Citizens of Europe is a network of people who contribute to the development of European civil society by realising projects together. This year, 5th-7th October, the network’s annual meeting will take place in Budapest, where people from different parts of Europe gather for two days. The weekend is an opportunity to get to know each other, to exchange ideas and contacts, and to lay the ground for future ideas and co-operations.
As part of its strategy to strengthen ties with the Citizens of Europe network, Dialog’09 was actively involved in organising this weekend. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you come to Budapest and join the debate!
After the failure of the constitutional process, the majority of politicians in the European Union apparently concluded that if citizens do not trust the way the elite has foreseen for the “European Project” the only way forward remains to proceed without consulting the citizens at all. Consequently, all elements of public debate have been replaced by the traditional diplomatic negotiations when defining the content of the new “Reform Treaty”. Was this unavoidable? And how should citizens react on it?
On Friday, 5th October 2007 at 7pm in the “Sirály”, we will begin with a panel discussion “Europe without Citizens?”, which we organise together with the Pillar Foundation and the Foundation for European Values Hungary. Panelists will be:
- Ágnes Lux (Hungarian Society for Political Science, Head of European Integration Section, t.b.c.)
- István Hegedűs (Hungarian Europe Society, President)
- Nikoletta Incze (Foundation for European Values Hungary, President)
- Zoltán Pogátsa (Hungarian Academy of Sciences / Institute of Social and European Studies Szombathely, Economist)
On Saturday, 6th October at 8:30pm (also in the Sirály), we will screen the best short movies from our film competion “MyEurope”. Many people have different images, thoughts, ideals, critics and opinions on what the term “Europe” means and what it is for them. About 60 contributions exploring the term from different angles were handed in by film makers from all over Europe. (All movies are in English or have English subtitles.)
For further info, please visit: http://www.citizens-of-europe.eu/projects/07_cw_budapest/
