'It's everyone's business.' In Finland, national security is a shared responsibility.

Paris has implemented the world's largest participatory budgeting program, allowing any resident aged 7 and older to propose and vote on city projects funded by municipal money. Since 2014, the city has allocated 5% of its total budget and has implemented 1,345 citizen-proposed projects over the past 10 years, including rooftop farms, community centers, and infrastructure for homeless residents. In addition, research shows areas with participatory budgeting see greater trust in local leadership and higher rates of civic engagement.

After decentralized protests in Sudan successfully ousted a 30-year dictatorship, nonviolent civic action in the country continues to grow, with highly localized demonstrations calling for everything from greater security against cattle theft to the resignation of corrupt public officials. The protests have been fueled by better exposure via social media, more collaboration among activist groups, and the proliferation of neighborhood-level "resistance committees" that grew out of the movement to topple the dictatorship in 2018 and 2019.

Cyber security simulations are taking place across the country to help everyone, from government officials to journalists, to identify election-related cyber threats and coordinated disinformation campaigns and make plans to strengthen defenses against them. One company, Cybereason, holds simulation events, sometimes bringing together law enforcement officers from agencies including the Secret Service and FBI, to think through potential security threats and come up with corresponding solutions. Running through security breach simulations helps plan for a quick response to deal with the challenges.

At a time when American politics are more divisive and uncivil than ever before, Revive Civility Iowa and the National Institute of Civil Discourse hosted a two hour workshop to encourage civil conversation among politically opposed members of the same community. Using skill-building exercises like active listening, the workshop sought to engender tolerance in participants to reach resolutions. As one of the organizers pointed out, "The biggest mistake most of us make when we try to solve problems with others is we suggest they change their minds."

Recognizing a pervasive sense of powerlessness in the US, Eric Liu authored "You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen.” By connecting stories of various groups across the political spectrum exercising their civic muscles, he lays out concrete ways that power can be reclaimed by the seemingly powerless citizen.

In Uganda, a country with high levels of corruption and political patronage, citizen-led grassroots efforts to root out graft and enforce accountability have sprung up across the country. “Village budget clubs,” trained by the Forum for Women in Democracy, learn about Uganda’s constitution, government budgeting and planning, and what is required of public officials. Club members then attend meetings, follow up with public officials, and fill out scorecards that rank lawmaker performance.

Antanas Mockus, former mayor of Bogotá, uses art to cultivate what he calls a "citizenship culture." During Colombia's peace negotiations, Mockus emphasized the importance of valuing life after so many years of killing and death with the slogan "Life is Sacred."

The Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies provides a "blueprint" for peaceful and democratic revolution, busting myths about the process of nonviolent revolt and helping dissidents in countries around the world to accomplish political goals, such as fighting corruption or protecting the environment.

Honor the Earth is an anti-data center coalition monitoring the construction of hyperscale data centers in or near indigenous land. Through their efforts, town halls, doorknocking, attending tribal council meetings and more, they’ve formed a community with people in agriculture and beyond, working to push back against data center construction and enact protections for communities. As a result of their efforts, the Tulsa City Council signed a 9-month moratorium on data centers, and the Seminole Nation also unanimously passed its own moratorium.

The Friends of Coyote Hills led a 30-year community campaign that successfully protected 24 acres of threatened habitat from development. Alongside voter mobilization, strategic fundraising, and federal wildlife protections, they secured $70 million toward the purchase of land.