On 13 January 2026, the MeDeMAP – Mapping Media for Future Democracies project organised a full day of dissemination events in Brussels, marking an important milestone as the project enters its final phase. The events brought together policymakers, researchers, journalists, civil society actors, and media professionals to discuss evidence-based approaches to democratic media systems in Europe.
The morning seminar, “Regulating Media for Future Democracies: Political and People’s Voice”, took place at the European Parliament and featured two roundtables. The first focused on next steps following the EU Media Freedom Act (EMFA), while the second addressed what European citizens can contribute to EU media policy. This discussion drew directly on insights from Citizen Parliaments organised by MeDeMAP in Austria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Slovenia, and included exchanges with Members of the European Parliament.
In the afternoon, a second seminar titled “Mapping Media for Future Democracies” was held at the Learning and Innovation Centre (LIC) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, co-organised with DESIRE. The first session, “Journalism and Democracy – A Debate”, brought together journalists, civil society representatives, and academics to discuss journalism’s role in contemporary democracies. Speakers included François Heinderyckx (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Renate Schroeder (European Federation of Journalists), Donato Bendicenti (RAI), Jeffrey Wimmer (University of Augsburg / Charles University, Prague; MeDeMAP), and Stef Arends (Kif Kif). The debate was chaired by Andrea Miconi (IULM University, Milan), coordinator of the MeDeMAP Italian team.
The second session, “Mapping European Political Information Environments – A Workshop”, presented the MeDeMAP multi-layer map of European political information environments. Participants engaged hands-on with the project’s spatial data interface, which provides quantitative insights into media and information ecosystems across Europe. The workshop was chaired by Josef Seethaler, MeDeMAP Principal Investigator and Leader of the Research Group “Media, Politics & Democracy” at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, with contributions from David F. J. Campbell (University of Vienna) and Beata Klimkiewicz (Jagiellonian University, Cracow).
Together, these events marked a significant step in sharing MeDeMAP’s research outcomes with policymakers and practitioners, reinforcing the project’s commitment to strengthening democracy through media accountability, citizen participation, and evidence-based policy dialogue. Further dissemination activities are planned as the project moves toward completion.