Reporting Press Release for the 1st International Conference of D.C.P v2.0 – 2 December 2022, Athens
The 1st International Activity of the project “Digital Civic Participation v2.0 (DCP v2.0)” funded by the Programme Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values of the European Union (CERV-2021-CITIZENS-TOWN) was successfully implemented by the Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs on Friday the 2nd of December 2022 at Gazi View Iakchou 22, Athens, an International Conference of 4 hours with 55 participants from 5 countries (Italy, Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece).
The main goal of the Conference was to identify, map and analyze the digital tools used in the member states of the European Union and the development of a useful manual on how and on which cases they can be used.
The day was initiated by the Executive Director and Legal Representative of I.R.T.E.A., Ms. Despoina Papadaki welcoming the attendees and shortly presenting the daily agenda, following that Mr. Antonakakis Nikolaos from I.R.T.E.A. presented the Project D.C.P. to the attendees.
After a short ice breaking activity each Partner presented the result of their National Activity, which was the first part of the Project. Those results where the key findings from each Partner on which are the Digital Participatory Tools that each Countries/Municipality uses and how these tools affect the daily life of their Citizens.
Moreover, the participants of the event together with the partners where split into mixed working groups in order to exploit good practices of Digital Participatory Tools on national and European Level. That way all the groups worked together, exchanging good practices, methods of implementing digital tools and also concerns about the difficulties that each country faces when trying to introduce a new tool into the daily life of citizens.
After all groups presented the results of this session, the Draft of the Manual for e-participation tools that all the Partners co-create, was presented. Firstly, the structure of the Manual was introduced to the participants together with the purpose of this creation. Then a short Q&A session took place which led to a feedback process with the participants through which the partners were able to further improve both the structure and content of the manual. At the end of the day the Partners discussed the next steps of the project and their future cooperation.
An optional Cultural visit was suggested to the Partners at the archaeological site of the Acropolis during which the relations between the partners were strengthened and they were given the opportunity to visit such an important monument for democracy.
A few words about the project
The “DCP v2.0” project aims to record and analyze the digital tools used in EU countries and the creation of an easy-to-use manual on how and in what circumstances they can be used. The purpose of the handbook is to be easily usable by all, so that its use in the decision-making process at the local level is further expanded.
The actions of the project concern the following:
• The study and investigation of existing tools and methods of citizen participation
• The presentation of these tools to all members of society with practical examples and in a manner understandable by all, making them accessible and implementable.
• The training, education and empowerment of both young people and municipal employees with the digital tools of participatory democracy.
• The identification and exchange of “good practices” in the field of digital participation among European municipalities
• Strengthening digital participation with the ultimate goal of increasing the direct involvement of citizens with digital tools.
During the project, young people from Poland, Italy, Lithuania, Romania and Greece, as well as representatives of the Partner Municipalities, will contribute to the achievement of the above objectives with the help of methods and tools of non-formal and informal education in context of project activities.
More specifically, the actions that will be implemented are the following:
• At the local level, each partner will record and collect data about the digital tools used, as well as the analysis of the needs of the local community
• Then an international conference will be held in Greece with the aim of exchanging and promoting good practices between public authorities and civil society organizations
• Each partner will hold a workshop between young people and municipal employees
• Finally, an international Hackathon will be held in Greece, with the main axis being the application of digital tools and methods at the local level.
The project will last 24 months and the target groups are young people aged 15-30 as well as municipal employees working in the Youth sector, who are interested in being informed and participating in the process of shaping participatory democracy tools and innovative e-democracy tools for their Municipality.
The project is implemented by the Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs with the following partnership:
- Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo – Italy
- PONT Group – Romania
- Municipality of Klaipeda – Lithuania
- Municipality of Starachowice – Poland
Stay tuned in our social media and our website to find out more about our news, other events and activities!
The report for this Event is available here.
