Budapest Forum

Based on the success of the last years, Budapest Forum will return in 2025. The conference will be organized again by the Municipality of Budapest, Political Capital, and CEU Democracy Institute to discuss the most pressing issues currently facing citizens of democratic and nominally democratic countries. The Forum will explore and examine policy proposals under the banner of ‘Building Sustainable Democracies’.

The Budapest Forum has emerged as a key player in the international policy event scene over the last four years, bringing together mayors, commissioners, MEPs, decision-makers, policy experts, academics, and activists for 15-20 panels and sessions per year, as well as multiple side events and discussions. The public interest was equally large, with more than 450 in-person participants per year and almost 40.000 viewers online per year, as well as hundreds of Hungarian and international media appearances. The feedback from participants and partners was very positive, highlighting the organizational quality, impressive line-up, thematic diversity and hitting a niche with the role of cities in addressing the most pressing challenges of our time.  

The 2025 Budapest Forum proposes to examine the growing role of geopolitics in shaping international relations. Among the many topics we intend to address are the shifting dynamics of transatlantic cooperation, the transformation of the global economic landscape, and the increasingly urgent questions surrounding war and peace. In addition, we aim to explore how democratic societies can respond to the complex challenges they face in this evolving geopolitical environment.

We are convinced that it is not only the multitude of crises that define our time, but also the commitment and the intellectual prowess of broad segments of our societies to tackle these crises. The palpable interest that we have seen in the last years, attests that we are on the right path when we seek to galvanize policy debates across borders and levels of government and provide a joint platform for all relevant stakeholders in search of a sustainable and democratic future.

We, as co-organizing partners, the Municipality of Budapest, Political Capital Institute and CEU Democracy Institute, will draw upon this valuable experience this year when organizing the fifth Budapest Forum, scheduled for September 17. We are looking forward to expanding our growing Budapest Forum network with the most impactful changemakers.