We recently participated in the online forum “Let’s Discuss Democracy”, held within the project EUDEM, which we implement together with our partners from Hungary, Germany, Italy and Belgium. We came together to reflect on what democracy means today, how we can strengthen resilient democracies across Europe, and what role young people can play in this process.

Our colleague Jana from Georgia shared an inspiring speech, speaking from lived experience and reminding us that democracy is more than institutions – it’s people.

Speaking from today’s Georgia, Jana highlighted how democratic tools can be taken away, but the spirit of democracy can’t be erased:

“Georgia can no longer be considered a democratic country, but it doesn’t mean we lost democracy. (…) Today, I would say democracy is the power of people’s connection – the power of people who are coming together because they share the same concerns and visions, and they want to transform them into real changes.”

Her words remind us that solidarity, community, connections and trust in change are what keep democracy alive, even in times of crisis.

This event was organised in the scope of the project “EUDEM: Strengthening Democratic Resilience Across Europe” thanks to partnership between Commit (Germany), Foundation RE (Poland), the European Network ALDA (Belgium), Europiamo ETS (Italy) and SocialFokus (Hungary). The project is funded by European Union. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or the CERV program. Neither the EU nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.