People Powered Invites Creators to Tell New Stories About Democracy by September 14

​The Democracy Stories Lab, a new initiative from People Powered in partnership with the Democracy Narratives Alliance, is calling on creators worldwide to submit visual storytelling that reimagines what democracy could look and feel like in everyday life. The call invites short videos, illustrations, and graphics that move beyond policy talking points to explore voice, fairness, belonging, and what happens when communities hold real power over the decisions that shape their futures. Submissions must engage with the Democracy Narratives Alliance's research on how to talk about democracy, giving participants a practical framework for translating dialogue and deliberation principles into accessible, creative formats. Applications open July 14, 2026, with a submission deadline of September 14, 2026, and winners receiving cash awards plus amplification across both organizations' networks. The initiative reflects NCDD's mission of expanding who gets to shape conversations about democracy, extending the field's reach into creative and media spaces it rarely touches.

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People Powered, a global hub for participatory democracy, has launched the Democracy Stories Lab in partnership with the Democracy Narratives Alliance, an initiative focused on shifting how the public talks about democracy. The call invites individual creators and small teams from anywhere in the world to submit original visual content, including short videos, illustrations, and graphics, that tells a compelling story about what democracy feels like when people genuinely have a say in decisions that affect them. Rather than centering policy debates or institutional processes, the initiative asks creators to explore themes of dignity, trust, fairness, and the freedom to disagree without fear, using narrative frameworks drawn from the Democracy Narratives Alliance's research on effective democracy storytelling.

The initiative places particular emphasis on reaching creators who work outside traditional democracy and advocacy circles, including those in comedy, illustration, gaming, and lifestyle content, as well as creators from communities that have historically had less influence over public discourse. This approach reflects a core value shared across the dialogue and deliberation field: that meaningful civic conversation depends on who is included in the room, or in this case, whose stories reach the screen. Notably, the Democracy Stories Lab itself emerged from PP Decides, People Powered's internal participatory budgeting process, making the initiative a direct product of the same democratic practice it hopes to popularize.

​Creators interested in applying should note the timeline: applications open July 14, 2026, and submissions are due by September 14, 2026, with winners announced between October and November 2026. Four winning entries will receive $1,000 each, and five honorable mentions will receive $500 each, alongside amplification across the People Powered and Democracy Narratives Alliance networks and inclusion in a global screening event. For NCDD's network of dialogue and deliberation practitioners, this call offers a rare opportunity to bring participatory democracy's core values into creative and media spaces that reach audiences the field has struggled to engage directly. Visit https://www.peoplepowered.org/news-content/announcing-the-democracy-stories-lab to read the full call for proposals and sign up for notification when applications open.