ECoD gemeinnützige GmbH
Budget
€25 — €0
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
4
0.95 FTE
EU Grants
€124,759
Mission & Goals
ECoD is a Vienna-based non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy, civic participation, and democratic culture across Europe. ECoD focuses on cities and local governments as key drivers of democratic innovation, recognising that democracy is most tangible at the local level. The organisation works to build trust in democratic institutions, foster inclusive citizen participation, and support democratic resilience amid social, political, and technological change. Through its flagship European Capital of Democracy programme and complementary initiatives such as international awards, city networks, conferences, and peer-learning formats, ECoD identifies, promotes, and scales innovative democratic practices. It supports municipalities, civil society organisations, and international partners in developing participatory governance models, deliberative processes, and collaborative approaches to policymaking, contributing to a more inclusive and resilient democracy in Europe.
EU Legislative Interests
Legistative Priorities: - Anti-discrimination priorities, Inclusion and Participation - Digital transition and enhance the EU’s resilience - EU Integration, Enlargement & Neighbourhood Policy - EU Youth Strategy - European Green Deal (Climate Action, Nature Restoration and Sustainability) - European Media Freedom Act (Protection of journalists and human rights defenders) - Gender Mainstreaming, Diversity and Inclusion (LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy) - Science comes to Town (bridging the gap between citizens and sciende) - Innovation&Research (Horizon Europe Projects like ScaleDem) - Promote European Way of Life (Peace and security and respecting fundamental rights and freedoms) - Protect our democracy and values - Remembrance Projects - Stronger Europe in the World (including support for Ukraine) Additional priorities: - Stand by Ukraine and to tackle the impact of the Russian aggression on our citizens and businesses - in the context of the European Year of Skills, promote Europe as an attractive place for skilled workers - Accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for sustainable development - Push for higher ambition and increased action at global level to tackle the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises - Offer a credible European perspective to Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, alongside the Western Balkans, and to maintain our support for the Eastern Partnership and Southern Neighbourhood Packages and Sub-Packages: - European Democracy Action Plan - Defence of Democracy - Western Balkans - Democratic Accountability, Legitimacy & Institutional Strengthening
Communication Activities
Activities are bundled in the European Capital of Democracy initiative (yearly Call for cities and European City Network): - Art of Democracy participatory art festival - Innovative engagement formats: "Connecting the dots" Erasmus+), LocalLabs ("Innovating local communities"), Democracy & You school workshops - Webinars with ECoD Citizens' Jury (1/3 participants under the age of 25) - Truth, Lies & Democracy - fake news game jam Annual flagship events in the title-holding European Capitals of Democracy: - ACT NOW Mayors Conference: Local solutions for global challenges, supporting local politicians in tackling current challenges they face, such as migration, climate crisis and eroding social cohesion - Innovation in Politics Awards exchange conference and gala, recognising European politicians. A citizens' Jury comprising over 1,000 Europeans evaluates the projects to determine the finalists and winners in the Awards' nine categories. Contributors, finalists and participants of both events form strong networks that engage throughout the year. ECoD Citizens' Jury (CoE-wide group of engaged citizens + collaboration platform), currently 4,500+ Europeans to engage and participate in activities related to pressing European matters (surveys, online trainings, selection and support of European Capital of Democracy etc.) +jury process for the Innovation in Politics Awards finalists and category winners. Scientific projects: SCALEDEM Horizon Europe project to map, analyse and identify scaling factors for innovation projects, by refining methodologies and critically assessing and testing previous innovations.
Interests Represented
Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members
Member Of
Team Europe Democracy / Capacity4dev (TED) The Democratic Odyssey (https://democraticodyssey.eui.eu/home) Nets4Dem (https://nets4dem.eu/) Global Democracy Coalition (https://globaldemocracycoalition.org/) Counter Disinformation Network (https://alliance4europe.eu/cdn) European Citizens Action Service (https://ecas.org/) (ECAS) Worldwide Alliance for AI and Democracy (https://alliance-democracy.org)
Organisation Members
ECoD has been launched under the patronage of Ms Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission, and under the auspices of Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe. ECoD currently enjoys the support of Mr Mathieu Mori, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has given patronage to the Innovation in Politics Awards and expressed her recognition for the merits of the European Capital of Democracy initiative. For partners, please see start page at https://capitalofdemocracy.eu For networks, please see blog post: https://capitalofdemocracy.eu/making-a-difference-for-democracy/
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.