General Assembly Meeting 2024

The TRUEDEM General Assembly Meeting took place on February 15-16, 2024, at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany, bringing together consortium members and advisory board representatives. The meeting served as a forum to assess the progress made during the first year of the project, receive feedback from the advisory board, and plan research, dissemination, and publication activities for the second year. The first day of the meeting began with an administrative session focused on reviewing the periodic report for 2023. This included financial reporting, updates on work package progress, impact assessments, and dissemination activities. The session also covered proposed amendments to the Consortium Agreement, including refinements to the core text, budget allocations, and governance structures.

Following the administrative review, the meeting transitioned to a series of presentations and discussions on the findings generated in the first year of the project. The project director provided an overview of TRUEDEM’s overarching aims and research goals, emphasizing its focus on understanding political trust and democratic participation in Europe. Theoretical and methodological frameworks were discussed, with particular attention given to how national political cultures influence democratic values. Presentations covered key topics such as long-term trends in political trust, electoral behavior, the role of socioeconomic factors in shaping democracy, and the impact of emerging political identities on polarization. These sessions facilitated a broad discussion on the evolving dynamics of European democracies and set the stage for the next phase of research.

On the second day of the meeting, the agenda shifted to discussions on dissemination, publications, and primary data collection. The dissemination group presented updates on outreach strategies, emphasizing the need to expand engagement beyond the academic community and include policymakers, civil society organizations, and the broader public. Plans for targeted events, including thematic workshops and panel discussions at international conferences, were discussed. The upcoming publication plan was also a key topic, with an emphasis on joint journal articles, special issues, and the preparation of a collective volume that would consolidate project findings.

One of the central themes of the meeting was data collection and methodological coordination. The qualitative and quantitative research teams provided updates on the progress of fieldwork, discussing challenges related to ethics approvals, translation of research materials, and logistical constraints in different countries. The project’s approach to data anonymization and quality control was also reviewed, with recommendations made to standardize transcription and documentation practices across research teams.

The meeting also included in-depth discussions on the status of individual work packages, covering topics such as the role of media in shaping trust, the effects of social media on democratic stability, and the development of policy tools for enhancing political trust. Research leads presented updates on their respective areas, detailing progress and identifying potential bottlenecks. One notable discussion revolved around the implications of digitalization on public trust, with several participants highlighting the challenges posed by misinformation and algorithmic biases in shaping political attitudes.

The General Assembly was joined by the advisory board who provided strategic input on the project’s research direction and policy relevance. Advisory board members underscored the importance of ensuring that research findings are effectively communicated to policymakers and practitioners. They also recommended closer engagement with EU institutions to align the project’s outputs with ongoing policy debates on democratic governance and political participation.

The dissemination group held a separate meeting to discuss media outreach and engagement strategies. The conversation centered on ways to increase the visibility of project findings through targeted press releases, participation in public debates, and collaboration with media professionals specializing in political communication. The group also explored the feasibility of developing educational materials to promote civic engagement and public understanding of political trust.

As the meeting concluded, consortium members reflected on the next steps for the project, reiterating the importance of maintaining close coordination between research teams, ensuring timely completion of deliverables, and strengthening dissemination efforts. The coming months will focus on finalizing data collection, analyzing emerging trends, and preparing a series of policy recommendations based on the research findings.