Conference “Democracy; a Minimal Consensus” – Conclusions
In order to encourage an open dialogue on key issues pertaining to the future of democracy in Serbia, in light of critical circumstances on the internal and international level, Crta organized the two-day multi-stakeholder international conference “Democracy; a Minimal Consensus” on June 27 and 28 in Belgrade.
We gathered more than 200 representatives of state institutions, civil society, domestic and international expert communities and the media, strongly believing that providing equal opportunities to all relevant actors to express their views is crucial for the quality of the discussion.
We discussed three key topics: the role of parliament in modern democracies, the importance of free and fair elections, and the role of free media in preserving democracy.
During the plenary part of the conference, we focused on finding answers to questions: In circumstances where politics is becoming a practice of crisis management, are parliaments still the primary arenas for decision-making? Or have the uncertainties brought forth by the pandemic and the war effectively contributed to strengthening of the executive? Taking into account the significance of elections and electoral conditions for the state of democracy, we discussed the 2022 election process in Serbia and its effects on the overall quality of work of democratic institutions. We also debated whether the idea of free media as a pillar of democracy still stands, considering citizens’ distrust in conventional mass media? How has the abundance of information and the mass use of social media influenced reporting on politics and the work of state institutions?
Video footage of the plenary discussions on parliament, elections and media are available here.
Through panel discussions and debates, we tried to offer as many ideas as possible that could be translated into concrete policies. Along with the three plenary discussions, 12 round tables and discussions were held, in accordance with the Chatham House rules, in order to obtain additional quality content, which could serve as a basis and a guideline for the strengthening of democracy.
We share the conclusions of the conference with everyone interested in contributing to the development of a democratic society, related to: strong parliament, fair elections and free media.
Conclusions of the conference
PARLIAMENT
The conclusions of the round tables “How to improve the legislative and representative function” and “How to improve the control and electoral function” are available here:
ELECTIONS
The conclusions of the roundtables “Better coordination of state authorities for better elections” and “Election ground and position of players” are available here.
MEDIA
The conclusions of the round tables “The role of REM and RTS in encouraging political pluralism” and “Media strategy – how to proceed” are available here.
