Presenting the Participants of our Fifth Anniversary Conference

Too many citizens of the world are unheard or excluded from representative democracy, while authoritarian regimes cynically manipulate and roll back democratic processes. Today’s societal challenges, be it the Iranian regime’s merciless treatment of protesting women, Russia’s outrageous attack on Ukraine, the climate crisis, global migration, nationalism and populism, or digitalization and social media developments, must be met with the persistent strengths of an open, lively democracy that actualizes citizens’ political equality, empowerment, participation, and emancipation in new ways.

In hard competition, from among 540 applications of 68 different nationalities, we have chosen 24 young democracy innovators from 12 different countries to attend the fifth anniversary International Youth Conference in Barcelona. Here, in the European Capital of Democracy this youthful “brain trust” will gather with the assignment to develop tangible proposals for how to empower people and innovate democracy.

The participants will be offered meetings with executive professionals and research scholars as part of a structured and moderated program. They are expected to substantiate visionary ideas on reasonable, evidenced grounds, and deliberate and develop them in a collaborative space.

The conference will conclude in a report and a presentation on the last day. The event is open to the public on site in Barcelona and online. If you wish to be invited to the event, please sign up to our mailing list.

Learn more about the conference participants and moderators.