End of March, a vibrant presentation event at EL BORN CENTRE DE CULTURA I MEMÒRIA brought together key stakeholders to introduce the European Capital of Democracy’s Programme Year, inviting the civil society and business community to partner-up with us to make Barcelona a beacon of democracy.
At the event, attendees were given an in-depth look into the Programme’s agenda: from civic engagement and public participation to local democracy and digital innovation.
We presented our lighthouse projects which will serve as core elements of the Programme Year: “Art of Democracy” (Dunja Ganser & Oliver Hangl), an art festival that will spark conversations at the crossroad of art and democracy, “Truth, Lies and Democracy” (Ronny Zuckermann & Luján Oulton) which invites Europe’s gamers to fight fake news and the “ACT NOW Mayors’ Conference” (Martina Fürrutter & Umberto Constantini) which will promote local action for climate protection. All activities will be designed to engage people from all walks of life, from grassroots activists to policymakers and business leaders.
As the first-ever European Capital of Democracy, Barcelona will play a unique role in promoting democratic values and empowering citizens to take on an active part in shaping the future of their city. By bringing together stakeholders from across the community, we want to build a stronger, more inclusive, and more effective Programme Year.
“In the end, it is democracy that delivers for the people. And this is what we want to demonstrate to the world at our events in this wonderful city of Barcelona.”
Helfried CARL, founder
We are looking forward to joining forces and are excited that we had the opportunity to create new alliances for democracy. Finally, a big thank you goes out to the Barcelona City Council for its efforts in preparing this event, especially to Toñi Sánchez Hernández, Arnau Monterde, and City Councillor Marc Serra as well as our brilliant moderator of the evening Antonia Folguera.