Station Europe at International Civil Society Week in Bangkok
We joined International Civil Society Week 2025 in Bangkok, one of the largest global gatherings dedicated to civil society. The event brought together activists, organisations, and creatives to reflect on democracy, rights, and participation in a fast-changing world.
As part of the programme, we hosted Error 404, our board game about democracy in the digital space. Through this format, we invited participants to explore how misinformation, online behaviour, and digital systems shape the way we understand and engage with democratic processes.
Below is an excerpt from an article covering the event and our contribution:
The 2025 edition of International Civil Society Week, held at the main campus of Bangkok’s Thammasat University, featured keynotes, plenaries and workshops focused on addressing society’s most pressing challenges.
Added to the offering were appearances by artists, musicians and other creatives, all somehow involved in tackling human rights and other issues in their respective countries.
There appears to be a growing trend in the use of interactive games and other creative means to spread awareness around societal issues.
Error 404, a board game showcased at the gathering, seeks to encourage debate and understanding around fake news, disinformation, hate speech and surveillance.
Developed by Romanian NGO Station Europe, Error 404 takes players through a range of situations and encourages them to think critically about how they might deal with real-world problems.
One of the game’s cards, for instance, has players reflect on how they would react to conspiracy theories relating to the media. Another focuses on the monitoring of students’ online activities.
Daria Ienea, Station Europe’s representative at the gathering, says Romania is in great need of programmes that might boost civic and political education.
The country’s 2024 presidential elections had to be annulled after a foreign interference scandal. The election’s first-round winner, Călin Georgescu, an ultra-nationalist with pro-Russian leanings, was found to have benefitted from a massive cyber campaign that saw bot accounts sow disinformation aimed at his opponents, among other dubious tactics. It is suspected that Georgescu’s campaign was backed and bankrolled by Russian actors.
“For now, the community in Romania really needs help, specifically on civic and political education,” says Ienea.
Ienea and her colleagues have taken Error 404 to high schools and libraries in Romania, where students and other participants got to test the game’s interactive format.
“The goal is to reach and educate as many people as possible,” says Ienea.
Check the entire article about our participation at the International Civil Society Week here: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-02-16-a-civil-stand-against-despots-and-demagogues-in-a-time-of-democratic-decline/?dm_source=blocks-list-item&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform
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