16 Sep 20

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet Democracy International and learn about their new community website for democracy activists and experts worldwide

Democracy International is committed to supporting active citizens, responsive governments, and engaged civil society and political organizations to achieve a more peaceful, democratic world. By developing and using new knowledge, tools, and approaches, they change people’s lives and improve development assistance in fundamental ways. To do this, Democracy International works in four core practice areas: Politics, Governance, Peace & Resilience, and Learning. Recently they launched their International Democracy Community platform, which aims to create more opportunities for exchange, networking and cooperation for people working on direct democracy issues. The goal is to inspire and nurture initiatives everywhere. Learn more, register and connect here.   

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06 Aug 20

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet Politikos and get to know their collaborative project EMY

EMY (Empowerment of Mobile Youth in the EU) is an EU co-funded project with a team from Austria, Estonia and the United Kingdom, which aims to support the democratic participation of young mobile EU citizens living, working or studying abroad. The project aims to bring EU citizenship to life. EU citizenship is much more than a fictional concept or an imprint on our passports. It is a fundamental right of every citizen of an EU member state. Under the Treaty on the European Union all EU citizens have the right to vote, and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament in their home country or, alternatively, in any other country in the EU where they reside (‘host country’). They have the same rights – to vote and be elected – in local elections in their host country. And yet, most EU citizens are not making use of these rights. A public consultation conducted in 2015 revealed that only 22% of so-called ‘mobile EU citizens’ (citizens of an EU member state who live in another EU member state) had voted in European Parliament elections in their host country. Only 30% had voted for, or stood as candidates in local…

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09 Apr 20

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA)

Tepsa is the first transeuropean research network in the field of European affairs. It consists of leading research institutes in the field of European affairs throughout Europe, with an office in Brussels. TEPSA is an international non-profit association under Belgian law (AISBL) and was established in 1974. Ever since then it has steadily increased its membership in response to the enlargement rounds of the European Union. Visit the Tepsa website for more details on their work!

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17 Feb 20

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet the Citizen Participation Forum and learn about their work to strengthen the civic space in Bulgaria

The Citizen Participation Forum (CPF) is a network of Bulgarian civil society organisations from across the country and they work in different spheres of the community life. They work to create a community that participates actively, freely and responsibly when decisions and policies are being made on local, regional, national and European level. Learn more about them here.

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04 Oct 19

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet WeCitizens and learn more about their event ‘Convention on EU best practices in access to public sector information’

WeCitizens strives to be an association of voters, a 'political wikipedia', an educational institution for citizenship and a quality-surveyor of the public management. They create tools and initiative campaigns to promote transparency and excellence in the governance of the state, a vibrant democracy in the person's service and the citizen's interest in politics. On November 6 - 7th, in partnership with UCLouvain, they are organising a convention about citizens' control over public action and more specifically, about Freedom of Information. Through presentations, story-telling and panel discussions, participants will get familiar with their right to access public sector information, and will be invited to promote it. ECAS Executive Director, Assya Kavrakova, will be a speaker at the event on the topic of 'Citizens' control on public action'. Details are available here. The event is organised in the framework of the SIA4Y project.

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19 Jul 19

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet ELIANT and learn about their campaign for better child development

The healthy development of children forms the foundation of every advanced society. However, today the formal educational system often neglects the real needs of children by adopting an early digital approach to teaching in a growing number of schools worldwide. As a result real learning experience and the development of creativity and social skills can be hindered. ELIANT’s campaign in digital media in childhood and education aims to raise awareness on the risks related to early digitalization. With its position paper, the alliance reveals the neurological, socio-emotional and cognitive sides to the argument reflected in the emergence of a sound academic research on the topic. With its short factsheet, the organisation seeks to increase the societal informativeness on the issue and to communicate its demands to decision-makers in the educational field. ELIANT carries the mission to reveal a human alternative to the digital education. Every signature in support of the alliance’s petition for a more humane education helps to bring formal education one step closer to the developmental needs of children. Thank you for helping us spread this important message! You can view the full version of ELIANT's position paper here. Learn more about ELIANT and its campaign by visiting…

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05 May 19

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet Caritas Europa and learn about the power of citizens’ votes

Caritas Europa is the regional network of 49 members in 46 countries, which makes it one of the major social actors in Europe. Their activities vary among countries but all share the heartfelt commitment to fight poverty and social exclusion. Caritas Europa promotes true integral human development, social justice and sustainable social systems in Europe and throughout the world. Ahead of the European Parliament elections in May, the organisation has put together an invitation for citizens to recognise the power of their vote on its website. Their call for the next EU institutions is for the leaders to live up to the founding values of the EU: solidarity, democracy, equality, social justice, respect of human dignity and human rights. Some European Parliament candidates have already committed “to leave no one behind” and are now part of the dedicated to the cause photo gallery, which can be viewed at epelections.caritas.eu/sharedvalues/. Caritas Europa wants a social Europe where future EU leaders adopt the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development as the guiding framework for all policies. You can view Caritas Europa website here. 

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11 Mar 19

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Meet EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy and learn about the debate on the Future of the EU

EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent think-tank focusing on European integration and cohesion. It contributes to democracy, security, stability, freedom, and solidarity across Europe as well as to active engagement of the Czech Republic in the European Union. Each year, EUROPEUM and its partner, the Institute of International Relations, organise the Prague European Summit (PES), an international conference which was established in 2013 to trigger a strategic and open debate on the future of the European Union among high-level political representatives, government officials, business representatives, academicians and journalists from the Czech Republic, EU countries, V4 countries and others. PES will celebrate in 2019 its fifth edition, to be held between the 27th and 29th of May, immediately following the European Parliamentary elections. You can find out more information on EUROPEAN by visiting their website at here.

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17 Dec 18

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Profile – meet Partners Albania for Change and Development

MEMBERS' WEEK: Profile - Meet Partners Albania for Change and Development ! Partners Albania for Change and Development (PA) is an independent Albanian NGO established in 2001, working to support civil society and facilitate inter-sector cooperation in order to strengthen democratic institutions and advance economic development. The organization has developed extensive capacity in the area of capacity building, research, provision of assistance in personal and institutional development across the sectors including civil society sector, business and governmental sector. The organization’s work is shaped around five programmatic areas: Enabling Environment and Sustainable Development of CSOs; Women and Youth Employment and Increasing Representation in Decision-making; Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility; Transparent and accountable government. For more information visit their website here.

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23 Nov 18

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Profile – meet SciFY!

SciFY is an IT SME and a not-for-profit organization that develops cutting-edge information technology systems and freely offers them to all, including the design, implementation details, and the support needed, in order to solve real-life problems. SciFY use their expertise in artificial intelligence and other technologies, and a strong network of collaborators (universities, research institutes, NGOs and companies) to collaboratively produce new solutions. They employ agile development methodologies (scrum) to effectively produce results in a cost-effective manner. Founded in 2012, in crisis-stricken Greece, SciFY has already reached a personnel of 6, a volunteer base of more than 10 people, and some awards, including one from the President of the Hellenic Republic. SciFY’s current Areas of Interest and expertise are: 1. Supporting the civil society 2. eDemocracy 3. Assistive technologies for people with disabilities 4. Artificial  intelligence 5. Education and skills development The impact achieved so far is twofold: SciFY’s direct impact has exceeded 50,000 beneficiaries. Yet, since they offer IT solutions, create networks and spread knowledge, the indirect impact is difficult to assess, but it is many times more than the direct impact, since usually a user of our solutions serves hundreds or even thousands of end users. For more…

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23 Oct 18

MEMBERS’ WEEK: Profile – meet Democracy International!

ECAS' Members Week: meet Democracy International! Democracy International's goals are to give citizens a direct say in political decision-making and to make governments more accountable. We support democracy activists in building their campaigns and share knowledge and expertise on direct democracy. We also campaign for more democracy at the local, national, regional and transnational level. Democracy International is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that was formally established in June 2011 as a registered membership association in Germany but has existed as a loose network of democracy activists since 2002. The headquarters is based in Cologne, Germany. Find more information here! http://democracyinternational.com/

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02 Oct 18

Project: European HomeParliaments Build a Bridge between Citizens and Politics

With the aim of reducing the gap between Brussels and its citizens, the newly established HomeParliaments, a project by Pulse of Europe and Democracy International, enables exchanges of information in the privacy of one’s home, and especially an exchange with politics. As of 27 July, one simply has to register via homeparliaments.eu, and become a host of their own HomeParliament. During each round, every host must invite several acquaintances at his/her own house, debate and discuss specific issues, and the results will be delivered to decision-makers! Find more information about the initiative here.

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02 Oct 18

Yvote: Develop. Empower. Involve.

Y Vote aims to encourage young people to make informed choices at the European Parliament elections while increasing their knowledge about topics that are relevant for young Europeans. To reach this goal, seven conventions, corresponding to the topics of the EU Youth Agenda, are organised. Yvote is supported by the following partner organisations: European Youth Forum, Erasmus Student Network, Young European Federalists, MEGA campaign, Polis 180 and European Movement International Participants will learn about the functioning of the EU and discuss how to become active in society. This year, Yvote be in Cluj-Napoca in November on Employment & Entrepreneurship, in Passau in December on Creativity & Culture and in Warsaw on Education & Training. Applications are open - feel free to spread the word!

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