DEMOCRACY AND INCLUSION ON SCREEN

ended

Migrant-originated communities are represented at lower levels across the EU and Belgium as well as faced with integration problems. According to the EU citizenship report 2020, underrepresented categories of voters face additional challenges. It can be more difficult for people with a minority racial or ethnic background than for the rest of the population to feature on candidate lists, register for elections, or perform other electoral procedures. For instance, many underrepresented people's social and economic vulnerabilities are often exploited during election processes. In 2018, 20.7 % of all national citizens living in the EU-27 faced a risk of poverty and social exclusion. The share for citizens of other EU Member States was higher (29.1 %) and even higher for migrants who were non-EU citizens (45.1 %) (Eurostat, 2019). Another important finding in the report is that those who think their voices are heard in the EU have a 15% higher European identity than those who do not. On the other hand, media communication tools have vital importance for those mentioned topics. At that point lack of misinformation, guidance, legal loopholes, lack of participation mechanisms and challenges for reaching target groups are prominent problems. In order to overcome these, organized efforts of media communication tools and representatives of non-governmental organizations that can reach these groups are needed. Thus, our project aims to increase the level of knowledge and awareness of immigrant (and immigrant background) young people about the EU by using media communication tools and strengthening their citizenship and active participation in democratic life and decision-making processes. While doing this, tools such as field research, trainings, public debates, workshops, seminar conferences, TV programs will be used. Democracy and Inclusion on Screen project consist of 5 partners from 4 EU countries and they will collaborate during 20 months to reach objectives.