Democracy is not a stable term or a form of governance – it evolves to correspond with the transformations of our societies, our understanding of what it means to be democratic, and it evolves in response to the changing environments. There has been no shortage of societal disruptions in the last couple of years – from the Covid-19 pandemic, the return of war in Europe, pervasive technological developments and the rise of disinformation campaigns to a rising polarisation within our societies.
Held under the title ‘Democracy fit for the new age’ this year’s Young BSF will address the challenges that our democracies are faced with, what are the best responses for them and how they should adapt to them.
Young BSF 2022 will explore democracies through the prism of four thematic pillars: I) Media literacy and information society; II) Prosperity through diversity; III) Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?; IV): Joint solutions for joint challenges.
Young BSF Pillar I: Media literacy and information society will focus on discussions around misinformation and disinformation to backsliding media freedom – all these present a challenge to the resilience of our democracies. So, how can we work to mitigate these challenges and strengthen our democracies?
Young BSF Pillar II: Prosperity through diversity will address the respect for diversity as one of the foundational democratic principles. Moreover, it will also try to answer the following: “Can we truly prosper by taking advantage of our diversities and building inclusive societies?”
Young BSF Pillar III: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? will discuss the pros & cons of contemporary democracies, their strengths, imperfections, differences and alternatives.
Young BSF Pillar IV: Joint solutions for joint challenges will be aiming to shine a light on cooperation that comes in many shapes and forms and finding joint solutions to transnational challenges. Cooperation should be embraced, and different actors should be taken into account to provide holistic, adequate and equitable solutions.
