Program

Conference Hosts 

Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner

Evelyn Zupke, Federal Parliamentary Commissioner for the Victims of the SED Dictatorship
 

Leopoldo López, World Liberty Congress Secretary General and Co-Founder
Masih Alinejad, World Liberty Congress President and Co-Founder
Garry Kasparov, Vice President, World Liberty Congress and Chairman, Renew Democracy Initiative
Moderator: Annie Boyajian, President Freedom House

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution and Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University

Oleksandra Matviichuk, Human Rights Lawyer, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (2022) 
 

Roya Mahboob, CEO Digital Citizen Fund
Shukria Barakzai, Founder and President, Afghan Women Coailtion for Justice
Masih Alinejad, World Liberty Congress Co-Founder and President

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Reuter, President of the German Savings Banks Association

Irwin Cotler, International Human Rights Lawyer & International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

Brandon Silver, International human rights lawyer and Director of Policy and Projects, Raoul Wallenberg, Centre for Human Rights 
Followed by discussion on inter-governmental coordination in support of political prisoners 
Carine Kanimba and Paul Rusesabagina, Rwanda; Vladimir and Evgenia Kara-Murza, Russia

Sebastien Lai, leader of campaign to free prisoner of conscience Jimmy Lai

Julia Klöckner, President of the German Bundestag

Mohamed Abubakr, President, The African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL)

Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth

Tsai Ing-wen, Former Taiwan President

Melissa Chan, journalist and author
Badiucao, activist, artist, and author

Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther, Director and Executive Board member, German Economic Institute

Prof. Dr. Michael Hüther, Director and Member of the Executive Board at the German Economic Institute
Felix Maradiaga, World Liberty Congress Academy Director and Executive Council Member
Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign For Uyghurs 
 

Edmundo González, President elect Venezuela

Kathrin Anselm, Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe, Airbnb
Mariana Oleskiv, Advisor for European Affairs of the World Travel and Tourism Council
Franziska Giffey, Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises and Mayor of Berlin
Moderator: Anja Wehler-Schöck, Tagesspiegel 

Lt. Yulia Mykytenko, Lieutenant, Ukrainian Army

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, Former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe                

First Counsellor Markus Woelke, Vice President of the Federal Academy for Security Policy Maj. 

Philipp Wolf, Company Commander, Jägerbataillon 291, Franco-German Brigade

Dr. Hannah Neumann, Member of the European Parliament

Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Cyber Ambassador and 1st Digital Minister 

Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Cyber Ambassador and 1st Digital Minister 
Ahmad Ahmadian, President and CEO of Holistic Resilience 
Damon Wilson, President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy
Moderator: Leopoldo López, World Liberty Congress Secretary General and Co-Founder

Hosts

Hosted by Aspen Institute Germany (e.V.)
- Sofia Todorovic, Director, Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Serbia 
- Boris Mijatovic, Member of the German Bundestag 
- Liza Gashi, Acting Deputy Minister Kosovo 
- Adnan Ćerimagić, Senior Analyst, European Stability Initiative (ESI)
Moderator: Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Deutschland e.V. 

Hosted by Zentrum Liberale Moderne

Mantas Adomėnas, Secretary General of the international organization Community of Democracies
Ralf Fücks, Managing Director, Center for Liberal Modernity
Annie Boyajian, President, Freedom House
Garry Kasparov, Vice President, World Liberty Congress and 
Chairman, Renew Democracy Initiative 

We have the freedom to help. In this spirit, Andreas Tölke founded the NGO "Be an Angel," which helps refugees in Germany and delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Germany also provides military support to Ukraine's struggle for freedom "as long as it takes." But why not "as much as it takes"? How can the suffering of the Ukrainian people be ended with our help?

Joining Andreas Tölke in discussion are Kateryna Rietz-Rakul, Director of the Ukrainian Institute, and Major Philipp Wolf, Company Commander currently stationed in Strasbourg, previously on NATO's Eastern Flank. The discussion is moderated by Natascha Freundel, host of the podcast and radio debate "Der zweite Gedanke” (“On Second Thought.") In cooperation with radio3 from rbb. 

Hosted by Radio3
Andreas Tölke, CEO, Be An Angel
Major Philipp Wolf, Company Commander of Jägerbataillon 291, Franco-German Brigade
Kateryna Rietz-Rakul, Head of Ukrainian Institute 
Moderator: Natascha Freundel

For a long time, the United States was regarded as a central pillar of global democracy promotion. The Biden administration had pursued the goal of building a community of democracies. That has come to an end with the change of government. The Trump administration is reversing course in foreign policy and has already cut funding for the U.S. development agency USAID and for institutions such as the long-established NGO Freedom House and the U.S. international broadcasters Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. As a result, civil society projects are coming under pressure—particularly in countries such as those in Eastern Europe, where democratic structures are already fragile. What does this mean for democracy movements and civil liberties around the world? And what role must Europe now play?

Hosted by Radio3
Annie Boyajian, President, Freedom House
Mantas Adomenas, Secretary General, Community of Democracies
James Kirchick, Global Reporter, Axel Springer SE
Moderator: Katja Weber, Radio3

Authoritarian regimes follow a familiar script. From Venezuela to Nicaragua to Cuba, autocratic leaders rely on a shared “handbook” of repression: political imprisonment, electoral manipulation, censorship, and systematic human rights violations. In Latin America, this model has spread, threatening the region’s already fragile democracies.

This session will shed light on the harsh and urgent realities of the fight for freedom in Latin America—marked by brutal political repression, the relentless struggle from exile, and the courageous support of civil society actors still resisting on the ground.

You will hear directly from three outstanding activists from Venezuela and Nicaragua—individuals who were imprisoned for daring to speak out and demand democratic change. Their stories reveal not only the high personal cost of resisting authoritarianism but also the enduring resilience of a movement that refuses to be silenced.

The event also honors those who have sacrificed greatly and recognizes those continuing the struggle at home and abroad.

Hosted by Friedrich Naumann Foundation
Felix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan academic, entrepreneur, political activist, and human rights defender
Pedro Urruchurtu, Political scientist and activist, Coordinator of International Affairs for Vente Venezuela party (tbc)
Óscar Schlenker, Journalist and Deutsche Welle’s correspondent 
Moderator: Diana Luna, Latin America Policy Advisor, Friedrich Naumann 
Foundation

Nicholas Opiyo, Senior Director for Human Rights, African Middle Eastern Leadership 
Project (AMEL)
Dr. Donja Hodaie, Lawyer, legal counsel and researcher
Ray Wong, Hong Kong activist in exile & Board Chair Freheit für Hongkong e.V.
Felix Hosse, CEO, Push To Leave
Sardar Pashaei, Human Rights Activist, Executive Director, Hiwa
Laura Ucrós, Chief Operating Officer, The Reynolds Foundation
Moderated by Nikola Ilic, ChangeLac CEO, Democratic Leadership, Professor at Georgetown University, Activist
 

Masih Alinejad, Iranian Activist and Co-Founder & President of the World Liberty Congress, Leading Global Campaign Against Compulsory Hijab and Gender Apartheid in Iran
Roya Mahboob, CEO Digital Citizen Fund
Shukria Barakzai, Founder and President, Afghan Women Coailtion for Justice

Hosted by Community of Democracies
Dr. Mantas Adomėnas, Secretary General, Community of Democracies
Annie Boyajian, President, Freedom House
Roland Freudenstein, Co-Founder, Brussels Freedom Hub

As democracy faces a growing crisis of institutions, political will, and public trust, authoritarian regimes are seizing the narrative and expanding their influence. This session will explore how democracies can reclaim the initiative and remake the story that once united freedom, prosperity, and dignity for the 21st century - and how a new generation of voices can shape compelling narratives that resonate globally.

Building on discussions launched at Forum 2000 in Prague, the roundtable will bring together freedom fighters, policymakers, communicators, business leaders, and youth advocates to develop fresh, action-oriented ideas for strengthening democracy’s story in the 21st century. The format will be interactive, inviting participants to share their insights and experiences from the front lines of freedom.