Programme
Speakers
Practical info
About last year
09.00
Registration & open breakfast
Ground floor lobby
09.30
Welcome by EPD Executive Director Ken Godfrey
Theatre
09.40
Keynote speech with a political leader
Theatre
10.00
Plenary 1: Digesting Election Results Across the Continent
Europeans will vote in all EU member states between 6-9 June and the results will have a vital bearing on European politics over the next 5 years. What does the vote say about the state of European politics at this moment? What key issues drove the agenda and what does that mean for the agenda of the new European Commission?
Speakers:
Armin Rabitsch, Co-founder and Chairperson, Election-Watch.EU
Caroline de Gruyter, European Affairs Correspondent and Columnist, NRC Handelsblad
Sarah Wheaton, Chief Policy Correspondent, POLITICO Europe
Moderator: Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Theatre
11.15
Coffee break
Ground floor lobby
11.45
Session 2: The Future of European Election Support
A discussion on how election observation can respond to the current challenges to democracy and elections worldwide.
Speakers:
Isabel Santos, Member of the European Parliament
Dr Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International Development, University of Birmingham, Director, CEDAR
Neal Mac Call, Head of Division, EEAS
Moderator: Domenico Tuccinardi, Executive Director, EDGE Foundation.
Theatre
Session 3: Disinformation and Elections
This session will explore the impacts of disinformation during election campaigns and discuss the best strategies for addressing it, including fact-checking and other tools that help to counter disinformation.
Speakers:
Irène Mingasson, Head of Unit, Rapid Response Europe, Asia and America, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), European Commission
Milica Ljubičić, journalist at RasKRIKavanje
Omri Preiss, Director, Alliance4Europe
Moderator: David Diaz-Jogeix, Senior Director of Programmes, Article 19
Launchpad
Session 4: The Future of Democratic Innovation
This session will explore how institutions and politicians can make use of democratic innovations to revitalise European democracy.
Speakers:
Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, Senior Expert and Deputy Head of Unit, Citizens’ Dialogues, European Commission
Yves Dejaeghere, Executive Director, Federation for Innovation in Democracy Europe (FIDE)
Teele Pehk, Head of Democracy Coalition, Social Change Consultant, DD Foundation
Francesco Ronchi, Administrator, Directorate for Democracy Support, European Parliament
Moderator: Raphaël Pouyé, Expert in open government and public innovation projects
Balcony
11.45
Session 2: The Future of European Election Support
A discussion on how election observation can respond to the current challenges to democracy and elections worldwide.
Speakers:
Isabel Santos, Member of the European Parliament
Dr Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International Development, University of Birmingham, Director, CEDAR
Neal Mac Call, Head of Division, EEAS
Moderator: Domenico Tuccinardi, Executive Director, EDGE Foundation.
Theatre
Session 3: Disinformation and Elections
This session will explore the impacts of disinformation during election campaigns and discuss the best strategies for addressing it, including fact-checking and other tools that help to counter disinformation.
Speakers:
Irène Mingasson, Head of Unit, Rapid Response Europe, Asia and America, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), European Commission
Milica Ljubičić, journalist at RasKRIKavanje
Omri Preiss, Director, Alliance4Europe
Moderator: David Diaz-Jogeix, Senior Director of Programmes, Article 19
Launchpad
Session 4: The Future of Democratic Innovation
This session will explore how institutions and politicians can make use of democratic innovations to revitalise European democracy.
Speakers:
Gaëtane Ricard-Nihoul, Senior Expert and Deputy Head of Unit, Citizens’ Dialogues, European Commission
Yves Dejaeghere, Executive Director, Federation for Innovation in Democracy Europe (FIDE)
Teele Pehk, Head of Democracy Coalition, Social Change Consultant, DD Foundation
Francesco Ronchi, Administrator, Directorate for Democracy Support, European Parliament
Moderator: Raphaël Pouyé, Expert in open government and public innovation projects
Balcony
13.15
Lunch
Restaurant
14.30
Session 5: Europe’s Democracy Blind Spots
Amidst the European Parliament elections and a change in EU leadership, the discussion will focus on the risks that blind us to deeper issues of democratic renewal critical for European prosperity and security.
Speakers:
Alberto Alemanno, Professor of EU Law, HEC Paris and Founder, The Good Lobby
Sophie In’t Veld, Lead Candidate, Volt Europa
Ralph Kaessner, Head of Unit, Rule of Law, Council of the EU Secretariat
Moderator: Richard Youngs, Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at Carnegie Europe
Launchpad I
Session 6: Citizen Participation Beyond Elections
This interactive session will discuss best practices for citizen participation in Europe, drawing upon existing democratic initiatives and lessons learned from the 2024 EU elections.
Speakers:
Anthony Zacharzewski, President, Democratic Society
Ingrid Godkin, Cabinet of the Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography
Christina Altides, European Elections 2024 Secretariat, Directorate General for Communication, European Parliament
Moderator: Sahib Singh, Senior Expert, Demos Helsinki
Balcony
Session 7: Dysfunctional Democracies: Why Should Young People Vote?
An interactive workshop where participants will be gathered in groups to discuss the main dysfunctions of democracies while still building a strong argument for younger generations to engage in traditional politics.
Facilitators:
Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer, European Partnership for Democracy
Jérémy Apert, Programme Manager, European Partnership for Democracy
Santiago Barrail, Policy Officer, European Partnership for Democracy
Launchpad II
14.30
Session 5: Europe’s Democracy Blind Spots
Amidst the European Parliament elections and a change in EU leadership, the discussion will focus on the risks that blind us to deeper issues of democratic renewal critical for European prosperity and security.
Alberto Alemanno, Professor of EU Law, HEC Paris and Founder, The Good Lobby
Sophie In’t Veld, Lead Candidate, Volt Europa
Ralph Kaessner, Head of Unit, Rule of Law, Council of the EU Secretariat
Moderator: Richard Youngs, Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at Carnegie Europe
Launchpad I
Session 6: Citizen Participation Beyond Elections
This interactive session will discuss best practices for citizen participation in Europe, drawing upon existing democratic initiatives and lessons learned from the 2024 EU elections.
Speakers:
Anthony Zacharzewski, President, Democratic Society
Ingrid Godkin, Cabinet of the Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography
Christina Altides, European Elections 2024 Secretariat, Directorate General for Communication, European Parliament
Moderator: Sahib Singh, Senior Expert, Demos Helsinki
Balcony
Session 7: Dysfunctional Democracies: Why Should Young People Vote?
An interactive workshop where participants will be gathered in groups to discuss the main dysfunctions of democracies while still building a strong argument for younger generations to engage in traditional politics.
Facilitators:
Konstantina Alexopoulou, Research & Programme Officer, European Partnership for Democracy
Jérémy Apert, Programme Manager, European Partnership for Democracy
Santiago Barrail, Policy Officer, European Partnership for Democracy
Launchpad II
15.40
Coffee break
First floor lobby
16.00
Plenary 2: Democracy and Foreign Policy
Amidst the increasing amount of crises in the European Neighbourhood and beyond, European governments are facing difficult choices when defining foreign policy priorities. This process usually leads to democracy and governance priorities being overshadowed by concerns over security, migration and trade. This panel will look at how overarching foreign policy trends are impacting democracy support as a factor in EU external action.
Speakers :
Ambassador Olof Skoog, EU Special Representative for Human Rights, EEAS
Interviewed by: Anu Juvonen, Executive Director, Demo Finland
Theatre
16.40
Plenary 3: European Philanthropy for Democracy
This session will look at the current priorities of European foundations at a time of increased challenges to democracy and stress on funding for pro-democratic initiatives.
Peggy Saïller, Executive Director, Network of European Foundations
Samuel Sigere, Programme and Grants Officer, Civitates
Moderator: Corinne Momal-Vanian, Executive Director, Kofi Annan Foundation
Theatre
17.20
Plenary 4: The Digital Future of European Elections
This session explores the question of the digital future of the EU elections, with the aim of identifying the main new risks to election integrity, but also to identify best practices that could help promote more inclusive, participative EU elections.
Speakers:
Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency, European Commission
Interviewed by: Michael Meyer-Resende, Executive Director, Democracy Reporting International
Theatre
18.00
Featuring stand up comedy with 2 comedians from the Schuman Show
With:
Louise : a member of the core writer-performer team of the Schuman Show. She is also a recovering lobbyist with a comedy problem and has been working in political communication in Brussels for the past decade. Having trained at the Second City in Chicago, Louise has been performing in Brussels on various stages since 2016.
Tristan: a member of the core writer-performer team of the Schuman Show. He is also a standup comic, performance artist and improviser with a passion for the strange and unexpected. With a background in EU politics, his comedy covers a wide range of topics through a uniquely cynical yet playful and energetic tone – he is Canadian after all
18.30
Networking drinks
Château Moderne, Mont des Arts 1, 1000 Bruxelles
-
Omri Preiss
