The project aims to mitigate deepening media polarisation in support of voters’ informed decision making in Georgia and V4 states by assessing internal and external political factors that stimulate polarisation after the start of the war in Ukraine, as well as by promoting dialogue and experience exchange between media and civil society of Georgia, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland. Project proposal focuses on the critical challenges of media polarisation and responds to the questions about how to cope with increasing pressure and make media more accountable. The project also aims to distinguish the mechanisms to mitigate polarisation in the media and find the ways of how media can facilitate political debate to help voters make informed decisions based on the best practices.
The protagonists of liberal democracy and open society – liberal-minded political actors, civil groups and citizens - face ongoing populist ideological attacks against the fundaments of our liberal political system as well as the erosion of shared universal and European values in big portions of the populations. Although an anti-liberal U-turn has not occurred globally, the emergence of authoritarian states, especially Russia and China, and the significant influence of illiberal political entrepreneurs within the international democratic community have recently made the serious challenge more salient. It is still not too late to conceptualise how a wide circle of stakeholders, who believe in the future of liberal democracy and the liberal world order – including the reform capability of the European Union - might and should react assertively to the major political threat of our current era. There are positive examples worldwide which give us hope about the resilience of liberal political regimes. In worse cases – just like in Hungary – the political renewal of pro-European and liberal-minded actors need much more intellectual, visionary, strategic, organisational and communicative innovations in order to regain their dominant role in the political arena and the public spheres.
We intend to deal with the future of democracy globally and the social-political challenges to the liberal world order. Our focus is on the Summit for Democracy initiated by the Biden administration and its potential impacts on political development at global, regional and national levels from the perspective of civil society. We invite high-level speakers and participants from both sides of the Atlantic to an interactive conference to be held in Budapest. It is our intention to analyze the goals and chances of the summit both from theoretical and practical perspectives with experts, scholars, intellectuals, professionals, NGO-s, citizens and other stake-holders as speakers as well as participating audiences. Civil groups still have a chance to interfere and influence the outcome of the summit with recommendations: we emphasize the criteria and significance of human values and liberal principles, minority rights, the rule of law, political liberties, intercultural dialogue, civic education, new methods for citizens’ participation, media pluralism, digitalisation, transparency, green transformation, social justice, and, last, but not least, the importance of securing the international liberal world order.
The project entitled “The Future of Democracy: Strengthening Liberal Values, Institutions and Procedures at Global, European, Regional and National Levels” has been launched in March 2022, supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.The Future of Democracy: Strengthening Liberal Values, Institutions and Procedures at Global, European, Regional and National Levels
Liberal democracy has been under attack worldwide in national and regional public arenas as well as through the increasing international geopolitical race between the democratic Western world and strengthening (semi)-authoritarian regimes. The beginning of the twenties of the 21st century has brought up new risks and threats to the surface: environmental emergency, an unknown pandemic, migration, growing economic inequalities, the contradictions of a post-truth era, ideological/cultural as well as social/geographic polarisation and fragmentation, extreme right-wing identity politics, and soon.
The Hungarian Europe Society has two particular focuses which comprehensively incorporate the above mentioned themes. First, the Conference on the Future of Europe that was launched in May 2021 works with an open agenda and its settings let participants discuss all kinds of policy issues as well as legal and institutional renovations. Second, the Summit for Democracy, invented by the Biden administration, goes beyond transatlantic relations regarding its more ambitious, global scope in order to bring together democratic states for action worldwide. Both big exercises give civil groups, think tanks and citizens the chance to interfere and influence conceptual considerations and practical outputs before the end of the deliberations.
The EUritage project celebrates the 30th anniversary of Central European democratic revolutions as well as the 15th anniversary of their accession to the European Union. The project is led by WiseEuropa, Warsaw, together with the Institut für Europäische Politik in Berlin, Metropolitan University Prague, City of Gdańsk and the Hungarian Europe Society. It is co-financed by the European Commission within the framework of its Europe for Citizens programme.
In our tumultuous times faced with the growing challenges of climate change, great power politics and their security implications, inequality in all its forms, or the economic recovery in the aftermath of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of dialogue and creative, innovative thinking is indisputable. In the era of fake news and disinformation, respectful and fact-based exchange on how we as a transatlantic community want to shape our future is essential. In line with its mission to provoke and promote dialogue on current affairs, the proposed project of the Hungarian Europe Society seeks to provide platform for such an exchange between opinion leaders with conflicting views from Europe and the United States and the wider public - in the form of essays and online discussions - on topics ranging from the future of transatlantic relation, transition to a green economy, the challenges of digitalization or the future of liberal democracy.
Our aim is to improve our understanding of the implications of selected challenges, generate potential common solutions and to facilitate exchange and contacts between American and European (especially Central European) communities. We plan to close the project with a workshop that will function as an idea-incubator and will kick-off new, innovative projects based on the year-long exchange between HES and its partners.
The project is funded by the International Visegrad Fund and implemented by Europe without Barriers (Ukraine) in the partnership with Nasz Wybor (Poland), Poradna pro Integraci (Czechia), Research Centre of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (Slovakia) and Hungarian Europe Society (Hungary).
The project is aimed at widespreading in popular media of detailed and argumentative data about the new labour legislation in V4 countries, methods of legal employment, sources of statistical data and expert interpretation.
International team of researchers from Ukraine, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary will create a guide “Myths and stereotypes about Ukrainian labour migration to V4 countries”, covering media image of labour migration from Ukraine in media of 5 countries, analyzing the most common mistakes and myths, providing sources of trusted data for journalists, state officials and public persons who intend to make public statements about labour migration.
Project includes a workshop-presentation for Ukrainian journalists and experts in Kyiv with participation of foreign co-authors of the guide, and a series of presentations of the guide in V4 countries’ capitals.
Also Europe without Barriers will coordinate a 3-month competition for Ukrainian journalists in 5 categories: the best analytic publication, best explainer (“how to”), best reportage, best interview, best TV/radio program about labour migration to V4 countries.
The Hungarian Europe Society started a series of events focusing on the Central European region in order to give floor to alternative concepts and ideas challenging illiberal, populist narratives about the role of Visegrad countries inside the European Union. HES wants to create a network of like-minded think tanks, NGO-s and individuals in the region and beyond.
