EUth for Democracy

ID-Budapest European Agorafor Democracy in Europe

« EUTH FOR DEMOCRACY » As a community of young Europeans and a laboratory of civic engagement, with

this project BEA aims at fostering knowledge about democracy and bringing new ideas to revamp it.

Euth for Democracy was also envisioned as a contribution to the participatory processes that will be set in motion by the Conference on the Future of Europe

(CoFoE)

The CoFoE was announced by newly-elected President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen in 2019 and should start in the coming months. Its goal is looking at the needs for reform of the Union, involving citizens, civil society as

well as institutions.

Young people are expected to play a key role in the Conference.

TWO MAIN TRACKSAs a focus on democracy, the project will develop around

two parallel sets of activities:

1. Engage in a series of monthly webinars with decision-makers, experts, and practitioners of democracy

2. Envision new ideas to strengthen democracy in Europe through exchanges with other European

young citizens

Inaugural

Session

November December January February March April

Engage

• Four Monthly Webinars

• One Topic per Webinar

Envision

EUth for Democracy Timeline

• Democracy

• The CoFoE

• Two Plenaries

• Independent Country Teams’ work

Month Key Word Webinar Description

Dec LegitimacyWhen are democracies

legitimate?

Representativeness, competence, effectiveness are

among the essential components of well-functioning

democracies. How do they contribute to make

democracies more legitimate?

Jan Influence

Influence & Interests:

how to form consensus

in a democracy?

In the complex process of consensus creation, what is

the weight of different actors in shaping consensus?

What role for intermediate bodies, businesses, NGOs,

and media?

Feb Technology

How are new

technologies impacting

democracy?

Which democratic threats from new technologies? How

to use them to improve democracy? How is

disintermediation impacting the relationship between

elected officials and their voters?

Mar Innovation

What futures for

representative

democracy?

In the multiple scenarios for the future of democracies,

how to make sure our democratic models adapt to a

changing world? What are the global trends and in

which direction are we going?

EUth for Democracy Timeline – Engage Track

April

EUth for Democracy Timeline – Envision Track

• Use everyday-life situations to grasp the most pressing

issues/challenges that our democracies are facing

• Brainstorm with your CT to identify and select the

issues/challenges you want to focus on

• Identify the main elements and causes of the challenge

• Develop relevant solutions to the identified issue

• Refine your solutions and adjust them with the

specific requirements of CoFoE

• Work on the presentation format of your project

and get ready for the final plenary

What

How

1) Country-teams’ meetings: self-organized meetings through which CT members will carry out the work in both

phases. It may be helpful to identify 1 coordinator (or 2 for larger teams) among CT members. We recommend

CTs to meet at least once every 2 weeks to exchange and advance.

2) Meeting with your Country Reference: the Country Reference is there to answer your questions, giving you

advice, and liaise with the BEA team if you need. They are there to support you, but not to do the work for you!

Inaugural

Session

Phase 1 Phase 2

Identify Problems Develop SolutionsPlenary I Plenary II

OUR PARTICIPANTS17 Country Teams 129 Participants 18-35 years old

OUR PARTICIPANTS

17 fields of study

THE INAUGURAL SESSION

On November 27th, our 127 participants gathered for EUth for Democracy’s Inaugural Session, which

saw them play an active role in multiple interactive activities with democracy experts from the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the EU Commission.

«I’m so enthusiastic! It was a wonderful “first” experience» -

Angela

«The session was wonderful indeed 😊 Interactive and very

promising» - Katerina

OUR AMBITION

Once the CTs’ work is concluded in April and based on the results of the project, we aim at an

international diffusion campaign including:

• A written report containing a description of the project as well as the most valuable

proposals put forward by the participants

• Presentations of the proposals in different Member States with relevant stakeholders

• A communication campaign on social media to present the proposals and the results of the

project

Which type of methods?

• As a citizenship project, you are free to choose your methods, be it interviews, surveys, direct

experience, everyday-life situations or academic texts. Any type of activity that can help you (1)

understand the issue and (2) come up with creative solutions is welcomed.

Which type of problems?

• You are free to choose local, national, or supranational issues directly related with democracy

• Make sure to bring your unique « local » perspectives to the table, while providing elements for

everyone to understand the issue: the purpose of this project is linking local and global together.

Which type of solutions?

• Independently from the specific guidelines of the CoFoE, you will have to develop your solutions

keeping in mind some basic criteria:

1. Relevancy to the problem: it should address the identified issue

2. Innovativeness: it should be creative as much as possible

3. Feasibility: you should briefly discuss also the main challenges related to implementation and

scalability (if it is a local issue that you are tackling)

Envision Track – Key Questions

AppendixFAQs – The project in detail

Envision Track - F.A.Q.

Q How many times per week is a Country Team supposed to meet?

A There is no fixed amount: the project is spread out across multiple months exactly to keep it fun and not

turn it into a burden. So it’s up to you. Be sure everyone has time! We recommend to touch base at least

once every two weeks.

Q What’s the working language?

A You can talk whatever language you want in CT meetings. However, every communication in plenary

sessions and in general towards the “outside” should be in English.

Q How many plenaries are there?

A In addition to the inaugural session, there will be 2 plenaries for the Envision track in 2021. We will

communicate the precise date and time of each of them in advance.

Q Is it mandatory to attend the plenaries?

A Participating to the 2 plenaries (and the 4 webinars) is the only attendance requirement of the project.

Clearly, we can’t force you to do anything, but if you decided to join this project these moments will be

crucial to share your progress, receive feedback from other CTs, and deepen your understanding about

democracy in Europe.

Q What is the role of Country Reference people?

A They are there to answer your questions, give you advice, liaise with the BEA team if you need. Count

on them: they are there to support you, accompany you in this journey, but not to do the work for you!

Q What kind of outcomes are expected for plenary I?

A You should present the issue you decided to tackle, also explaining why and how you chose it.

Q When will plenary I take place?

A At the end of January/beginning of February. We will communicate the exact date as we move along.

Q What kind of outcomes are expected for plenary II?

A The last plenary will be the final moment of the project, where we expect you to present your final

solutions and give feedback to other CTs’ presentations. The format of the presentation is up to you

(PPT, Video, Storytelling, etc.): be creative! Based on the feedback received in the final plenary, you shall

send us a short written briefing in English.

Q When will plenary II take place?

A In the first part of April. We will communicate the exact date as we move along.

Envision Track - F.A.Q. (2)

Q What is the short written briefing for plenary II?

A It is a short written text that should include the main elements of phase 1 and 2: description of the

problem you chose and the solution, explanation of why and how you chose the problem and came up

with the solution, showing how the latter satisfies the criteria of relevancy, innovativeness, and feasibility.

Q What is the relationship between EUth for Democracy with the CoFoE?

A Based on your presentations and written briefing, a BEA committee will select the best ideas based on

the previously mentioned criteria. The best ones will be submitted as BEA’s contribution to the CoFoE.

Don’t worry though – all projects will be displayed as an integral part of the initiative.

Q What about the uncertainty around the start of the CoFoE?

A EU institutions are still discussing about it and Covid is slowing down the process. Nevertheless, we

can move on with our project and once the CoFoE starts we can refine the details of our solutions to

make sure that they can be submitted as a contribution to the Conference.

Q What about interaction with other Country Teams?

A In addition to plenaries, we’re studying ways in order to make you interact with your transnational

colleagues more often. We set up a Facebook group to gather materials and promote relevant

discussions - take advantage of it!

Envision Track - F.A.Q. (3)