How to strengthen German Democracy for the Future
September 6th / 7th, 2025
Conference center of the Protestant Church, Bonn
An open discussion event with workshops on the threats to and future prospects for democracy in Germany and Europe.
With these workshops, we want to offer all participants a platform for networking so that they can independently initiate and implement projects on the respective topics in teams after the event. We would be delighted to connect people who want to continue their commitment to our democracy.
Please note: Online ticket sales have closed.
A limited number of tickets can be purchased on site in Bonn on Saturday and Sunday.
Program Saturday, September 6, 2025
10:00 a.m. Introduction and welcome
Dr. Ursula Sautter – honorary mayor of Bonn
10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
It is easier to manipulate elections than to win wars.
How AI and social media manipulate our free will.
Alexandra Geese – Member of the European Parliament, Dr. Franziska Davies – Eastern European historian, Julia Chenusha – international law expert
Moderator: Thomas Franke.
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The long shadow of authoritarian regimes
Russia’s influence and the defense of our sovereignty
Dr. Andreas Umland – journalist and Eastern Europe expert, Liusiena Zinovkina – human rights activist, Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder – political scientist at CASSIS, Nataliya Pryhornytska – political scientist
Moderator: Thomas Franke
2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
The comprehensive attack of autocracies
Hybrid wars and disinformation – how can we make democracy resilient?
Dr. Arndt Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven – former ambassador, former vice president of the BND, Roderich Kiesewetter – member of the German Bundestag, Prof. Andreas Fulda – political scientist
Moderator: Viola von Cramon-Taubadel – former member of the European Parliament
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Workshops:
Crash course in becoming a dialogue moderator, part 1
Strategies for dialogues about war and peace, based on findings from the street dialogues of the CRISP project “German-Ukrainian Dialogue”
CRISP e.V. Berlin
Russians in Germany – Putin’s men?
On radicalization of Russian milieus in Germany.
Network for Extremism Research in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder
Kremlin’s attack on the Ukrainian diaspora?
Challenges and prospects for self-determined structural development and empowerment of Ukrainian interest groups in Germany.
Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations
Program Sunday, September 7, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Weaknesses of Democracy
How can we strengthen our institutions against attacks?
Nico Lange – Political scientist, Senior Fellow MSC, Artem Dubyna – Ukrainian press officer, Stephan Lehnert – Youth officer of the German Armed Forces, Terry Reintke – Member of the European Parliament
Moderator: Thomas Franke
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Democracy needs ethos
Ethics and pluralism as a defense against authoritarian tendencies
Dr. Andreas Püttmann – political scientist and journalist, Thomas Leszke – election observer and board member of Zukunftsrat Köln (Cologne Future Council), Valerio Krüger – International Society for Human Rights (IGFM)
Moderator: Julia Chenusha
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
We are democracy
The significance of identity and national consciousness in Germany and Ukraine (debate in English)
Prof. Dr. Nataliia Kryvda – philosopher and chair of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Dr. Oksana Huss – political analyst, Mattia Nelles – political scientist and CEO of the German-Ukrainian Office, Anna Kysil – board member Ukrainer in Aachen, candidate for the Bundestag 2025 Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Moderator: Thomas Franke
3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Workshops:
Crash course: Becoming a dialogue moderator, part 2
Practical session: Citizen dialogue in downtown Bonn
CRISP e.V. Berlin
Lessons from the attack on democracy in the US
How US civic movements organize resistance against autocratic politics, using grassroots strategies, non-violent resistance and digital tools.
Representative of the 50501 protest movement.
Resilience of democracy in the fight against disinformation
Experiences, methods, and AI-based solutions
- Types of disinformation and their typical areas of influence
- Methods for combating disinformation
- Role of AI in combating disinformation
- Anti-disinformation AI chatbot project
DUWir gGmbH and Vitsche Berlin e.V.
What we aim to achieve
We aim to improve the societal impact of political discourse – experts discuss eye to yes with committed citizens. For this purpose we employ an open discussion format: Short impulse talks introduce the topics, followed by a panel discussion with participation of the audience.
We hope to encourage the participants of the event to take further action in specific projects. For this purpose, the event will offer workshops in smaller groups, aimed to launch initiatives that will reach out to civil society.
Parts of the event will be streamed and online participation is welcome.
Other event content will be recorded in consultation with the participants and distributed via social media channels in a form to allow a broader and persistent reach of the initiated debates.
Speakers
Among others, the following speakers have confirmed their participation:
- Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, former Member of the European Parliament
- Dr. Franziska Davies, Eastern European historian
- Alexandra Geese, Member of the European Parliament
- Thomas Franke, journalist and author
- Prof. Andreas Fulda, political scientist, Nottingham (UK)
- Dr. Oksana Huss, policy analyst
- Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Bundestag
- Valerio Krüger, International Society for Human Rights (IGFM)
- Nico Lange, political scientist, Senior Fellow MSC
- Mattia Nelles, political scientist, CEO of the German-Ukrainian Office
- Dr. Andreas Püttmann, political scientist, journalist, publicist
- Dr. Andreas Umland, political scientist, publicist, and expert on Eastern Europe
- Dr. Franziska Davies, eastern europe historian
- Prof. Dr. Annette Werberger, eastern European literatures
- Dr. Arndt Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven, retired Ambassador, former Vice President of the BND, Associate Fellow at CASSIS
- Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder, political scientist, Senior Fellow at CASSIS
- Thomas Leszke, Election observer, Cologne Future Council
- Dr. Ursula Sautter, honorary mayor of Bonn
- Prof. Dr. Nataliia Kryvda, Philosopher, Chairwoman of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
- Artem Dubyna,freed from Russian captivity, serving for comrades who remain captured
- Liusiena Zinovkina, Ukrainian human rights activist
- 50501, US Citizens’ Movement
Audience and target group
Target group for this face-to-face event are all interested citizens who, especially social multipliers, who can pass on the debates that were initiated to their communities. This includes:
- Citizens’ movements and NGOs
- Authorities and institutions
- Scientists and academics
- Business and associations
- Members of the military and civil defense
- People active in social media and journalism
- Media and cultural professionals
- People involved in education and training.
Venue
The “Haus der evangelischen Kirche” (Conference center of the Protestant Church) offers a large event hall with a stage, where the fishbowl discussions will take place, as well as the opportunity for participants to split up into smaller working groups.
The venue is located in the very city center of the former west German capital of Bonn directly on the banks of the river Rhine. It features unsurpassed traffic connectivity for public and private transportation.
Link to Google Maps:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ntUZNZKXa6oGLk8m7
Program
Over the next few weeks, the Forum for Future team will work with speakers to determine the content of the program. To prepare the content. We will hold regular discussions on social media for all interested parties to participate. You are welcome to follow our accounts to get in touch or simply to inform yourself what we are all about.
Who we are
We are a group of politically interested citizens from all over Germany, organized in the Verein für Agile Demokratie e.V. (Association for Agile Democracy). Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we have been working on a voluntary basis – on social media channels and in our communities – to support Ukraine and to protect the free and democratic basic order in Europe. We are independent and non-partisan.
Previous Events
We have already organized 2 events in 2024:
The Forum for Future Dresden on May 10 + 11, 2024 on the topic “Value of Freedom” and
the Forum for Future Leipzig on October 11 + 12, 2025 on the topic “Dictatorship vs. Democracy”.
More information on the events and videos of the discussions can be found on the project websites.
Participation
For the organization of the event series, we are looking for further supporters, nationally and internationally. We strongly believe, that for the future of democracy, the defenders of liberal democracy need to work together beyond borders. We are grateful not only for donations but also conceptional advice and participation via Zoom or in person.
For question or advice please contact us at: info @agile-demokratie.org
Conference host
Verein für Agile Demokratie e.V., in cooperation with:
Our partner
In partnership with the “German-Ukrainian Dialogue” project,
which is being implemented by CRISP e.V. with funding from the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
The event is supported by Vitsche e.V., the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) – German Section e.V. , UA-DE e.V. , and Deutsch-Ukrainische Gesellschaft e.V.
