About us
Democracy Fitness started in 2017 with an experiment: could democracy be made easier to practice, easier to share, and more alive in everyday life?
What began as an early training at the Danish democracy festival ‘Folkemødet’ quickly showed its potential. People responded to the idea that democracy is not only about systems and structures, but also about human qualities we can strengthen together like listening, courage, disagreement and participation. From there, Democracy Fitness continued to grow through trainings, Trainer Camps and new trainer communities in Denmark and beyond.
Today, Democracy Fitness Global exists to support that growing movement internationally. This page introduces the people, partners and purpose behind the work: who we are, why Democracy Fitness was created, and how we are helping the method grow across countries and contexts.
At the heart of it all is one conviction: democracy becomes stronger when more people feel that it belongs to them and that they have a role to play in it.
Facts about Democracy Fitness
- Developed in 2017
- 600+ Active Democracy Fitness Trainers
- 1000+ Democracy Fitness trainings yearly
- 20.000+ People trained
- 6 partners across 11 countries
- Certified Democracy Fitness trainers in 20 countries: Denmark, Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Israel, Ukraine, Georgia, Norway, Turkey, USA, The Netherlands, Finland and South Korea.
The Secretariat
Executive Director
is co-founder of Democracy Fitness (2017) and Democracy Fitness Global (2025). She currently serves as Executive Director (since April 2026). As one of the original creators of the methodology, Kathrine has played a central role in developing and growing Democracy Fitness from the very beginning.
Together with co-founder Zakia Elvang, she established Democracy Fitness Global to build the backbone for scaling Democracy Fitness internationally and making the training accessible across contexts and countries.
Kathrine is dedicated to creating spaces for active participation and strengthening the practice of democracy in everyday life – where people live, work, and meet.
Janda Campos
Chair
Marjan H. Ehsassi
Vice Chair
Zakia Elvang
Member of the board and founder representative
Roman Huber
Board member
Peter MacLeod
Board member
The Board of Directors
The Democracy Fitness Global Board of Directors supports the strategic direction and development of the organisation. With experience across democracy, governance, and international collaboration, the board helps guide the growth of Democracy Fitness Global and strengthen its impact across borders. Read their motivations below. Click their names to read more and connect on LinkedIn.
Janda Campos Chair:
“Democracy Fitness makes people conscious of their own role in democracy. What strikes me is the simple yet powerful and playful way it offers a shared language for democratic life, something I experienced first hand meeting people from Georgia, Israel, Japan, the US, Germany and beyond, all drawn to become Democracy Fitness trainers for that same reason. My hope is that we scale it responsibly and bring it to communities across the world.
As a board member with a background in international organisations, strategic transformation, sustainability, and governance, my contribution will be to help build the structures, accountability, and strategic clarity that turn a proven method into a resilient global movement. I am grateful to contribute to something that feels both urgent and genuinely hopeful.”
“We need to make democracy more engaging and fun. Democracy Fitness does this in spades! I was captivated from the moment i first heard about this timely and important program. My hope is for Democracy Fitness to become a part of our democratic practice: A way to hone our skills, strengthen our muscles, activate citizenship and participate in public life across the world!”
Zakia Elvang Founder representative:
“I have seen how Democracy Fitness can unlock something rare: making democracy feel tangible and showing how I with my own behavior can take part. My hope is that Democracy Fitness becomes a global movement for democratic participation – rooted locally, shared globally. As a founder and democractic practitioner, my contribution will be to push for scale without dilution – and to help new countries and partners find their own way to host and embedd Democracy Fitness in a way that creates impact.”
Roman Huber, Board member:
“I joined the Democracy Fitness Global Board because after working for more than 30 years to make democracy stronger through direct democracy, citizens assemblies and getting people involved in politics. I have leaned that a democratic culture ultimately depends on human qualities such as listening, courage and constructive dialogue. Democracy Fitness shows us that democracy can be trained. I want to support the global scaling of this work strategically and institutionally. My hope is to helt this approach grow internationally and become a powerful contribution to renewing democratic culture across societies.”
Peter MacLeod, Board Member:
“Democracy Fitness is one of the most practical, positive and powerful programs you can run. Democracy Fitness is positive, practical and powerful! It reconnects people with what it means to listen carefully and act with authenticity and purpose. It quickly builds comfort with the core work of democracy: acknowledging differences, understanding perspectives, and working through conflict constructively.”
The Partner Advisory Board
The Partner Advisory Board at Democracy Fitness Global brings together representatives from our partner organisations.
The Partner Advisory Board is committed to anchoring and scaling Democracy Fitness globally by strengthening cross-border collaboration, sharing expertise and continued dialogue.
Why Democracy Fitness?
Democracy is not going to be fixed by someone else. Democracy Fitness was created because the founders felt a lack of training space where normal people could meet to connect with democracy and train democracy muscles. A strong democracy with broad participation and a vibrant culture of conversation and debate requires that we actively cultivate and maintain it. If we want a healthy democracy, we must constantly practice it – and ensure that all groups in society feel part of it. As a famous democracy slogan goes: Use it or lose it!
Democracy Fitness was first tested at Folkemødet (the Danish Democracy Festival) in 2017 with great support, thanks to the Danish association Demokratiscenen. Since then, the German Bosch Foundation, the Tuborg Foundation and the Nordea Foundation, among many individuals and host-organisations, have supported the development. With their help, we have been able to organize trainings and Trainer Camps. The more than 600 active trainers have reached groups from many ages and contexts. From board members, youth councils and politicians to children in Kindergartens and colleagues in workspaces. At first primarily in Denmark, but since 2024 with a rising interest from around the world; Canada, Malaysia, Europe and beyond.
Today – since November 2025 – Democracy Fitness Global is founded to support the further scaling and translation of Democracy Fitness as a concept and method enabling as many people as possible to get the experience to connect democracy with everyday life and build democratic confidence in just 30 minutes.
Together we make democracy FIT – one muscle at a time
