April has been a busy month for our current fellows as the Virtual Fellowship program 2026 "Building people power for social and environmental justice" reaches its midpoint.

On April 16th, the fellows gathered for a praxis session titled "Our communities", facilitated by our Bulgarian alumna Shirin Hodzheva (Bulgaria, Fall 2022). The session invited participants to map and profile the communities they work with and brainstorm outreach strategies. As always, the best part was hearing how different and how similar our struggles are across five countries.

Then on April 21st, it was time to get relational. US mentors Jason Walker (US) and Louis Goseland (US) led the training session "The art of building relationships", diving into the why and how of one-on-one relationship building as a foundational tool of community organizing.

The program continues through July, with more training sessions, mentorships, and a graduation ceremony on the horizon. Stay tuned!

As the Virtual Fellowship program 2026 is hitting its stride, it's time for an exciting moment: matching fellows with mentors. We are looking for people from our community who are willing to share their time, their work, and their world with one of our fellows.

Mentors would be paired with one or two fellows for an individual mentoring relationship, including giving them a window into your organization or group: meetings, campaigns, actions, whatever you've got going on. Think of it as a professional immersion, just virtual. The total time commitment is approximately 8 hours over the whole period (May to mid-July). That's less than one hour per week.

Since our fellows are based in Central and Eastern Europe, it helps if your organization or group holds activities online and ideally at times that don't require your mentee to be awake at 4 am. Morning US time generally works great for them.

Our main focus is on linking fellows with US mentors, but European alumni are also welcome to join, especially those doing community organising on the ground.

Timeline:

How to join: Send a short message to network coordinator Vladislav Petkov at [email protected] and include 1–2 sentences about your current work and what you think you can offer, especially in terms of letting a fellow peek inside your organization. No long applications, just a quick note and a willingness to connect.

On April 21st 2026, Józsefváros - Budapest’s 8th district - received the Gold Award at the European Capitals of Diversity and Inclusion Award ceremony in Brussels, in the category of settlements over 50,000 people. The award, established by the European Commission, recognizes local authorities that turn inclusion from ambition into action - and Józsefváros came out on top among eight recognized cities from five EU countries, ahead of silver winner Leuven (Belgium) and bronze winner Leiden (The Netherlands). The district was recognized for its borough-wide Equal Opportunities Programme, with dedicated teams working on Roma inclusion, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and equal access to public services.

At the heart of this achievement is our very own Tessza Udvarhelyi (Hungary, Spring 2016), Deputy Mayor of Józsefváros, whose speech at the award ceremony has put the award in a broader political context: "We built the other Hungary in the darkest times when we were small, but now we finally feel that the whole of Hungary has returned to the EU, and we do not have to work in the headwinds any longer." (Source of quote and photo)

Congratulations, Tessza, and the whole Józsefváros team! 🏆

The World Forum for Democracy calls for expressions of interest from innovative initiatives from all over the world that develop democratic responses to the challenges of today and anticipate those of the future. Initiatives from public institutions, civil society organisations, and other actors are accepted. Initiatives should demonstrate innovative approaches that strengthen democratic resilience, participation and institutional safeguards, and that can inspire democratic action. The selected initiatives, submitted by any public or private organisations, will be presented and critically assessed by multidisciplinary panels and participants at the Forum.

One presenter for the selected initiatives will be invited to Strasbourg to take part in the World Forum 2026, taking place 2-4 November 2026.

Travel and accommodation expenses may be covered by the Council of Europe.

Apply by 31 May 2026

"Education and NGOs in the AI Era" is a 2-day online conference for NGOs organized by UiPath Foundation with support from NGO Academy, taking place on May 13th and 14th 2026. UiPath Foundation is led by our alumna Raluca Negulescu-Balaci (Romania, Spring 2013).

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how Artificial Intelligence is transforming education and how it can support NGOs in achieving wider impact. The event is dedicated to NGO professionals and will be held in English. Registration is free of charge, but spots are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis.

May 1st Edition