Date: 29 Sept 2026 Time: 16.00 – 17:15 CEST
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Background
Europe is witnessing a dangerous and unprecedented rollback of civic freedoms. Local authorities and civil society organisations are operating in a context marked by growing democratic challenges, including declining trust in institutions, civic space deterioration, political polarisation, and barriers to meaningful citizen participation. Strengthening local capacities for human rights monitoring and civic engagement is therefore essential to building more inclusive, resilient, and democratic communities. The European Commission’s Recommendation (EU) 2023/2836 on civic engagement and recent European Civil Society strategy can play a crucial role in doing so.
The “Boosting Democratic Participation in Cities to Recharge Democracy in Europe” (DeCiDE) project, implemented by the Human Rights Cities Network in partnership with Global Parliament of Mayors, aims to strengthen cooperation between municipalities and civil society organisations. Through its co-designed Standardized Monitoring System (SMS), the project assesses the implementation of human rights and EU values at the local level, while reinforcing democratic participation, transparency and accountability.
Overview:
This webinar will discuss how European policy frameworks can support democratic resilience at the local level. Focus will be on the European Democracy Shield and its potential to strengthen civic participation, protect democratic freedoms, counter disinformation, and reinforce trust in democratic institutions.
The session will also explore how local authorities and CSOs can contribute to and benefit from emerging EU initiatives aimed at safeguarding democracy. Bringing together policymakers, practitioners, and CSO representatives, the discussion will assess whether current European frameworks adequately address local democratic challenges and identify opportunities for strengthening the connection between EU policy priorities and local democratic practice.
The webinar is organised as an interactive panel discussion. We envisage each panelist providing brief introductory remarks (approximately 5 minutes), followed by a moderated discussion among speakers and a Q&A session with participants.
The audience will include civil society organisations, representatives of municipalities, human rights practitioners, researchers, and policymakers from across Europe.
Speakers
- Frederik Ceulemans: Alderman for Citizen Participation of the City of Brussels – Sharing local perspectives on democratic resilience and discussing how EU initiatives can better support municipalities in protecting participation, rights, and civic engagement.
- Emma Quaedvlieg: European Partnership for Democracy – Providing insights into emerging threats to democracy and the factors that strengthen resilience at local, national, and European levels.
- Maria Malho: Demos Helsinki – Sharing recommendations of the European Democracy Shield, and providing insights into democratic innovations that can improve democratic resilience.
- Moderated by: Julia Johnson – Capacity Building and Policy Lead at Human Rights Cities Network