations, elevated to the role after serving as the state’s chief information officer and director of the California Department of Technology.

Zabrae Valentine

Principal, Public Good Group

Zabrae Valentine has worked to engage policy makers and the public in strengthening democracy for over 25 years. She advises organizations on programs that strengthen civic literacy, political accountability and economic opportunity. Her career has included working with the CA State Legislature, U.S. Senate, National Democratic Institute in Washington, D.C. and Lilongwe, Malawi, and co-founding the statewide non-profit California Forward.

Micah Weinberg headshot

Micah Weinberg

Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie California

Dr. Micah Weinberg is a nonresident scholar at Carnegie California. His scholarship centers on the global relevance of the quality of democracy and public policy in this important subnational polity.

Richard Youngs

Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Richard Youngs is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, based at Carnegie Europe. He works on EU foreign policy and on issues of international democracy.