The report presents the key findings of the European Democracy Lab organized online on the 19th of November 2021, under the umbrella of the PaCE project.
The goal of the European Democracy Lab was to address and respond to the key findings of local democracy labs that emerged from the deliberation of participants in seven European countries on “Trust in authorities in the time of Covid-19 pandemic”. The European location of the democracy labs were: Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Scotland, and Spain.
The selection of participants to the European Democracy Lab was based on specific criteria (see criteria in chapter 3. Outcomes of the European Democracy Lab, pp. 21) facilitating open access for all participants to the local democracy labs carried out in seven European countries. Thus, among the total number of one hundred and fifty (150) participants at local labs, a group of forty-nine (49) people attended the European Democracy Lab.
Key findings of local democracy labs revealed both cross-countries and specific countries’ topics (see the synthesis Report outlining the key findings from local democracy labs). Based on the agreement between the PaCE partners and expert facilitators from seven countries, two cross-countries and seven specific-countries topics were selected for the European Democracy Lab deliberation.
The selected cross-countries topics were:
- Public communication strategy: disinformation & fake news.
- Pandemic restrictions long-term consequences: mental health & wellbeing.
The selected specific-countries topics were:
- Bulgaria – The disinformation on the Covid-19.
- Hungary – Public opinion dialogue and contribution of civic organizations.
- Iceland – Protection of economy and employment sector.
- Italy – Influence of populist narratives on the public discourse.
- Poland – Protection of law and constitution.
- Scotland – Trust in government and influence of mass-media.
- Spain – Strengthening the role of local authorities.
For those interested in reading more details about the key findings of the European Democracy Lab please consult the report HERE.
