EAPC Conference 2026 in Frankfurt
The EAPC European Conference 2026 will take place on Friday, 2 October, and Saturday, 3 October in Frankfurt, Germany.
This year’s conference will bring together political consultants, campaign professionals, strategists, communication experts, and public affairs specialists from across Europe and beyond. With a new and updated format, the conference will offer space for high-level exchange, practical insights, international networking, and discussions on the future of political campaigning in a changing democratic landscape. Frankfurt, one of Europe’s best-connected cities, provides an ideal setting for this gathering. Participants can look forward to two focused days of professional exchange, fresh perspectives, and meaningful conversations within the EAPC community. Please register directly via the official conference website:
LATEST EAPC NEWS
New EAPC Board
At this year’s extraordinary general meeting, held in Frankfurt in October, the following Board was newly elected:
- President: Hélène Masliah-Gilkarov, France
- Vice President: Anthony Grally, France
- Vice President: Arnaldo Costeira, Portugal
- Past President: Reza Kazemi, Germany
- Treasurer: Sepp Hartinger, Austria
EAPC Launches Unique Master’s Degree Program
Work on the project spanned three years. As of spring 2026, all details have been finalized for the “European Executive Master in Political Consultancy” program, which launches in October in partnership with the Lisbon Business and Government School and the Stirling Centre in Scotland.
“This program is unique in Europe. It is designed for working professionals and covers all areas of political consultancy and political communication, with lecturers from both worlds—theory and practice—working in unison,” says Arnaldo Costeira, Dean of the Lisbon Business and Government School, highlighting the significance of the course.
Outstanding speakers at the European Political Consultants Day
On 14 September, the anniversary of the EAPC’s founding, a highly interesting Zoom conference was held on the topic of “Democracy in Europe: Trust, Truth, and New Threats“, for which we were able to secure the services of highly knowledgeable speakers: Dr Melani Barlai from Andrasi University in Budapest, Hungary; Andrii Krugashlov from Kyiv, Ukraine; and Lisa Pellin from Sweden.
Özgur Özel, European Democracy Award 2026
The 2026 European Democracy Award goes to Özgür Özel, Turkey
Since 2025, the EAPC has been presenting the European Democracy Award to individuals or institutions that have made an exceptional contribution to democracy in Europe. Whilst last year’s award went to the campaign manager for Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Immanoglu, and former EAPC president Necati Özkan – who has been imprisoned without cause since March 2025 – this year’s award also remains in Turkey. It goes to the leader of the new Turkish opposition party, ENI PARTI, Özgür Özel. The members of the EAPC have thus recognized Özgür Özel’s exceptional resolve to embark on a new democratic beginning after the authorities split the CHP, which had until then been the largest opposition party. The award will be presented shortly at a formal ceremony.
EAPC Lunch-Time
EAPC Launches New Member Communication Format
Simply meeting virtually, sharing stories, and chatting—all without a fixed agenda—is the goal of the new EAPC member communication format, which has been taking place once a month (from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.) since early July. The response from members has been impressive. “You can bring up any topic without worry and might even find valuable support for your own challenges,” is the general sentiment among participants. Interested? Here are the upcoming dates: Thursday, August 27; Thursday, September 24; and Thursday, October 22.
Welcome to the EAPC!
The field of political communication in Europe and globally faces new challenges every day. That makes connection with colleagues, exchange of experience, and joint action all the more important to stay up to date. The EAPC provides an ideal platform for this. Expanding the circle of like- minded professionals to learn from one another is a heartfelt goal of the
association. We are therefore particularly proud to present on this page individuals who have recently joined us. A warm welcome to our family!
association. We are therefore particularly proud to present on this page individuals who have recently joined us. A warm welcome to our family!
Austin Marquette, USA
Austin Marquette is the Founder and CEO of Express Canvassing and Clear Path Strategies, specializing in grassroots mobilization, political consulting, digital strategy, and campaign management.
Samuel Arena, USA
Samuel Arena is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Express Canvassing. His expertise includes large-scale campaign management, voter identification, persuasion, get-out-the-vote operations, and grassroots organizing.
Andrei Gîrjev, Republic of Moldova
Andrei Gîrjev is an Entrepreneur since 2001, founder of two import and distribution companies in Moldova. Vice-president of the Chisinau territorial party organisation and head of the Centru sector, building the ground structure: polling stations, zone coordinators, member database, recruitment.
Daniela Gîrjev, Republic of Moldova
The EAPC is proud to welcome its very first member from Moldova: Daniela Gîrjev. Daniela is a political strategist based in the capital, Chișinău. Her goal is to bring Moldova – and the country’s political communication – closer to Europe.
Ana Guadalupe Cano Macías, Mexico
Ana Guadalupe Cano Macías is a mexican political scientist and political consultant whose research focuses on political parties and party systems. She specializes in political speechwriting, political and government branding, strategy and political-electoral education.
Nuno da Silva Jorge, Portugal
Nuno da Silva Jorge is one of the main political strategists in Portugal and university professor at ESCS-IPL. He has a Ph.D. in strategic communication and is specialized in public relations, political strategy and the ethical use of IA to empower democracy.
EAPC appoints Susanne Hartinger as an honorary member
At the extraordinary general meeting held in early October 2026, the EAPC appointed Susanne Hartinger, from Austria, as an honorary member in recognition and appreciation of her many years of service to the association. Susanne was involved in all discussions right from the very beginning; she is a founding member of the EAPC, served as the association’s General Secretary from 1996 to 2006, and was also jointly responsible for organizing no fewer than six European conferences.
“This honor comes as a huge surprise to me, and I would like to thank everyone who values our joint work so highly in promoting fair communication and safeguarding democracy and human rights in Europe. This work has never been more important than it is now. We must all commit ourselves even more strongly to preventing the division of society in Europe and to living out values such as respect, integrity, solidarity and tolerance much more fully,” said Susanne Hartinger.
EAPC sets the course for the future
“Reorienting the EAPC, further improving services for members and raising the association’s profile” – this was the general sentiment at the EAPC’s extraordinary general meeting, held as part of the Europe Conference in Frankfurt in early October 2026. Not only was a new executive committee elected, but a comprehensive programme of work was also presented. This includes, for example, the implementation of the EAPC study programme, as well as the European Day of Political Advisers, the monthly ‘Lunch Time’ session where participants exchange views via Zoom, enhanced media relations, a mentoring scheme for members, greater involvement of members in the association’s work, the expansion of the EAPC Academy, the launch of the ‘Freedom for Political Prisoners’ initiative and the annual European Democracy Award. “We want to position our association much more strongly in future, so as, on the one hand, to improve the culture of political communication and, on the other, to further strengthen and safeguard our democracy and human rights,” stated the new Board.
We Stand with Ukraine
Since 2022, a war has been raging in the heart of Europe – in Ukraine. The Russian army’s attack on a neutral country has profoundly changed Europe. The EAPC condemns this Russian aggression in the strongest possible terms and calls upon all nations worldwide to act with solidarity and determination. All key global players – the USA, China, India, and the European Union – are called upon to take decisive action to ensure that Russian aggression fails and Ukraine’s sovereignty is restored as quickly as possible.
Pioneers of Democracy
Democracy around the world is increasingly under pressure. The new U.S. government is accelerating this trend through its actions.
Counteracting this development and securing and strengthening democracy in all its facets is one of the EAPC’s core missions. The book “Pioneers of Democracy,” published by the EAPC on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, includes not only campaign highlights from the past quarter-century but also numerous contributions on the subject. A book
well worth reading.
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Member
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Professional
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European Association of Political Consultants
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