In challenging times, discussing democracy is not an abstract exercise — it is an act of resilience.
On 14–15 April in Brussels, Belgium, ALDA organised the event “At Europe’s Heart: Civic Participation, Housing Rights and Neighbourhood Policies Two Years after the European Elections” within the framework of the EUDEM project. The event brought together European local authorities, grassroots organisations and experts to reflect on key pillars of democratic resilience across the continent.
The growing housing crisis in many European cities calls for a paradigm shift: housing must be recognised as a matter of justice. This means understanding housing, and the broader living conditions it entails, as a fundamental right to be guaranteed, rather than a commodity to be traded. At the same time, civic participation in local governance must become structural.
Addressing the complexity of the challenges affecting our communities requires renewed alliances between local institutions and the citizens they serve
These themes were explored during the first day through a roundtable discussion featuring representatives from the Vienna, the Helsinki, the Public Centre for Social Welfare of Brussels and Eutropian, who shared experiences and good practices from their respective contexts.
ALDA firmly believes in the power of local democracy as the space where democratic resilience can be tested, strengthened and sustained, even in contexts where national democratic stability is under pressure. For this reason, the second day of the event focused on case studies of local democratic resilience beyond EU borders, including Eastern Europe, Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa. These were presented by experts from the Thematic Engagement Division and grassroots organisations such as Humanees, Hope4Life and International Observatory on Participatory Democracy.
During the event, ALDA also presented a position paper to which it contributed on local democratic resilience within the framework of the Global Gateway initiative. This was discussed alongside the Action Paper “The Future of Local Government Development Cooperation” presented by Neila Akrimi from CILG-VNG International.
However, this event marks only one step in a broader journey.
In May and June, further opportunities will be offered to continue exploring key issues related to European democratic resilience, with a particular focus on housing justice and civic participation in local governance.
Stay tuned for upcoming updates, and if you wish to engage further, join the EUDEM Community of Interest.