Venue: Regency Hotel (Strada Sfatul Ţării 17, Chișinău 2012)
Date: January 27 (Friday), 2017
Language: Romanian / simultaneous translation to English
Program in Romanian: http://bit.ly/2jnH3sE
Program in English: http://bit.ly/2jVWt8i

Register by January 25 (Wednesday) at Ms. Zsuzsanna Végh (veghzs@ceu.edu) or through our online registration form: http://bit.ly/2jfHFOF
Democratization is a complex process that entails critical choices of new legislative and institutional frameworks, but that should also trigger citizens’ engagement and a change in mentality that reflects their attachment to the new system. Embedding democratic values in a pre-existing belief system marred by features of mistrust, fear and corruption created by totalitarian communist regimes and the hardships of transition is a difficult task that can hardly be achieved solely through institutional crafting. To promote active citizenship, transparency, accountability, tolerance and equality in a transforming society, a wider toolkit is necessary: the role of political socialization and civic education including through civic initiatives are essential, while the supporting potential of free media cannot be underestimated. Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) have long portrayed themselves as “democracy’s new champions”, who, thanks to their own transition, have a unique set of experience that can support the transition of countries on a similar path, like Moldova.

But can the Visegrad countries really offer lessons for embedding democratic values that are useful for Moldova? Does the know-how on offer match Moldovan needs? Can the Visegrad civil societies showcase successful initiatives that can serve as an inspiration for Moldova at a time when we see the signs of democratic rollback in Central Europe? How can Moldova’s democratization be effectively supported?

This roundtable discussion and book launch seeks to provide answers to the above questions and concludes the discussion series organized in the framework of the project “Frontiers of Democracy: Embedding Democratic Values in Moldova and Ukraine” supported by the International Visegrad Fund.

For more information, please, check our website: http://bit.ly/2jAV5EV