Opening Avenues; Empowering Participation

ongoing

Enhancing regular dialogue and consultations with civil society and citizens is one of the principles stated in the Lisbon Treaty, with a view to ensuring consistency and transparency of EU policies. This project contributes to the implementation of the Article 10(3) of the Treaty on European Union which states that every citizen shall have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union and those decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen. In addition, it supports the full realisation of the Article 10 (2) and (3) as well as Article 11 (3) of the Treaty on European Union which enables the civil dialogue. The project will identify new opportunities and models for citizen participation that can be applied in EU level policy processes as well as on the national level in the Member States, and through this encourage civil society and citizen participation and strengthen democratic governance, promote fundamental rights and respect for rule of law. By the end of the partnership agreement, the interaction between European institutions, civil society and citizens will be supported and strengthened by the knowledge and use of new methods for participation, including digital participation. The project will be based on the ECNL methodology of work. It will employ a needs-based, interactive and activity-based approach to research and capacity building, using real-world cases whenever possible. Learning will be conducted through in-person workshops and online training based on a high-quality knowledge repository. The experience, lessons and knowledge collected through the implementation of project activities and especially pilot mechanisms in selected EU Member States will be compiled and developed into learning packages for the learning centre for cross-border sharing and transfer to the EU level, in order to inform further the implementation of the EU policies and strategies for enhanced inclusion and participation.