Activities Strengthening Democracy “Democracy Reimagined” - Conference in Canberra 17.11.2025 Strengthening the resilience of democratic institutions and processes must go hand in hand with efforts to renew the franchise and to re-establish the purpose of democratic deliberation in changing circumstances. Image: Creator: FES ANZ To protect democracy, reform and renewal must be part of the effort FES Australia & New Zealand was proud to partner with the University of Canberra’s Center for Deliberative Democracy to deliver the conference “Democracy Reimagined – Advancing Democratic Resilience and Renewal”. Over the course of three days, different views from civil society, academia and government provided a comprehensive display of the many challenges to democracy and possibilities for addressing them. It became clear once again that protecting existing institutions and processes from the strains of populism, interference and manipulation needed to go hand in hand with the introduction of new methods of citizen involvement and participation. Thus, Thamy Pogrebinschi of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) stressed the need to examine successful examples from the Global South for renewing the practice of democracy, as did others of the 40 international presenters. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, in its domestic and international work, provides analysis and support for building democratic resilience, as was pointed out by Michael Meier, Head of International Cooperation at FES headquarters in his opening remarks. Further information A synopsis of conference proceedings and results will be available soon. Contact Image: Creator: FES Dr. Andreas Radtke Executive Director +61 408 474 275 andreas.radtke(at)fes.de
