On September 29, people’s budget organizers from around the country joined NYC-based advocates and activists at the CUNY Graduate Center for a learning exchange. Following the Participatory Budgeting Project’s (PBP) “Our Time, Our Power” convening (Orange, New Jersey, September 26-27), this smaller gathering offered space for reflection and exchange toward advancing participatory and economic democracy, connecting PBP-affiliated organizers with NYC-based advocates to share takeaways and build relationships.

Working mostly at the city-level, people’s budget advocates seek to deepen democracy beyond elections and emphasize public budgets as “key sites of contestation for collective care and community control.” Navigating varied political and organizational contexts, from one-year versus biennial budget cycles to home rule arrangements and “strong mayor” systems, these organizers share and adapt practices across the nation, exchanging approaches to participation, accessibility, and democratic governance.