“In the past years we have seen significant demographic, social and economic changes. Today, we see a polarisation with political apathy and cynicism on the one hand and powerful protest movements on the other”, said Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Salzburg and Head of the Austrian Delegation to the Congress, at the Symposium “Municipalities and Regions as Foundation of a Modern Civil Society” co-organised by the Congress on 7 February in Salzburg (Austria). Mrs Mosler-Törnström emphasised that in all of Europe, the reaction to these developments is to introduce new forms of participation that could promote activism, foster tolerance and revitalise politics. “The key questions are how achieve this aim, how to better exchange existing experiences and how to integrate these new models of participation into political processes”, she said. The event was attended by some 80 participants with diverse backgrounds in politics, science, public administration and media.