NEWSLETTER April 2026
Health, education, culture, inclusion. The Pillars of democracy
From the editor
Building Democracy Beyond Borders. Lessons from Brindisi
In an era marked by democratic regression and growing global pressures, dialogue reminds us that institutions alone cannot sustain democracy. Rather, democratic resilience must be nurtured in classrooms, healthcare systems, digital spaces, and the fabric of everyday life.
In the southern Italian town of Brindisi, a historic crossroads of peoples, cultures, and ideas, the 8th edition of the Supranational Democracy Dialogue unfolded as both a reflection and a promise. Hosted by the University of Salento, the event gathered scholars, practitioners, and citizens from across the globe to rethink democracy in a time of uncertainty. This year’s theme culture, education, and well-being resonated deeply with the needs of our time.
Over two days of intense and inspiring exchanges, participants explored topics way beyond law and regulations. While global democracy is often framed through treaties and multilateral institutions, participants emphasized that its viability rests equally on the conditions that enable participation. Rights, in this sense, are only meaningful when supported by trust, inclusion, and the capacity to engage.
Culture, education, well-being, and inclusion emerged not as parallel themes, but as interconnected dimensions of a shared democratic ecosystem. Culture shapes how individuals relate to society and to one another. Education provides the tools to navigate complexity and engage across borders. Well-being underpins the ability to participate actively, while inclusion ensures that such participation is genuinely open and representative. Together, they form the social infrastructure of democracy at all levels: a supranational democracy cannot be imagined without roots in the local and national dimensions.
Yet, a democratic governance that stops at borders, which are often mere accidents of history, does not make much sense in the current, interconnected and interdependent world, as current events show us almost daily.
Active citizenship was identified as the thread linking all the elements of the democratic social fabric. As decision-making increasingly transcends national boundaries, so too must civic engagement. This shift calls for new forms of participation, enabled by digital innovation, transnational collaboration, and more accessible democratic practices.
What distinguished the Dialogue from other events is its ability to bridge disciplines and perspectives, fostering genuine exchange between academia, policy, and society. In Brindisi, at the symbolic end of the ancient Via Appia, participants were reminded that while paths may differ, the direction is shared: toward a more inclusive, participatory, and human-centered global democracy.
by Susanna Cafaro, Professor EU Law, University of Salento
This month’s newsletter was co-edited and compiled by Edoardo Montin, a member of the EHFF.
Insights from the Democracy and Well-being session
At the VIII edition of the Supranational Democracy Dialogue, Karl Baumann chaired a session on Democracy and Well-being, where Antonio Parenti, Nina Soenderberg, Lars Münter, and Edoardo Montin shed light on different perspectives surrounding the topic. Read the three articles below to learn more about the session.
European Health Data Space. More than health data, a European Health Democracy System?
At the Supranational Democracy Dialogue VIII in Brindisi, I had the opportunity to present what I believe is one of the most underappreciated democratic questions of our time: who controls your health data, and what does that mean for citizenship?
My argument was that the European Health Data Space is not primarily a technical project. It is a democratic one. When EU law grants citizens the right to access, move, and correct their health records across borders, that is a shift in power – from institutions to individuals. That matters enormously. Coming from the interactive workshop of the myHealth@myHands project in Bologna, this debate about democracy and inclusion was very present and poignant.
Through our work in Bologna, Berlin, and Dublin so far, I have seen what this looks like in practice and what it requires. Because access alone is not enough. If citizens lack the digital literacy and confidence to engage meaningfully with their own health information, we risk building infrastructure without inclusion. That is its own democratic failure.
The discussion in Brindisi confirmed what I suspected: when you place health data sovereignty alongside conversations about civic education and supranational citizenship, it stops looking like an IT, AI, or technical question very quickly – it becomes a human question. And not about whether we build it or not, but how we use equity, dignity, and inclusion as our guides when we build it.
Health Equity as a Democratic Imperative: The European Health Union Initiative
Great experience to contribute to the Supranational Democracy Dialogue in Brindisi, where I argued for something that I believe Europe needs to hear and reflect upon more directly: health equity is not a secondary outcome of good governance. It is a precondition for democracy itself. Investing in health produces more than low blood pressure or safe surgeries – it produces relations that are the mycelium of public trust.
Through the European Health Union Initiative, we have been making the case that a Union which fails to address health inequalities – rooted in socioeconomic status, geography, gender, and migration – risks undermining the very participation and belonging that democracy depends on. Poor health does not just shorten lives, it deteriorates relations between citizens and system, but also within the system itself. It really shortens citizenship.
In Brindisi this also really resonated across disciplines and geographies. Whether the conversation turned to civic education, institutional innovation, or refugee inclusion, health kept emerging as the connective tissue as a foundation.
Forums like Brindisi are similarly part of the solution. When researchers, policymakers, and practitioners sit in the same room and speak honestly about systemic failure, something shifts. The question stops being whether health belongs in a democracy dialogue and starts being why it took us so long to put it there in the first place.
By Lars Münter
Hacking innovative health systems that restore trust
Health is a highly technical, scientific, and expert-driven sector, shaped not only by science but also designed and managed by a huge range of actors: policymakers, industry, hospitals, insurers, research centres, and many others.
In this system, individuals risk being reduced to data points rather than recognised as active participants and human beings.
Over time, the traditional relationship between patient and caregiver has faded. Decisions taken at hospital, local, or national level feel distant, and treatment options are not always easily understandable due to the complexity of science.
Trust is eroding, and people are left disengaged.
Yet there is an opportunity to rethink this dynamic. Hackathons offer a democratic and participatory model of innovation, bringing together diverse voices to co-create solutions in a short, intensive format.
This is the vision behind Future Forward, an initiative by the EHFF. By opening the innovation process to a broader community, it aims to rebuild trust, improve understanding, and make health systems more inclusive.
Following a first workshop in Cologne, the next step is to engage partners willing to shape this journey. The future of health must be not only innovative, but inclusive.
Upcoming events
It’s mental health awareness month!
Mental health is not just an individual matter, it is a collective responsibility.
In an increasingly fast-paced, connected and complex world, taking care of our mental wellbeing should not be a luxury, but a daily practice accessible to all.
Because there is no health without mental health.
Together for Mental Health, 6 May, Aarhus (Denmark)
Debate in Aarhus with Bogi Eliasen, Kristine Sørensen, Nina Sønderberg, and Lars Münter, on collaborative approaches to mental health.
From Cancer Care to Partnership: How OECI Advances Quality, Equity and Research in Europe and beyond its borders, 6 May, Brrussels
Unlocking digital access to medicines for a resilient cross-border EU health system, 13 May, Brussels
Announcements from EHFF
Return on Engagement (ROE): A new framework to better capture patient engagement value
Authored by Danielle Drachmann, Phil Leventhal, and Stephanie Terrey (10 April 2026), the concept of Return on Engagement (ROE) reframes how the life sciences industry evaluates patient engagement. Traditional metrics like short-term Return on Investment (ROI) fail to capture its true value, as engagement is relational and long-term rather than transactional. Focusing only on immediate financial outcomes risks undermining patient-centered innovation. Introduced at the World Patient Centricity Congress, ROE highlights broader impact: improving decision-making, deepening understanding, accelerating innovation, reducing risks, and building trust with patient communities, while embedding engagement as a core, continuous organizational function.
Bridging the Gaps 2026: Podcasts on ecology, health, wellbeing, the economy….
Will Nicholson, convenor of the Northern Ireland Creative Health Network, discusses with David Somekh and Caroline Whyte how the arts support individual and community wellbeing. They highlight strong evidence linking creativity to health, concerns about prioritising economic growth over wellbeing, and the challenge of measuring impact in the arts. The conversation also stresses the importance of nurturing creativity among healthcare professionals to build more holistic and sustainable health systems.
ALCOHOL REVIEW 2026
Phil Cain and Andy Mohan, organisers of Alcohol Review, hosted the AR2026 online event on March 26th, focusing on the impact of AI on global efforts to reduce alcohol harm. The discussion featured experts examining both opportunities and risks, including the use of bots to deliver alcohol-related information and AI tools to monitor advertising, followed by a broader conversation on how emerging technologies may shape public health responses in this field.
Ascendium Group : Building systems that unlock potential at every level
EHFF member Shaun Charles Little has launched Ascendium Group, the umbrella platform overseeing three interconnected projects:
- Unlocking Minds: rooted in over 25 years of offender education and rehabilitation practice, now evolving into a practitioner and learner platform with case studies, insights, blogs, and future-facing content including podcast, book, and TED Talk development.
- HERO Academy: a strengths-based education and identity-building system for young people, including wider creative, educational, and storytelling developments.
- HEX Vanguards: a developing digital resilience and prevention ecosystem focused on manipulation, grooming, youth safeguarding, and soft-security prevention, combining digital, physical, social, and emotional tools.
Explore the initiatives via the official website
New EHFF Podcast episodes out!
Episode 3, Health and the Wellbeing Economy with David Somekh
Episode 4, The Art of Democracy and Health with Karl Baumann
Stay Tuned and Take Action
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EHFF