As Europe is going through a housing crisis, the need for innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. This critical challenge took center stage in Brussels on June 11, 2026, during the 14th edition of the EU Design Day, a key satellite event of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Festival. Organized by the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), the event was entitled NEB as a game changer: Rethinking affordable living, housing po

Finding affordable, quality student housing is a universal challenge across Europe making it the perfect real-world issue to test out new civic technology. On June 10th, the IDEAL project brought this topic to the table during a specialized 90-minute workshop in Dijon, France. Facilitated by Fabienne Trotte from Relais Culture Europe (a member of the IDEAL consortium), the session put the IDEAL digital platform and mobile application directly into the hands of the people it i

Navigating government bureaucracy can often feel like wandering through a maze. Between paper requirements, confusing portals, and fragmented departments, citizens frequently struggle to access basic services. Early this May, Leaders International, acting as the Belgian pilot partner for the IDEAL project, took a major step toward finding innovative solution for this issue by hosting an innovative pilot meeting. The core of the event was a Mapping Lab: a collaborative space w

In Austria, our partner Caritas Vienna successfully started their women dialogue groups last month. Small groups of women, mainly Dari and Arabic speakers, meet every two weeks to discuss topics of interest and test the IDEAL platform and app. The first meeting was all about getting to know each other and sharing life stories filled with strength and inspiration as well as a first touchpoint with the IDEAL tools. The second meeting centered around challenges in finding a jo

The IDEAL project has officially kicked off its pilot phase in Thessaloniki, marking an exciting step forward in building more inclusive and participatory spaces for dialogue. In close collaboration with the association ANORASIS, a group of people with visual impairments came together to set the foundations of the pilot and begin a process that places lived experience at the center. From the very first session, the tone was clear: this is not just about testing a platform — i

On March 23rd, the grand halls of the Vienna City Hall were transformed into a hub of resistance, reimagining, and community. The Wien gegen Rassismus (Vienna against Racism) Conference provided a vital platform for the city to address its evolving anti-racism agenda, and the IDEAL project was right in the heart of the action. While the main stage hosted heavy-hitting discussions featuring policymakers, practitioners, and civil society leaders, our team took a more grassroots

The IDEAL Mobile App is a versatile new tool designed to bring digital deliberation directly to your fingertips. Serving as a seamless bridge between citizens and governance, the app integrates with the core IDEAL Platform to empower users to influence policy from anywhere. By offering a lightweight, user-friendly interface, it ensures that participating in the democratic process is no longer a complex task, but a natural part of your daily digital life. At its heart, the IDE

Democratic participation is expanding across Europe. Yet a persistent question remains unanswered: who is actually in the room? For many people, including newcomers, people with disabilities, and those who do not speak the dominant language of public life, participation is nominally available but practically inaccessible. The barrier is often linguistic, cultural, or a matter of trust. You can open a platform to everyone and still end up with the same voices. This is the prob

On 19 February 2026, the Digital Inclusion Day organised by the Job Center of the Municipality of Athens at the Serafio Cultural Center brought together policymakers, practitioners, innovators and community actors around a crucial question: How visible is democracy to those who are often rendered invisible , and how can digital tools help change that? Among the practices presented, the IDEAL project stood out as a concrete, research-based response to the growing need for in

Please share a short biography Dina Zabaneh is a political economist and development researcher specializing in labour market policies, gender relations, and inclusive economic development in the Arab Mediterranean region. She holds a PhD (magna cum laude) in Politics and Gender Relations from Philipps Universität Marburg and a Master’s in Financial Economics from Kingston University London. Her work integrates feminist, institutional, and political economy approaches to addr

In Paris, La Maison des Réfugiés (House of Refugees) is an emblematic space: a resource center dedicated to learning, support, and socio-professional integration. It promotes solidarity and inclusion, while raising awareness about exile and migration, making it the ideal venue for the IDEAL workshop organized by Relais Culture Europe in November 2025. The IDEAL session adopted a cultural and artistic tone, in line with the mission of Relais Culture Europe . The discussion w

IDEAL and MultiPoD organised and online session “ Voices without borders: Empowering citizens to shape tomorrow ” , during the EURegionsWeek Close to You series of events. IDEAL and MultiPoD are European projects designed to strengthen participatory democracy by combining social science expertise with innovative, ethical-by-design AI technologies. Their mission is to break the barriers that prevent millions of citizens from engaging in deliberation and decision-making proce