News & Resources

Written by Rui F. Carvalho and André Caiado, Postdoctoral Researchers at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra (Portugal). As European societies face multiple societal challenges, developing a pedagogy of social contracts can be valuable for overcoming crises, strengthening democracy, fostering social inclusivity, and reinforcing social citizenship. This post reflects on the CO3-CES team’s experience conducting workshops with high-school students in Portugal on

On 25–26 May 2026, researchers, teachers, teacher educators, policymakers and students gathered at the University of Jyväskylä for the workshop Democracy, Human Rights and the Future. The event was jointly organised by Demos Helsinki, the University of Jyväskylä, the University of Helsinki and several ongoing research initiatives, including the Horizon Europe project CO3 – Resilient Social Contracts for Democratic Societies. The two-day workshop brought together perspectives

The international conference Social Contracts and Democracy in Times of the Anthropocene: Thinking Beyond Crisis (December 16–18, 2025, Fulda, Germany) explores the intersections between the crisis of liberal democracy and the challenges of the Anthropocene. At a time when “polycrises” such as climate change, erosion of democratic norms, and ecological tipping points define our era, we ask how social contracts and democratic governance can be rethought for the future. For mo

Discussion with the author, Claudia Wiesner (Fulda University),with commentary by Mirjam Dageförde (AUP) Thursday, April 4, 17:00 ...

CO3 topics are presented and discussed by our researchers in a seminar organised by HEPP and the Doctoral Programme on Gender, Culture,...

HEPP Special Event: Transforming higher education in authoritarian-populist Hungary 15th November 2024 Unioninkatu 37, Helsinki / online...

International Conference University of Helsinki, Finland / online March 5–7, 2025 The call for papers and panel proposals is open until...

Renouveler le contrat social Le défi de l'inclusion et du gouvernment démocratique dans la théorie du contrat social International...