DemFest 2016

DemFest is a new festival of democracy taking place 13th - 14th May 2016 in the beautiful surroundings of W.E. Gladstone’s library at Hawarden in North Wales. The festival is hosted by Gladstone's Library in association with The Democratic Society and The Raymond Williams Foundation.

At DemFest you will meet people developing fairer and more participatory forms of politics, enjoy a range of exciting democracy-related cultural events and have a chance to think, get-together and talk with others with similar interests or projects. You won’t just hear a party line, DemFest is non-partisan and independent. 

Why now? We are living in tumultuous times. The UK may be on the brink of fracturing and leaving the European Union, power and resources are increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands and the gulf between the UK’s main political parties is rapidly widening. 

Meanwhile, myriad possibilities for new forms of democratization are opening up. Whether through experimentation at community level, developments in online technology or the growing public appetite for more collaborative and less hierarchical ways of living, DemFest is about getting together to explore, celebrate and help re-make democracy for our times. 

For further information or to register interest, please contact Reception on 01244 532350 or email [email protected].