Let it be said that I am doing my bit for the ‘European Year of Citizens’.
I say this because, as I was complaining about the lack of clarity recently, today I want to show you something that instead couldn’t be clearer: ‘Debating Europe‘.
Here is a cute video that explains what it is all about:
How it works from Debating Europe on Vimeo.
The idea is very simple. We want European citizens to be more connected with European decision makers (both at EU and national level) and vice versa? Then, let’s give them the opportunity to interact directly with each other and start a proper debate on Europe. The website is incredibly well done, easy to understand and pleasant to look at (pity it is only in English, but I can understand why). There are recognisable themes, lots of questions, and lots of answers. The ‘info-boxes‘ are useful and look nice. The creators, the partners and the sponsors are all clearly listed. It is interesting to note that, even if it lists the European Parliament as a strategic partner, this is not an official EU initiative (and that is not why is a good website, right?) but the idea comes from one of the Brussels’ think-tanks ‘Friends of Europe’. Microsoft, Gallup and Skype are also strategic partners. I would have liked to read what each of them actually does on this project, rather than a long spiel on how committed to Europe these companies are, but hey, you cannot have everything, right? Many pro-European and ‘pro-debate-in-general’ organisations are also mentioned as partners. You can be active in a variety of ways and follow it with every possible social media; it’s refreshing to see that their Facebook page has more than 90 thousands likes.
These type of ideas and the careful – and I bet expensive – manner in which they are executed is a great possible way to bring citizens – at least the youngest generations- closer to Europe. I am not becoming a softy because we are approaching Schuman day, don’t worry. I am only giving credit where credit is due. So spread the word! (I want them to have 10.000 followers on Twitter before the summer!).
