Roundtables for civil society experts
Poland
The Polish event was organized in Poznan on 19th of April 2024. It gathered 19 representatives of civil society organizations and experts, including think tanks and university experts, from Poznan and the Wielkopolska region. It was moderated by dr Maciej Milewicz.
The event started with a presentation of the project and its components. The moderator presented also the web site and showed how to navigate it to find outcomes of the project.
The roundtable spontaneously focused around the topic of turn-out in the upcoming EP elections. Participants asked questions whether it is possible to maintain the high turn-out of 2019 elections, not to mention the historically high turn-out of Polish general election of 2023. The moderator asked if it is possible to mobilize voters by using one of four RevivEU topics. Majority of participants agreed that the topic of the rule of law in Poland has the biggest potential in mobilizing electorates, of both supporters of the current government and the current opposition. What is more, they believe that the rule of law will be the main axis of the campaign, and they worried that one of the sides of the political conflict will use manipulations and fake news to convince their core voters. The other topic that can be used by politicians is migration, both migration of Ukrainian people and migration of people from Middle East, Africa and Asia.
It has been stressed by a couple of participants, both representing NGOs and academia, that data presented is of high value. The discourse analysis was evaluated as “a unique product” and “essential and handy for further work by the civil society”. In the aftermath of the meeting, researchers responsible for the discourse analysis will meet students of the political science department of the Poznań University to present them main findings of the research, presenting Poland on the background of the V4 countries.
Slovakia
Slovak roundtables for civil society experts brought together 26 participants from a diverse background. During one event in the village of Polomka in Northern Slovakia, a very fruitful discussion took place on 12th of December 2023, led by host Michal Vašečka. The event drew together the active local citizens who care about the well-being of their community. These engaged participants were presented the key outcomes of the RevivEU project, with Michal presenting the main data of the polls and both analyses to guide the conversation. The dialogue primarily centered on the project’s findings, but evolved to address broader societal concerns, reflecting the community’s proactive attitude towards national issues. The conversation touched several critical issues, including the importance of enhancing environmental policies to better manage waste and reduce pollution in Slovakia and in Polomka too. Participants also expressed concerns about maintaining judicial independence and transparency to uphold Slovakia’s democratic integrity.
In Košice, an engaging panel discussion hosted by Michal Vašečka on 27th of November brought together experts from the IT sector and business to explore the intersections of technology, policy, and societal needs based on the RevivEU project findings. The event focused on how advanced technologies can contribute to tackling environmental challenges through innovative solutions like smart energy systems and pollution tracking applications. Discussions delved into the role of IT in enhancing judicial transparency and government accountability through tools that facilitate open access to data and foster public engagement. This dialogue highlighted the critical role of IT in driving forward national and European policy objectives, emphasizing the need for strategic collaboration between tech leaders and policymakers.
Hungary
The 21 Research Center hosted on the 30th of April 2024 a public forum with more than 20 members of green civil society organizations at the Central European University’s Budapest Campus. The forum featured key discussions on the state of climate activism in light of the RevivEU project findings and an opening discussion with speakers such as Éva Szabó, teacher and Extinction Rebellion climate activist; Gergely Hankó, Executive Director of the Association of Environmental Service Providers and Manufacturers and project leader of the PET Cup; and András Perger, Climate and Energy Campaign Manager at Greenpeace. Our analyst, Kata Kiss, presented startling statistics from a 2023 survey, highlighting that 90% of Hungarians consider climate change a serious issue, 87% acknowledge its anthropogenic causes, and 80% demand immediate action. The forum posed critical questions about public engagement and the limits of climate activism.
Gergely Hankó commented on the mainstream acceptance of the climate crisis around 2017-18, catalyzed by increasing media attention and pivotal IPCC reports. He noted, “Scientists began speaking a different language, using phrases previously deemed radical by organizations like Greenpeace or even myself, which significantly altered the situation.” This shift led to a surge in volunteerism and the emergence of new civil organizations, sparking competition for resources. Éva Szabó shared her personal transition into activism, highlighting the diverse roles activists can play. She recounted, “It took a long time for me to see myself as an activist. At home, I was taught to blend into the wall, not to stand out. It wasn’t until I went to Great Britain that I found my role.” She described an impactful moment before a blockade near Cardiff, saying, “The night before, they murmured about who among us could afford to be arrested. An elderly man stepped up, saying he had time since he was a great-grandfather and not working.” Szabó emphasized, “Not everyone needs to do dramatic things for change to happen.” András Perger discussed Greenpeace’s approach to radical, yet non-violent actions. He mentioned an early action, “One of the first actions of the organization was to sail to the Pacific to stop the US nuclear tests, which threatened peace and the environment.” Perger provided a critical view on local climate policies, arguing for long-term solutions over short-term political gains.
The forum opened up for audience interaction in its final segment, where attendees from various green civil organizations shared their personal challenges and experiences. An Extinction Rebellion activist highlighted the power of personal dialogue, “We fundamentally believe in the power of conversation. Our activists strive to engage personally with those interested.” A Greenpeace staff member asked the audience about individual actions against climate change, prompting Gergely Hankó to respond, “There’s a wealth of knowledge available online now, like how to compost or grow vegetables on a terrace. These are viable individual strategies.” The importance of more conscious transportation and shopping habits was also discussed. A representative from another civil organization raised the issue of local government’s role, “Before municipal elections, candidates talk about playgrounds and road repairs. We should ask what they’re doing to prevent our children and elderly from overheating, or how they will handle flash floods.” The audience also questioned the impact of radical actions, with a participant noting, “Sometimes writing a letter to a mayor or a factory manager asking them not to do something is enough. We’re expected to win sprints, but this is more of an ultramarathon. Truly important issues take years, even decades to resolve.”
Czechia
The Czech roundtables for civil society members addressed the most current issues of the EU discourse running up to the European Parliamentary elections in June 2024. In total 3 events took place, from November 2023 until April 2024, 2 of them addressing issues of migration, 1 focusing on the rule of law question, and engaging 19 members of civil society organizations. 2 of the events took place in Prague, one was organized in Brussels, using the network of EUROPEUM and enhancing the dissemination of the project´s outcomes and findings as much as possible.
The first roundtable was organized on 15th of November 2023, as one of the side fora of the Prague European Summit 2023, and addressed the Central European Views on Migration. The chosen topic helped bring together a diverse audience for the presentation by Jaromír Mazák, research director of STEM, and Klára Votavová, EUROPEUM´s research fellow; their initial presentations of the findings from the citizen´s consultations and discourse analysis carried out in the months prior to the roundtable, were further supplemented by other members of the RevivEU consortium that were present at the conference in Prague. At the time, migration was already becoming one of the main topics of the starting pre-election campaign, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the high number of Ukrainian refugees present in Central Europe. Besides the views on migration in general the participants were curious and asked questions about the perception of Ukrainians coming to the countries and whether this experience in the Central European countries changed some of the positions and/or perceptions.
The second roundtable, once again on the topic of migration, took place in March 2024 in Brussels. The EUROPEUM team spent a week in Brussels and organized several events, some of them presenting the findings of the RevivEU project. On the 7th of March we organized a roundtable for various civil society members and/or experts, where EUROPEUM´s Vít Havelka and Kristína Chlebáková presented the findings on the view on migration in the V4 countries. Since the event was also attended by experts focused on the communication strategy for migration issues, they were especially interested in the discourse aspect of the topic, what role it was playing in the campaign to EP elections, and what were further sociological factors for some of the views, like education, EU knowledge and general wealth.
The third roundtable for civil society expert took place on 9th of April in Prague, on the topic of rule of law. We have seen increased interest in the topic since the rule of law conditionality in the EU budget, which was underlined by the timing of the event – just after the second round of the Slovak presidential election. This election ran in concurrent with the repeated attacks on the rule of law by the Slovak government, and so a big part of this event was dedicated to discussion why we´re talking about RoL, led by EUROPEUM´s director of research Liljana Cvetanoska. The attendees were also interested in the citizen´s perception of the notion of rule of law and the topic that it encompasses and asked about the various EU mechanisms that could help fight against backsliding in several EU countries, Slovakia and Hungary in particular.
