Shrinking Civic Space – EUSTORY Past Forward Festival 2026
Experts from Poland, Hungary, and Germany discuss means and the necessity of building resilience in civic spaces in a time when democracy is under threat in many places around the world.
Panel on Lessons from Poland, Hungary and Germany.
What may once have seemed like an authoritarian dystopia is becoming an increasingly familiar reality in parts of Europe. NGOs are being labelled as „foreign agents“, civil society organisations face growing political pressure, and advocates for an inclusive culture of remembrance are increasingly subjected to intimidation and threats.
What does it take to defend civic space when democracy comes under pressure? Which opportunities do organisations have to resist political pressure? Can successful strategies be transferred across borders, or are they shaped by national contexts?
Bringing together perspectives from Poland, Hungary and Germany, this panel explores what resistance looks like in practice. Through concrete experiences and lessons learned, participants will gain insights into the challenges, limits and possibilities of defending civic space in different European contexts.
