Morning 05: Strengthening Democracy and the Rule of Law: The Role of Civil-Society
In recent years, Europe has witnessed a growing engagement of civil society in support of the rule of law and strengthening democracy. The purpose of this seminar will be to study this development with a particular focus on varying regional experiences and the different mechanisms chosen in those regional contexts. In particular, the seminar will look at practical examples for civil society action in the fight against corruption, but also study broader efforts to develop new models of participatory democracy such as the Irish ‘Citizens’ Assembly’. While exploring the specificities of certain regional and national situations, participants will analyse the communalities between these different initiatives and try to answer the question what civil society activists operating in different parts of Europe (within the European Union and its eastern neighbourhood) can learn from each other’s experiences. Special attention will be given to the role of social media.
