Volt There Monthly
Your Thoughts
Dear FIRSTNAME, welcome back to the VoltThere newsletter, where we will share progress from our projects, developments with our partners, and milestones from our training platform, ECHO. Through this newsletter, we aim to keep you informed and connected across Europe and beyond. This newsletter also aims to hear from you: your thoughts, experiences and projects!
– Auke Boomsma, Co-Chair Board Member
Morocco's elections
On 23 September, Morocco elected a new parliament. The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came first with 97 of the 395 seats, ahead of the National Rally of Independents on 66 and the Istiqlal Party on 65. The three of them already govern together, and between them they hold enough seats to simply carry on. The RNI, which led the outgoing government under Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, lost a third of its seats. The big surprise was the Islamist PJD, crushed to 13 seats in 2021, which jumped back to 54 on the return of its veteran leader Abdelilah Benkirane.
Lowest turnout since 2007
Angry enough to march, but still not convinced that voting would change anything. That gap, between protesting in the street and staying away from the ballot box, is what our next explainer video is about. Using Morocco alongside Tunisia and Lebanon, it looks at why people trust some institutions but not others, and what that says about a democracy.
The explainer is coming soon to the platform ECHO. You can learn more about this and other topics on democracy and politics.
Explore our full library of explainer videos on the ECHO YouTube channel.
Bosnia votes Sunday. Will the diaspora?
This Sunday, on the 4th of October, Bosnia and Herzegovina is heading to the polls. One important group often does not get the attention it deserves: the diaspora.
Distance shouldn’t silence a vote.
1.7 million people born in Bosnia and Herzegovina live abroad, yet only 48,074 people have registered to vote from outside the country. That is just 3% that is using their right to vote.
A diaspora of this size can have an important influence on an election result, but only if it actually votes.
In a country where margins can sometimes be small, every registered voter counts. That is why we are running our Election Activation Campaign to encourage the Bosnian diaspora to register and vote. And this is only the beginning: we are working on a project that builds seamlessly on this campaign, including many other countries. More details will follow soon!
Your vote and voice matters, even from far away!
Next Event oming Up!
Good news! For our event “From Distrust to Weapon: Reclaiming AI for Democracy”, organised in collaboration with The Greens/EFA and the research platform Charge, we are proud to announce a new speaker: internet pioneer Marleen Stikker. Marleen created De Digitale Stad and founded Waag Futurelab, a leading research institute on technology and society.
She will be joined by Volt MEP Reinier van Lanschot, Volt Groningen lead and AI expert Robin Twickler, and our moderator from Clingendael, Alexandre Ferreira Gomes.
AI is set to fundamentally change our democracy, and this raises a number of important questions. Consider deepfakes and disinformation, which undermine transparency, whilst a number of tech companies are gaining ever greater control over our public debate. But there is also a positive side: AI can make decision-making more transparent, accessible and efficient, and lower the barrier to participation and decision-making.
Together, we will ask a crucial question: Will we stand by and watch whilst regulation struggles to keep up, or will we take action now and build responsible safeguards into these technologies?
Save your spot for the event here!
De Balie, Amsterdam, 14 October, 19:30–23:00 (in English).
Follow our VoltThere channels (Instagram, LinkedIn) for more updates!
Your Thoughts
Excited to join us for our AI & Democracy panel on 14 October?