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Power-to-the-People Webinar: “What do the European elections mean to YOU?” – Tue, 28 May 2024, 2000 CEST
28.May 20:00 - 22:00
Dear friends!
Democracy is when the voice of the people counts. But here is the problem: In the 2019 European Elections, only 51% of eligible EU citizens voted, 49% did not. Four years later, when asked whether their voice counts in the European Union, 47% of Europeans agreed, 48% disagreed. With just a couple of weeks to go until the European Elections this is good and bad news.
European democracy works – but not for everyone
In this next “Power to the People” webinar, we dare raise the question to our speakers and to YOU: In our heated, polarized times with support for democracy on a historic low – is voting every five years enough? Are you voting on 6-9 June, and if not why not? Could more direct or deliberative citizen democracy make more citizens feel heard? And who actually has the privilege to vote and who is excluded?
How would European democracy work better for YOU?
In this webinar, we want to invite you to reflect on your personal standing towards the upcoming European elections. In our innovative format, tested and found empowering by you in 2023, we bring together citizens from all over Europe across borders in their own languages (aided by interpretation) – people who would not meet otherwise,
When? Tuesday, 28 May 2024, 2000 – 2200 CEST (Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Rome)
Join us for this shared European experience and register here: https://t1p.de/y1zem
How will this all work?
This webinar will have two parts:
First, we will have three keynote talks setting the stage and challenging beliefs – made accessible by professional interpretation into English, Italian, French and German:
- Paul Blokker: Paul Blokker is a prominent political sociologist and researcher, specializing in democracy, social movements, and European politics and is a professor for Political Sociology at the University of Bologna. He is also active at “Citizens Take Over Europe” which has published a “Democratic Manifesto” ahead of the EU elections.
- Ami Weickaane, also known as Bluuu, is renowned for her work as a visual poet, artist-activist, curator, and content producer, exploring themes of democracy and disenfranchisement especially of people of her own French-African descendancy in her creations. Ami is a member of the transnational board of European Alternatives.
- Yves Sintomer: Yves Sintomer is a distinguished political scientist and professor, recognized for his expertise in participatory democracy and citizen engagement, with a focus on innovative forms of governance and decision-making processes. He holds the position of Professor of Political Science at Paris 8 University in France and is a leading authority in the field of democratic theory and practice.
Second, we will go into breakout rooms of four randomly assigned citizens each – transnationally and across borders – aided by automated interpretation (Subtitles). The small rooms aim to spark deeper inner reflections on how we feel, what we fear and what we hope for when thinking about European elections and democracy.
Join us for this shared European experience and register here: https://t1p.de/y1zem
This is the second event of our new series “Building a ‘Digital European Public Sphere’ Participatory democracy in the EU: current challenges and future perspectives” as part of the Democratic Odyssey for a permanent European peoples’ assembly (more here). All our previous events are available here.
Please, join us for this event and invite others!
Everyone at the Power to the People Group
A cooperation of European Alternatives, European University Institute, Europe Calling, Mehr Demokratie, Another Europe is Possible, Citizens Takeover Europe, ECI Campaign and The Democratic Odyssey