New Europeans Initiative - Closing the participation gap

ended

The Migration Policy Group (MPG) is an independent think-and-do tank based in Brussels that uses the strength of its innovative research and networks to advance evidence-based policies and foster interaction between research and policy-making at European level. Using diverse methodologies and implementing several actions, MPG aims to produce comparative knowledge on civic and political participation of new Europeans and related policies, as well as enhance their civic and political engagement at both the EU and national level. New Europeans are third-country national residents, as well as naturalised migrants, second generations and EU mobile citizens. With rapid demographic change and diversifying societies, the political, civic and societal participation of New Europeans is emerging as a key challenge for the EU and the functioning of European democracy, as showed by OECD-EU data. To contribute to tackle this challenge, MPG focuses on the following four main objectives: 1) to provide comparative analysis of civic and political participation policies for New Europeans in the EU Member States; 2) to produce evidence-based models of best practices and implementation guidelines on the matter, by also engaging New Europeans in the co-creation of these guidelines; 3) to promote the participation of New Europeans through innovative empowerment formats, such as an annual academy and a targeted voting campaign; 4) to identify the best policy solutions to engage citizens, policymakers and civil-society organisations (CSOs) on the participation and rights of New Europeans. To achieve these four objectives, MPG conducts research on the policies and best practices to enhance civic and political participation of new Europeans, bringing together policymakers and civil society actors - including New European leaders – to discuss the matter, and conduct training activities for new Europeans and relevant CSOs. Activities reach all 27 Member States.