Democracy is under pressure. Civic space is shrinking. Disinformation is multiplying. Across Europe, we kept meeting young people who were ready to act but who felt isolated in that readiness. We created Re:boot Camp for them.

When we decided to launch Democracy Re:boot Camp together with our partners at D-HUB, we knew we didn’t want to host just another event. We wanted to create a space for action, urgent, grounded and real.

It wasn’t a conference. It was a space for people who didn’t need convincing but who did need tools, allies and time to think and build together. It was a space where democracy wasn’t just discussed, but rehearsed and reimagined.

As our Executive Director for Europe and Democracy Hedvig Morvai shared in her opening remarks: ,,As a student, I attended a summer camp focused on democracy, which inspired me to pursue the work I do today. I wanted to create a similar experience here because I believe that meaningful change can only happen within strong, united communities.’’

That memory and the belief that change begins in shared spaces shaped the foundation of this initiative.

Meeting the moment

Too often, those who stand for open societies feel fragmented and exhausted. Movements lose momentum without structure. The far right has learned to organize across borders. We need to do the same.

Democracy Re:boot Camp was our response to that moment. We focused on workshops, strategy sessions and hard conversations. We brought in mentors who know what it means to organize under pressure. We made sure the network created there wouldn’t disappear after the last group photo.

Tools, time, solidarity

We didn’t want participants to leave only with hope. We wanted them to leave prepared. They practiced mapping power. They learned how to organize communities, protect themselves and each other, build cross-border alliances. Most importantly, they recognized each other not just as peers, but as fellow travelers in the same struggle.

As Georgian activist Shota Dighmelashvili reminded us during the opening plenary:

»Fighting authoritarianism requires sacrifice and the only thing that can save us is solidarity.«

That spirit of mutual recognition and responsibility ran through every moment of the camp.

We saw bonds forming, not just contacts being exchanged. In shared silences after intense sessions, in moments of laughter over dinner, in the quiet assurance that »I’m not alone in this.« That was what we had hoped for, not a one-off gathering but the start of a shared political rhythm.

What comes next

This was just the first edition, but the urgency hasn’t faded. We believe in the generation that refuses to wait. We believe that our role as a foundation is not just to support, but to stand alongside, to build with, and to stay in the work for the long haul.

Democracy Re:boot Camp was never about inspiration alone. It was, and remains, a commitment. To each other. To democracy. To what comes next.

Author: Milan Vujić

Project Coordinator for Europe and Democracy