Conference "NGOs and the EU: Making civil dialogue work better"
Should NGOs be part of the dialogue with EU institutions or of the protest? What does "participatory democracy" really mean in the EU and how to link "Brussels" to the grassroots?
These questions have been high on the agenda over the last years and will increasingly be in the coming weeks, as the debate over the European Commission' s Communication White Paper and the Transparency Initiative heats up.
The Civil Society Contact Group would like to invite you to the conference "NGOs and the EU: Making civil dialogue work better" that will take place on 12 July from 9.00 to 17.30 and will provide space for common discussion over some of these key challenges (Venue: Scotland House, Rond Point Schuman 6). Interpretation will be provided in English and French.
On this occasion, we will present the study "Civil Dialogue: making it work better", which assesses dialogue and consultations between NGOs and EU institutions in seven different policy areas, at EU and national level (for more information on the study, please consult: http://act4europe.horus.be/module/FileLib/CD%20study%20-%20presentation.pdf).
The aim of the conference is to bring together EU and national level NGO activists, giving them the opportunity to discuss the study's main outcomes and recommendations, based on their daily experience and difficulties. It will thus put a particular focus on participation through interactive workshops focusing on key aspects of the study:
- Improving the way EU institutions consult
- Transparency and representativity
- Linking "Brussels" to the grassroots
The conference's outcomes will feed into the Civil Society Contact Group's advocacy work on the Transparency Initiative and Communication White Paper.
Please distribute this invitation across your networks as widely as possible. Act4europe can cover travel and accommodation costs for a limited number of participants, particularly those based in the new Member States. Upon request, the secretariat will inform you if we can cover your costs.
To register, please send before 5 July the reply form that you can find at http://act4europe.horus.be/module/FileLib/reply form July conference.doc by mail to Raluca Petrescu at assistant@act4europe.org.
You can find the conference agenda at: http://act4europe.horus.be/module/FileLib/agenda July conference.pdf.
Act4europe campaign
Civil Society Contact Group
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