"Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy" Newsletter Issues

Introduction (15/05/2024)

Introduction

Join us for the 5th Festival (12/06/2024)

Find out more and register for the Citizen Participation and Deliberative Democracy Festival in Brussels from June 12-14th.

Summit for Democracy (15/05/2024)

The 3rd Summit for Democracy convened government representatives, activists, academics and practitioners in South Korea to build a “Democracy for Future Generations" in March. Graham Allen, Convenor of the Citizens’ Convention for UK Democracy, updates us on the Deliberative Democracy and Citizens’ Assemblies Cohort discussions.

Understanding the impact of Citizen Engagement on Policy, Institutions and Society (15/05/2024)

A JRC study is exploring impact of citizen engagement to better understand how participatory processes influence and transform policymaking and society.

ERC Report on Democracy (15/05/2024)

The report presents European Research Council-funded projects working on challenges confronting democratic systems as well as the resilience of democratic principles and civic engagement.

AGORA Project (14/05/2024)

A Gathering place to cO-design and co-cReate Adaptation – AGORA - is a Horizon Europe project supporting the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change.

INSPIRE Project (15/05/2024)

INSPIRE (Intersectional Space of Participation: Inclusive, Resilient, Embedded) aims to strengthen intersectional inclusion within participatory deliberative processes.

The SensJus project (04/05/2024)

'Sensing for Justice' uses Civic Monitoring as an active form of citizen engagement to research the potential of grassroots-driven environmental monitoring, i.e. Citizen Sensing.

Check out more events on our website (15/05/2024)

Check out more events on our website

Meet the Competence Centre (15/05/2024)

The next ‘Meet the Competence Centre!’ corner will be held on June 24, 2024. The Competence Centre is happy to meet members of the Community of Practice or to address specific questions concerning citizen engagement from 2 pm to 5 pm CET. If interested, book your 30-minute slot!

Call for Initiatives - Deadline May 17 (15/05/2024)

World Forum for Democracy 2024 "Democracy and Diversity - Can we transcend the divides?"

Innovative implementation of the partnership principle in the context of EU regional policy (23/02/2024)

DG REGIO offers technical support by experts from the OECD to public authorities to work in cooperation with civil society organisations to implement in an innovative way the partnership principle in the context of EU regional policy. The call for expression of interest is open until 31st March, 2024

The next training on citizen engagement in policymaking (13/09/2023)

The Competence Centre’s next training on citizen engagement in policymaking will include two days on 13 and 20 March 2024. The training will focus on deliberation and co-creation practices and methods with case studies, as well as guidance on how to plan citizen engagement activities. The training will also offer networking and peer-to-peer discussion, together with practical exercises and hands-on group work on cases of interest to the participants.

Festival Website Goes Live (03/03/2024)

As preparations for the 5th edition of the Citizen Participation and Deliberative Democracy Festival are picking-up steam, we are happy to announce that the Festival website has been published.

Citizens' Engagement Platform (22/02/2024)

The European Citizens' Engagement Platform went live this month, and the latest round of citizens' panels kicks off today.

Meet the Competence Centre team (25/03/2024)

Join our regular 'CC-Corners' with the Competence Centre Team and find out more about our work.

Procurement instrument for expertise and capacity to support citizen engagement in policymaking (15/12/2023)

The European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication (COMM), in 2023 published a Call to Participate in a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) targeting expertise and capacity to support its growing needs to engage citizens in policy-making. All economic operators capable of delivering services underpinning participatory processes are invited to submit request to participate.

Commission recommends that Member States get citizens more involved in policymaking (15/12/2023)

A new Recommendation to Member States on citizen participation in policymaking suggests that co-creation and deliberative democracy could help build more resilient democracies.

Apply to showcase your project at the 5th Festival (15/12/2023)

A call is open for proposals of citizen engagement projects and resources to exhibit their work at the Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Festival in Brussels in 2024.

Events across the Community in 2024 (15/12/2023)

Check out our events page to see what's coming up in the year ahead, including workshops, conferences and more.

New JRC research project on integrated bioeconomy land use assessment (01/01/2024)

The project marks an important step in addressing the issue of sustainable land use in the context of a growing bioeconomy, aiming to generate a nuanced understanding of land system responses to bioeconomy-related policies across the European Union.

Participatory tools and models for stronger EU engagement (01/12/2023)

New research paper from ECNL presents an overview on emerging tools and models to help safeguard citizen participation at the EU level.

Why is it important to include citizens in urban policymaking to support biodiversity? (01/12/2023)

We asked project leaders and representatives from various cities involved in BiodiverCities, to explain why engaging citizens in support of biodiversity matters and when.

Giving a spatial perspective to our understanding of democracy and public participation (01/12/2023)

The new JRC project, ‘Public spaces as spaces for citizen engagement: Partnership to democratise science and policy’, comes at a critical time, given shrinking number and size of public and civic spaces in Europe and elsewhere, seen as important places for connection and engagement.

Attention #Makers! Applications for the JRC Makers-in-Residence programme are now open (04/09/2023)

Three makers will be selected to participate in a 10-day funded residency at the JRC Makerspace, in Ispra, Italy. Deadline: 30/09/2023, 12:00 CEST (midday).

15 September is International Democracy Day! (05/09/2023)

On the International Democracy Day, the inter-governmental organisation IDEA is organising an event focusing on inclusive democracy and its role in sustainable development. The event is also devoted to exploring interconnections between the United Nations and its Member States, civil society and various stakeholders, and other democracy topics. Read more and attend!

Citizen engagement in libraries? (11/07/2023)

What comes to mind when you think of public libraries? Books – of course. But one also thinks of community, a place of belonging, a place for all members of society to come together. Public libraries are open to everybody – at their core, they are accessible and inclusive spaces.

BiodiverCities Atlas is out now! (14/03/2023)

The atlas presents case studies from the BiodiverCities project on how to meaningfully engage citizens in the making of more liveable cities.

New generation of Citizen Panels ends: The citizens’ contribution to European policy making (06/07/2023)

Read more on the new generation of Citizen Panels organised in December 2022 by the European Commission. The events were a direct follow-up to the proposals originating from the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Curating matters of care in the Arctic: What does knowledge co-creation look like for policymaking? (18/07/2023)

On May 26, the CC-DEMOS organised a workshop in Ispra, in our Collaborative Space, in partnership with the H2020 Arctic Passion consortium, titled 'Curating matters of care in the Arctic: What does knowledge co-creation look like for policymaking?'

DG REGIO: Call for expressions of interest remains open until 30.11.2023 (12/04/2023)

Read more on the 'Innovative Implementation of the Partnership Principle in EU Cohesion Policy'. Deadline for submitting application is 30.11.2023.

Meet the Competence Centre on Participatory & Deliberative Democracy (13/02/2023)

The next ‘Meet the Competence Centre!’ corner will be held on September 18 and October 25, from 2 pm to 5 pm. The Competence Centre is happy to meet members of the Community of Practice or to address specific questions concerning citizen engagement. If interested, book your 30 minutes slot!

Register for the Autumn School on Citizens' Assemblies (14/07/2023)

Do not miss the chance. The registration for the Autumn School on Citizens' Assemblies is now open. Join the capacity-building event for policy-makers, civil servants and other societal actors to learn how to implement Citizens' Assemblies. Book your place now!

Training for public administrations on participatory processes (20/07/2023)

CC-DEMOS is developing a training package for EU public administrations at local, regional and national level to support their capacity in engaging citizens in policymaking through co-creation and deliberative processes.

Council of Europe: The second School on Participatory Democracy in Türkiye is afoot (23/08/2023)

The second School on Participatory Democracy in Türkiye will take place in Ankara. The School is open to Turkish participants who want to broaden their practical knowledge on participatory standards and tools. The deadline for application is 18 September, 6pm CEST.

“Imagining Eat Together” goes to Parma (23/08/2023)

Check out two upcoming events organised in partnership with the Association “I Musei del Cibo della provincia di Parma”!

EU Knowledge Valorisation Week 2023 will run from 25 to 28 April (09/03/2023)

The EU Knowledge Valorisation Week is back! It runs from 25 April to 28 April 2023. It brings together research and innovation actors to exchange experiences, discuss current trends and challenges, and highlight valorisation opportunities with a wide range of stakeholders. Register now! The EU Knowledge Valorisation Week 2023 will feature themed days devoted to sustainability, management of intellectual assets and industry-academia cooperation. The event will also be an opportunity to explore the potential of the Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation, the new pan-European initiative to turn research and innovation results into solutions more effectively. In the ‘Valorisation Talks’, practitioners will explain how the brand-new Codes of Practice on intellectual assets management and on standardisation will help R&I actors. The webinars will showcase excellent and concrete examples of how to put these guidance documents into practice for the public good and individual goals. Be inspired by these best practices of knowledge valorisation submitted by stakeholders through an open call on the EU Knowledge Valorisation Platform.

Spring School on Climate Citizens’ Assemblies: Designing climate futures with citizens. (25/03/2023)

Do not miss the deadline for registrations: Wednesday, 19 April!

European Convention on Democracy Technologies (14/03/2023)

The first European Convention on Democracy Technologies is taking place on 11 May 2023 in the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.

Explore funding opportunities for citizen participation in 2023 (13/03/2023)

Read more on the funding opportunities in 2023 for citizen’s participation under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme.

Read the most recent insights on the 2nd Summit for Democracy (31/03/2023)

Graham Allen comments for us on the 2nd Summit for Democracy and reflects on the current ideas and forms of democracy, as well as its possible future shapes.

Institutionalising co-creation? Challenges and opportunities (30/03/2023)

Highlights from the research seminar and work conducted by researchers Ann Karin Tennås Holmen (University of Stavanger) and Helena Junyer Puig (University of Utrecht), on participating cities to BiodiverCities.

Citizen engagement and biodiversity protection (30/03/2023)

Read about the latest pilot projects on engaging citizens in the protection of wild pollinating insects run by the Competence Centre.

Mission Publique's perspective on the Conference on the Future of Europe (13/03/2023)

Read Mission Publique's comments on the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Register now for the upcoming online training "Citizen Engagement in Policy Making" (13/02/2023)

'Citizen Engagement in Policy Making' training will be held on April 20-21, 2023. Four modules, covering the rationales for citizen engagement, principles of best practice, as well as applied tools for running participatory activities, will be distributed along two full days of online training.

We want to hear from you! Support the Community of Practice and fill up our survey (12/02/2023)

We continue the mapping of the Community to understand the expertise and topics of interest that lie within it. Particularly we would like to hear from you on how you might like to play a role and on what, so we could support you better. Please fill out the short survey we prepared (approximately 5 minutes)!

Join the final event of the Helios project (23/02/2023)

We are happy to announce that the final event of the Helios – An Healthy Mind in an Healthy Ecosystem project will be held in Verona on Saturday March 18, 10:30-12:15, kindly hosted by the University of Verona. Highlights of the project as well as its outcomes will be presented, with the participation of local citizens that joined the research process! The event will be held in Italian / L'evento si terrà in italiano.

Summit for Democracy 2023 (10/01/2023)

Find out what the cohort is working on and aiming to achieve as part of U.S. President Biden's 2023 Summit for Democracy (Cohort launch 17th January - Register now).

Contribute to our Community of Practice (17/11/2022)

Want to play a meaningful part of our Community of Practice for the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy? We want to hear from you!

The European Year of Youth (01/01/2022)

DG EAC takes a look back through the achievements and legacy of 2022, the European Year of Youth.

Democracy in a honeybee hive (10/01/2023)

This interactive workshop asked: how can honeybee decision-making be applied in human collective decision-making?

Parliamentary architecture & participatory democracy (10/01/2023)

The Particitiz session explored how the architecture of parliaments could be adapted for the purposes of citizen participation.

EU Commission: "We have made deliberative democracy an integral part of our decision-making process" (10/01/2023)

Missions Publiques interviews Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, about the next steps after the Conference on the Future of Europe.

How can we institutionalise co-creation? (10/01/2023)

This seminar on February 16 discusses the institutional challenges to co-creation encountered by local partners from ten European cities involved in the BiodiverCities project.

Horizon Europe info day - Cluster 2 (17/01/2023)

An info day on January 17th aims to inform potential applicants about the research topics included in the 2023 calls under Cluster 2 'Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies'.

Imagining “Eat” together: The School Meal (10/01/2023)

A new report shows the importance of looking beyond nutrition when it comes to improving school meals, sustainability and equal outcomes.

Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (10/01/2023)

This open access publication covers 31 research methods written by scholars in the field

New generation of Citizens' Panels (10/01/2023)

The JRC's Paulo Rosa outlines the latest news on citizens' panels organised by the European Commission.

A 'New kid on the block' with the Summit for Democracy (17/11/2022)

Read about the Deliberative Democracy and Citizens' Assembly Cohort that is helping the Summit for Democracy to meaningfully engage citizens globally.

Engaging citizens to green cities across Europe (16/11/2022)

The final policy event of the BiodiverCities project provided valuable insights about how to make cities more inclusive and sustainable with citizens.

VP Šuica: “Citizens should be at heart of EU policymaking” (14/11/2022)

In this interview, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography outlines the political context and next steps for participatory and deliberative democracy in the EU.

Remote town in Sicily pioneers new ways of democracy (17/11/2022)

Regalbuto, a town below Mount Etna, sets an example by involving locals in new ways to rethink the town’s future, address its demographic decline and prepare for wildfires.

Snapshot of the Festival (17/11/2022)

Take a look back at the highlights and insights of the Festival

The Impact of the Conference on the Future of Europe: Youth Want Action (17/11/2022)

The Conference was a turning point in their lives of young European citizens. They talked about their expectation for institutions to live up to the hopes raised by this unique process.

Democracy gym at the public library (14/11/2022)

Public Libraries (PL2030) held an interactive workshop based on the ‘Democracy Fitness’ training concept

Bringing Generations Together (17/11/2022)

Hear about the findings of a series of intergenerational dialogues held on the topic of civic education

Co-creation lessons from cities (17/11/2022)

This online session collected lessons from several cities across Europe on the implementation of co-creation processes involving marginalised, vulnerable and young citizens

What can civic monitoring offer deliberative democracy? (15/11/2022)

Organised by the Sensing for Justice project, this panel explored the concepts of ‘civic assemblies’ together with civic environmental monitoring.

The future of Civic Tech Participation (10/11/2022)

This expert panel discussed the past, present and future of digital participation to ask: are we heading towards a metaverse for democracy?

The Haves and the Have Nots: Civic Technologies and the Pathways to Government Responsiveness (15/11/2022)

This World Bank report explores the issue of inequality when it comes to civic technologies

"Let’s decolonize our knowledge about deliberative democracy" (15/11/2022)

Is deliberation universal? Should it be? Is our way of conceptualizing and organizing it in Europe (too) “Western-centric”? Two researchers and experts in “democratic innovations”, Nicole Curato and Melisa Ross, speak to Missions Publiques to bring some perspective to our practices.

2022 Gis Congress Democracy and Participation (16/11/2022)

The event from 23-25 November at MSH Paris Nord offers a variety of workshops on democracy and participation.

(Digital) Democracy is a human right (17/11/2022)

EUMANS presents this event on 6 December at the Economic and Social Committee, Rue Belliard, Bruxelles.

Participatory governance in the EU: what’s next? (24/08/2022)

Ângela Guimarães Pereira, head of the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, explains why June 17th, 2022 was a significant day for citizen engagement in EU policymaking

Greening cities with citizens policy event (08/09/2022)

Join us on September 8, 2022 for the final policy event of the BiodiverCities project in Brussels

DemocracyNext official launch (15/09/2022)

Join the official launch of DemocracyNext on 15 September 2022, the International Day of Democracy.

Engaging youth as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe (27/07/2022)

Make.org updates on their latest initiative to engage 123 000 participants in France and Germany as part of the Conference.

The robot who wanted to be a pollinator (27/07/2022)

Ever wondered how to engage citizens on the problem of pollinators decline? Check out the STING project initiative that uses a robot to help citizens get more closely connected with pollinators.

Check out the new Voices Platform (20/10/2022)

The Voices platform gives young people a voice to raise their ideas and concerns for the future.