EuComMeet Project partners kicked-off on the right track, online The EU is at crossroads, and initiatives such as the Conference on the Future of Europe are advancing reflections on the role that citizens could have in the process of European integration in these changing (and challenging) times. Society © EuComMeet The EuComMeet project takes up this challenge by proposing a Multi-stage, Multi-level, Multi-mode, Multi-lingual, Dynamic Deliberative approach (M4D2) to develop innovative participatory spaces supporting a well functioning and resilient European democracy. This is the commitment of this three-year H2020-funded project that just kicked-off in a virtual four-days meeting from the 18th to the 23rd of March 2021, covering a rich agenda to start things off on the right foot. More than 22 participants representing all partners attended the meetings from Italy, Spain, France, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Belgium and even from California and British Columbia, closely working together despite distances. Intense working days, therefore, to discuss on the respective objectives and instruments, addressing the theoretical framework, as well as the technical issues related to language translation, automated moderation and the innovative ICT tools that will be embedded in cutting-edge (pandemic-proof) participatory spaces to bring deliberative processes to the next level. The nature of these virtual meetings put to the test the capacity of working together, but the EuComMeet consortium definitely showed to be able to live up to that, ready for this timely and needed project, which clearly matches the EC’s goal of giving citizens a greater role in shaping EU policies and ambitions. Keywords Deliberative approach, democracy
