Shortly after our 6th anniversary, Defend Democracy is excited to launch a new phase.
Six years of our mission about hybrid threats and technological threats to democracy brought much awareness, action and collaboration. Although successful, it was not enough for our governments to stop these trends, which now converge and accelerate. Our work significantly contributed to general awareness about, and measures against, the risks of hybrid and technological threats to the stability of our democracies. Our visionary mission, impact, programs and activities received ringing endorsements.
While Defend Democracy celebrates six years of high-impact advocacy for civil preparedness and societal resilience against hybrid threats, and for ethical design and digital autonomy as structural solutions to disinformation and technological threats, our vital work to strengthen and defend democracy is far from done.
However, with the new geopolitical context and hybrid escalation, and with AI exponentially accelerating the technological threats to democracy, now is the moment to shift gears. After years of talking, the time has come for action. Defend Democracy will shift its focus to contributing more concretely to building preparedness, resilience and tech sovereignty, particularly in the Netherlands.
President of the Board Jana Zikmundova said:
“Defend Democracy was right all along to warn – right from the capital of our European Union – about the foreign, domestic and technological threats to democracy. These are growing worse by the day. After many wake-up calls, now is the time for action. Therefore I am proud that Defend Democracy is adapting its crucial work to this new geopolitical era.”
Advisory Board members said:
“Defend Democracy works at the nexus of democracy, security and technology, which is where hybrid warfare is taking place. Defend Democracy continues to lead, by showing that the way out of the current geopolitical mess starts with digital sovereignty.”
Six years after registering Defend Democracy as a legal entity (and almost nine years after launching its informal precursor), founder Alice Stollmeyer will take a well-deserved break. She will start a sabbatical this summer, after which she will rejoin Defend Democracy in a different role.
Alice Stollmeyer, our Founder and Executive Director, said:
“Since 2025, it is in plain sight what I have been warning for all these years. Foreign, domestic and technological threats to democracy are interconnected and reinforcing each other. We are now at a moment in history where these three trends are really converging. Defend Democracy was and is the trailblazer in putting this on EUrope’s political agenda. Now it is up to my successor to take this to the next level.”
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Defend Democracy, 2 April 2026
