We often hear that “Brussels is too far away” from the EU citizens: the turnout of the European Parliament elections is low, nationalist populism and Euroscepticism are on the rise. What to do? How to enhance citizens’ understanding of the EU, broaden ownership of the European project and build trust in the European structures?

For the first time, three European think tanks joined forces to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy: Renaissance Numérique, EuropaNova, and Das Progressive Zentrum. As a concrete realization of this partnership, the think tanks launched a common series of conferences in both France and Germany: “EU Digital Challenges”. Read here our joint appeal for promoting European digital citizenship.

For the first time, three European think tanks joined forces to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy: Renaissance Numérique, EuropaNova, and Das Progressive Zentrum. As a concrete realization of this partnership, the think tanks launched a common series of conferences in both France and Germany: “EU Digital Challenges”. Read here two policy briefings from the project.

Which topics do progressives need to focus on in these turbulent times? How can a progressive think tank contribute to our liberal and social democracy? Our position paper provides answers.

400 progressives from 21 countries joint the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019 to reimagine the social contract and build communities for change. One keynote managed to set the frame for the day.

In May 2019, Hungary celebrated 15 years of EU membership. However, the European Parliament believes that Hungary is in breach of EU values, thereby posing a threat to the existence of the union. The fundamental restructuring of the political system initiated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party has had a tangible impact on the functioning of Hungarian democracy, raising concerns and criticism. How will this conflict develop – both with regard to Hungary as an EU member state and with regard to the future of the EU?

Among the guests are Maja Göpel, Robert Habeck, Marije Laffeber, Tim Ryan, Stephan Weil and many more leading and emerging academics, activists and decision-makers from Europe and the US that are coming together to discuss their ideas for rejuvenating the progressive movement. How can progressive politics counter nationalism? How can we shift to a more sustainable and inclusive economic system? How can we ensure that everyone has a share in progress?

Join us for the Leaders Debate and Celebrating Spring Party of the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019. The event takes place on 25 April 2019, starting at 5.30 pm.

On Friday, 22 March 2019, Harvard Professor Roberto Unger, as well as Madeleine Gabriel and Isaac Stanley from the London-based innovation foundation Nesta, presented their new study “Imagination Unleashed: Democratising the Knowledge Economy” at the Democracy Lab. The authors propose to radically change our current economic structure in a way that allows for more people, places and firms to participate in the knowledge economy.

Three French-German think tanks, namely Das Progressive Zentrum, EuropaNova and Renaissance Numérique, join forces for the first time to reflect upon the EU digital technologies strategy. The third conference of the “EU Digital Challenges” series will take place in Paris on 10 April 2019.

A transition to a more sustainable system of energy supply is happening globally. A Just Transition – the one that embraces social, environmental and economic aspects – is crucial if the energy transition is to be a success.

What should the democracy of the future look like? Which institutional changes are required to cope with the challenges of a globalised and digital world? And how can we include people more effectively in political decision-making processes? The Democracy Lab brought together stakeholders from civil society, academia and politics in order to find answers to these questions. In our Progress Report, we present our ideas, projects and results of the first project phase.

The Berlin political scene met with Timothy Snyder, one of the leading American historians and public intellectuals. It was an occasion to talk about his latest book, “Road to Unfreedom” and its possible implications for political practice. The event was co-organised by The German Marshall Fund of the United States and Das Progressive Zentrum.

We commemorate the brave European and Democrat Paweł Adamowicz, murdered in January 2019.

In this Policy Paper, Daniel Schade discusses a relatively new format to foster parliamentary cooperation in the EU: interparliamentary conferences (ICPs). He suggests multiple venues for reforming the present IPCs to facilitate the fulfillment of their objectives.

Artificial intelligence is widely considered “one of the most strategic technologies of the 21st century”. Will Europe prove able to compete in this global race? Genuine ambitions are out there: The European Commission has officially declared it a high priority.

Policy fellow Katarzyna Anna Klimowicz evaluates a new phenomenon on the political scene in Europe: network parties. This paper identifies common features of network parties by looking at best practices and characteristics, especially in the organisational structure and political programmes.

How should the European Union tackle the growing threat of cyber attacks? How can cybersecurity be effectively governed at a European level? To address these questions and advance the debate on the EU digital strategy, Das Progressive Zentrum partnered with EuropaNova and Renaissance Numérique to host an expert discussion on the topic.

Das Progressive Zentrum has scouted innovative projects by politicians in Germany. A European jury has nominated nine of those for the finals. The price will be awarded in Vienna on 17 November. Even though all nominees follow different approaches, they are united by one theme.

How can technological advancement be shaped in a more socially compatible way? This and many more pressing questions will be addressed at this year’s Revision Summit on 19-20 November in Berlin. Das Progressive Zentrum is a partner of the event.