# Event Details - **Event Name**: Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities - **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 07:00 pm – Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 08:30 pm (-07:00) - **Event Description**: Join Richard Johnson, co-author of Democracy's Second Act, and award-winning journalist Jim Beatty in conversation about democracy's future.About this EventWith municipal election season now underway, join us at Oak Bay United Church for a timely and thought-provoking evening with Richard Johnson, co-author of Democracy's Second Act: Why Politics Needs the Public. Kindly moderated by award-winning journalist and Oak Bay resident Jim Beatty, and organized by the Community Association of Oak Bay.What does it mean to be a citizen — and a public — in a democracy today? How is the erosion of democratic life affecting cities and communities like Oak Bay and elsewhere in Greater Victoria? How can the public be an informed, engaged and productive partner with government in solving community challenges and pursuing shared goals for the future?Come be a part of the conversation and learn about what democracy can look like — if we do it better.Register (free) in advance or at the door (by 6:45).ABOUT THE BOOKDemocracy’s Second Act explores why frustration and polarization are on the rise—and how reclaiming the power of the public can lead to a more hopeful political future.Democracy isn’t broken. It’s stuck. Around the world, people are growing angry and polarized not because they’ve stopped caring, but because democracy has stopped evolving. The result isn’t apathy; it’s a rising sense of political futility.In Democracy’s Second Act, Peter MacLeod and Richard Johnson argue that the first act of democracy—anchored in voting rights and representative government—achieved extraordinary gains. Free elections, near-universal suffrage, and the peaceful transfer of power reshaped societies and expanded human freedom. But these achievements represent the promise of democracy, not its completion.The book offers a hopeful, clear-eyed vision for what comes next. Drawing on groundbreaking citizens’ assemblies in Ireland, Canada, and France—as well as democratic innovations from more than a dozen countries—MacLeod and Johnson show how democracy can build on its first act by creating new institutions that tap into the talents, judgment, and capabilities of ordinary people. They make the case that the public isn’t a risk to be managed, but a powerful resource ready to be harnessed—and that the future depends on giving citizens real responsibility, not just a periodic vote.Smart, story-driven, and deeply grounded in political theory and practice, Democracy’s Second Act is for changemakers ready to move beyond cynicism and rebuild democracy for a new era. ABOUT THE SPEAKERSRichard Johnson is the co-author, with Peter MacLeod, of Democracy's Second Act: Why Politics Needs the Public (2026). A former journalist and now a policy director at MASS LBP, his writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, This Magazine, The New Quarterly, and many others. A former Fellow in Literary Journalism at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, he was also a longtime writer for the award-winning podcast Trailblazers, with Walter Isaacson. He lives in Victoria with his wife and two sons.Jim Beatty is a senior communications specialist with nearly three decades of experience in strategic communications, crisis management, government relations and media training. As an advisor with international public relations firm Hill+Knowlton, he offered strategic counsel to a range of clients in health care, post-secondary education, real estate development, resource extraction and the charitable sectors. Earlier, Jim was an award-winning journalist with a long career in print and broadcast media. Over the course of 26 years, Jim worked for numerous news outlets in Ontario and British Columbia, including as Legislative Bureau Chief for the Vancouver Sun, Bureau Chief for CTV News and Chief News Anchor for CHEK News, Vancouver Island’s most-watched newscast. Jim volunteers as a board director with numerous charitable organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the Terry Fox Centre and the Robert Bateman Foundation. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/victoria/doing-democracy-differently-in-our-communities/100001998972855622 - **Event Categories**: fitness, Art, literary-art, Nonprofit, Workshops, fine-arts, health-wellness - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: CAD ## Event venue details - **city**: Victoria - **state**: BC - **country**: Canada - **location**: Oak Bay United Church - **lat**: 48.42465869999999 - **long**: -123.3203556 - **full address**: Oak Bay United Church, 1355 Mitchell Street, Victoria, Canada ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/cffb870e38c44d4118af637ec53f8a0a7370a681654635687172ba95d03774be-rimg-w960-h540-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg?v=1788581785 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities being held? - **A:** Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities takes place on Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 08:30 pm at Oak Bay United Church, 1355 Mitchell Street, Victoria, Canada. - **Q**: Who is organizing Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities? - **A:** Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities is organized by MASS LBP. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Doing Democracy Differently in Our Communities", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/cffb870e38c44d4118af637ec53f8a0a7370a681654635687172ba95d03774be-rimg-w960-h540-dcf8f8f8-gmir.jpg?v=1788581785", "startDate": "2026-09-15T19:00:00-07:00", "endDate": "2026-09-15T20:30:00-07:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/victoria/doing-democracy-differently-in-our-communities/100001998972855622", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Oak Bay United Church", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "1355 Mitchell Street", "postalCode": "V8S 4P9", "addressLocality": "Victoria", "addressRegion": "BC", "addressCountry": "CA" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "48.42465869999999", "longitude": "-123.3203556" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Join Richard Johnson, co-author of Democracy's Second Act, and award-winning journalist Jim Beatty in conversation about democracy's future.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "CAD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-09-05", "availabilityEnds": "2026-09-15T20:30:00-07:00", "validFrom": "2026-09-05", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/victoria/doing-democracy-differently-in-our-communities/100001998972855622" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "CAD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-09-05", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-09-05", "url": "https://allevents.in/victoria/doing-democracy-differently-in-our-communities/100001998972855622", "price": 0, "name": "Free General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "MASS LBP", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/mass-lbp/27385277" } ] } ] ```