About the Event

"doing democracy" is an event that brings together civil society actors, researchers, students, and political representatives. Our goal is to strengthen democratic engagement – in the border region between Germany and Poland and beyond.

Event Format

The event combines various formats: keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and networking sessions. Participants can both contribute and learn.

Venue

The event takes place at Europa-Universität Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) and at SWPS University in Słubice – symbolically on both sides of the German-Polish border.

Who is invited?

NGOs

Do you work in your organisation to support democracy, participation, human dignity, or social cohesion?

Researchers

Would you like to learn more about the situation of German and Polish NGOs in the field of DOING DEMOCRACY?

Students

Are you—based on your research or studies—interested in getting in contact with representatives of NGOs from Poland and Eastern Germany in the fields of civic education, community building, democratic participation, human rights protection, or extremism prevention? Are you looking for practice partners for a research project in the field of democracy?

About ERUA

The European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) connects eight universities across Europe committed to reforming higher education and research for a more equitable and democratic Europe. "doing democracy" is part of the ERUA Collaborative Open Space (ECOS) initiative.

Learn More
ERUA

Three Pillars of the Event

1

Exchange

Dialogue and exchange are at the centre of the networking event: NGOs, initiatives, researchers, and students present their work and concerns in advance in a unified poster format. On this basis, we create working groups. In this way, thematic spaces for conversation emerge in which practical experience and academic perspectives meet – for example on questions of democratic resilience, social participation, or engagement in rural areas.

2

Initiate Cooperation

Another aim is to provide impulses for project-based or longer-term cooperation between NGOs and university education and research. This could include, for example, the involvement of NGOs in study or research projects, or analyses for NGOs carried out by students.

3

Formulating concerns to policymakers

Finally, political decision-makers shall also be addressed. A panel discussion and a presentation of the networking results in front of invited guests are planned.