A side-event of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit
Location
9, place d’Iéna, FR-Paris
Paris
France
This event is organised as a side-event to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit hosted by France on 10 - 11 February 2025. Its purpose is to enrich the Summit’s discussions by providing insights from organised civil society from France and the EU level and other esteemed speakers.
Civil society space, including funding for civil society organisations (CSOs), is facing growing challenges, particularly shrinking government support, in Europe as elsewhere. At the same time, key philanthropic players are strategically reviewing how to support this space in Europe. Many social CSOs and social economy organisations play a critical role in delivering services of general interest, including social, health, education and vocational training services, and there is a need to facilitate policy development and capacity-building.
Drawing on insights from EU Horizon projects BOLSTER and FLOW, and the European Citizens’ Initiative for a Water-Smart and Resilient Europe, this interactive session blends dynamic discussions with World Café format. Here, everyone is a contributor! Rather than traditional presentations, contributors will spark dialogue and inspire collaboration, ensuring an engaging and participatory experience for all attendees.
The world is changing due to rapid digitalisation, and so is our democracy. People are increasingly using new technologies to gather information, form opinions (especially before elections) and even have an impact on policy-making. Although these digital tools have the potential to make democracy more efficient, transparent and even widespread, the fast-paced development of these technologies, often led by big tech companies, has brought serious challenges to European society – to which the answer of EU decision-makers is often more regulation.
An interactive session that brings together civil society actors to discuss better advocacy approaches for more democratic, intergenerationally just, affordable and sustainable housing in Europe. The focus would be on energy poverty and efficiency, and youth and intergenerational living, as well as alternative collective solutions for housing.
The recent European elections have highlighted a fait accompli: European societies are divided, and the rifts between different societal group are growing wider every year. Several factors are at play: the winds of war at our doors, wealth inequalities, post-pandemic backlashes, misinformation and disinformation, and various underlying structural issues that are reflected in today’s landscape, significantly affecting the health of our democracies.
