UNDERSTANDING EUROPE FELLOWSHIPS 2026

Security and transnational solidarity and digital resilience amidst multiple crises

Across Europe and beyond, democracy is increasingly under threat. Young people are coming of age in an era shaped by overlapping emergencies: War on and beyond our borders, climate disasters that displace entire communities, the erosion of fundamental rights, and the rapid rise of anti-democratic forces. At the same time, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are rapidly reshaping how power is exercised, how information circulates, and how democratic participation is enabled or undermined.

In this context, resilience and security are no longer only matters for institutions or experts. Defending democracy today depends on informed, prepared, and connected societies. It requires digital resilience, strong communities, and the ability to respond collectively to disinformation, manipulation, cyber risks, and democratic backsliding.

How do we equip young Europeans to respond? How do we create spaces where they can confront these challenges together, strengthen democratic resilience, and build cross-border solidarity that can withstand political and social fractures?

We are looking for bold ideas that turn urgency into action. If you envision workshops and learning spaces where young people critically engage, organize across borders, and experiment with new educational approaches on shared security, digital resilience and transnational solidarity and resilience in times of crisis – this call is for you.

Apply to become a 2026 Fellow and help shape the democratic response to the crises of our time.

Funded by the European Union, the Hertie Foundation, the “Demokratie Leben!” program and SPIEGEL Ed. the Schwarzkopf-Foundation awards up to three fellowships to young European educators for 2026 as part of the Educational Network Understanding Europe.