On April 29 and 30, 2025, project partners gathered in Budapest for the first in-person meeting of the project, hosted by the Centre for Social Sciences (CSS). This long-anticipated event provided an invaluable opportunity for face-to-face collaboration, constructive dialogue, and strategic planning as the project moves into its next phase.
The formal programme began on Tuesday morning, April 29, with arrival and coffee, followed by welcoming remarks from Boldizs谩r Megyesi, Director of the Institute of Sociology at CSS. The morning continued with progress reports from each work package, offering a concise overview of developments and accomplishments to date. This was followed by a review of key deliverables, including the dissemination plan and the quality assurance plan.
Late morning sessions featured a focused discussion on the data management plan, guided by our Ethics Advisor. After lunch, the meeting resumed with a session involving the project's Scientific Advisory Board.
In the afternoon, participants turned their attention to the conceptualisation and operationalisation of interfaces, a critical step in linking together the project's various work packages. This session drew upon key documents, including the descriptive exploration of democratic and political participation variables, the draft interfaces manuscript, and a draft truth table.
Later in the day, we met with representatives from our sister projects, ProTest and Trans4Demo, to share updates and explore potential synergies.
On Wednesday, April 30, the meeting resumed with a first session of the day was dedicated to platform recruitment strategies led by the Edgeryders team, sparking thoughtful discussion on engagement methods and data collection.
These two days in Budapest offered a dynamic mix of strategic dialogue, collaborative planning, and community building. The in-person format brought renewed energy to the project and strengthened the bonds among partners, paving the way for continued progress and meaningful impact in the months ahead.
