The Incite-Dem Consortium kindly invites you to join us at our high-level closing event

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY

A half-day event that will bring together project partners, Members of the European Parliament and European Commission, as well as experts, academics, and civil society to discuss the future of citizens engagement and explore future-oriented policy roadmaps for inclusive, participatory, and innovative democracy by 2050.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27th 2026

9:30 ― 14:00

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT & hybrid Online

The multiple environmental, economic and social crises of our world in transformation test the capacity of our societies to ensure democratic participation, build political trust, and create societal consensus. Citizen participation and co-creation processes are therefore critical to support democracy processes and improve the quality of political decisions.

INCITE-DEM is a research Horizon Europe project dedicated to advancing inclusive and participatory democracy. Throughout the project, partners have explored how democratic innovation can be meaningfully embedded in policymaking and translated into policy guidance for a more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative democracy in a world in transformation.

The final event at the European Parliament will serve as a platform to debate the future of citizen engagement, explore the role of democratic innovation in addressing complex policy challenges, and consider how new participatory models can be meaningfully integrated into EU governance frameworks.

Join us on January 27 for this milestone event, where we will share findings, policy insights, and forward-looking perspectives on inclusive democracy in Europe!

8:30    Registration

9:30    Opening, Welcome and Keynote by MEP Matjaž Nemec

9:40    INCITE-DEM in a nutshell  (Inês Campos, PhD – Project Coordinator, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon)

9:50    Presentation of Policy Roadmaps (Francesc Cots – eco-union)

10:10  Policy Roundtable – Towards a more Inclusive EU: Challenges and Opportunities for Citizen Participation

11:20   Open Floor

11:45   Closing Remarks – Key takeaways for Policymakers (Janez Potočnik, PhD – Former Commissioner for Science & Research and Environment, Co-chair UNEP International Resource Panel + Petteri Repo, PhD – Research Director, Centre for Consumer Society Research at the University of Helsinki)

12:00  Networking Reception

12:30   Parallel Sessions

• • • Democratic Innovations and Responsiveness
    • Citizen Consultation and Inclusiveness
    • Policy Pathways Session

14:00 End