Programme of the World Forum for Democracy 2026
2 November / Day 1
Democracy Is Under Pressure: the state of play
Morning plenary sessions
Objective of the session: to advance the reflection on the main transformations of democratic societies through strategic foresight, in order to strengthen democratic resilience and collective preparedness for disrupted times.
Welcoming
10.00-10.05 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
by Petra BAYR, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Opening Plenary
10.05–10.40 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Strengthening Democracy for Disrupted Times
Video
10.40-10.45 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
A taste of foresight
Keynotes
10.45-11.30 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Democracy needs strategic foresight
Debate
11.30-13.00 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
What is transforming and shaping Europe?
1. Socio-economic transformation
2. Institutional transformation
3. Digital and technological transformation
Lunch break
13.00-14.30
Afternoon session:
Exploring post-rupture order scenarios for democracy
Objective of the session: to explore democratic foresight approaches that help democracies prepare for tomorrow, while highlighting how democratic security can be strengthened today by reinforcing the bonds between citizens, institutions and territories.
Citizen’s perspectives
14.30-16.00 / Meeting Rooms of the Palais de l’Europe
(Re)building Democratic Security and Foresight : Linking Citizens, Institutions, and Territories to Anticipate Future Challenges - Citizen’s perspectives
Parallel session 1. Civic Engagement and Democratic Participation (Room 6)
Parallel session 2. Foresight Scenarios (Room 1)
Parallel session 3. Living Together: How does Intercultural Inclusion Strengthen Our Democracies? (Room 2)
Parallel session 4. The Role of Local Powers on Safeguarding Democracy (Room 3)
Coffee break
16.00-16.30
Institutions’ perspectives
16.30-18.00 / Meeting Rooms of the Palais de l’Europe
(Re)building Democratic Security and Foresight: Linking Citizens, Institutions, and Territories to Anticipate Future Challenges - Institutions’ perspectives
Parallel session 5. Dialogue Europe – Africa for democratic security (Room 2)
Parallel session 6. Shaping the Future of Democracy: Demographic Change, Economic Actors and Democratic Resilience (Room 1)
Parallel session 7. Results of national foresight exercises (Room 3)
Parallel session 8. Strengthening Societal Resilience to Disinformation (Room 6)
Parallel session 9. Creative political processes (Room 10)
Reception
18.00
3 November / Day 2
Testing Responses Against Possible Futures
Morning plenary sessions
Objective of the session: to promote inclusive democratic decision-making and resilience while underlining the key strengths of the Council of Europe in preparing for the future
Keynote speech
09.30-9.45 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Sharing solutions
9.45–11.00 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Putting Council of Europe Insights to the Test
11.00-12.00 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Constructive debate on how to strengthen democratic decision-making and resilience.
Lunch break
12.00-14.00
Afternoon Labs:
Confronting concrete initiatives against the future scenarios
Objective of the session: to translate foresight into action by examining concrete initiatives and solutions that strengthen democratic participation, protect democratic values and foster innovation for future challenges. The solutions and initiatives are classed within the three pillars of the New Democratic Pact for Europe.
Labs – Serie 1
14.00-15.20 / Meeting Rooms of the Palais de l'Europe
Pillar 1 - Learning and practising democracy
Session 1 - Empowering Citizens: Media and Information Literacy for Democracy (Room 9)
Pillar 2 - Protecting democracy
Session 2 - Citizen Mobilisation for Climate: Rethinking Governance in Times of Emergency (Room 1)
Session 3 - Social justice and public services (Room 6)
Pillar 3 - Innovating democracy
Session 4 - Strengthening inclusive democracy free from hate speech (Room 2)
Coffee break
15.20-15.40
Labs – Serie 2
15.40-17.00 / Meeting Rooms of the Palais de l'Europe
Pillar 1 - Learning and practising democracy
Pillar 2 - Protecting democracy
Session 6 - Electoral and democratic integrity (Room 6)
Pillar 3 - Innovating democracy
Session 7 - AI and Democracy: Opportunities, Risks and Governance Challenges (Room 1)
Ceremony for the Democracy Innovation Award
17.00-17.30 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Closing ceremony
17.30-18.00 / Hemicycle of the council of europe
Conclusions and key takeaways
Artistic performance followed by a reception
18.00 / Hemicycle of the council of europe