The 10th Council of Europe World Forum for Democracy took place from 7 to 9 November 2022 in Strasbourg, France, under the theme "Democracy: a new hope?". It brought together intellectuals, politicians, activists, experts and young people from all over the world to discuss the causes of the decline of democracy in the world and to provide answers. The Forum programme included working sessions (Labs), plenary sessions and round table discussions (Forum Talks), with the most popular initiative awarded the Council of Europe Prize for Democratic Innovation at the end of the three-day event.
On this occasion, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities sponsored Lab 7 on “Polarization and democratic engagement” which was held on 8 November from 2.30 to 4.30 pm in Room 5 of the Palais de l'Europe and webcast live. Moderated by Thomas Andersson (Sweden, ILDG), Chair of the Congress Current Affairs Committee, Lab7 examined processes to reduce polarization in society by involving citizens, through examples of initiatives carried out in the United States, in France, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or supported by European organisations such as the Council of Europe and the Assembly of European Regions. Speakers included Andrew Boff (United Kingdom, CRE), member of the Congress Monitoring Committee, and Prodromos Tzounopoulos, Congress Youth Delegate.
See also:
- Deliberative methods: Council of Europe Congress calls for greater citizen participation beyond elections
- How to preserve local democracy in the face of fakes news and hate speech?
- Publication: COUNTERFAKE - A scientific basis for a policy against fake news and hate speech (pdf)
Contact:
Irina SAHAKYAN-VETTER, tel. +33 3 90 21 54 93; Erdem Guney tel. +33 3 90 21 56 17
Launched in 2012, the Forum is organized by the Council of Europe, in partnership with the City of Strasbourg, the European Community of Alsace, the Grand Est Region and the French Government.
