We are kicking off the new year with getting inspired by art! Our guided tour of the exhibition 'Changemakers' at the Parlamentarium is already fully booked, but you can join us afterward for our regular Brussels #DemocracyDrinks.

Day: Thursday 16 January, 18:00-19:30
Venue: lounge of hotel Aloft (entrance: Rue Juste Lipse)
Fee: please support Defend Democracy's work:

Defend Democracy helped the new Netherlands Democracy Coalition prepare a session about digitisation and Big Tech.

"We thought that ‘the internet’ would connect people and democratise knowledge, information and public debate. While that happened initially, a ‘laisser faire’ approach - leaving digital infrastructure, products and platforms to the market - very early on created the initial conditions for the digital mess we are in today. It will get much worse, and deciding and implementing solutions is a race against time."

On 17-18 December, Defend Democracy had the honour to attend the Sakharov Prize award ceremony at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg.

The ceremony was followed by exchanges with MEPs, sessions the winners and nominees of the Sakharov Prize, and a workshop with fellow civil society organisations.

"To protect what you have, find what you have in common. In a polarised society, seek unity."

On 10 December we invited Senior Assistant Professor Tom Theuns to our monthly #DemocracyDrinks for an exchange about his new book 'Protecting Democracy in Europe: Pluralism, Autocracy and the Future of the EU'.

"The survival of democracy in Europe depends on the EU’s willingness to act decisively when member states erode democratic norms."

Our director Stollmeyer joined an all-female panel about protecting democracy in times of war and peace. She said:

"Democracy and security go hand in hand. We are already at war, even if we don’t recognise it. It’s a war of subversion rather than domination. The EU must invest in civil society as backbone of civil preparedness and societal resilience."

Join the call to demand protection from Big Tech.

"We urge [the EU] to turn off the addiction by ensuring strong enforcement of the Digital Services Act and prohibiting addictive techniques that are not covered by existing legislation. Social media platforms need to stop making money from our vulnerabilities."