Since its first edition in 2012, the World Forum for Democracy has gained recognition as an arena for seminal discussions on issues of modern democracy. To reach out to a wider range of contributions and enrich the debate, the Forum encourages the organisation of satellite events by Council of Europe’s Schools of Political Studies, which have been instrumental to the WFD since its inception, universities renowned in the sphere of political studies and international relations, non-governmental organisations, municipalities and other institutions. This idea was successfully implemented in 2015, when four outstanding universities organised satellite events related to the Forum΄s topic.

The organising institutions are free to decide independently about the dates and format of the event, the speakers and the specific topic(s). The satellite events can take place any time during the year. Possible formats include seminars or a seminar series, lectures in schools, surveys, social media campaigns, hackathons, local implementation of innovation initiatives presented in previous Forums, radio/tv debates, or lightening talks with the public at large (at NGOs, schools, community centres, etc).