EU Democracy Rally

Background In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, young people across Europe have become increasingly aware of the importance of active citizenship in view of encouraging more sustainable lifestyles and preventing future crises such as climate change and exacerbating inequalities. In this process, the partners in this project realised it was of utmost importance for citizens to be involved in the shaping of future policies. When our societies face unforeseen situations or new challenges, policy measures need to be tested in collaboration with well-informed citizens showing a capacity to imagine a better future and being able to look at different alternatives with both open and critical minds. The changes which need to be implemented rely on the understanding and also the help of every single citizen. Hence, studies show that in particular young people play an important role in this regard as they are receptive to new approaches and at the same time they can act as multipliers for innovative participation instruments, for example by involving their parents and communities. Partners thus aimed to design an instrument allowing themselves as well as youth workers, trainers, teachers, and others all over Europe to use citizenship education in order to foster active and informed citizenship, social inclusion and bonds between people living in different socioeconomic realities. The instruments of the partnership are designed to enable young people to acquire new skills which can also be considered key skills of the 21st century, including critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information and media literacy, technology literacy. The development of these skills is helpful to young people from all social backgrounds, in all areas of life, including young people with fever opportunities and the so-called “NEETS”, as it supports young people’s general sense of agency. A needs analysis had been carried out in the three years preceding the strategic partnership, involving 120 young people aged 16 to 20 and 10 youth workers. In the course of three one-day activities, young people were able to experiment with a series of democracy skills, including public speaking, video journalism, fake news analysis, negotiations and social media campaigns, while at the same time debating which skills they see as most important when it comes to future democratic participation. These events thus allowed the leading partner to carry out a needs analysis involving both young people and youth workers. Participants volunteered to take part in these workshops and were selected on the basis of previously shown commitment in the field of European citizenship. Partners have made their instruments accessible to target groups who are new to transnational activities while using the expertise of organisations which have expertise in working in varying social and historic contexts. Partners also promoted cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of democratic innovations while conducting research on innovative democratic practices and creating a safe space to experiment with these practices. The new participation tools and channels created will now help youth workers address the disillusionment of young people with traditional politics. They will further allow young people to familiarise themselves with existing and upcoming instruments of political participation, in particular on the EU level. Participants have and will become more aware of the participation opportunities in the existing political processes, in particular related to the EU level, but also in connection with the local, regional and national levels. Our project thus also helped the partner organisations to further develop their instruments and make them more impactful, while creating new ones. Our main target groups of the partnership during the Erasmus+ project therefore included youth workers, but also experts in active citizenship, media professionals, human rights experts, journalists, pedagogues, experts in mental well-being, intercultural dialogue experts, experts in digital democracy, influencers and futurologists. The target group of the instruments and results of the partnership included mainly youth workers as well as young people aged 16 to 30 from a variety of social, economic and cultural spheres. A further target group consisted in decision- and change-makers who will be associated in the follow-up of the created instruments, supporting young people in the implementation of their political and social campaigns while being able to build on their feedback and expertise concerning their own policies, as well as on their support with the communication and implementation of policy measures. Through the direct interaction with decision-makers, the platform will contribute to the recognition of youth work and informal and non-formal learning at all political levels, in particular on the European level. The transnational nature of the partnership allows partners to ensure the following elements: - the cooperation with partners who have special expertise in domains of key importance for the outcomes of the project; - ensuring a European impact and wide use of the instruments developed, in order to strengthen democracy on the European level; - focus on political participation on the European level; - ensuring the impact of developed initiatives resulting from the tool on EU policy making; - addressing the most fundamental challenges of modern times, which require European and global cooperation; - support to European policy makers through the consideration of varying social and political realities in different Member States. Objectives The partners of this strategic partnership aimed to jointly develop an activity platform for young people which can be offered by youth workers, teachers and other professionals, as well as young people, allowing participants to become active citizens who are able to better understand and more effectively shape the world in which they live. The current pandemic has indeed highlighted a set of democratic challenges which need to be addressed, including the preservation of fundamental rights and the fostering of transnational cooperation. Partners thus aimed to develop an instrument which will allow young people to boost their democratic skills, enabling them to strengthen our democracies, while participating in meaningful ways. At the same time, participants have been and will be able to acquire fundamental skills to cope with a whole array of different challenges in life, including self-confidence, public speaking, presentation skills, imagination, organisational skills, team leadership, monitoring of policies and public spending, and more. Our second main priority was social inclusion. The instrument developed by the partnership indeed enables youth workers to engage young people from different socio-economic backgrounds and with manifold interests. The skills needed to engage with the instrument are diverse, so that every participant is able to draw upon their own strengths, irrespective of their level of education or experience. The developed activities further enable diverse participants to create bonds between each other, as they need to jointly take up concrete challenges. It is only the combination of the skills of participants from various backgrounds and fields allows future teams to successfully face the challenges of the future EU Democracy Rally. Finally, our third priority concerned innovative digital tools which are designed to strengthen democratic participation. While the future of democracy continues to lie in deliberation, digital tools can help to foster increased transparency and organise participation processes more effectively. The development of these tools is advancing at a fast pace and very few people have had the chance to familiarise themselves with their potential. It is therefore important to support youth workers and other professionals working with young people in this learning process, while fostering access and use by underrepresented groups. It is generally assumed that young people have a certain set of digital skills, most notably when it comes to the use of social media functionalities. At the same time, youth workers, teachers and other professionals currently observe that many young people have difficulties with a whole set of digital skills which are necessary to engage in common tasks with their peers online, co-manage projects, keep a discipline, or which require a basic knowledge of programming and the functioning of digital tools. Last but not least, especially during times of crisis such as the one caused by the pandemic, democracy must go on and continue to become stronger. Digital tools can help keep parliaments and governments thriving in a way that enhances rather than threatens democracy. In fact, the lockdown or state of social distancing is a key opportunity to experiment with digital methods to support democratic institutions and citizen engagement into the future. The EU Democracy Rally thus aims to engage, connect and empower young people. It strengthens cross-sectorial cooperation by allowing professionals from various fields to contribute their expertise and allows for greater synergies across different areas of actions that matter for young people. The EU Democracy Rally includes and further develops alternative and innovative forms of participation in order to strengthen the active citizenship of young people, proactively including youth at risk of social exclusion or at a disadvantage. One of the partners specifically focuses on gender equality while another partner helps to take into account the psychological challenges of modern-day life. The project thus created a platform which enhances the participation of all young people in democratic and civic life in Europe. It enables young people to connect with elected policy makers, public administrations, interest groups, civil society organisations and change-makers active in political or social processes affecting their lives. It further enhances critical thinking and media literacy among young people to strengthen democracy and counter manipulation, propaganda and disinformation. Each Rally will result in concrete campaigns designed by young people and thereby broaden and deepen their political, civic and social participation at local, regional, national and European level. This instrument created by the partnership called “EU Democracy Rally“ can be compared to a laboratory in which young people are able to experiment with different tools and methodologies. It is called a “Rally” because it consists of different activities allowing young people to develop their democracy skills. These activities are integrated into a course with elements of game-based learning and varying time lapses to fulfil the actions. They address the following skills among others: - Public speaking - Negotiations - Recognition of media manipulation and fake news - Video journalism - Social Media Campaigning - Creative thinking - Debating - Team building and leadership - Development of political or social campaigns, including audio-visual campaign identities - Tools for e-participation - Digital and audio-visual communication skills - Project management - Open data - Monitoring of government policies and budget expenditures - Use of existing instruments for political participation at EU level - Communication with decision-makers. The final tool comprises three levels: - The first level consists of the different activities and exercises which young people are able to experience in order to develop their democracy skills. - The second level will consists in the guidelines and mechanisms allowing young people to combine the skills acquired within the individual activities in order to design their own political or social campaigns. - The third level of the instrument consists in a toolkit and support structure helping young people during the implementation of their campaign in the aftermath of a Rally. The first intellectual output consists in the instructions and materials for youth workers to implement the Rally by themselves, including the different activities, the implementation roadmap of the Rally as a whole, and the follow-up for the implementation of the campaigns designed by future participants. This tool is usable in both formal and non-formal settings, while the non-formal setting will be ideal in order to guarantee greater flexibility. The second intellectual output consists in an online version of the Rally. All activities which can also be implemented online will be included in the online version, as well as additional tools and instruments which rely on the digital sphere. A further result of the partnership is the network of partners which will continue to operate after the strategic partnership in order to implement the developed tools in cooperation with different institutions such as Liaison Offices of the European Parliament, Youth Conferences on the EU level, Houses of the European Union in various Members States, Youth Offices, Ministries and others. Each partner also has built local teams in cooperation with 3 to 5 new organisations in order to offer the Rally on a local level after the Erasmus+ partnership. Partners have started building a network database of decision- and change-makers which future participants can involve in the implementation of political and social campaigns. The instrument thus enables the creation of new project ideas and campaigns by young people from all over the European Union while fostering new opportunities for cooperation with various institutions interested in the instruments developed by the partnership. The online exchange database created on the website enables every institution or youth worker implementing the tool to register and benefit from the support of the partnership networks during the implementation of campaigns developed by their participants. Finally, the instrument allows partners to build a community of participants that can be associated in the communication on campaigns designed by future participants as well as partner organisations themselves. Implementation First Transnational Partner Meeting (online) The first transnational partner meeting had to take place online due to the global pandemic. This meeting allowed partner organisations to further organise themselves, set up collective as well as individual workplans, sort out remaining questions, update their time-line, and the learn more about each other’s expertise. Each partner was represented with at least two key persons. Partners revised their individual working plans and finalised their joint planning of precise deliverables to be finalised for specific dates. Partners further finalised the planning phases of the IOs. Each partner presented a series of methodologies and existing tools which can be of use for the future Rally instrument. Partners also worked on the methodologies to integrate different skills into social and political campaigns. Finally, partners started planning the online platform and its features. See summary attached. Online project coordination via basecamp: - identification of "democracy skills" (completion) - further development of partners' focal topics - identification of potential associate partners - identification of future implementation partners - identification and description of online democracy tools - development of overall strategy - start of the development of rally activities Partners communicated on a weekly basis via the co-working platform and also organised video calls at least once a month. The joint platform allowed partners to continuously monitor their progress and integrate their results. Between April 2021 and April 2022 => Further development of rally activities in groups of 2 or 3 partners. 7 Online Workshops were offered by partners in preparation of the 2nd transnational project meeting in Palermo, which took place from 22 to 25 November 2021. Sept 15, 2021 Re-Framing Limiting Beliefs by Well-Being Lab Sept 29, 2021 ECI’s - the first transnational participatory democracy instrument - balance sheet and future prospects by ECIT Oct 14, 2021 Assemblies of Solidarity: How to run a succesful citizens' assembly (EUDR Session) by EA / Studio Rizoma Nov 9, 2021 Mindgame on Future Democracy by Zentrum fir politesch Bildung Nov 10, 2021 Human Rights Education (EUDR Session) by Zentrum Polis Nov 15, 2021 EU Online Simulation Game + Language Animation (EUDR Session) by Access Info Europe & Funky Citizens Nov 17, 2021 Access to Information Activity by Funky Citizens & Access Info Europe Second transnational partner meeting in Palermo (22-26/11/2021) In view of TPM2, partners focused on preparing strategies to increase the impact of future social and political campaigns created by young people on the national and European policy levels. Each partner used their specific expertise in order to provide content corresponding to this objective. Partners also started to build a network database including decision- and change-makers. In Palermo, each partner organisation presented instruments related to their core skills and which they wanted to include in the rally, with the aim of improving existing instruments and activities as well as to build new ones by merging the expertise of different partner organisations. Partners also prepared the project materials to be used for the skills trainings during the workshops. Partners also focused on strategies to increase the impact of future youth campaigns on policy-making on the national and European levels. Each partner was represented with at least one core team member. Partners further jointly explored various initiatives in the field of open data & transparency. After Palermo, partners adapted the tools and strategies identified during the meeting in order to make them useable for the future Rally. Partners further prepared for the TPM3 in Bucharest (04-09/04/2022) with resource materials on game-based learning, the fostering of creativity, team management and leadership. During the meeting, partners created a visualisation of the current EU Democracy Rally instrument, allowing them to gain a better grasp on the project. Partners further focused on game-based learning methodologies to be used in the future Rally. They also further developed activities fostering creativity, team management and negotiation skills. Each partner was represented with one or two core team members. Partners further focused on activities related to research and investigative journalism, as well as monitoring and evaluation tools and methodologies. Partners further developed the methodologies to integrate the skills workshops developed into political and social campaigns. Following the TPM3, partners started to organise the LTT activity, including a European trial edition of the EU Democracy Rally. Partners facilitated and organised the participation of young people from their countries. A transnational project meeting (TPM4, 26/06-03/07/2022) which preceded and followed the LTT Activity gave partners the chance to engage in stocktaking and evaluate the different processes of the LTT while integrating their results in their common strategies. It gave partners the opportunity to evaluate the results and experiences of this Rally experience with young participants from various EU countries. Partners further explored in greater depth the topic of human rights and related methodologies and resources to be integrated in their future instruments. In view of the TPM5 in Vienna (8-12/03/2023), partners prepared the creation of presentation materials to be created during that meeting. Partners further liaised with their associate partners in order to receive feedback on their preliminary results during joint online or offline meetings. Partners also held online trainings for associate partners in order to enable them to use the created instruments by themselves. In Vienna, partners planned the further development of their joint online platform and coordinated the finalisation of intellectual outputs. Partners finally started the final phase of their evaluation and monitoring activities. Each TPM had been evaluated by all partners using a survey. Finally, partners prepared for the Multiplier events and local presentation events of the results of the partnership. Each partner organisation organised a local presentation event for their co-workers as well as stakeholders in order to present the elaborated EU Democracy Rally platform and its offer while also receiving further feedback from people working in related fields. Partners organised 8 multiplier events in 4 countries as well as online, reaching 257 persons. Partners further produced short video clips summarising the processes and results of transnational project meetings as well as the LTT activity and multiplier events. Partners jointly created their project website allowing visitors to consult and implement all elaborated activities free of charge. The platform further shows media reports of the partner meetings, the LTT activity, the multiplier events, and other events. On the website, future participants can also register. The online platform further contains guidelines on the implementation of the rally, in the online and face-to-face versions. Achievements - A list of democracy skills - A list of potential associate and implementation partners - Identification and description of online democracy tools - Over 40 individual rally activities including the instructions for future facilitators - Guidelines for the online and face-to-face versions of the rally - A strong partnership among partner organisations - Peer training by and for all partners, on “Re-Framing Limiting Beliefs”, “ECI’s - the first transnational participatory democracy instrument”, “assemblies of Solidarity”, “Mindgames on Future Democracy”, “Human Rights Education”, “EU Online Simulation Games”, “Language Animation”, “Access to Information”, and more. - Strategies to increase the impact of future social and political campaigns created by young people on the national and European policy levels. - Implementation of a one-week EU Democracy Rally with 30 participants from all over the EU (see video and evaluation report) - Creation of a leaflet invitation for the LTT activity: https://www.democracyrally.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-06-EUDR-INVITATION.pdf - Integration of the results of the LTT activity in the rally platform and its activities - Creation of presentation materials for the rally instrument and its activities - Online trainings for associate partners in order to enable them to use the created instruments by themselves - Implementation of 8 multiplier events: o Face-to-face, 17/03/2023, Linz, https://www.politik-lernen.at/nachlesejahrestagung2023 o 07/06/2023, Brussels, ECIT (including video reports) o 28/06/2023, Malmö, Sweden o 28/06/2023, Luxembourg, Ecole international Gaston Thorn o 07/07/2023, Luxembourg, Ecole privée Fieldgen o 19/07/2023, online, ECIT, ‘Tools for Boosting Citizens’ Engagement - Participatory Democracy & European Elections on the Local Level’ o 27/07/2023, Luxembourg, Mamer, Maison Citoyenne o 07/2023, Online events in cooperation with Anna Lindh Foundation - Creation of video reports of TPMs, the LTT activity, and multiplier events, as well as picture galleries. - Organisation of 10 local presentation events for co-workers and stakeholders in order to present the elaborated EU Democracy Rally platform and its offer while also receiving further feedback from people working in related fields. - Production of short video clips summarising the processes and results of transnational project meetings as well as the LTT activity and multiplier events. - Creation of the project website allowing visitors to consult and implement all elaborated activities free of charge. The online platform further shows media reports of the partner meetings, the LTT activity, the multiplier events, and other events. On the website, future participants can also register. - Creation of media products and articles about the project: o https://aracityradio.com/features-blog/2023/4/6/participatory-democracy-the-eu-democracy-rally o https://www.democracyrally.eu/post/rallylux-en/ o https://www.democracyrally.eu/post/rallylux-fr/ - Creation of guidelines on the implementation of the rally, in the online and face-to-face versions.