Across Europe, many education systems face persistent challenges, including declining learning outcomes, high dropout rates, teacher shortages, and widening inequalities linked to socio-economic background. KU Leuven coordinates two Horizon Europe Cluster 2 projects that are strongly interlinked and aim to generate robust, evidence-based insights that can support more effective, inclusive, and resilient education systems across Europe.

The Horizon Europe project PLEDGE investigates the emotional dynamics of political protest in the context of multiple, overlapping crises that have affected Europe and the world over the past decade, including the financial crisis, the COVID‑19 pandemic, climate change, energy shortages, and the war in Ukraine. The project, in which the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is participating, responded to call topic HORIZON-CL2-2023-DEMOCRACY-01-04.

Horizon Europe Cluster 2 project DELIAH examines the multifaceted role of humour across artistic, cultural, and digital spaces. Universiteit Gent coordinates the project that aims to explore how humour can both support and undermine democratic participation in Europe.

The Horizon Europe project DemoTrans: Interchange between Democratic Institutions and the Globalisation of the Economy investigates how European societies can sustain and enhance democratic governance in the era of globalisation, economic power concentration, and growing public concern regarding equity, fairness and accountability in the political sphere. The project responded to call topic HORIZON-CL2-2021-DEMOCRACY-01-02 and is coordinated by KU Leuven.