Local
communities are instrumental in creating conditions
for the development of good democratic habits, by
fostering inclusive citizens dialogues, supporting
youth engagement or leading by example with zero
tolerance to discrimination and hate speech
Local and regional authorities play a crucial role
in promoting EU citizenship and democratic rights
and values: this is the main message of a meeting
of the CoR Commission for Citizenship, Governance,
Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) in
Mafra, Portugal. The meeting gathered local and
regional politicians, MEPs and representatives of
youth organisations to discuss best practices on
how to involve youth in the public debate and how
to contribute to the fight against disinformation
and hate speech, on the ground and online. The
outcomes of these discussions will feed into the EU
Charter on Youth and Democracy, one of the CoR
actions following up on both the recommendations of
the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE) and
the European Year of Youth.
Hélder Sousa Silva, Mayor of Mafra, CoR member and host of the CIVEX
seminar, said: "The Municipality of Mafra is a territory with a
rich cultural heritage, with strong connections to
the history of Europe, and is currently
characterized by its demographic attractiveness,
with a high percentage of young people. Therefore,
it is an honour for us to host this seminar. We
hope that, from Mafra to Europe, it will be
possible to contribute to the strengthening of the
European identity, the role of local and regional
authorities and the participation of citizens,
especially young people".
The first part of the seminar was dedicated to the role
of youth in EU democracy and the follow-up by local and
regional authorities of the COFE proposals to increase
citizens' and in particular youth participation in
public debates. The CoR, in cooperation with the
European Youth Forum, is supporting young people in a
participatory exercise of co-drafting the
EU Charter on Youth and Democracy
that puts forward recommendations on the democratic
participation of young people in social, political and
civic life at all levels of governance. The Charter
will be endorsed by the end of the year, with
recommendations focusing on youth empowerment,
leadership and democratic participation, education,
cooperation, information, new technologies and
digitalisation.
On the role of youth in European democracy, Member of
the European Parliament
Lídia Pereir
a
said:
"Europe can and must learn from the crisis we are
in
by closely involving citizens and communities. All
European citizens must have their say on the future
of Europe. But this conviction that crises are
opportunities for growth implies that all young
people must be involved in a particular manner.
There is no future Europe if those who have to
identify with it, those who will be the
beneficiaries of the rights and freedoms it
guarantees, are not involved in its construction.
This demonstrates the importance and the position
that young people must occupy in European
democracy."
In the second part of the seminar on the protection of
European values against the waves of disinformation and
hate speech, participants stressed the importance of
keeping youth in mind when devising targeted tools to
improve critical thinking and media literacy. Young
people are heavy users of social media, where
disinformation can thrive. Participants also discussed
the role of local and regional authorities in building
trust in the local communities, which, coupled with
appropriate communication actions, can support building
societal resilience to disinformation. In the
opinion on the European Democracy Action Plan, the CoR has called for more resources to be given to
local and regional authorities so that they can improve
their capacity, expertise and skills in countering
disinformation.
On disinformation and EU democracy, Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Moedas said:
"Disinformation can become tremendously dangerous
when it is spread in times of crisis such as this
we are going through right now. The answer is
simple: we must deliver. Deliver on matters
essential to people’s lives. We must do an
extremely good job in delivering a fair energy
transition for all, a human digital transition, and
we need to solve the problems that our citizens
face every day: issues that go from health to
housing policies".
Enzo Bianco, Member of the Catania City Council and Chair of the
CoR CIVEX commission, concluded the seminar with these
words:
"We need to join forces to engage citizens of all
ages in democratic processes, including by
considering innovative approaches, in order to
foster EU citizenship, bring the EU closer to its
citizens and thus create a more democratic Union.
However, strengthening participatory democracy
cannot remain just a buzzword, but must lead to
meaningful involvement through concrete initiatives
at all levels of government. Local and regional
authorities have consistently proved to be the most
trusted level of government by citizens, and play
their role to the full in this endeavour."
Contacts:
Municipality of Mafra
Joana Abreu
Email: gab.comunicacao@cm-mafra.pt
Tel: + 351 966262613
European Committee of the Regions
Angela Machado
Email:
angela.machado@cor.europa.eu
Tel: + 351 967953519