Skip to content

The Global Forum on Democracy hosted by the University of Bucharest

6 June 2024
← Back to news
Over 200 speakers and hundreds of participants from across the world took part in this year's edition of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, co-organised in partnership with Europuls – Centre for European Expertise, the Swiss NGO Democracy International and Swiss Democracy Foundation. 
Photo © UB
Trust in institutions, in the media, and in each other is essential for the functioning of vibrant democracies. It is incumbent upon us to nurture and reinforce this trust through active citizenship, transparent governance, and robust democratic practices. Democracy, with its participatory mechanisms and inclusive governance structures, plays a crucial role in preventing conflicts and fostering enduring peace, is the message the organisers aimed to convey, with the concept of “trust in democracy” as the central theme of the event.

The six main themes of the forum, on which all debated concentrated were

  • fundamental trust in democracy;
  • the role of democracy in peace and conflict resolution;
  • European democracy and transnational participation;
  • media, technology, and democracy;
  • the vitality of local democracy; empowering youth participation
  • the importance of engaging the new generation in the decision-making processes at national and European level.

4 days, 6 key subjects

For four days, several key subjects were debated: the participation of youth to the decisional process, direct democracy and participating to EU decisions, the connection between the media and democracy, trust in political representatives, institutions and the media or the implications of the war in Ukraine and its consequences on Romania, Moldova, the Black Sea region.

Professor Marian Preda, PhD, the Rector of the University of Bucharest, noted that the University of Bucharest is one of the founding institutions of the modern Romanian democratic state. The professor also noted the participative role of the UB students to the decisional process at national and European level and the institutional support of their initiatives. Nevertheless, the UB students were also involved as volunteers in the organisation of the Forum, many of them participating in the debates. 

Photo © UB
In addition, the University of Bucharest, member of the CIVIS Alliance along with ten other European partner universities, encourages the new generations of students to acquire and become promoters of the values, cultures and European citizenship in an inclusive academic community that promotes educational mobility, civic engagement and research.

A global, diverse community of activists, decision-makers and experts

The Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy has been organised on five continents ever since 2008. The event in Bucharest focused on the challenges that democracy is facing in Romania, but also on the global phenomena constantly shaping the world we live in.

Speakers included H. E. John Cornet d’Elzius – Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium in Romania, H. E. Ilhor Prokopchuk, Ambassador of Ukraine in Romania, H. E. Victor Chirilă – Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in Romania, H. E. Massimo Baggi – Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in Romania, Corina Crețu, European Parliament member and former European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, and Government officials. 

Photo © UB

The objective of the Forum is to provide participants with the necessary knowledge to build a safer future, in which trust remains at the core of democracy. 

About Europuls

Europuls – The Centre for European Expertise is an NGO established in 2010 in Brussels, by a group of Romanian experts in European business. The Europuls’s goal is to promote the European integration process in Romania, but also to contribute to developing the European Public Space. Europuls aims to stimulate public debates on European themes by publishing articles and studies, as well as by organising debates, workshops, and conferences.

Find out more from the original, Romanian version of the story.

Read also:

550 years since the first mention of the University of Tübingen