Programme

9.30 – 10.00    Registration and welcome coffee

10.00 – 12.30  The ECI today: lessons learned from the world’s first transnational participation instrument

Moderator: Maarten de Groot, Bertelsmann Stiftung

  • Carsten Berg, The ECI Campaign – Assisting at the birth; the beginnings and the Convention
  • Simona Pronckutė, "Fraternité 2020 – Mobility. Progress. Europe." ECI – Being the first ECI registered
  • Pablo Sanchez, "Right2Water" ECI – Being the first successful ECI
  • Olga Kikou, "End the Cage Age" ECI – Acting for the cause, understanding how the institutions work
  • Assya Kavrakova, European Citizen Action Service – Recognising the need to support ECI organisers
  • Christian Huesmann, Bertelsmann Stiftung – The ECI and youth participation
  • Petar Markovic, "Voters without Borders" ECI – Registering the ECI under the new Regulation
  • Daniela Vancic, Democracy InternationalWorking local, imagining global

This panel will be followed by a discussion with the audience and a vote on the recommendations for a successful future ECI instrument based on contributions from the speakers.

12.30 – 13.30  Lunch provided by the European Economic and Social Committee

13.30 – 15.30  Beyond the ECI: the future of EU citizens’ participation in the digital age

Moderator: Bruno Kaufmann, Global Democracy Correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation

  • Welcome speech by Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
  • Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography responsible for the Conference on the Future of Europe
  • Jamie Susskind, author of the award-winning bestseller Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech (Oxford University Press, 2018)
  • Elisa Lironi, Senior Manager European Democracy, European Citizen Action Service

This panel will be followed by a discussion with the audience and a vote on the recommendations for successful future participation and citizen engagement based on contributions from the speakers.

15.30 – 15.45 Coffee break

15.45 – 17.00 Beyond Europe: institutionalizing citizens’ participation around the globe

  • Caroline Vernaillen, Global Manager PR & Community Building at Democracy International: UN project "World Citizens' Initiative"
  • Mireia Borrell Porta, Secretary for External Action and the European Union for the Government of Catalonia and member of the European Committee of the Regions – "Strengthening and structuring citizens' participation in the EU"
  • Nathan Gardels, Co-Founder of Berggruen Institute and a team leader of the Redesign of Democratic Institutions team

This panel will be followed by discussion with the audience.