Thank you for joining us at the DIACOMET final conference in Brussels

Thank you all for joining us at our final conference BRIDGES – Building European Resilience for Dialogue and Democracy, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in Brussels for two days of discussion and collaboration.

The conference opened with a pre-conference programme, featuring a panel session titled “Dialogic Capacity-building: From Research to Policy Uptake“. This session included the presentation of DIACOMET policy recommendations by Krisztina Rozgonyi (OEAW), complemented by inputs from country teams. A multistakeholder dialogue on “Inclusive Accountability in Practice” followed, bringing together experts from media, civil society, and policy to reflect on inclusive approaches to accountability. Moderated by Erik Uszkiewicz (MET), Daphne Koene (Secretary General of the Netherlands Press Council), Dainius Radzevičius (Lithuanian Media Ombudsman), Krisztina Rozgonyi (OEAW), Bea Bodrogi (Independent human rights attorney), and Laura Arikka (Timeout Foundation) shared their views and experiences.

The main conference day, moderated by Vytautė Merkytė (Delfi Lithuania journalist), was opened by Tadas Tumėnas (head of Lithuanian RDI Liaison Office in Brussels (LINO)), and featured introductions by Dainius Žalimas (Member of the European Parliament) and Kristina Juraitė (DIACOMET Coordinator). This was followed by a keynote address by Jolita Butkevičienė (director for Innovation in Science and Policymaking (JRC.S) at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission), who highlighted the role of innovation in connecting science and policymaking. The “DIACOMET Dialogues: Key Contributions & Applications” followed, where Tobias Eberwein (OEAW), Heikki Heikkilä (TAU), and Sophie Duvekot (HU) presented key project insights.

The afternoon continued with a panel discussion on “Building Democratic Resilience Through Dialogue,” featuring contributions from Dainius Žalimas (Member of the European Parliament), Mara Almeida (European Commission’s Joint Research Center), Marko Milosavljević (University of Ljubljana), Aistė Meidutė (Delfi Lithuania), and Daina Naujokaitė (DG for Communication), moderated by Auksė Balčytienė (Vytautas Magnus University). After a coffee break, participants engaged in the Dialogue Lab: “Conversations That Matter,” an interactive workshop offering hands-on approaches to dialogic engagement, led by Halliki Harro-Loit and Tobias Pilv (both UTARTU).

Overall, the BRIDGES conference highlighted the importance of dialogue, collaboration, and inclusive approaches in fostering democratic resilience.

We warmly thank all speakers, moderators, partners, participants, and guests for their valuable contributions and engagement. Special thanks go to our hosts – the representatives of the Permanent Representation of Estonia, in particular Kristel Oitmaa, as well as to the EU and the Permanent Representation of Lithuania and the LINO office, especially Agnė Drumelytė and Tada Tumėnas – for their generous support and hospitality.

Additionally, we thank Mindaugas Kavaliauskas for the great photos, which you can explore in this post.