We are excited to share with you the highlights of 2023 published in our Annual Report. This year’s report showcases a series of achievements that underscore the commitment to fostering participatory democracy worldwide.
The team members of Citizen OS in Tartu in 2023. Photo: Ruudu Rahumaru
“We live in a highly polarised world where our governments, business organisations and individuals are competing with each other in every imaginable field. Competition has rooted so deeply in our values system. We at Citizen OS believe we still have hope to turn the wheel and have been privileged to work with so many like-minded partners and people past year who share this vision of cooperation over competition,” said Anett Linno, the CEO of Citizen OS.
Platform Revamp: Enhancing User Experience
A major focus of 2023 was the comprehensive revamp of the Citizen OS platform. Collaborating with their design partners, voluntary testers and the design studio DUX, we worked hard to enhance the platform’s user experience and interface. The result? A fresh, more intuitive platform set to launch this Spring, complete with new features designed to streamline participation processes for users worldwide.
More than 4000 people engaged
In 2023, Citizen OS facilitated the involvement of over 4000 individuals across more than 30 countries in various projects. These initiatives served as platforms for constructive dialogue and collaboration, with 244 volunteers actively engaged in driving positive change.
One standout project was the 10-month long Democracy Defenders Accelerator, which aimed to build capacity and new skills among young civic activists.
“We had 88 people from 27 countries applying when we announced the Democracy Defenders Accelerator, and we eventually chose 44 participants from 20 countries. This was a very demanding training programme as it required participants to attend 20 online sessions. Additionally, we organised a Bootcamp in March in Estonia which brought together 22 participants from 12 countries,” explained Sara Sinha, the Coordinator of the Democracy Defenders Accelerator. The completion certificate was given to those participants who completed at least 80% of the programme.
Citizen OS Indonesia partnered with government agencies, NGOs, and universities to host the third Indonesian Opinion Festival—an inclusive platform for thousands of individuals to engage in respectful, argument-based discussions on critical issues. Held both online and offline, the event exemplified Citizen OS’s commitment to fostering democratic participation at the grassroots level.
“Not all steps to defend democracy have to be connected to massive movements and big projects. We safeguard our democracy in many ways. In routine and small actions, as well as big cooperation projects. In this issue of our Annual Report, you’ll get a glimpse of some of our highlights – big and small. Both of these matter,” commented Anett Linno.
Ready to find out more?
Read our Annual Report 2023 here!
