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About openDemocracy

Welcome to openDemocracy and thank you for your interest.

We see ourselves as a digital commons: a shared resource, resisting both the web’s permissiveness as well as corporate efforts to enclose it.

We

- are a digital commons not a magazine – a public service on the web not a commodity
- are an independent, public interest, not-for-profit; a counter to the corporate media
- champion human rights
- seek out and debate forms of democratic change
- delight in good ideas vigorously debated and argument backed by investigation
- critique vested interests
- support pluralist inclusion without populism and try to a give voice to those marginalised
- try neither to blink at the crisis of government nor cultivate alarmism
- oppose fundamentalisms, including market fundamentalism
- regard the freedom and liberty of others as our own
- practice 'openness', rather than grasp at stultifying ‘neutrality’
- publish under Creative Commons licensing
- are clear about our views, argue honestly and provide a platform for exchange
- support peace-making and reconciliation
- are committed to global education and encourage good and creative writing
- welcome a range of forms to enable us to respond swiftly and interrogate deeply

openDemocracy in numbers

Since it was founded in May 2001, oD has published almost 20,000 articles, analyses, podcasts, videos and exchanges by 5,000 authors.

  • Read weekly in almost every country of the world (we are currently blocked in China and Iran)
  • Publishes an average of 53 articles a week
  • Monthly readership of over 200,000 (unique visitors)
  • Top countries by readership: United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, India, Germany and France.
  • Strongest growth in readership: Middle East, Africa and India.
  • oD is well regarded in academia, and many of our readers are policy influencers, one survey suggested that:
  • 4% are in government
  • 4% are involved in drafting legislation
  • 6% are professionally involved in influencing policy making
  • 15% are involved in media commentary

    • The openDemocracy model

    We have an open, federal organisation that reflects our values in the architecture of the website and the way we operate, with Sections that are editorially independent, do their own publishing and raise their own funding - while the Main Site publishes on all general issues, inspires and hosts new debates, encourages guest editors and manages production and the business side.

    Sections

  • oDRussia – on liberty in the post-Soviet world
  • 50.50 – on inclusion and gender equality
  • OurKingdom – on the crisis of democracy in Britain
  • openSecurity – on conflict and peace in our age
  • Transformation – this new section will be launched mid 2013

  • OurClimate – we are actively fundraising to create this
  • JustEconomy – we aim to launch this to replace our current OpenEconomy section
  • Arab Awakening – currently an independently edited debate

    • Our funding

    openDemocracy is a small and effective organisation, and our largest contributors are the thousands of established and new writers worldwide who contribute their time and expertise, the vast majority without payment. They do this because we offer an open-minded platform, a good audience and a conducive, quality environment not available elsewhere. Their volunteer work makes it possible to publish so much original quality content on our very modest budget.

    We depend on support from those who appreciate the importance of our work, both individuals and organisations. Please consider becoming a member – and decide what you can afford to help oD survive and grow (average membership donation is £45/€55/$70 a year). Members receive the Week in One Minute newsletter summarising our content.

    Legal


    openDemocracy.net is published by openDemocracy Limited, a UK registered company (#3855274) limited by shares and wholly owned by the non-profit openDemocracy Foundation for the Advancement of Global Education (company limited by guarantee #04807614).

    In the UK you can support openDemocracy with charitable grants and gifts to the openDemocracy programme of The Open Trust, a UK registered charity (#10864094).

    In the USA, it can be supported with gifts or grants to openDemocracy (USA) Incorporated, an independent 501(c)(3) with an openDemocracy programme.

    openDemocracy's first editor-in-Chief was founder Anthony Barnett (2001-2005), succeeded by Isabel Hilton (2005-2007), Tony Curzon Price (2007-2012) and Magnus Nome (2012-present).

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