ECoD Consortium
Members of the ECoD Consortium
Building on the legacy of Barcelona in 2023/24, title-holding cities play a very special role within the European Capitals of Democracy (ECoD) initiative and the European City Network (ECN). Starting with Vienna and Cascais, recently announced as ECoD 2026, all future title-holding cities will be members of the ECoD Consortium – a high-level Advisory Board of representatives from title-holding cities, international organisations and European institutions. The Consortium is convened by the CEO of European Capital of Democracy, Helfried Carl.
Responsibilities of Consortium members:
– Participation in one yearly meeting (hybrid)
– Strategic advice on the further development of the initiative
– Communication partnership for main highlights
– Financial contribution (for institutional members and European Capitals of Democracy)
– Participation in one highlight event per year
Steven Bosacker,
German Marshall Fund
“The actions of citizens, government officials, and a variety of local stakeholders ultimately enrich or erode the institutions of democracy and to fortify them, where they have been weakened, will require renewed attention and intention.”
Director of GMF Cities, former director of public sector innovation and strategic partnerships at Living Cities.
Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Bertelsmann Foundation
“We have to prove that our democracies are more innovative, faster, more functional and, in the end, better.”
Executive Vice President of the Bertelsmann Stiftung. Former director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations from June 2021 to February 2022.
Jürgen Czernohorszky,
City of Vienna
“Democracy is not a point of arrival but a process in which cities need to continually develop.“
Executive City Councillor for Climate, Environment, Democracy and Personnel.
Nuno Piteira Lopes,
Municipality of Cascais
“Our goal is to strengthen a participatory democracy that restores trust, enhances quality of life, and demonstrates how local government can truly serve its residents.”
Mayor, former Councilor for Sports and Youth at the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal.
Stefan Sindelar
Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs at the Austrian Government
“Democracy is not a spectator sport. We as citizens need to engage and fight to keep our liberal democracies alive.“
Head of Office at the State Secretariat for Deregulation, International Culture and Business Services at the Ministry for European and International Affairs at the Austrian Government. ECoD co-founder and CEO from Dec 2021 to Jan 2026. Former
Laura Thornton,
McCain Institute
“Autocrats are exchanging lessons learned along with surveillance technology and other methods of coercion. So we really have a job ahead of us to defend our democracies.“
Senior Director for Global Democracy Programs at the McCain Institute. Former Director at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund, director of global programs at International IDEA.