#WeEuropeans op-ed published in leading media all over Europe
The civil society campaign #WeEuropeans has been launched in the 28 Member States of the European Union to mobilise citizens to engage more actively in the debate on the future of Europe, ahead of the European elections of next May. Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and Executive President of Europa Nostra, Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins, Administrator of the Gulbenkian Foundation, Paul Dujardin, General Director of BOZAR and President of Europa Nostra Belgium, Wim Wenders, Film Director and winner of the Helena Vaz da Silva European Award for Raising Public Awareness on Cultural Heritage 2017, and Sneska Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, are among the culture personalities who have joined the campaign and signed the op-ed “Europeans, let’s take back control of our future!”. This op-ed has been published by leading media outlets from 13 European countries between 13 and 17 December.
Among the major European media outlets which have published the campaign’s op-ed are Libération, Ouest France and Konbini in France, Der Tagesspiegel in Germany, El País in Spain, Politico in EU, Le Soir in Belgium, Tageblatt in Luxemburg, La Stampa in Italy, Publico in Portugal, Delo in Slovenia, Népszava in Hungary, I Kathimerini in Greece, Joop in The Netherlands, Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, Postimees in Estonia, Adevărul in Romania, Capital in Bulgaria, Die Press in Austria and euractiv in the EU.
In this op-ed, European personalities of different origins and opinions, and representatives of citizens’ networks, call for a reappropriation of the European project by citizens and for their mobilisation in the context of the European elections.
#WeEuropeans is a transnational and non-partisan civic campaign which goes beyond the various political opinions and brings together all citizens who are convinced that the EU is the most efficient lever for change to meet major global and European challenges, provided we reconnect with citizens. Following the successful European Year of Cultural Heritage, Europa Nostra will provide input to this civic campaign by stressing the huge value and multiple benefits of cultural heritage for the future of Europe in the spirit of our “Berlin Call to Action”.
The campaign is run by CIVICO Europa – a non-profit, independent, and transnational association, aiming to give a new impetus to the European project – and Make.org – a leading European CivicTech company whose mission is to massively engage civil society into the positive transformation of society.
A massive digital trans-European popular consultation on “How to reinvent Europe, concretely?” and the organisation of a Congress of Europeans at the European Parliament on 22 March 2019 in Brussels are among the highlights of the campaign.
Citizens from all walks of life will meet in this transnational forum to share a civic agenda resulting from the consultation. This Agenda will then be disseminated and submitted to all candidates in the European elections and to the Heads of State and Government at the European Council meeting in Sibiu on 9 May on the Future of the Union.
Join the Campaign: Sign the op-ed and receive information about #WeEuropeans and the launch of the consultation in February 2019.
