András Antal has participated on the „European Democracy in a time of confusion” conference

Between 16-18 September our junior member, András Antal had the opportunity to participate on the conference called “European Democracy in a time of confusion” organized by Passion for Europe in Namur, Belgium ont he behalf of our professional partner, Botond Feledy.

Read András’ account of his experience here:

“It was a great experience to participate on the conference, as I had the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with many European experts, economists, diplomats, former politicians, and religious leaders. During the conference, I attended several presentations which were quite interactive, unlike the traditional ones, as at the end of the 45-minute presentation, the invitees had to answer questions from the audience for another 45 minutes. At the same time, perhaps the most unique part was the unity in diversity, as there were participants from 25 European countries.

The weekend started with a longer and more interesting journey than usual, as I flew from Málaga, the location of my Erasmus+ program, to Charleroi, and from there I took public transport to the picturesque city of Namur. The opening speech of the conference was given by Herman von Rompuy, who was the first President of the European Council and also served as Prime Minister of Belgium. During his lecture “The struggle between truth and violence”, Mr. Rompuy spoke about the main challenges and threats facing the EU. The opening speech set the tone for the conference, which was followed by a moderated discussion with Sébastien Maillard, Director of the Jaques Delors Institute, and Victoria Martin de la Torre, S&D Group Press Officer, on the Union’s assets, roots, and values. The day continued with perhaps the most unique feature of the conference, a small group discussion, in which we explored with the other participants the themes raised by the previous presentations along with 4 main questions. Of course, in addition to the flood of information, gastronomy is also important, so we ended the day with a Belgian beer tasting.

On Saturday there were 3 lectures, 2 small group discussions, and a piano concert. The first lecture of the day was given by Clemens Ladenburger, Deputy Director of the Legal Service of the European Commission, and Sigrid Marz, UNIAPAC board member, who spoke about the growing isolation and tensions in democracies. Following another small group discussion, Paul F. Nemitz, Fr. Paolo Benanti T.O.R., and Jamina Jugo spoke about the opportunities and risks of digital technologies, followed by Msrg. Franco Coppola, Nuncio of Belgium and Luxembourg, spoke about the vision of the Catholic Church for the challenges facing Europe. The day ended with a concert by pianist Maxence Pilchen.

On Sunday morning, the last lecture of the event took place, where Andreas Kolodziejak, Gyula Ocskay, and Marie-France Rodier spoke about strengthening democracy, cross-border institutions, and the role of citizens. Finally, a summary of the conclusions of the small groups was presented, followed by the journey home.

All in all, I can look back on an extremely meaningful weekend, full of contacts and valuable ideas, which improved me both professionally and personally.

Many thanks to the GTK – Business Consulting Group, the organizers, and Botond Feledy for the opportunity.”