Alberto Alemanno

We feel stuck. And we really are stuck, both as individuals and as a society, as we retreat into ever-smaller circles of ‘friends’, ‘likers’ and ‘followers’ within which we feel in control.

We are spectators, not actors. Consumers, not citizens.

Paralysed by the hyperactivity of our daily lives, devalued by the educational system and bamboozled by the arrogant rhetoric of many politicians, we are discouraged from believing that ordinary citizens have a role to play in changing the status quo.

Voting is the most familiar and widely touted form of citizen participation.

You just need passion for your cause and the ability to communicate it.

providing a counterweight to special interests, citizen lobbyists can improve the quality of policymaking.

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

Edmund Burke

Powerlessness has a profound effect on our physiology and mental capacity.1