Today’s democracy requires institutions able to cultivate the conditions in which democratic innovation can take root, stressed the participants of the conference “Resilient Europe through deliberative democracy: cities and regions in action!”, organised by the Council of Europe Congress in Strasbourg on 26 November 2025 as a contribution to the New Democratic Pact for Europe.

The event brought together 130 representatives of local, regional and national authorities, academia and civil society from 22 Council of Europe member States. Based on presentations of good practices in Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and Spain, participants exchanged views on how deliberative approaches can help foster democratic resilience, notably by promoting mutual respect and constructive dialogue. Deliberative democracy, by design, encourages listening and shared understanding, offering a pathway to counter polarisation and rebuild trust in public institutions.

The participants highlighted the need to build civic infrastructure for citizens’ deliberation that includes skills development, provision of region/country-wide deliberative services, dedicated funds and access to knowledge resources to support and organise deliberation in a more systemic way, connecting experts and platforms for mutual learning. They also underlined the importance of creating platforms for peer learning to support public authorities wishing to implement deliberative practices, and noted the emerging need for possible labelling of deliberative processes, in line with Council of Europe standards, to ensure that such initiatives are meaningful, inclusive and effective.

The Congress will pursue its efforts to promote deliberative approaches, helping communities build trust, enhance participation and strengthen resilience in the face of democratic backsliding.