“Street Participation for Active Citizenship in Europe (SPACE)” is a project of the Municipality of Tiggiano (LE) funded by the Europe for Citizens Program. Officine Cittadine was in charge of the facilitation of the international meetings and local street actions of that project.
After each European Elections, the statement is always the same: our
European democracy is in crisis. Many European citizens do not participate to the main democratic process of the European Union. To face this fact and bring a positive answer to this challenge a Network of Towns decided in 2017 to create space in the street where citizens could express, exchange and debate about the future of Europe: the SPACE
project.
Instead of waiting citizens in the classical European space of democracy,
the street facilitators of the SPACE project went to meet citizens
where they are, and it’s in the street where we can meet a huge diversity
of citizens. During two years, 35 street debate had been organised
in several European towns: in Tiggiano and Lecce in Italy, Trebjne in
Slovenia, Chios in Greece, Cluj and Sinpaul in Romania, Tallinn in Estonia,
Vienna in Austria, Pula and Porec in Croatia, Novi Sad in Serbia,
Orléans and Marseille in France.
Thousands of European citizens had the opportunity to express their
views, share an opinions, propose an idea about Europe, and even
more discovered the diversity of thought of the Citizen’s Voice and the
wealth of the democratic participation.
For these street debate, the Street Facilitators raised three question:
• How important is Europe for you? In order to discuss about the
opinions of the Europeans about Europe in general
• What would you change in Europe? In order to discuss about the
opinions about the Future of Europe.
• As citizens, how can I change Europe? In order to discuss about the
European Tool of Citizens Participation.
To know more about the SPACE project, please visit the website https://www.spacetwinning.eu/ or you can download this document
This White Book for the Future of Europe is not a political program or a
collection of revendications, but the expression of the diversity of opinions
of Europe Citizens about our future. It contains various recommendations
that belong only to the citizen that personally express it.
After hours spent in the street meeting, discussing, listening citizens,
the Network of Towns of the SPACE project would like with this “White
Book” valorise the Citizen’s Voice and testify of the importance of creating
democratic space based on the bottom-up approach. Indeed, Europeans
citizens have a lot to share and have the will to say their words
about the European Union. It is the role of the public authorities and the
civil society to propose accessible space where the democracy can be
concretely put in practices.
Europe need more space where people can feel citizens. The street debate
methodology is part of the democratic answer to empower citizens
to contribute and engage for the Future of Europe.