The World Forum for Democracy will be held in Strasbourg (France) from 18-20 November 2015. The theme of this year’s Forum is “Freedom vs control: for a democratic response”.

The growing tension between the concern for safety and the protection of freedoms is one of the key challenges facing democracies today.

The Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy is an annual gathering of leaders, opinion-makers, civil society activists, representatives of business, academia, media and professional groups to debate key challenges for democracies worldwide. The insights gathered during the World Forum meetings inform the work of the Council of Europe and its numerous partners in the field of democracy and democratic governance.

World Forum for Democracy

The European Commission published its report on the 2014 European Elections, looking back at the first campaign to feature lead candidates from European political parties. The selection of candidates for the Commission Presidency by major political parties in Europe was a new step towards European-level democracy, resulting in the election of Commission President Juncker and an individual hearing for each designated commissioner-candidate by MEPs from the relevant Committee.

The report reviews the 2014 elections, including measures taken to enhance their transparency, democratic conduct and the European dimension. It assesses citizens’ awareness of the elections and the associated rights, action taken by Member States and EU institutions in this respect, and actual turnout. It also looks at the enforcement of EU citizens’ electoral rights.

Report on the 2014 European Elections

It’s our Europe! It’s our voice! But how to put this into practice?

The new EPTAC in 23 official languages facilitates public participation across the European Union, the world’s biggest transnational democracy, with its 28 member states, 500 regions and more than 100 000 municipalities.

Trying to change the education system? Having a problem with poisoned food products? Want to move the lorries from road to rail? Or having problems registering your company across the border? EU citizens have many rights and face hard choices – but they need to know what options they have to influence issues and in which arenas.

The new EPTAC published by the EESC offers “quick guides”, factsheets, background information, pathfinders and navigators to all aspects of modern European democracy, including a toolkit of participation resources and a detailed manual on the European Citizens Initiative (ECI).

European Passport to Active Citizenship

A transformative vision for ‪education‬ over the next 15 years was adopted at the World Education Forum on 21 May in Incheon, Republic of Korea.
The Incheon Declaration was welcomed by the global education community, including government ministers from more than 100 countries, non-governmental organisations and youth groups. It encourages countries to provide inclusive, equitable,‪ quality education‬ and ‪Lifelong learning‬ opportunities for all. The Declaration will underpin the education targets in the Sustainable Development Goals that will be ratified at the United Nations in September.

The Incheon Declaration