Where’s Democracy Headed? TED Talks to Ponder ‘Founding Futures’

To help celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, The Pew Charitable Trusts is a lead supporter of “TED Democracy Philadelphia: Founding Futures,” being hosted by Visit Philadelphia and the TED organization. The all-day event on Saturday, June 13, will explore themes of modern democracy in the city where it all began.

Via 15-plus TED Talks and conversations, dozens of speakers—including Pew CEO Susan K. Urahn and Pew Research Center president Michael Dimock—will explore vital questions about the past, present, and future of America’s democracy and how we can all help to shape the country’s next 250 years.

At this moment in our history—America’s semiquincentennial—the TED Democracy Philadelphia event aims to:

• Promote civic discourse and spark new ideas.
• Help people find common ground and inspire action.
• Make these conversations widely accessible via TED Democracy LIVE!, a Pew-supported livestream to some 65 libraries across the country, allowing civic-minded people nationwide to engage with the talks and participate in library-specific discussions and programs.

The event is just the latest example of Pew’s decades-long support for our hometown of Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy.

NCC3-GWidman Constitution Center

Pew’s deep roots in Philadelphia

In its earliest days, Pew helped fund new hospitals, schools, and civic activities across the area. More recently, it has focused on promoting pathways to economic advancement, community safety, and community and cultural vitality through the following programs:

• The Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative conducts research on issues affecting city residents and provides technical assistance, capacity building, and policy analysis to help city leaders and departments address critical governing challenges.
• The Pew Fund for Health and Human Services in Philadelphia provides grants to local social service organizations, helping them expand their reach and impact and gather data on promising solutions to emerging problems or service gaps.
• The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage has made more than 2,000 grants in its continuing support of arts and cultural organizations in the city and surrounding counties. And since 1992, 424 local artists, including four who have won Pulitzer Prizes, have been recognized with Pew Fellowships in the Arts.
• Pew’s Civic Initiatives grants increase access to vibrant civic life by investing in neighborhood anchor organizations and public spaces that engage communities and foster social connectedness.

Pew also helped to create what is now called Visit Philadelphia, the city’s main marketing and tourism agency, and provided key funding for the rejuvenation of such Philadelphia landmarks as the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Independence Mall. Another city landmark—the National Constitution Center, which is dedicated to constitutional education and debate—is a longtime Pew grantee and partner. All of this support for Philadelphia dovetails with Pew’s efforts to strengthen and support a representative democracy.

Strengthening democracy beyond Philadelphia

Pew’s commitment to representative government has also involved partnerships with leading technology companies—including Google, Facebook, AT&T, and Microsoft—to provide millions of voters with information on candidates and polling locations. It also promoted federal legislation that ensures that military personnel living abroad have their votes counted.

And in 2023, Pew and its partners launched the Election Trust Initiative, a subsidiary that works to increase capacity and innovation in America’s election administration systems, which will strengthen nonpartisan research and the organizations that help local and state officials run secure, transparent, accurate, and convenient elections.

It’s this same spirit of civic innovation and dialogue that TED Democracy Philadelphia will bring to life June 13—inviting Americans everywhere to learn from our past and help write the next chapter of our nation’s story.

Demetra Aposporos is the editor of Trust magazine.