Short Description: The CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy (DILA) is a three-month, part-time, English-language leadership programme designed for a new generation of public leaders in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. The hybrid programme combines residential sessions in Budapest with online learning and focuses on democratic governance, civic participation, democratic resilience, leadership skills, negotiation, mobilisation, and public policy challenges affecting European democracies at local, national, and EU levels. The programme also aims to strengthen transnational collaboration and peer learning among participants working across politics, civil society, governance, and public policy.
Target Group: Mid-career local, municipal, and national leaders, political party representatives, civil society activists, and policy experts working in the public domain or think tanks with 5–10 years of professional or political experience.
Countries: Central and Southern Europe and the Western Balkans
Location: Hybrid – Budapest, Hungary and online
Duration: Three months
Deadline: 5 June 2026
