20 January 2015 marks the 750th anniversary of the first parliament of elected representatives at Westminster, the de Montfort Parliament
50 years earlier Magna Carta - or the Great Charter - was sealed by King John in 1215 and established for the first time that everyone, including him, was subject to law
The BBC is broadcasting a day of live events, discussion and debate broadcast from inside Westminster and the BBC Radio Theatre
Highlights include an interview with the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners Lee; live streaming of BBC News meetings; and panel debates from inside the Radio Theatre
Democracy Day is produced in collaboration with the House of Commons and the House of Lords
Prof Tariq Ramadan: You should be able to question history (referring to the ban on Holocaust denial in France)... I'm against blasphemy laws - we need more education about living together. We have to look at the causes of violence - we can't just say violence is coming from Muslims. Who's supporting dictatorships? What about the Gulf states?
Journalist Douglas Murray on Islam: The terrorists must be deemed heretics, they must be cast out by other Muslims. (Audience applause.)
Watch a report by the BBC's John Maguire as he visits a citizenship ceremony to find out how Britain's newest citizens feel about our democracy.
Political earthquakes could be in store for Europe in 2015, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the BBC's Democracy Day. Watch world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge's report.
On The World at One: Economist columnist Philip Coggan contemplates whether the media plays a significant role in people's disillusionment with politics.
Shurooq Amin, Kuwaiti artist and poet: After her exhibition was shut down by the authorities, she says, "I came back stronger and more outspoken than ever". "I can debate my critics on social media - but I have to deal with the consequences."
What are the threats to our democracy in 2015? Philip Coggan - a columnist at the Economist magazine and author of the book The Last Vote: The Threats to Western Democracy - talks to Martha Kearney live on The World at One.
Douglas Murray, British newspaper columnist: The main problem is not that the West is not inclusive enough. It's the narrative of grievance among some individuals - some of whom are in highly paid jobs.
Right now on The World at One - Clive Coleman has been talking to people trying to crowdsource a written UK constitution.
Islam scholar Prof Tariq Ramadan: The narrow interpretation of Islam has to be challenged, it's an interpretation outside the accepted diversity. The problem is interpretation of the scriptural sources, verses taken out of context.
Egyptian Tahrir Square activist Heba Raouf Izzat: The concern is rising violence. I don't see a solution coming from politicians, states that have exercised violence against their own people.
Shukria Barakzai - a Kabul MP - tells the BBC's Afghanistan programme: "Britain is the mother of democracy. In the meantime I know, democracy in Afghanistan is just like a little baby and it needs to be taken care of."
Image source, ALAMYIt is said England is the Mother of Parliaments, and it was the 1265 parliament of Simon de Montfort, the "ideologically-driven" rebel earl of Leicester, which provided the pattern card for Westminster. He might have died in battle just a year later, but as Luke Foddy says, his legacy is pretty impressive.
The Islam and Democracy debate is under way. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Muslim scholars that Islam needed a revolution. How many of the audience agree, asks chair Shaimaa Khalil? More than half put up their hands.
What does democracy mean to you? Voting? Protest? Something else entirely? Here on the BBC News US Tumblr, we want you to share your stories through voicemail for BBC Democracy Day, external. We'll share a selection of your voicemails on the Tumblr and potentially on the website and radio.
Despite voting in the Scottish referendum in September, 16-year-old Ellie Kean tells the BBC she agrees with the voting age staying at 18. Find out why as BBC Radio 5 live talks to young people about democracy.
Image source, Getty Images"You are no Parliament. I will put an end to your sitting." Experts pick out some of Westminster's most memorable speeches from the past 750 years. Feature by BBC's Andy Walker here.
Meanwhile, a multilingual conversation focusing on whether democracy has failed the Arab world has been going on at our @viabbc, external Twitter account. Anas Altikriti, chairman of the Muslim Association of Britain and president of the Cordoba Foundation - a think tank focusing on Islamic issues - has been at our London office answering your questions.
Why is Britain one of a tiny group of democracies without a written constitution? And would having one promote greater democratic involvement? The BBC's Clive Coleman has been finding out for The World at One - which is live now on BBC Radio 4.