Power to the People: Use your voice, change the world
Danny Sriskandarajah learned the value of citizenship at a young age as the child of Tamil migrants who moved from Sri Lanka to Australia. Arriving in the UK as the first Rhodes scholar from an Asian immigrant background, he has gone on to run a series of civil society organisations, and has become a leading voice in the third sector.
Power to the People addresses growing voter apathy and disenchantment worldwide – that familiar sense that governments have become decoupled from their constituencies, that votes no longer count, and that politicians and institutions are too focused on short-term issues to grapple with complex global issues such as climate change and rising inequality.
The book is structured into two halves, the first half diagnosing problems and the second half proposing solutions. Danny urges readers to make a positive difference through engagement and active citizenry. He calls for reform of outdated Bretton Woods organisations such as the IMF and World Bank, and for greater use of citizens’ assemblies. The proposal contains some fascinating examples of citizen power in action such as Avaaz’s campaign to take down a notoriously corrupt politician in Brazil.
From public ownership of social media spaces to democratising share ownership, and from re-energising co-operatives to creating a people’s chamber at the United Nations, this campaigning book has a clear mission to make us reclaim our power as citizens of the world.
Reviews
“Urgent and essential, at the heart of Power to the People lies a simple but profound truth: that people acting together can change the world”
Caroline Lucas, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
“Powerful”
Yanis Varoufakis, economist and politician
“In present times, our disillusionment with leaders and institutions is – fortunately – matched by our urgency to act, to reform and to collaborate for good. To unlock change we must find better ways to connect hard-won lessons from the past with our vivid imagination of the future. In this book, Danny provides inspiration, analysis and examples from his own experience on how this is possible.”
Lysa John, Secretary General, CIVICUS
