Joint event - 40 Years of Local Autonomy and the Fight for Democratic Resilience 

2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening for signature of the European Charter on Local Self-Government. This milestone document enshrines the rights and responsibilities of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) in upholding local democracy. Over the past four decades, LRGs have played a crucial role in ensuring democratic governance, civic engagement, and the protection of public interests. However, in the digital age, local democracy faces unprecedented challenges from disinformation, misinformation, and deliberate efforts to erode trust in public institutions. 

The Council of Europe New Democratic Pact for Europe emerges as a response to these challenges. The Pact will address the urgent challenge of democratic backsliding through a collective, inclusive and complex process. It will not aim to reinvent democracy, but rather to reinforce its foundations, amplify its benefits, and innovating its form to make it resonate with all citizens, in particular with younger generations. The Pact is about making democracy stronger, more resilient and more adaptable to emerging and ongoing challenges through innovation, technology, and collective action. 

To address these pressing issues, CEMR and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will organise an event to discuss with policymakers, local government representatives, and civil society actors how LRGs can continue to foster local democracy despite these challenges. The joint event will showcase efforts by local and regional actors to build democratic resilience, including the launch of CEMR’s recent study on how LRGs across Europe are addressing disinformation. 

• Open to the general public.