On Wednesday, 18 February, European Exchange launched DIVE [Democracy, Inclusion, Voter Engagement] at a summit in Berlin, bringing together 15 civil society organisations from 14 EU Member States. The launch marked the start of a coordinated European effort to strengthen democratic resilience through structured cooperation and shared expertise.

DIVE focuses on reinforcing citizen election observation, advancing electoral reforms, promoting civic education, and countering disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). In its first phase, the project will conduct cross-country research on the legal and practical conditions for citizen observation, electoral reform processes, civic engagement in democratic systems, and develop pilot protocols to address disinformation.

The project is built on a clear principle: research must translate into impact. Findings will inform concrete advocacy strategies and training tools, grounded in evidence and tested in real-life contexts. By linking analysis with implementation, DIVE aims to contribute directly to measurable and sustainable democratic resilience across Europe.

We are grateful to our partners for their commitment to this joint effort and look forward to sharing more about the project’s next steps.

 

Partners: 

• Political Accountability Foundation

• Unhack Democracy

• Institute for Public Environment Development

• Expert Forum (EFOR)

• MEMO 98

• Swedish International Liberal Centre

• Föreningen valobservation i Sverige

• VOS

• Euro Créative

• Silba – Initiative for Dialogue and Democracy

• Agora Election Observation

• Peace Institute, Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies

• AMO – Association for International Affairs

• Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo Dei Paesi Emergenti (COSPE)

• Dialogbüro Vienna

• Demokratijos projektai (DEMPRO)

 

DIVE is funded by the European Union under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union.