(Re)Building Democracy 2025 - Pecs

Summary of Key Insights from (Re)Building Democracy 2025

Pécs, Hungary | June 18–19, 2025

Our coordinator of Czech Republic, Lenka Safrankova joined this years Conference in Pecs. Here you can find her summary of the dicussions.
 

• Status of democracy and civil society in the CEE region

Michal Vašečka (SK)

“We are living through the biggest paradigmatic shift of our lifetimes — akin to the agricultural or industrial revolution, but much faster.”
He refered to the classical three-sector model of society (state (public sector), the market (private sector), and civil society (nonprofit and voluntary sector)).

He described Central and Eastern Europe as “a ship stuck on a sandbank,” paralyzed and fatigued by change: “We are a region like a ship stranded on a sandbank. We are unable to navigate the change — we are fatigued.”
“People believe democracy no longer delivers what they want. They've given up.” Half of Slovaks do not participate in civic life; the other half is drawn to conspiracies.
 

Here you can find some more information about the conference:

“Central and Eastern Europe is a warning signal for the rest of Europe. It is our responsibility not to poison the others.”Lars-André Richter (DE)

 

General trend (PL, HU, SK)

Civil society fatigue is widespread. Donors are retreating from democracy support as it becomes politically sensitive.
In Hungary, local NGOs respond to funding cuts by building community-based resilience: local currencies, micro-businesses, and building funding ecosystems to bring money from the EU and support business and NGO angenda. Community building as inportant answer to totalitarism!
In Poland, cooperation between local authorities and civil society organizations is improving in bigger cities — a step toward more inclusive structures.
Poland has established a Minister for Civil Society, but it is not a separate ministry. The position is housed within the Prime Minister’s Office and was introduced by Donald Tusk’s government in response to growing concerns about the implementation and enforcement gap in public policy. The role is intended to strengthen collaboration between government and civil society organizations (CSOs), particularly at the local level and in sensitive policy areas like migration and inclusion.

Lars-André Richter (DE)

- “Decentralize your countries!.”

????  Recommendations to the EU Commission about financial support to civil society

Discussed in light of a concerning trend:
Many donors are withdrawing support for democracy-related initiatives, as the topic has become increasingly politically sensitive.

Daniel Hegedűs (German Marshall Fund) delivered a clear message to donors:
“Either you start supporting democratic movements here in Europe — not just in Africa or elsewhere — or you will soon become victims yourselves.”

???? Russian-type foreign agent laws: spreading disease

Katarína Batková (Via Iuris) noted that many civic movements in Central and Eastern Europe tend to replicate each other’s strategies — a dynamic that could also be observed within SozialMarie projects.

Bálint Farkas (Civilizáció) emphasized the importance of sharing both good practices and failures among civil society actors across the region.

Zahari Iankov (Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law) discussed emerging collaborations between businesses and NGOs in Bulgaria, highlighting potential for strategic alliances to support civic space.

Participants also discussed the growing threat of Russian-style foreign agent laws — especially in Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria — and agreed that:

This form of legislation is “boomeranging” across the region, and we must be prepared to resist and respond proactively.

 

???? Successful communication for reaching out from our bubble: good practices

Serbia (SRB):
Civic mobilization started with small, localised actions in different areas, eventually leading to a large-scale highway blockade after one year. Key strategy: Give people clear instructions on what to do and how — e.g. organise in small groups of 10.

PDCS (Slovakia):
Addressed the topic of disinformation by working with selected members of the church to counter harmful narratives.
Key insights:

Change the way you are talking!
Support the emergence of communities of practice.

Key takeaway on how to step out of your bubble:

“De-politicise and go to the core of the issue!” Empower people outside your bubble to understand and engage with others.

 

???? Leadership development: a popular approach

Many civic leaders experience burnout in their early 40s, often due to the lack of peer support or community.

Leadership development programmes were also discussed:

They often show measurable impact on individual careers,
But the societal impact is rarely assessed — opening up the theme of measuring social impact in leadership and civic capacity-building.

???? Business&Democracy: How and with what content could wefill the S in ESG?

(Barbara Erős, Jiří Kulik, Péter Rendes, Attila Bertók, Teréz Kleisz)

Companies and NGOs often lack a shared platform for collaboration.
Risk of “social washing” is real — we need to co-create genuine partnerships.
NGOs must understand that businesses think differently and expect returns.
Call for a paradigm shift:

“We are living through a major societal change — we must assess it and offer new models that go beyond the three-sector logic.”

Discussion themes:

What kind of certifications and partnerships are needed?
How to move beyond marketing and into mutual learning?
Can community banks or alternative economies become models?