HDRI at ECAS Day 2026: Contributing to the Conversation on Europe's Societal Resilience

The Human Development Research Initiative (HDRI) was honored to participate in ECAS Day 2026, hosted by the ECAS - European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) on 25 June in Brussels.

As a Member of ECAS and a proud Grantee of the ECAS Members' Grant, HDRI joined ECAS' key audiences — members, partners, collaborators, and funders — for a day dedicated to the theme "Strengthening Europe's Societal Resilience in a Changing World: Empowered Citizens, Trusted Information, and Democratic Digital Spaces."

Our President, Gurgen Petrosyan, represented HDRI throughout the day and contributed to Thematic Session 3: Digital Resilience in Europe – Skills, Sovereignty, and Innovation, engaging with fellow civil society actors on how Europe can build the digital capabilities, sovereignty, and innovative capacity necessary to safeguard democratic resilience against disinformation, foreign interference, and polarisation.

This engagement reflects HDRI's ongoing commitment to youth-led research and evidence-based advocacy on issues shaping Europe's democratic and digital future.

As a Grantee of the ECAS Members' Grant, HDRI is currently developing a new initiative — we look forward to sharing further details with our community very soon.

We thank ECAS - European Citizen Action Service and its Executive Director, Assya Kavrakova, and the entire ECAS team for the invitation and for convening such a timely and valuable exchange.