Safe Democracy

A Mission Partnership by cities, municipality associations and technology providers to improve the relationship between citizens and local governments by using better technologies.

Challenge

Digital tools are increasingly being used to improve communication between citizens and governments, to protect the integrity of elections, and to give citizens more control over their data. Taken together, they promise to deliver a secure democratic future where digital tools serve the public good, empowering governments and citizens alike.

Our partners

The Safe Democracy Convention is a partnership of the City of Vienna, The Austrian Association of Cities and Towns, The Austrian Association of Municipalities, Samsung Austria and Cisco Austria. Additional partners from the media, industry and civil society joined.

Approach

Our 2025 Convention in Vienna brought together representatives of industry, civil society and academia with decision-makers from 50 cities and municipalities across the D-A-CH region. Central to the event was the Best Practice Exchange, which put civil servants directly in touch with the developers of groundbreaking projects.

Impact

The inaugural event brought together key players in the field of digital democracy in Austria for the first time. With 300 participants, 24 best practices, and over 50 experts in the area of digital democracy, it was conceived as a first step towards building a pan-European network of actors in the field.

Key Facts

Inaugural Convention

The first Safe Democracy Convention took place in 2025 in Vienna.

12 Mission Partners

were joined at the convention by representatives of over 50 cities and municipalities around Austria.

Best Practice Sharing

The first convention featured 24 digital democracy best practices from around the D-A-CH region.

A Network for Digital Democracy