The future needs a vibrant European public sphere. But we need to work in the present to make it a reality.

Over 250 participants attended the European Hub for Civic Engagement’s Meet-up in Berlin to discuss how tech can empower civil society. Four prototypes showcased the potential of such tech solutions. However, the debate also uncovered three conditions of a successful implementation.

During the Meet-Up 2020, Das Progressive Zentrum and the European Hub for Civic Engagement (EHCE) will present 4 prototypes for an online platform to strengthen and interconnect European civil society.

In September 2019, Das Progressive Zentrum hosted two workshops in Gdansk and Lisbon with 42 civil society representatives from 23 European countries. The workshops are part of the pilot project ‘European Hub for Civic Engagement’ (EHCE), which aims to create a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and best practices at the intersection of civil society, digital technology, and politics. During the workshops, we developed concrete features that such a platform could provide to further civic engagement and transnational collaboration.

The Visegrad Four has aroused the minds and hearts of political spectators and actors alike lately: From a rather innocent and inconspicuous platform for informal regional cooperation, the V4 has evolved into a perceived antithesis of the European political mainstream in recent years. Yet, is this a mere snapshot of the current state of the V4 or a lasting development? What does the future hold for the V4? And, more importantly, how can progressive forces actively shape this future? Responses of our experts at the second international roundtable on ‘Future Scenarios for the Visegrad Group’ were mixed. Yet, on one aspect there was broad agreement: It is about high time to reinvent progressive politics – both spatially and thematically.

Has the Visegrad Group turned into a unified alliance of enemies to EU integration and refugees? Not according to the experts at our roundtable. Some of them even fear a potential implosion of the group.