Around the world, norms and institutions that promote democracy and human rights are weakening.  They are challenged by discontent with cost of living, with longstanding and urgent environmental and social crises, and by ambitious and populist voices that do not respect restraint and social cohesion. 

Come and join other community members, scholars, and civil society groups as we celebrate, critique, interrogate and challenge the conditions for democracy and human rights today.  With festival events being organised across the country over eight days, you’re bound to find one near you or online.

Interested? Click through below to learn more about each event and register.

Keen to host an event? We invite anyone - community members, scholars, students, and civil society groups - to host an event as part of the festival! Please see our page for hosts .

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Table formatting not working?  Download a one page flyer listing all the events here [Current as of: 21/5/25]

All times are AEST

	Sunday June 1	Monday June 2	Tuesday June 3	Wed June 4	Thursday June 5	Friday June 6	Saturday June 7	Sunday June 8
MORNING	--	--	--	3rd annual conference on Democracy and Human Rights [9am - 5:30pm, UMelb and online]	--	Democracy on Country [10am - 11am, online] Accessible democracy: What we know about barriers to political inclusion and how we can work together to remove those barriers.[10:30am-12 noon, online]	--	--
AFTERNOON	--	--	Constructive Discussions for Australia's Democracy [12 noon - 1pm, online]	Democracy and Human Rights in the North [2pm - 3pm, online]	Democracy in Danger? [12 noon - 1pm, online] Hidden Influences on Media and Democracy (U of Adelaide) [2pm - 3:30pm, online]	Poetry and Fiction for Democracy and Human Rights [4pm - 5pm, UQ]	--	--
EVENING	--	--	Disinformation in the Digital Age [online, 6:30pm - 8pm]	Advocacy on Campus [6pm - 7pm, online] Why do they go after universities? Feedback loops between academic repression and democratic backsliding, and advice from the coalface [7pm - 8pm, online]	Democratic representation in a multicultural society [UCanberra]	--	--	--