📅 October 1, 2026
📍 Athens Conservatoire Amphitheater, Greece (hybrid — livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube)
🔗 https://globaldemocracycoalition.org/event/gdc-global-forum-2026/

The Global Democracy Coalition will hold its annual Global Forum on 1 October 2026 in Athens, working alongside the Athens Democracy Forum. The Forum is conceived not as a traditional conference but as a collective platform for collaboration — designed to strengthen democratic resilience by aligning actors, pooling resources and amplifying democratic innovations emerging from different regions.

The 2026 Forum is the culmination of a year-long process rooted in four Regional Forums held across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, each co-designed with regional partners. Insights from these dialogues will converge in Athens through plenary sessions, interactive exchanges and collective synthesis, connecting regional priorities into a shared global narrative and set of recommendations. Cross-cutting themes include democratic resilience, civic space, inclusive participation, digital threats and opportunities, and cross-sector collaboration.

At a time when authoritarianism is rising, civic space is shrinking and funding for democracy and human rights is under pressure, the GDC Forum provides a space to reconnect democratic practice with collective action — demonstrating that shared knowledge, co-creation and collective ownership can produce greater impact than isolated efforts.