In 2022, the annual meeting was again held to conclude the second year of the ProDem project, which examines the interaction of citizens, protest movements and movement parties in European democracies. In the European Parliament in Brussels, we had the opportunity to exchange with actors from research and politics as well as representatives of various NGOs about the insights gained in the past year and the developed report. The report presents how the EU and national governments as well as social movements can contribute to promoting participation in a Europe whose citizens are increasingly dissatisfied with a democracy in which they no longer fully believe. Women and low-income groups are particularly affected by this.

After keynote speeches by Katarina Barley, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Daniel Freund and Nicolae Ștefănuță, MEPs, a lively discussion developed about possible synergies in the exchange of research, policy and social engagement.

During the progress meeting of the ProDem project network the next morning, the plans for the last funding year were then discussed. The Frankfurt team was represented by Anna Anlauft, Daria Glukhova, Lex Metzeld and Claudius Wagemann.