The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique and timely opportunity for National Equality Bodies (NEBs) to engage with their countries’ citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and priorities. Learn how to get involved below!
About the conference
The conference proposes a forum to think about what future we want for the EU, with the participation of citizens from all walks of life and corners of the Union, with young people playing a central role in shaping the future of the European project.
The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission have committed to listen to Europeans and to follow up, within their sphere of competences, on the recommendations made. By spring 2022, the Conference is expected to reach conclusions and provide guidance on the future of Europe.
European, national, regional and local authorities, as well as civil society and other organisations are encouraged to organise events and contribute ideas. Having direct lines of communication with the general public, NEBs are uniquely positioned to take part in the conference and organise events that directly engage citizens around issues of equality, social justice, and democracy.
Why and how to participate
Engaging with citizens is a crucial step in making equality and non-discrimination the norm. A well-functioning equality approach must involve building bridges with citizens and relevant stakeholders. Hosting an event as part of the Conference for the Future of Europe offers a great opportunity for equality bodies to raise awareness about their work and elevate citizens’ voices and inputs to the European level.
Events submitted to the Conference should:
- Enable constructive conversations related to the future of Europe
- Focus on ideas and solutions to problems
- Develop collective ideas in groups
- Build consensus on ideas and empower people to share
- Report on the Conference platform in a clear, representative and honest way
A Conference on the Future of Europe event should focus on citizens’ ideas and the active involvement of participants. Even if experts can be consulted to frame the issue or as factcheckers, it is not a top-down expert meeting and must be accessible to people who are not familiar with public debates and the topic discussed.
The aim of these events is to lead people towards the drafting of collectively agreed proposals. Whatever the format of your event, it should contribute to achieving constructive and concrete conclusions. This is also a great opportunity to think about how the topics being covered by the conference can relate to issues of equality at the national and European levels:
- Climate change and environment
- Health
- A stronger economy, social justice and jobs
- EU in the world
- Values and rights, rule of law, security
- Digital transformation
- European democracy
- Migration
- Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
To learn more about how to organize an event as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe, click here.