Project Description
Crossroads Europe (2020-2021)
This is a Europe for Citizens programme that aims to mobilize the debate on the future of Europe among different local stakeholders through their participation in living labs, which will be carried out either f-2-f or digitally.
The Crossroads Europe project, co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union, aims at fostering cross-cutting dialogue about the EU, the challenges facing it and its future through a series of offline events dedicated to main forms of organized civil society (trade unions, student organizations, business associations and NGOs) and policymakers. The project will equip them with the necessary tools to elaborate policy recommendations around four key themes and will, at the same time, raise awareness among them of the benefits of a closer EU.
The project will be implemented through a series of 6 Labs hosted in different cities and organized by a consortium of local CSOs. Each lab will use an interactive methodology in order to achieve the following outputs:
- Awareness acquisition on the topics and of cross-sectoral implications;
- Non-formal education, with practical and experimental activities to foster participants’ knowledge of the topics;
- “Sharing EU”: showcase of best practices from the business sector, student organizations, trade unions and NGOs;
- “Boots on Europe”: development of concrete solutions for the short/long term and policy recommendations, and at the same time promotion of Crossroad Europe initiatives.
A training for organizers will be held online on June 2020 in order to ensure coherence and knowledge of best practices and innovating discussion techniques. The 6 Labs addressed to EU citizens across the continent will be held in:
- Munich (Germany), in collaboration with Europa-Union Deutschland
- Sofia (Bulgaria), in collaboration with UEF Bulgaria
- Bologna (Italy), in collaboration with Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE)
- Córdoba (Spain), in collaboration with XUL Foundation
- Paris (France), in collaboration with UEF France
- La Valletta (Malta)
Each lab will define its own discussion agenda from among one of the following themes according to local preferences:
- Climate change
- Global Europe
- Security & Freedom
- Democracy
A pool of experts set-up for the project will give advice and expertise throughout its implementation. Policy recommendations resulting from the Labs will be regularly sent to MEPs, Commissioners and the Conference on the future of the EU team. Moreover, they will be gathered in a handout published at the end of the project and exploited beyond the project lifetime.
Coordinator: Union of European Federalists
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