The Central and Eastern European regional workshop of the Generations and Gender Programme was organized in Budapest by the HCSO Institute for Quantitative Population and Economic Research on March 12-13, 2026. The workshop brought together representatives from 12 countries as well as several delegates from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The Generations and Gender Programme is an international research infrastructure operating in more than 30 countries, supporting the study of social and demographic processes through comparable, high-quality data. Although the programme has already been successfully implemented in several Eastern European countries, there are still significant differences across the region in terms of participation and institutional embeddedness.
During the meeting, participants discussed how to strengthen the programme’s professional and policy embeddedness in the region, as well as what kinds of collaborations could support a better, data-driven understanding of family and demographic processes. A key topic was also how to bring researchers and non-academic stakeholders, such as ministries and statistical offices, closer together in order to facilitate joint work.
The event clearly demonstrated that the GGP serves as a genuine bridge between the academic and policymaking spheres.
We look forward to seeing how this workshop provides new momentum for joint thinking and collaboration.
