On 16–17 May 2024, the HRJust project participated in the first conference of its sister project REMIT, part of a group of Horizon projects clustered under the Research Executive Agency (REA) theme “Reshaping Democracies.” Within this cluster, HRJust collaborates alongside the projects REMIT, NAVIGATOR, and ENSURED, all of which explore multilateral cooperation and democratic governance from different disciplinary perspectives.

HRJust Coordinator Maria Grahn-Farley was invited to attend the conference hosted by REMIT coordinator Roberta Haar together with the Leuven research team, including Paul Timmers and Joep Crompvoets, at KU Leuven.

The conference focused on the connections between technological developments in cybersecurity and multilateral cooperation, featuring panels with contributions from senior and junior researchers as well as representatives from the European Commission. The discussions provided valuable insights relevant to HRJust’s work, particularly for HRJust researcher Dr. Olena Chernenko, whose expertise on cybersecurity and the Russian war against Ukraine connects closely to themes explored during the event.

HRJust was also presented alongside REMIT and ENSURED during a special panel on 17 May, offering participants an opportunity to learn more about each consortium’s research focus. The session included presentations from Hylke Dijkstra, coordinator of ENSURED, and Roberta Haar from REMIT, enabling dialogue and exchange between the different project teams.

Participation in the conference strengthened connections between the cluster projects and provided inspiration and new perspectives for HRJust’s ongoing research on governance, democracy, and the use of human rights justifications in contemporary policy contexts.