EXPRESS<sp>2</sp> at Democracy Alive 2025: Building a fairer digital Europe
Gathering citizens’ insights on inclusion, data rights and EU digital sovereignty
On 22 May 2025, the EXPRESS2 project has participated in the Democracy Alive festival in Texel, Netherlands. This flagship event, organised by the European Movement International (EMI), brought together civil society, policymakers and engaged citizens. EXPRESS2 seized the opportunity to launch the second in its series of collaborative workshops, focusing on rewriting the European Social Contract.
Entitled 'Digitalisation and Inclusion', this workshop addressed some of the most pressing challenges facing today’s democracies, such as fostering digital inclusion, defending data privacy, regulating social networks, and strengthening EU digital sovereignty. During the session, EXPRESS2 asked participants to gather their opinions and priorities regarding digital rights and inclusion. These insights informed the ongoing deliberative process that is shaping the draft EU Social Contract.
The Democracy Alive event focuses on stakeholder engagement and advocacy. Throughout 2025 and 2026, EXPRESS2 will hold seven workshops in total, designed to gather contributions from a wide range of civil society actors across Europe. Topics will include trust in institutions, climate action and social equality.
Each EXPRESS2 workshop combines high-level keynotes with dynamic breakout discussions and co-creation tools to help ensure that citizens' voices are meaningfully reflected in EU-level policy recommendations.
