Programme
For Grantee partners
Grantee and foundation partners
Foundation partners only
Part I: Civil Society Forum
For Grantee partners
Facilitated by Tamas Hovanyecz, Katus Bartos, Oswald H. König Tafur
Monday 9th March - 'An Evening to Begin'
6th Floor of Bruges ConcertHall - 't Zand 34, Bruges, Belgium
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6:00pm Registration (Ground Floor, by the tower) & Welcome Dinner (Floor 6)
Arrive, register, and connect with your peers, hearing what's shaped them, what drives their work, what shifts they're seeing in the field.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE BRING IDENTIFICATION TO REGISTRATION
Tuesday 10th March – ‘Fading trends and rising forces in democracy’
Music Chamber (Ground floor) of Bruges ConcertHall
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9:00am Welcome, Introduction, Agreements
Arrive, and reconnect with your peers, presentation of the purpose of the day.
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9:40 AM Collective Story Harvesting I
Gathering authentic stories from the ground on defending our democracies in practice.
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10:40 AM Coffee Break
Pause, recharge, and continue conversations sparked by the morning sessions.
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11:10 AM Collective Story Harvesting II
Continuing to listen with a different lens, uncovering layers of meaning that matter.
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12:30 PM Group Picture and Lunch in the Foyer (Ground Floor)
Immortalise this moment all together then share a meal, continue to connect across peers.
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1:45 PM The Marketplace
Simultaneous sessions are hosted to meet grantees from across the network, explore potential collaborations, build capacity in areas that matter to you, discover new approaches.
Find more information on the different sessions here.
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3:45 PM Coffee break II
Restore energy before the end of the day, connect with new partners.
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4:00 PM Sensemaking
Drawing on the stories, conversations, and insights from the day, we pause to integrate what we have heard and learned.
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5:15 PM Closing & Check-out
Close the day and carry forward the wisdom gathered into collective imagination for the future tomorrow.
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8:00 PM Dinner For Grantees and Foundation partners
Mozart Restaurant - Sint Jacobsstraat 9, 8000 Bruges
Get to know each other beyond transactions and discover how we can help one another make our best contribution toward what we all care about: strengthening democracies and the societies we live in.
Part II: Democracy Futures
Grantee and foundation partners
Facilitated by David Hesse and Matteja Horvat, supported by Tamas Hovanyecz, Katus Bartos, Oswald H. König Tafur
Wednesday 11th March - Imagining the Future of European Democracy together
Music Chamber (Ground floor) of Bruges ConcertHall
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8:30 AM Welcome coffee
Arrive, connect, and start the day in conversation with peers from across the field.
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9:00 AM Welcome to the foresight
Share the purpose for the day and open the space for collective imagination about the future.
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9:15 AM Global perspectives panel
Hear powerful stories from different regions and reflect on what they teach us about defending democracy.
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Grigory Vaypan, Senior Lawyer, Memorial Human Rights Defense Center (Russia)
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Murat Çelikkan, Director, Truth Justice Memory Center (Turkiye)
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Yordanos Eyoel, CEO and founder Keseb (US)
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Moderated by Antanina Maslyka, Regional Director for Europe, Article 19
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10:05 AM Foresighting I
Dive into bold scenarios for Europe’s future and explore how our strategies can shape what comes next.
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10:35 Coffee Break
Pause, recharge, and continue conversations sparked by the morning sessions.
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11:00 AM Scenario Rooms
Dive into bold scenarios for Europe’s future and explore how our strategies can shape what comes next.
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12:25 PM Group Picture and in the Foyer (Ground Floor)
A photograph of all grantee and foundation partners together
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12:40pm Lunch in the Foyer (Ground Floor)
Share a meal, exchange ideas, and build connections across organisations and countries.
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2:05 PM Foresighting II
Bring insights together and identify the actions that can strengthen democracy across scenarios.
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2:30 PM Partnership lab
Have a constructive conversation about partnerships between grantees and foundations and how we can support each other best.
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3:30 PM Break + Networking
Restore energy before the end of the day, connect with new partners.
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4:00 PM Visioning + Sense-making: Europe 2040
Imagine a thriving democratic Europe and the role each of us can play in making it real.
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4:45 PM Closing Remarks
Capture the day’s energy and carry forward a shared sense of direction.
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5:15 PM Drinks - Location TBD
Celebrate the day together and continue the conversations informally.
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6:15 PM Special programme - on invitation only
Part III: General Assembly
Foundation partners only
Facilitated by the Civitates Team supported by Tamas Hovanyecz, Katus Bartos, Oswald H. König Tafur
Thursday 12th March - ‘From Foresight to Strategy’
6th Floor of Bruges ConcertHall
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9:00 AM Welcome
Welcome by Stefan Schafers, Chair of Civitates
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9:10 AM Reflections on the foresight exercise
Reflect back on the insights from the previous days and identify the actions that we can take forward to strengthen democracy across scenarios.
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10:30 AM Coffee break
Pause, recharge and continue conversations with your peers.
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11:00 AM Stories of Impact
Hear from the Civitates team on the impact of grantees from the Civic Power, Tech and Democracy, Media, and MFF portfolios.
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12:00 PM Impact and Learning at Civitates
Introducing Civitates Impact and Learning Framework by our Impact and Learning Manager, Maria Guerra-Arias
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12:25 PM Budget 2026-2028
Update on Civitates income and expenses for the period of 2026-2028.
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12:55 PM Closing Remarks
Close the General Assembly and carry forward a shared sense of direction.
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1:00 PM Light Buffet Lunch
7th Floor of Bruges ConcertHall
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2:30 PM Afternoon Visit in Bruges
De Republiek Bruges, Sint-Jakobsstraat 36 | 8000 Brugge
Visit a socio-cultural hub where creatives, entrepreneurs, and citizens come together to experiment, debate, and collaborate on shaping the future of the city