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03: Citizens don’t bite: Experiences and learnings from successful participation projects in Europe

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Hauptschule
Breakout /
in englischer Sprache

The direct participation of citizens in the political process has become a distinctive feature of many European government initiatives. In practice, however, this often leads to stagnation or gridlock, a lack of consensus and the polarisation of key issues. In this breakout session, promoters of citizen engagement will identify and discuss the success factors of such initiatives based on best-practice projects in several European countries.

President and founder, Rousseau Association, Milan
EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia, EEAS - European Union External Action Service, Brussels; former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Ireland, Dublin
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Verein glp Lab, Zurich
International Project Manager, Democracy 21, Prague
City Councillor of Pescara; Developer and Strategist, Rousseau Association, Milan
Founder, Mitten in Hernals - Verein für gute Nachbarschaft und sozialen Zusammenhalt, Vienna

Davide CASALEGGIO

President and founder, Rousseau Association, Milan

 Davide Casaleggio is the president of Casaleggio Associati and the president and founder of the Rousseau Association. The Rousseau Platform is the core instrument of the Five Star Movement in Italy for decision making processes with the party base. Drafted laws, nominations for public offices, candidates lists, and other relevant decisions are made online on this platform with extensive citizen participation. The Rousseau platform is perceived as a key success factor of the Movimento 5 Stelle. In the Special Session “Citizens don’t bite” in Alpbach, Davide will provide insights on how this platform works and share strategies in improving participation.

Eamon GILMORE

EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia, EEAS - European Union External Action Service, Brussels; former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Ireland, Dublin

 Eamon Gilmore is the European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights, and since 2015, he has been the EU Special Envoy for the Peace Process in Colombia. Mr Gilmore is the former Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, and former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (2011-2014).
 He was a member of Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) from 1989 until 2016, and was Leader of the Irish Labour Party (2007-2014). He served on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2004-2007) and was Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE (2012). Prior to his election to Dáil Éireann, he worked as a trade union officer (1978-1989), and he was President of the Union of Students in Ireland (1976-1978).
 He is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Law and Government in Dublin City University and in 2017 was Visiting Practitioner Chair at the School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest.
 He is a graduate (Psychology) of the National University of Ireland, Galway, which has also conferred him with an Honorary Doctorate in Laws. He has received several international honours and awards for his work on Peace and his leadership on human rights issues.
 Eamon Gilmore was born in 1955, grew up on a small farm in Caltra, County Galway. He has lived in Shankill, Dublin for most of his adult life. He is married to Carol Hanney and they have one daughter and two sons.

Corina GREDIG-ZIHLMANN

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Verein glp Lab, Zurich

 Corina Gredig is a member of the city council of Zurich and manager of the "Politiklabor - glp lab", which focuses on the modernisation of the political system of Switzerland by increasing participation. The glp-lab introduced so called "idea kitchens" and expert meetings in order to address specific topics and to allow an open discussion among interested people and experts. Resulting proposals are brought into the political process. Corina Gredig was a finalist at The Innovation in Politics Awards 2017.

Ekaterina PETRIKEVICH

International Project Manager, Democracy 21, Prague

 Ekaterina Petrikevich is International Project Manager at "Democracy 2.1" (D21), a global initiative launched in 2014 to transform the way communities make decisions. The project combines an innovative voting system and a digital platform which allows citizens to build their own secure polls and benefit from state-of-the-art analytics in real time. Developed in partnership with scientists at Cambridge University and the Brookings Institution, the D21 voting system offers various ways of polls and participation. The process is simple and flexible for voters, and helps communities find consensus more quickly.

Enrica SABATINI

City Councillor of Pescara; Developer and Strategist, Rousseau Association, Milan

 Enrica Sabatini is City Councilor for the 5 Star Movement in the Pescara and a major player in the political spectrum of Italy regarding citizens participation. She works at the Rosseau Association, which is the core instrument of the Five Star Movement in Italy for decision making processes with the party base. Her focus is e-learning and creating online training courses for spokespersons of the 5 Star Movement. She is the executive mind behind the Rosseau platform and responsible for developing new functions.

Mag. Martin WINKLER

Founder, Mitten in Hernals - Verein für gute Nachbarschaft und sozialen Zusammenhalt, Vienna

 Martin Winkler is managing director of a Vienna based business consultancy. In his private life, he started a non-profit project called "Mitten in Hernals" ("Amidst the neighbourhood of Hernals in Vienna") aiming to empower citizens on the community- and neighbourhood-level for cultural, social and political activism. As a first step he assembled a group of experts in the fields of data management, social science and communication to design a new approach of participation for citizens. His already operating "neighbourhood association" is aimed to become a paragon of state-of-the-art empowerment for grassroots politics. In the Special Session "Citizens don’t bite" he is going to present the findings and experiences made so far.

Political Symposium

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Genre : all

25.08.2018

11:30 - 14:30My Europe – My StoryPartner
15:00 - 16:30OpeningPlenary
17:00 - 18:30New perspectives on EU enlargementPlenary
19:30 - 21:30Drink receptionSocial

26.08.2018

06:30 - 07:30DER STANDARD Morning BriefingPlenary
06:30 - 07:30POLITICO Morning BriefingPlenary
07:00 - 10:00Alpbach Hikes: Hiking with pioneers – Mindfulness in educationPartner
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 01: Whoever has the money has the power? The future financing of the EUBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 02: EU-Russia relations: Attempting a cool-headed analysisBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 03: Citizens don’t bite: Experiences and learnings from successful participation projects in EuropeBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 04: European security and the Mediterranean: A simulationBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 05: A world without nukes? The impact of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 06: Women and youth empowerment: The Sustainable Development Goals in practiceBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 07: Democracies under pressure: Civil society and populismBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 08: Implementing the SDGs: The challenges countries face and the solutions they offerBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 09: European security in the age of hybrid threats: Rethinking military and civilian cooperation?Breakout
13:00 - 14:15Sovereignty in the EU: Who decides?Plenary
15:00 - 16:15Democracies under pressurePlenary
16:30 - 18:30Green Finance: Private capital against climate changePartner
16:30 - 18:30Lessons from the best: What we can learn from Europe’s most sustainable regionsPartner
16:45 - 18:15The subsidiarity principle under scrutinyPlenary
18:00 - 20:00European-Israeli DinnerSocial
18:15 - 19:00POLITICO Happy HourSocial

27.08.2018

06:30 - 07:30DER STANDARD Morning BriefingPlenary
06:30 - 07:30POLITICO Morning BriefingPlenary
07:00 - 10:00Alpbach Hikes: Hiking with pioneers – Mindfulness in politicsPartner
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 10: Living the Swiss militia principle: Ensuring resilience through involvementBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 11: Israel: Can democracy exist without peace?Breakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 12: Defending democracy in the digital age: From theory to practiceBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 13: The end of oil: Global systems in transitionBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 14: Are you acting or reacting? Countering climate change through new partnershipsBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 15: Culture and identity: What level of adaptation is required for successful integration?Breakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 16: Promoting sustainable developmentBreakout
08:00 - 10:30Breakout Session 17: Democracies under pressure: The media and populismBreakout
11:00 - 12:45From grey to green: Green infrastructure as a way out of the biodiversity crisisPartner
12:30 - 13:45Global power shifts: Implications for Europe and AsiaPlenary
14:15 - 15:45European Union – Russia: What to do?Plenary
16:15 - 17:15The future of the EU: Priorities of the Austrian EU Council PresidencyPlenary

28.08.2018

07:00 - 10:00Alpbach Hikes: Hiking with pioneers – Mindfulness in businessPartner
07:30 - 08:30The rule of law under scrutinyPlenary
09:00 - 10:30Reconciling (bio)diversity protection and efforts to mitigate climate changePlenary