European Cultural Space and Identity: Video recordings from the Europe 2020 - Civic Visions international conference

Here are the key conclusions from the work in Panel 2:

-    The European Citizens have only rights, they must also have duties;

-    Need to encourage the mobility of European citizens, more particularly to increase the financing for the European exchange programmes; we need follow-up of the programmes and more visibility of the programmes for the whole society; need to include young people who don’t have the possibility to  participate in exchange programmes; more mobility creates feeling of common identity;

-    The EU programmes should provide social inclusion; they should consider the local needs; some projects are more successful if organized at a local level (the question is how to restructure the projects to make them reach the people at local level);

-    To have a common identity, we need to have common values or to unify them which means a common political project (i.e. European Constitution); EU relies on homogeneity so that we could speak about common values, collective conscience;

-    Education is essential; there is a need for more active policies directed to young people; the first step to construct the European identity is the cultural and intellectual attitude of every member state; the importance of European history should be highlighted in the education process;

-    The EU should be solution of the problems of the globalization and not be accepted as a loss of identity; EU is not a symbol of the globalization, it doesn’t deprive citizens of their national identity;

-    The generation after 1989, despite its relative indifference, will contribute to the creation of a common identity through its common values;

-    2011 – the European year of voluntary service – the voluntary service encourages the active citizenship and promotes the European identity and it should be supported; it shouldn’t replace the state duties;

-    The active policy for children is essential;

-    More funds are needed for programmes for inclusion of the Roma minority, but within them there should rather be included various cultures, not only Roma people.