Between 16 and 18 March 2026, Professor Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Director of the Centre for Global Law (CPDG) and the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU-LA Global Challenges (CEJM), co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme, participated in the 2026 GEM-DIAMOND Annual Conference, held at the Institut d'Études Européennes of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Organized by Professor Ramona Coman and Frederik Ponjaert, the conference marked the final edition of the GEM-DIAMOND doctoral network and brought together partner institutions—including Université libre de Bruxelles, LUISS Guido Carli University, and FGV Direito Rio—to discuss democratic institutions, the rise of alternative governance models, and normative dissensus in contemporary Europe.

Throughout the conference, Professor Almeida participated in the Supervisory Board meetings and in a roundtable dedicated to the project's research outputs. On 17 March, she served as discussant for Mr. Larouche's chapter, "Investigating Dissensus at the Transnational Level: the Role of EU Officials in Contesting the Dominant Conception of the Rule of Law in the ISDS Reform", which forms part of the forthcoming volume Liberal Democracy in the European Union. The event concluded with a Skills-Training World Café, providing doctoral researchers with opportunities to exchange experiences and develop professional and academic skills.

Professor Almeida's participation reinforced the longstanding collaboration between the FGV Centre for Global Law, the FGV Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, and the GEM-DIAMOND network, strengthening international academic cooperation on European Union law, global governance, and democratic resilience. The conference also provided an important forum for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among researchers working on the evolving challenges facing democratic institutions and international legal order.