CPH:DOX is excited to announce the second edition of the CPH:DOX SUMMIT, returning on March 16, 2026.

 

Building on the essential insights of the 2025 edition, the Summit responds to Europe’s critical democratic challenges, including an accelerating democracy recession and a growing dependence on U.S.-based media platforms and narratives. In 2026, the conversation moves beyond diagnosis toward a collective effort to rethink, envision, and redefine what media sovereignty can mean in the years ahead.

Rather than focusing solely on structural fixes, CPH:DOX SUMMIT 2026 invites new ways of thinking about independent media sovereignty, including the shifting role of public broadcasting. At the heart of these discussions lies technological sovereignty and the concept of “Safe Havens”: spaces, systems, and norms designed to protect freedom of expression and allow democratic and citizen voices to circulate without being filtered, prioritised, or suppressed by algorithms.

The Summit will also focus on breaking down silos across the media landscape, between investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking, and between public and alternative funding models. By examining the resilience of journalism organisations, we aim to identify pathways that enable the media sector to thrive independently of traditional film production constraints.

Finally, the Summit will draw inspiration from the frontlines of the fight for digital sovereignty, listening to voices from around the globe and inside Europe who reflect on alternative ways of thinking about resilience, adaptability, and solidarity in media ecosystems operating under pressure from both state power and platform monopolies. In order to fight disinformation, a number of local innovations have emerged, including grassroots media literacy, AI-powered fact-checking, and collaborative partnerships.

Presented in collaboration with ARTE as the official partner of the CPH:DOX SUMMIT 2026, we bring together leading voices from media, policy making, culture, and democracy to collectively imagine and develop bold solutions that treat media not merely as a consumer product, but as a vital sovereign necessity for democracy.

The full CPH:DOX SUMMIT programme will be released at the end of February.

 

About CPH:DOX SUMMIT

The inaugural 2025 edition of the CPH:DOX SUMMIT brought together some of the most influential voices shaping the future of media, democracy, and culture. Speakers included internationally renowned investigative journalist Christo Grozev (Der Spiegel / The Insider); Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, one of the world’s leading authorities on human rights and media freedom.

The Summit has also featured Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford; Keri Putnam, former Executive Director of the Sundance Institute; Matthias Pfeffer, Managing Director of the Council for European Public Space; Ukrainian filmmaker and frontline chronicler Alisa Kovalenko; and European media strategist Ingrid Libercier.