Das Progressive Zentrum

How must we transform democracy to make it fit for the future? To answer this question, Das Progressive Zentrum invites you to join the INNOCRACY Conference 2019 on 10 October 2019 in Berlin.

We’re proud and excited to start our project of a pan-European platform for civil society and Civic-Tech with our partners. Learn more about the EHCE, the ideas and organisations behind it, and the events that are planned.

Maria Skóra and Sophie Pornschlegel take a closer look at the European Election Campaigns 2019 in France, Germany and Poland and analyse whether they favoured the emergence of a Europeanised public sphere.

On May 29, the second workshop on dimensions, challenges and opportunities of a just transition took place in Brussels. The goal was to foster international exchange and knowledge sharing on the way to a more just and sustainable energy transition. Perspectives from eight countries worldwide contributed to an exciting debate on the role of foreign policy in that process.

We often hear that “Brussels is too far away” from the EU citizens: the turnout of the European Parliament elections is low, nationalist populism and Euroscepticism are on the rise. What to do? How to enhance citizens’ understanding of the EU, broaden ownership of the European project and build trust in the European structures?

We look back: at the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019, Europe Listens and other exciting projects – and into the future: with new team members, new fellows and new impulses for our liberal and social democracy. And all that in a new creative design!

Executive Director Dominic Schwickert reflects on the months leading up to the European elections and on reorganising the team. An editorial for the upcoming newsletter 1/2019.

Learn what our new fellows and colleagues contribute and what they seek to achieve with us.

Which topics do progressives need to focus on in these turbulent times? How can a progressive think tank contribute to our liberal and social democracy? Our position paper provides answers.

Our partners at the Progressive Policy Institute released a new survey of European voters’ political attitudes. While it indicates that many have lost trust in progressive parties, it also shows the way forward for the European progressive movement: engaging the public in bold progressive proposals.

400 progressives from 21 countries joint the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019 to reimagine the social contract and build communities for change. You can find all videos of the day here.

400 progressives from 21 countries joint the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019 to reimagine the social contract and build communities for change. One keynote managed to set the frame for the day.

In May 2019, Hungary celebrated 15 years of EU membership. However, the European Parliament believes that Hungary is in breach of EU values, thereby posing a threat to the existence of the union. The fundamental restructuring of the political system initiated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party has had a tangible impact on the functioning of Hungarian democracy, raising concerns and criticism. How will this conflict develop – both with regard to Hungary as an EU member state and with regard to the future of the EU?

The PGS, a gathering of eminent progressive leaders and thinkers from over 21 countries, took place in Berlin on April 25, 2019. It is unique in that it combines party-political networking and leaders forums with policy input from leading public intellectuals. This year’s symposium marked an important milestone in the European and Transatlantic progressive movement discussing the imperative for progressives around the world to reinvigorate their policies and politics in the face of resurgent right-wing nationalism and populism.

On March 29, experts and practitioners from eight countries met at the Federal Foreign Office to discuss the concept of Just Transition and exchange good practices on the way to its successful implementation. The event kick-started the ‘Foreign Policy and the Just Energy Transition’ project, aiming to provide new impulses for the global energy transition as a whole, particularly in the context of Germany’s membership in the United Nations Security Council and its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU.

Among the guests are Maja Göpel, Robert Habeck, Marije Laffeber, Tim Ryan, Stephan Weil and many more leading and emerging academics, activists and decision-makers from Europe and the US that are coming together to discuss their ideas for rejuvenating the progressive movement. How can progressive politics counter nationalism? How can we shift to a more sustainable and inclusive economic system? How can we ensure that everyone has a share in progress?

Join us for the Leaders Debate and Celebrating Spring Party of the Progressive Governance Symposium 2019. The event takes place on 25 April 2019, starting at 5.30 pm.

On Friday, 22 March 2019, Harvard Professor Roberto Unger, as well as Madeleine Gabriel and Isaac Stanley from the London-based innovation foundation Nesta, presented their new study “Imagination Unleashed: Democratising the Knowledge Economy” at the Democracy Lab. The authors propose to radically change our current economic structure in a way that allows for more people, places and firms to participate in the knowledge economy.

What should the democracy of the future look like? Which institutional changes are required to cope with the challenges of a globalised and digital world? And how can we include people more effectively in political decision-making processes? The Democracy Lab brought together stakeholders from civil society, academia and politics in order to find answers to these questions. In our Progress Report, we present our ideas, projects and results of the first project phase.

While the European Parliament elections near, politics in Poland is at such a crux that the later parliamentary polls there will have wide reverberations.