Newsletter & Community Building

Technologists For Democracy is a Toronto-based grassroots organisation that works to keep technology accountable to the public interest. I write their weekly newsletter, which covers AI policy, platform governance, digital rights, and the local civic tech community.

The Challenge

The subject matter is dense and moves fast. AI regulation shifts weekly. Platform governance decisions affect millions of people but get reported in language that excludes most of them. Digital rights frameworks are being written in real time across multiple jurisdictions. The newsletter's job is to make all of this legible and relevant to people who care about democracy and technology but don't necessarily work in either field.

The Approach

Each edition distils the week's most significant developments into clear, jargon-free language. I contextualise policy decisions, connect local civic tech activity (including Civic Tech Toronto meetups) to broader national and international trends, and frame technical debates in terms of their real-world consequences. The tone is informed but not academic, urgent but not alarmist.

Community Building

The newsletter isn't just a broadcast. It functions as a connective thread for a community of people in Toronto who are thinking about these issues from different angles — technologists, policy advocates, journalists, organisers, and engaged citizens. The writing has to speak to all of them without flattening the complexity or talking down to anyone.

This is education in practice: not a course or a curriculum, but a weekly habit of paying attention together.

Archive: buttondown.com/techfordemocracy/archive/