On 16 August 2017, the Museum of Australian Democracy invited over 100 leaders from the worlds of academia, arts and culture, business, the community sector, the legal community, politics and political journalism, and the public service to make a difference and become champions of democracy.

The program had the objective of celebrating our democratic achievements as a nation, establishing the case for democratic renewal and creating powerful, and immediate content for an upcoming exhibition.

The University of Canberra’s Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, surveyed participants on what they considered to be Australia’s most important democratic values and what the responsibilities of a champion of democracy might be. This fed into a deliberative forum based around a card game developed by the leading design agency Think Place.

The resulting Charter for Australian Democracy is drawn from the outcomes of this event.