The Nets4Dem 6th Democracy Retreat “The European Democracy Shield: from intention to reality” examined ways to operationalise the European Democracy Shield (EDS) beyond policy commitments. The event brought together policy-makers, practitioners, democracy researchers, and Nets4Dem experts around two interactive roundtable sessions.
The first roundtable tackled this issue from an institutional perspective. Participants engaged in a conversation about the EDS and the Centre for Democratic Resilience. In particular, the conversation addressed the question: “How will the Centre respond in practice to current and emerging threats to democracy, such as FIMI and other information pressures?” The discussion focused on how far the impact of these initiatives will depend on meaningful cooperation with civil society, researchers, and practitioners who are already active in this field, and if national political parties are not committed to democratic resilience themselves, how much can these new initiatives really achieve?
The second roundtable shifted the focus from institutions to citizens, and with that came a different kind of conversation. Rather than asking what new mechanisms can be built, participants addressed the reasons that make people genuinely take part in democratic life. Is it enough to create channels for engagement, or does true participation demand something more profound? The discussion highlighted the importance of youth engagement, intergenerational dialogue, and the vital role they play in forming the future of democracy. The discussion also touched upon the significance of belonging – “belonging is inclusion” and “it is the key to resilience,” it was said.
Nets4Dem, a Horizon Europe project coordinated by Democracy Reporting International, endeavours to reshape the landscape of democracy initiatives. Nets4Dem brings together more than 200 cities, over 50 think tanks and universities, and dozens of democracy-focused NGOs, covering 38 European countries. Nets4Dem aims to enhance and transform the current landscape of democracy initiatives by creating a unique European network.
This network facilitates high degrees of connectedness among policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers by providing improved access to cross-cutting work on democratic innovations. It further aims to weave networks spanning various sectors, geographies and levels of governance, thereby redistributing power and resources to those who stand to gain the most from initiatives aimed at engaging citizens in civic renewal. Learn more about this event and the project here.
