CONTEXT
As truth is contested, human rights threatened, and democracies across the world pressured by war, authoritarianism, and hybrid operations, CIVIL – Centre for Freedom presents Defending Democracy: Horizons of Freedom – a nine-day strategic, civic, and multimedia programme marking Human Rights Week 2025. Supported by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, and implemented in cooperation with partners in the Defending Democracy Global Initiative (DDGI) and the Westminster Alliance for Ukraine (WA4U) – including Media Dialogue, Youth4Media, the New European People’s Forum (Germany), the Jean Monnet Association (France), and Centro Studi Internazionali (Italy) – this year’s edition expands CIVIL’s long-standing mission to defend freedom, truth, and democratic values.
Horizons of Freedom unites expertise, creativity, activism, and public participation through a diverse programme: intensive media action and multi-level networking; youth engagement; analytic and scenario-driven roundtables; public art and civic expression; and a high-level international conference on December 12. It brings together domestic, regional, and global actors in a shared effort to expose hybrid warfare, strengthen democratic governance, and reaffirm human dignity.
Building on CIVIL’s previous landmark editions – Defending Democracy & Human Rights in the Face of War, Nationalism and Authoritarianism (December 2024), the global roadmap publication Defending Democracy and Human Rights (March 2025), and The Battlefield of Truth (October 2025) – Horizons of Freedom forms a multidimensional platform for confronting the realities of AI-driven manipulation, disinformation, authoritarian influence, and geopolitical aggression. It reimagines what resilience means in an era where warfare is both kinetic and cognitive, and where the fight for truth has become a frontline of its own.
The programme concludes with the public release of the Local Elections 2025 Report, providing analytical findings and strategic recommendations that bridge the week’s discussions with long-term democratic development, accountability, and civic empowerment.
As the world enters a period of profound uncertainty, Defending Democracy: Horizons of Freedom reaffirms CIVIL’s call to unite clarity, conscience, courage, and civic responsibility in defence of human dignity. This nine-day programme opens a space for engagement, reflection, and action dedicated to protecting the core values that sustain democratic societies.
CIVIL’s message is clear: Democracy survives only when it is actively defended.
Truth. Action. Democracy.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: HORIZONS OF FREEDOM
FULL PROGRAMME
Skopje | North Macedonia | December 5–12, 2025
DAY 1 | Friday, December 5
Launch of Defending Democracy: Horizons of Freedom
11:00 – 11:30
Press Conference
Presenters: Diana Tahiri, Biljana Jordanovska, Jabir Deralla (representatives of CIVIL – Centre for Freedom, North Macedonia)
Language: Macedonian, Albanian
Venue: Civic Resource Centre
14:00 – evening
Start of Media Action & Networking
📢 Public call for contributions: Participants and interested individuals are invited to submit short essays or join interviews within the Media Action & Networking activities.
DAYS 2-3 | December 6–7 | Media Action & Networking
Saturday, December 6 – Civic Education Day
Democracy, Citizenship & Public Awareness
Meetings, networking sessions, and media activities focused on understanding disinformation, and hybrid threats.
Sunday, December 7 – Early Warning Day
Hybrid Threats: Trends & Signals 2025
Online presentations of monitoring findings and analyses from the Democracy Navigator team.
Day 4 | Monday, December 8
Democracy, International Partnerships & Global Solidarity
12:30 – 13:30 CET
Online Briefing for International Partners and Media
A concise online session presenting the key themes of Defending Democracy: Horizons of Freedom, insights on hybrid threats, and highlights from Democracy Navigator 2025, followed by remarks and a Q&A with CIVIL representatives and invited guests.
Speakers: Heather Roberson (human rights expert, USA), Jabir Deralla (journalist and analyst; president of CIVIL, North Macedonia)
Language: English
📩 Participation: The briefing will be held via Zoom. Interested media and partners are kindly asked to request the access link at: info@civil.mk
DAY 5 | Tuesday, December 9
Democratic Resilience: Strategies & Shared Solutions
11:00 – 12:30
Roundtable: National & Regional Democratic Resilience Strategies
A focused discussion assessing key democratic vulnerabilities and identifying actionable measures to strengthen institutional, civic, and societal resilience and coordinated democratic defence architecture.
Participants: Kristina Kostova, Dželal Hodžić, Luan Imeri, Zoran Ivanov
(Participant list remains open)
Moderator: Dragan Mishev (CIVIL)
Language: Macedonian
Venue: Civic Resource Centre
DAY 6 | Wednesday, December 10
Human Rights Day
10:00 – 10:30
CIVIL Public Statement: Defending Human Rights in an Age of War and Disinformation
Livestream with online Q&A
Language: Macedonian, Albanian, English
Participation: By invitation only
Venue: Frontline Press HQ
11:00 – 12:30
Workshop | Voices of Freedom: Young People & the Future of Democracy
A workshop aimed at confronting disinformation, co-creating ideas for democratic resilience, and expressing participants’ visions of freedom through digital and creative tools.
Language: Macedonian, Albanian
Participation: By invitation only
Venue: Frontline Press HQ
13:30 – 14:30
Public Art Display
Themes:
- Human Rights Alive
- AI and the Human Mind
- Ukraine: The Frontlines of Freedom
Features: Visual installation | Freedom Flipchart
Location: The Civil Square, Maksim Gorky 31/1
(location may change depending on weather conditions)
Access: Public
DAY 7 | Thursday, December 11
The AI Battlefield: War, Power & the Future of Democracy
11:00 – 11:30
Meeting the Press: Updates & preview of December 12 programme
A media briefing offering key updates on AI-related hybrid threats and a preview of the high-level programme for December 12.
Language: Macedonian, Albanian, English
Access: Invitation only (requests & registration: info@civil.mk)
Venue: City Park Hotel
12:00 – 14:00
Roundtable | AI at the Frontlines: War, Authoritarianism, and Democratic Futures
This roundtable explores how artificial intelligence is transforming contemporary conflict and how authoritarian regimes weaponize AI for coercion, information dominance, and hybrid operations that blur the line between physical warfare and cognitive manipulation.
Participants: Col. Goran Vasilevski, Nora Kaliqi, Vančo Ordanoski, Nikola Gelevski
Moderator: Jabir Deralla
Language: Macedonian
Access: Invitation only (requests & registration: info@civil.mk)
Venue: City Park Hotel
DAY 8 | Friday, December 12
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: HORIZONS OF FREEDOM
High-Level Conference
Democracy Navigator 2025 – Human Rights Week
Participants: North Macedonia, Western Balkans, Europe, USA
Access: Invitation only (requests & registration: info@civil.mk)
Venue: Civic Resource Centre
09:30 – 10:00 Registration
10:00 – 10:30
Welcoming addresses
Diplomatic representatives | International partners | CIVIL & DDGI
- E. Petra Drexler, Ambassador of Germany to North Macedonia
- E. Larysa Dir, Ambassador of Ukraine to North Macedonia
- Wolfgang Ressmann, Media Dialogue (Germany); Defending Democracy Global Initiative (International)
- Roger Casale, Westminster Alliance for Ukraine (United Kingdom); Defending Democracy Global Initiative (International)
- Jabir Deralla, CIVIL – Centre for Freedom (North Macedonia); Defending Democracy Global Initiative (International)
10:30 – 11:30
Panel I: War in Ukraine, Hybrid War in Europe & the Global Democratic Struggle
This panel examines Russia’s war against Ukraine as the central front of a broader global confrontation over democracy, human rights, and the international rules-based order. Speakers analyze how hybrid warfare – combining military aggression, disinformation, cyber-attacks, and proxy influence – reshapes security in Europe and beyond.
The discussion highlights Ukraine’s resilience, the geopolitical stakes for Europe and the Western Balkans, and the global democratic implications of the war’s outcome.
Panelists: Roger Casale, Francesco Gaudiosi, Yevhen Tsimbalenko, Oliver Andonov, Edward P. Joseph
Moderator: Heather Roberson
11:30 – 12:30
Panel II: AI, Disinformation & the Post-Truth / Post-Shame World
This panel explores how AI reshapes both the military and information dimensions of modern conflict — from autonomous targeting systems, drone swarms, and battlefield decision-support tools to synthetic media, algorithmic manipulation, and expanding disinformation ecosystems that destabilize shared reality. It examines how today’s media and communications ecosystems amplify hybrid warfare and accelerate the erosion of political communication in the post-truth / post-shame environment. The discussion addresses the risks of weaponized AI in both kinetic and cognitive domains and opens space for considering democratic safeguards, ethical and legal standards, and the global norms needed to protect open societies in an era of contested truth and accelerating technological power.
Panelists: Lina Kushch, Eglė Celiešienė, Marjan Zabrčanec, Col. Goran Vasilevski
Moderator: Jabir Deralla
12:30 – 13:30
Panel III: European & Global Perspectives of Democratic Resilience
Panel III explores how democracies across Europe and the wider world confront escalating hybrid threats, democratic erosion, and geopolitical pressures. It brings together diverse voices to examine lessons learned, emerging vulnerabilities, and the strategic shifts required to strengthen democratic resilience. The discussion aims to identify actionable pathways for collective security, institutional integrity, and long-term societal resistance to authoritarian influence.
Panelists: Gudrun Steinacker, Bojan Maričić, Wolfgang Ressmann, Emanuele Errichiello, Admir Lisica, Toni Popovski
Moderator: Heather Roberson and Jabir Deralla
13:30 – 14:00
Closing Session: Reflections, Commitments & the Road Ahead
Afternoon: Informal Networking & Presentations
DAY 9 | Monday, December 15
North Macedonia 2025 Local Elections Report & Strategic Recommendations
This session presents CIVIL’s comprehensive report on the 2025 Local Elections in North Macedonia, offering key findings on electoral integrity, institutional performance, media environments, and hybrid-threat dynamics. The presentation highlights lessons learned, structural vulnerabilities, and strategic recommendations aimed at strengthening democratic processes ahead of future electoral cycles.
13:00 – 14:00 Public presentation and Q&A session | Livestreamed
Languages: Macedonian, Albanian
Venue: Civic Resource Centre
Information & Contacts
Organizer
CIVIL – Center for Freedom, Maksim Gorky 31/1, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia
Media platform
CIVIL Today – English
CIVIL Media – Macedonian
Drejt – Albanian
Defending Democracy Global – English
Contacts
Email: info@civil.org.mk
Social Media
Livestreams & Press Materials
Event livestreams, press releases, photos, and video content will be available across CIVIL’s digital platforms throughout the programme. CIVIL representatives are available for media statements in Macedonian, Albanian, BCS, and English.