{"id":1936,"date":"2013-09-15T12:48:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-15T10:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euroalter.local\/news\/european-alternatives-at-the-first-falun-democracy-week\/"},"modified":"2013-09-15T12:48:24","modified_gmt":"2013-09-15T10:48:24","slug":"european-alternatives-at-the-first-falun-democracy-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euroalter.com\/it\/european-alternatives-at-the-first-falun-democracy-week\/","title":{"rendered":"European Alternatives at the first Falun Democracy Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
In the past few years\u00a0the northern city of\u00a0Falun, Capital of the\u00a0Dalecarlia province\u00a0in the very heart of Sweden, has\u00a0developed its original\u00a0infrastructure for active citizenship and participatory democracy to turn itself into a truly pilot \u201cEuropean Democracy City<\/strong>\u201d.
\n\"\"
\nEverything started to become a concrete reality in 2011 when the Falun City Parliament decided to launch the \u201cDemocracy City<\/strong>\u201d process. At that time, all the political parties in the \u201cFullm\u00e4ktige\u201d \u2013 the Local Parliament \u2013 Falun has begun the work of establishing a modern \u201cinfrastructure for citizen participation\u201d. The purpose was to encourage, facilitate and support its citizens in becoming truly active members of a town in which \u201cevery vote counts<\/em>\u201d on election day and \u201cevery voice is heard<\/em>\u201d at all times.<\/div>\n
The idea behind this process was to develop ways to strengthen effective people power which matters today more than ever. Recent constitutional revisions in Sweden and the European Union have indeed reinforced citizens\u2019 initiative rights <\/strong>at local, regional and transnational levels. Backing these developments, the Falun City Parliament decided in 2011 to launch the \u201cDemocracy City\u201d process\u00a0promoting active and engaged citizenship.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

A Road Map to Democracy for Europe<\/h3>\n

On the way to becoming a \u201cEuropean Democracy City<\/strong>\u201d, the elected all-party \u201cFalun Democracy Commission\u201d then outlined an initial roadmap featuring five main areas:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Democracy Centres<\/strong> aiming at going beyond the existing established venues through a specific physical space hosted at the various public library venues of the City, offering places for communication, meeting, consultancy and formal decision making on election day;<\/li>\n
  2. Democracy Navigators<\/strong> to guide interested citizens through the often technocratic and complex world of local politics and administration providing them non-profit professional consultancy service;<\/li>\n
  3. Young Democracy<\/strong> involving \u00a0a\u00a0wide range\u00a0of youth democracy programmes featuring Youth Democracy Ambassadors and local democracy teaching materials and curriculums for the municipal schools;<\/li>\n
  4. Democracy Web<\/strong> featuring an online back-up platform for all possible expressions of active citizenship as well as a forum for dialogue between citizens and the institutions;<\/li>\n
  5. \"\"Democracy Networks<\/strong> aiming at bringing together \u201cDemocracy Cities\u201d all over the world.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In the summer of 2012, Falun City deliberated on a \u201cDemocracy Action Plan 2015\u201d, which indicated clear mile\u00adstones ahead. Within this framework, European Alternatives has been invited to participate in the \u201cDemocracy Week 2013<\/a>\u201d\u00a0to be held in Falun between September 25 and 29\u00a0as part of the European Union\u2019s Year of Citizens<\/a> and the Council of Europe\u2019s Local Democracy Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    The Upcoming Falun Democracy Week<\/h2>\n
    \"\"Starting on Wednesday 25 September with a Democracy Fair <\/strong>and a Public Meeting on the role of public libraries in democracies, the initiative itself will run with \u00a0a wide range of workshops, debates, cultural events, story-telling sessions and a democracy market until a concluding session with music and dances from Falun, Dalecarlia, Sweden, other European countries as well, on Sunday, September 29th.
    \nDay by day, various levels of democracy will be addressed: from the local, to the regional, national, transnational and global. This unique gathering of European and global citizens will discuss the many challenges and opportunities of both Sweden and European democracies and future prospects for the direct participation of citizens in the agenda-setting and decision-making processes. Our Campaign and Participation Manager, Anna Lodeserto, will take part with Gerald H\u00e4fner (Member of the European Parliament<\/em>), Elisa Bruno (    European Citizen Action Service<\/em><\/a>), Daniel Schily (Democracy International<\/em><\/a>) and Tamara Ehs (University of Salzburg<\/em><\/a>) in the \u201cSeminar on Transnational Democracy in Europe and how the new right of Citizens\u2019 Initiative may influence the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament<\/em>\u201d which will be held on Saturday 28th during the \u201cEurope Day on Transnational Democracy<\/strong>\u201d.<\/div>\n

    A Special Passport to Active Citizenship<\/h3>\n
    \"\"A special \u201cDemocracy Passport \u2013 The Passport to Active Citizenship<\/a>\u201d has also been expressly designed and published for this occasion: a very modern guide offering inspiration to active citizenship and participative democracy at local, regional, national, transnational and global level. It is the world\u2019s first democracy passport originally conceived as an invitation to other cities, provinces and countries to customize this concept for their own needs. You are welcome to download your own copy \u2013 or get a hard copy at Falun Public Library<\/a> or by contacting the EA Paris- or Rome-based offices<\/a>.
    \nStill one of Sweden’s smaller cities, today Falun is developing a new approach to citizen participation with some important innovation lessons for every city that can be learned in Europe and elsewhere in the world.\u00a0Stay tuned!<\/div>\n

    Find out more<\/h2>\n