The first EuroConnect debate launched this Monday, opening a series of ten online discussions organised within the project EuroConnect – Strengthening Civic Competences and EU Democratic Life. The initiative brings together 119 university students from Estonia, Italy, and Germany in a shared transnational setting to discuss issues related to European democracy and everyday civic life.
Why a debate series
Debates bring a practical dimension to civic learning, giving participants the opportunity to engage directly with key contemporary topics, test their ideas, and encounter different perspectives.
In a time where civic spaces are shrinking and public discussion is becoming increasingly polarised, these exchanges contribute to reopening and expanding spaces for democratic dialogue.
Last but not least, they support the development of transversal skills that are central to civic engagement: expressing and defending one’s views with arguments, practising active listening and perspective-taking, managing disagreement and working with others to build shared solutions.
The transnational dimension further reinforces all of this, as discussions bring together students from different countries and contexts, thereby widening the range of experiences and viewpoints in the conversation.
How the debates are structured
The series is organised into three strands, each addressing a different level of discussion:
- Local Issue Discussions focus on local or regional challenges that relate to wider European frameworks. These include topics such as digitalisation of public services, community regeneration, and sustainability.
- European Issue Debates focus on cross-border topics such as youth and representation, democratic backsliding, sustainability, and digital citizenship. These sessions connect European-level debates with students’ own fields of study and concerns.
- Curriculum Discussions look at the role of universities, addressing how civic competences, democratic engagement and the European dimension are integrated into higher education, and raise questions about existing approaches and possible improvements.
The methodological approach
The pedagogical design of each session is based on the Future Workshop methodology. Developed by Robert Jungk in the 1970s, it was designed to support creative decision-making in addressing complex social problems and to empower citizens to co-develop solutions within their own communities.
This collective, imaginative dimension is complemented by a strong focus on concrete solutions, enabled by a structured three-step process: critique, fantasy, and implementation.
- In the first phase, participants identify and discuss what is not working in relation to the topic at hand, including problems, barriers, and contradictions.
- In the second phase, they move beyond existing constraints to formulate ideal solutions and scenarios.
- In the third phase, the focus shifts to feasibility, identifying what can realistically be done, by whom, and through which first steps.
Within the debates, this structure helps guide discussion from critical reflection to solution-oriented thinking, ensuring that exchanges move beyond opinion and progressively open up to possible actions and outcomes.
What’s next?
Between May and June the discussions will continue as follows:
- 04 May – European Issue Debate: Youth and Representation
- 11 May – European Issue Debate: Democratic Backsliding, Illiberalism and Societal Polarisation
- 18 May – European Issue Debate: Sustainability
- 25 May – European Issue Debate: Youth and Digital Citizenship
- 28 May – Curriculum Discussion: Civic Competences and Democratic Engagement in University Curricula
- 04 June – Curriculum Discussion: Interdisciplinarity
- 11 June – Curriculum Discussion: Rethinking Learning Practices
- 15 June – Local Issue Discussion: Digitalisation and Local Public Services
- 22 June – Local Issue Discussion: Community Regeneration
- 29 June – Local Issue Discussion: Sustainability
Further updates will follow as the discussions progress. In parallel, ongoing research based on surveys and participant feedback will be conducted to improve our understanding of students’ experiences, perceptions and competencies. The findings will inform a final toolkit containing lessons learned and strategies to support the development of more effective civic competence initiatives in future.
For further information about EuroConnect, please contact Melisa Bucur: melisa.bucur@danilodolci.org.
EuroConnect – Strengthening Civic Competences and EU Democratic Life is a project financed by Erasmus+ (KA2- Cooperation partnerships in higher education) with the aim to strengthen young people’s connection to the EU’s democratic life by developing their civic competences and improving their understanding of how to apply them to participate more effectively, using innovative and hands-on methodologies.
Partners
Coordinator: University of Tartu, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, Estonia
University of Siena, Italy
Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen, Germany
Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci – ETS, Italy
For further information contact melisa.bucur@danilodolci.org.