 In many of my interactions with policymakers, civil society organizations, students or even friends and family, I'm often asked what in my opinion is the biggest threat to democracy. Of course I mentioned that it is in fact difficult to single out one specific threat as being the most detrimental, especially since we know that democracy's resilience is challenged by a number of issues, such as corruption, inequality, an increasing trust deficit and political polarization, new modern technologies and modern democratic backsliding. I'm also sure that depending on the context, each and one of us could add more challenges to this already very long list. But I would hereby like today to draw your attention to one challenge that has remained relatively neglected, namely apathy or indifference. At Ideas we've always recognized that democracy can come in many forms, but at the core of each and one of them must be the citizens, citizens who engage, who participate, who elect and who keep politicians accountable. Without citizen engagement, no real democracy. And this is why we have chosen to focus this edition of the newsletter on the important issue of citizen engagement. Internationally there has been working on this topic since 1995, mainly from the perspective of formal institutions, formal representative institutions. In the coming years, however, we will more explicitly address the intertwining mechanisms between citizens and institutions. We aim to improve the interface between representative institutions and citizens so that interests and demands put forward by citizens are better addressed and incorporated in agenda setting and policy making processes. The theme working on it, the political parties and representation team, will look at different opportunities linked to technology, popular movements, platform, local level innovation and participatory processes. The aim of this work is to bridge the gap between citizens and institutions by suggesting ways to improve, number one, the enabling environment for participation, the regulatory and policy frameworks, number two, the mechanisms for participation, tools and platforms, and number three, the ways in which citizens organize themselves. Counteracting apathy, counteracting indifference by increasing citizen engagement is as much a responsibility for citizens as it is for traditional political parties. They too, these political parties, should recognize the dangers of indifference and apathy in the face of the new political landscape where populist parties manage to gain support and mobilize citizens. Although I don't think we should all be populists, perhaps there are a few things that traditional parties could learn from them to increase citizen engagement. Number one, lowering the threshold for political participation. Number two, using digital tools to facilitate citizen involvement. And number three, addressing issues that are high on the agenda of citizens rather than the party board without, for that matter, losing the political compass and emulating the rhetoric and policies of the populist parties. Ultimately, living in a democracy comes with both rights and responsibilities. It is not up to everyone else to safeguard, improve or reinvent it. We are all responsible, each one of us. My main message is next time you find yourself blaming the politicians, the system, the you or other voters, do your part. Get involved, vote, join a party or a movement, a civil society organization or a trade union. Use your rights, but also take your responsibility. If I can close with a comparison, even a World Cup final is nothing of interest without people watching it and being involved as supporters. Democracy needs the support, the active support and engagement by citizens.