The Power of Humanity Foundation organised the (Re)Building Democracy conference for the fourth time. We invited civil society, aid agencies and donors from the Central and Eastern European region to reflect together. A summary of the meeting was produced by Zoltán Mester.
The central theme of this year’s conference was: cooperation without borders. Borders can disconnect countries, sectors, stakeholders, social groups, information bubbles. In (Re)Building Democracy⁴ we cross these borders and discuss together how different actors can cooperate in strengthening civil society to increase the resilience of democracies in the CEE region.
The fourth (Re)Building Democracy conference kicked off with opening remarks by his excellency Ragnar Almqvist, Irish Ambassador to Hungary. About 80 CSO and NGO workers, experts and researchers from 15 European countries, representing nearly 60 organisations and funding programmes, came to Pécs for the conference.
(Re)Building Democracy has been a meeting point for organisations, experts, researchers and donors dealing with the development of the civil sector since 2022. It is our conviction, backed up by international research that a strong, resilient, well- functioning democracy is based on a strong, independent civil sector. Capacities are reducing and dependency increases as we move into the countryside, towards smaller, grassroots organisations. Therefore every year we keep a special focus on strengthening civil society in the countryside and that’s why we gather outside of the capital.
Thanks to our fellow organisers at Aspect Group, NIOK Foundation, Civil Kollégium Alapítvány, Ökotárs Alapítvány – Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation!
And our generous supporters: the Civitates – The European Democracy Fund, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, and the European Union.