Recent conferences, seminars and consultations by the European Union and its institutions have provided a great opportunity for systematic engagement of civil society voices. To promote and inspire further engagement of civil society, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) has launched the report “New dimensions for public participation” to support CSOs to untap the full potential of various participation tools in the European Union and its Member States.

ECNL is also launching the updated “Handbook on How to Use EU Law to Protect Civic Space”, developed jointly with Philea. The Handbook shows how CSOs can use EU law and tools to protect civic space and the rule of law in their countries. This will be helpful for both EU Member States as well as EU accession countries, since EU  Commission President Ursula vander Leyen announced that certain countries with the status of candidates will be offered the opportunity to engage in an ad hoc Rule of Law Mechanism, currently under development.

The ECNL invites you to join two webinars on 5-6 December 2023 to:

• follow up on the recommendations of the research on participation tools;
• discuss how to promote meaningful participation in the 2023-2024 Rule of Law consultation and a Rule of Law dialogue with stakeholders in the EU accession countries; and
• exchange good practices of using emerging tools to strengthen civil society participation in the EU, its Member States and accession countries.

DAY 1 | THE EU RULE OF LAW CYCLE: HOW CAN IT REALLY ENGAGE CIVIL SOCIETY AND PROTECT CIVIC SPACE IN EUROPE?

Join us to find out how the EU Rule of Law Mechanism can contribute to strengthening civic space in your country. During this webinar, we will exchange views on experiences with the Rule of Law Cycle and discuss proposals for further improvement, look into the recently launched EU2023-2024 Rule of Law Consultation, and discuss concrete ways and initiatives to promote and facilitate inclusive participation in the process.

DAY 2 | WHAT METHODS CAN WE USE TO INCREASE INCLUSIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE EU AND WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFORM?

Join the discussions to exchange experiences with the use of various participation methods, including online platforms, gamification,facilitation tools, university programmes and living labs, social media platforms and hybrid forms of participation. Following up on the recommendations of the research, we will identify opportunities to integrate or pilot good practices at the EU and national level.

Registration

Day 1: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYodOyvrjMjEtfQTqmseoJUzsrINF…

Day 2: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvd-6gpj0qE9azaivpFRHXTLDzeC…