On May 27, 2025, ECES proudly organised and moderated the webinar “Democracy Between the Ballots: Sustaining Engagement and Integrity Beyond Election Day” within the framework of Team Europe Democracy (TED). Led by our Founder and Executive Director Fabio Bargiacchi, the event focused on working with democratic institutions during the often-overlooked period between elections.
The webinar brought together the EU’s frontline practitioners, alongside experts from ECES, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for a practical exchange on sustaining democratic values during the critical inter-election period. Each organisation contributed insights focused on a key pillar of democratic resilience: ECES highlighted civic engagement, NIMD examined institutional architecture, and UNESCO addressed information integrity, drawing on the insights of Hermenegildo Mulhovo, NIMD Country Director in Mozambique, speaking on the situation in the country—marked by post-electoral unrest and calls for democratic reform—and Florina Costica, Governance team leader of the EU delegation to Guinea, addressing the country’s fragile political transition, the webinar will explore key challenges and lessons from both contexts.
The panellists underlined that democracy is not a one-day event, highlighting key recommendations which included:
- Ensuring continuous support to democratic institutions beyond election periods;
- Investing in long-term civic education through schools, community outreach, and media literacy programs co-designed with civil society;
- Supporting local media and trusted community intermediaries to disseminate accurate information;
- Developing inclusive voter engagement strategies, with a focus on youth, women, and rural communities;
- Facilitating dialogue between civil society organisations and electoral authorities to foster trust and accountability throughout the electoral cycle;
We at ECES are proud to have organised and contributed to this important conversation and to be an active part of the TED initiative.
27 May 2025
