In the face of a challenging time for European cohesion and democracy in Europe, we need to come together to prove that European ideals can reach beyond the corridors of Brussels and are relevant to every single European in their day-to-day lives. With the project Democracy Alive, the European Movement creates several spaces to bridge the gap between citizens and our representatives and to reinforce trust and optimism in the European project. So far, this initiative has given rise to the first European Democracy Festival in 2019 and the Democracy Summit in 2023, 2024, and coming up in 2025.
Goals
- Encourage the engagement of Europeans in democracy
We create spaces where citizens, stakeholders, and our elected representatives can come together and engage on the important issues of today; be it on the environment, opportunities for the young, employment, human rights and/or the rule of law. - Fostering a community of active citizens
We are creating a community where activists from across Europe can come together and take action to defend, strengthen and promote European democracy. In 2019, our Action Center provided a platform for active citizens where they could find support for their initiatives, from human resources to donations, promotion to networking.
Key events
DEMOCRACY ALIVE Festival – 10-13 April 2019
Over 3 days the Democracy Alive festival hosted more than 170 events such as interviews with some of Europe’s biggest political names including Michel Barnier and Margrethe Vestager, panel discussions with experts and activists, comedy and music. Over 30 organisations hosted events in satellite venues and pavilions. Local food trucks and live music were also part of the festival village to create a community celebrating and promoting European democracy. At a challenging time for European cohesion, the festival also served to increase voter turnout in the 2019 European Parliament elections by promoting the #ThisTimeImVoting campaign.
Learn more about the festival on demfest2019.democracyalive.eu.
DEMOCRACY ALIVE: The Brussels Summit – 6 June 2023
In 2023, Democracy Alive is back in the EU bubble with its first Democracy Summit in Brussels. Throughout the day, political leaders, policymakers, academics, social partners, NGOs, and organized civil society exchanged views on the state of democracy in Europe and strategised how to best counter the threats faced by the EU. Learn more about the event here!
DEMOCRACY ALIVE: The Brussels Summit – 6 November 2024
The EU elections this past June saw a surge in far-right populist parties, while several Member States have hard-right governments that flaunt the rule of law and stoke the flames of fear with dangerous rhetoric and policies. The next College of Commissioners is still taking shape, and still the EU faces internal threats to the democracy and freedom that form the basis of this Union.
The Democracy Alive Summit, organised by the European Movement International (EMI) in partnership with the Evens Foundation and the European Federation of Journalists, gathered political leaders, policymakers, academics, social partners, NGOs and organised civil society to discuss the state of democracy in Europe and strategise how to best counter the threats faced by the EU.
During three panels over the course of one day, we addressed the ongoing threats to media freedom in Europe; the state of elections in the age of artificial intelligence; and the rise of the far-right both in Europe and in the context of the US election.
See more about the event here!
DEMOCRACY ALIVE: The Brussels Summit – 22 May 2025
The Democracy Alive Summit, organised by the European Movement International (EMI), will gather political leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, social partners, NGOs and organised civil society to explore the intersection of digital technologies and democracy—and the profound implications for the EU’s fundamental values.
The Summit will feature three panel discussions throughout the day. Topics will include the ongoing debate on regulation versus deregulation of digital platforms, strategies to combat disinformation and foreign interference, and how digital technologies and social platforms can be better adapted, developed and designed to be rooted in the EU’s fundamental values and thus used as tools to strengthen democracy.
See more about the event here!
Partners and Donors
This first iteration of the project was co-funded by the European Parliament and the Open Society Foundations. Since 2023, Democracy Alive activities have been co-funded by the European Union’s (EU) Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.
