Archives des Past Events

The University of Antwerp hosts third citizens’ jury

On 29 March 2025, the University of Antwerp convened a new jury in the Belgian town of Huldenberg, gathering local residents to discuss a critical issue: citizens’ trust in government during times of crisis.

The participants engaged in in-depth deliberations, drawing on research findings from the LEGITIMULT project. Their discussions focused on how trust is built, maintained, or challenged when governments at different levels — local, regional, national, and EU — respond to emergencies.

While participants expressed a strong level of trust in national authorities during crises, they also agreed that local governments must play a more active role in decision-making processes. The jury formulated several recommendations for strengthening crisis governance, emphasizing the importance of including local perspectives to enhance legitimacy and public trust.

This event marked another milestone in LEGITIMULT’s broader effort to examine how citizen participation and democratic innovation can improve the fairness, transparency, and effectiveness of crisis response across Europe.

The Institute for Ethnic Studies Hosts Second Citizens’ Jury

On 22 March 2025, LEGITIMULT’s second Citizens’ Jury took place in Izola, Slovenia, and was hosted by the Institute for Ethnic Studies. Local residents came together to reflect on how crisis management during the Covid-19 pandemic was experienced and perceived across different levels of government. The deliberative sessions focused on key principles such as fairness, effectiveness, and legitimacy of the measures adopted at national, regional, and municipal levels.

Through open discussion and shared personal experiences, participants examined what worked well — and where critical gaps remained — in the public response to the crisis. The insights they generated provide a valuable basis for shaping practical tools and strategies to strengthen crisis governance in the future.

Among the key takeaways were the need for transparent communication and inclusive decision-making processes. Both were seen as essential to build and maintain institutional trust, and to ensure that responses to future emergencies are not only efficient but also perceived as legitimate by the public.

This citizens’ jury is part of the Legitimult project, which explores how democratic innovation can support better crisis governance across Europe by bringing citizens’ voices directly into the policy conversation.

EURAC hosts first citizens’ jury

On 8 March 2025, EURAC hosted the first Citizens’ Jury of the LEGITIMULT project — a participatory initiative focused on improving democratic crisis governance. A diverse group of local residents came together to deliberate on a timely and pressing scenario: how to respond to extreme summer heatwaves in the city.

During the deliberative process, participants engaged in structured discussions and collaboratively developed around 10 concrete recommendations on how Bolzano could better prepare for and respond to such climate-related crises in the future.

This marks a key step in testing democratic innovation as a tool to enhance legitimacy and effectiveness in crisis response.

DVPW Working Group on Federalism

Marius Guderjan, Johanna Schnabel, and Mario Kölling presented their paper « Effectiveness of Socio-Economic Responses to COVID-19: Regional Engagement, Accountability, and Efficacy » at a workshop organized by the German Political Science Association and the Federalism Thematic Group.

EGPA 2024 Conference

Dr. Lars Brummel recently spoke at the annual conference of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) in Athens, where he shared findings from the LEGITIMULT project.

IACFS Annual Conference 2024

Jakob Frateur, researcher for WP#5 on Trust, participated in the annual conference of the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies.

28th International scientific conference “National minorities, migration and security”, Brioni Islands

The researchers from WP#4 on Human Rights and Non-Discrimination, part of the LEGITIMULT project, organized a dedicated panel at the 28th International Scientific Conference « National Minorities, Migration, and Security, » held on the Brioni Islands from September 2 to 4, 2024. The panel centered on the challenges faced by national minorities and human rights issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

28th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)

Marta Zorko, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, and a member of WP#4 on Human Rights and Non-Discrimination, participated in the 28th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities.

12th Biennial Conference of the Standing Group on the European Union

Consortium researcher Mario Kölling, working on the impact of multilevel governance on the economy, has presented a paper at the 12th Biennial Conference of the Standing Group on the European Union (SGEU).