About · the people's square
Democracy is not automatic.
It is built together.
agora is a European hub at the intersection of AI and civil society — built by people who defend democracy for a living, for everyone who does the same.
The gap
CH.01 · the gap
01 / 03
Everyone teaches AI.
Content. Marketing. Productivity. Thousands of courses orbit the same sun — and it isn't ours.
02 / 03
Almost no one teaches it for democracy.
Advocacy. Counter-disinformation. Policy. Digital safety. The hard problems barely appear in a syllabus.
03 / 03
That is the gap agora fills.
We turn information into empowerment — for the people doing the work.
The origin
CH.02 · the origin
01 / 04
Brussels.
Marta Barandiy has spent a decade making Ukraine's case to Europe — international lawyer, founder of Promote Ukraine, working daily with the institutions that decide.
02 / 04
Munich.
Max Stepanov designs and builds — AI, product, systems that ship. A long track record of making complex things usable.
03 / 04
One question.
What if the people defending democracy had the same AI capability as the people attacking it?
04 / 04
The hub.
Promote Ukraine × Promote Freedom Foundation → agora. Live workshops first. A network that compounds after. The network is what lasts, not the software.
CH.03 · what we hold
Five things we refuse
to negotiate.
Each card holds a second layer — like the square itself, the surface is only half the story. Tap or hover to turn one over.
CH.04 · the people
A square is only
as strong as who shows up.
No stock portraits, no invented smiles. Each of us drawn the way the brand draws everyone — as a system of orbits. The photographs can come later; the work can't wait.
Marta Barandiy
Brussels · Law & Advocacy
International lawyer and founder of Promote Ukraine. A decade of EU affairs, human-rights advocacy, and counter-disinformation — arguing Europe's case inside Europe's institutions.
// orbit drawn from her initials — seed 77
Max Stepanov
Munich · AI, Product & Design
Product designer and builder. AI systems, design systems, and the craft of making complex things usable — responsible for everything you're looking at right now.
// orbit drawn from his initials — seed 83
Adrian
The Hub · AI Advisor
AI advisor for civil action, advocacy & democratic resilience. Adrian is an AI — and says so before you ask. He practices what we teach: useful, transparent, never pretending to be human.
// the volt tag is not a decoration. it's a disclosure.
The Circle
Advisors · Announced soon
Practitioners from EU institutions, human-rights law, and journalism are taking their seats. We name people only when they've confirmed — that's the whole point of us.
// empty seats are a promise, not an absence
The reach
CH.05 · the reach
01 / 04
Brussels — the mandate.
Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 81. The European Parliament, the Commission, and the NGO quarter within walking distance.
02 / 04
Munich — the build.
Where the product, the design system, and the AI tooling take shape.
03 / 04
Los Angeles — the bridge.
3250 Wilshire Blvd. A foothold in the Americas, because disinformation doesn't respect time zones.
04 / 04
And everyone the ties reach.
NGOs, volunteers, learners, and displaced people across Europe. Short ties, person to person — never an anonymous mesh.
CH.06 · the work
Not a course portal.
A capability.
Six service groups, one square. Training is where it starts — the network is where it compounds.
AI for NGO & Advocacy Leaders
Buy back your team's time. For directors, founders, and coordinators who decide how their organisations work.
COMMUNITY · SUBSIDIZEDAI for Life, Work & Civic Action
For Ukrainians in Europe, students, and active citizens — practical AI for everyday life, work, and participation.
CH.07 · questions
Asked in every room.
Answered here.
Who is agora for?
Three audiences under one roof: leaders and decision-makers in NGOs and advocacy; organisations and teams that need real AI capacity; and connected communities — Ukrainians in Europe, students, active citizens — for whom mission programs are subsidized or free.
How is agora different from other AI training?
Most teach AI for content and productivity. We teach it for advocacy, counter-disinformation, and democratic resilience — taught by people who do this work professionally in law, civil society, and technology.
Do I need a technical background?
No. Courses start from the basics and use free, widely available tools. The focus is practical, safe, and independent use — for everyday life, work, and civic action.
Is it self-paced or live?
Both — self-paced online courses plus live, expert-led workshops and intensives that adapt in real time to the people in the room. Live is our core.
Which languages does agora work in?
English-first and multilingual by design — EN, UK, DE, FR, with more added as the hub grows.
Who runs agora — and how is my data handled?
agora is a pilot initiative developed with the Promote Freedom Foundation in collaboration with Promote Ukraine; the formal entity, Impressum, and full legal pages are being finalised. We apply GDPR principles, minimise what we collect, and take extra care with the data of vulnerable users. Where AI generates content, we disclose it. Questions: europe@agora-ai.eu.
THE DOVE OF OBVIOUS THINGS, FOR THE RECORD:
a chatbot is not a democracy strategy. people are. also, this page was designed by humans — with an AI colleague who insists on being credited as such.
CH.08 · the invitation
The square is open.
Take your seat.
Bring your team, your organisation, or just your questions. Many voices. One public square.