Europe Tour Begins: Kyiv, AI, and the Future of Government

Leg two of the Civic Punks World Tour is here. I’m heading to Europe — with stops in Kyiv, London, Berlin, Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Tbilisi — to look for the people, places, and ideas shaping the future of government. The heart of the trip is Kyiv. Ukraine feels like one of the most important places in the world to understand democracy, resilience, digital government, trust, and public service under pressure. I’m also heading to the Creative Bureaucracy Festival in Berlin and the UN Public Service Forum in Tbilisi. And this episode includes a very lovely Civic Punks first: the project’s first sponsor, Olivia Dorey and The Grace Project, which is exploring how agentic AI can support carers, government, and better public services. Who should I meet while I’m on the road? And what should I be paying attention to?