In December 2024, Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders, Scientific Director of CAIS, participated in the international conference “Defending Democracy and Human Rights in the Face of War, Nationalism, and Authoritarianism” in Skopje, North Macedonia.
About the Conference
The conference took place on December 11 and 12, 2024, and was organized by the Macedonian non-governmental organization CIVIL – Center for Freedom (North Macedonia) in collaboration with MEDIA DIALOGUE / Youth4Media from North Rhine-Westphalia. It brought together leading experts, political decision-makers, civil society representatives, and journalists from various European countries and the United States to discuss current threats to democracy and human rights worldwide. The program included panel discussions, workshops, and various networking formats.
The international conference was supported by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and was part of the NRW Human Rights Week. Since 2021, North Macedonia and NRW have been partner countries. Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs, and Media of the state of NRW, opened the second day of the event on December 12th with a video message.
Contribution by Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders
In her presentation, Prof. Eilders focused on the role of media in democratic societies, particularly in the context of increasing social polarization. She highlighted how media discourse can both support and hinder democratic processes and emphasized the importance of finding ways to break down hardened divisions in public debates – both in journalism and on social media.
You can read her contribution here.
Or watch her contribution on YouTube.
Conference Documentation Published
The official documentation of the conference is now available. The 200+ page report “Defending Democracy and Human Rights – Report and Policy Recommendations” provides in-depth insights into the discussions held during the conference, as well as concrete policy recommendations on ten key topics. In addition to contributions from numerous European and international experts, the publication also documents the conference program, workshops, and the exhibition “Defending Democracy: 25 Years of CIVIL.”
The documentation is available on the following platforms: