Speak Up Final Conference

The Speak Up Final Conference!

We welcome you October 6th 2026 at the Groningen Forum to celebrate the results of the Speak Up project. The final conference welcomes you from 09:30 hrs with registration, from 10:00 hrs we’ll start with the programme.

In the morning

Welcome by the mayor of Groningen
Keynote by Prof Laura G.E. Smith: From Polarisation to Collective Intelligence: Designing Digital Democracies for Empowerment and Trust
a celebration of the results of Speak Up:
- panel discussion with practioners: what did we learn from citizen assemblies in 6 countries
- what did our scientific research show?
- Official disclosure of the Speak Up online Learning Platform!

In the afternoon

After a well earned lunch, we continue in the afternoon with a choice of talks and workshops:

Treating People Fairly: Voice and Due Consideration as Indications to You Matter in Society, by Prof. Dr Kees van den Bos (Utrecht University)
How do we engage youth in democracy, the IYTT-method, by Urban Strandberg
How to design direct deliberative democracy: Some lessons, experiences and trade-offs, by Dr Marc Pauly, Groningen University
workshop voting for citizen budget, by the Sterk Hoogkerk Project
What skills does a local government needs to engage their citizens, by Holger Meyer Højlund , VIA
Co-Creating Better Food Environments with Local Communities: Collaborative Interventions in Neighbourhoods, by Marleen Gillebaart (Utrecht University)
more to follow!

We’ll wrap up with a panel discussion on the legacy of three years of Speak Up: how do we ensure local governments embrace and adopt participation by design?

After the programme, it is time to meet up with your collegues and new friends in the Nok-restaurant for drinks and ‘bitterballen’!