The EuComMeet project’s final event, "Just Transition & Participatory Democracy: Lessons Learned from H2020 EuComMeet Project," was held at the European Committee of the Regions. This marked the end of four years of research on new forms of deliberative democracy involving citizens in decision-making.
“EuComMeet has three goals: bringing deliberative democracy closer to the people, exploring its impact on identity, polarization, reflexivity, impact, and inclusion, and improving online deliberations with automated moderation and translation,” said Professor Pierangelo Isernia, the project’s coordinator.
Launched in 2021 under the Horizon 2020 programme, EuComMeet aimed to address challenges in representative democracies by reducing polarization, strengthening European identity, and promoting inclusivity. Led by the University of Siena, the consortium included universities and organisations from across Europe.
EuComMeet’s Convivium platform is an open-access tool designed for citizen discussions at local, national, and European levels. It features automated moderation and translation, ensuring smooth communication among diverse participants. The platform was demonstrated by Mr. Antoniadis and Mr. Secchi, with Dublin City University researchers explaining the translation technology.
Missions Publiques shared insights from a large-scale online event in May 2023, involving nearly 400 citizens from 10 cities discussing Green Deal topics. Mr. Paulo Rosa from the Joint Research Centre presented results from the Conference on the Future of Europe deliberative sessions.
The event featured speakers including CoR Member Nadia Pellefigue, Vice President of the Occitanie Region, who highlighted her region’s efforts in deliberative democracy. “Since 2016, we have engaged citizens with 55 democratic exercises involving 3.5 million people,” she said.
Arianna Censi, Deputy Mayor for Mobility of Milan and a Member of the Committee of the Regions, emphasised: "Platforms like EuComMeet create the conditions for a competent and genuine participatory process, facilitating deeper dialogue between institutions and citizens."
Ms. Godkin, Member of the Cabinet of the Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, praised EuComMeet: “Your multi-level, multi-stage, multi-mode, multilingual approach can inspire our work at the EU level.”
The EuComMeet consortium hopes the project's results and tools will inspire further initiatives to bridge the gap between citizens and policymakers, marking a significant step towards more participatory and deliberative democracy in Europe.