The former, acting as leader of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) from the EU Commission side, underlined the importance of giving voice to citizens in shaping the future of Europe, and designing the Union they are aiming to. Animated by the same spirit, while pursuing its mission, ALDA informed its partners and members on the opportunities of joining this bottom-up exercise and be protagonists for the future of the Union, while echoing their opinions and ideas at within the Civil Society Convention on the Conference on the Future of Europe, at the Closing Ceremony.
If not enough, common ground of discussion was found on the active participation to the Summit for Democracy, within which ALDA, as part of the “European Partnership of Democracy” network, is joining the Youth Cohort.
“Reinforcing democracy at the local level to build a resilient and inclusive democracy” – Vice-President and Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Ms. Dubravka Šuica
Hence, this commitment to spur democracy starting from its roots was also shared by Ms. Šuica, who, “greatly appreciate[s] the importance of reinforcing democracy at the local level to build a resilient and inclusive democracy” – as expressed in her tweet. Ms. Valmorbida, on her site, reiterated the concept behind which, mobilisation of local authorities and civil society are the key for the “New Push for Democracy”, underling the importance of starting at local level.
In addition, ALDA shared its vision, of boosting on local and citizens participation to counterbalance non-democratic movements, while increasing the civic space at European level.
Overall, this meeting was a key moment of positive exchange and fruitful knowledge sharing, contributing to the future of democracy and Europe.
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The meeting took place in Brussels, on 1 March 2023
