Our Project
Through the Citizens’ Forum project, OPEK provides citizens with a forum of public debate centred on key EU policies and priorities, including the broader discussion on the Future of Europe in parallel with the future of Cyprus within the EU. Through the implementation of a variety of co-financed public activities and discussions, the action raises awareness on key EU policies and their impact in the every-day lives of Cypriot citizens, whilst promoting the role of the European Parliament and its democratic values. OPEK contributes to the creation of a more knowledgeable and engaged society, characterised by a decrease in Eurosceptic attitudes and an increase in the democratic engagement of citizens.
Our project contributes in raising citizen’s awareness on the fundamental role of the European Parliament, as well as its democratic values, through the promotion of strategic engagement with the civil society.
Objectives
- Promoting the role and democratic values of the EP through the implementation of specific events and campaigns embedded in the legislative schedule
- Providing reliable and pluralistic information related to the EU on a regular and consistent basis
- Contributing to the broader discussion on “The Future of Europe”
- The establishment of a broad civil society dialogue and debate on the EU in Cyprus, as simulation process of engaging citizens
Activities
The OPEK Association for Social Reform actively promotes in Cyprus the public debate on the Future of Europe. More specifically OPEK as a civil society organization advocates the following:
- Active presence in the EU institutions
- Contribution to common European policies
- Openess, networking and solidarity in Europe
- Initiatives to promote citizens’ participatory processes.
The OPEK “Citizens’ Forum” program has cultivated the exchange of ideas on the most important issues of concern to all European societies.
Its implementation, from January 2021 to June 2022, coincided to a large extent with the Conference on the Future of Europe and its topics.
OPEK conducted over 70 public activities and discussions in the following topics:
- Europe, an international peace actor
- Rule of law and fight against corruption
- Economic and Social justice
- European Green Deal
- Energy policy and Renewables
- Digital Transformation
- Health and lessons from the pandemic
- Education and promotion of peace
Results
The OPEK Citizens’ Forum developed a variety of activities such as:
- Round table meetings
- Consultation with stakeholders
- Events with technocrats and academics
- A Conference on the Future of Europe
- Publications and Press conferences
With the support of the newspaper “Politis” and the use of social media, OPEK promoted its activities so that they are accessible in the form of video recordings.
The Future of Europe
The Conference on the Future of Europe was an important opportunity for citizens from all over Europe to share their ideas. Four groups of citizens participated in the Conference from September 2021 to February 2022 and submitted a series of recommendations and reports to the EU institutions.
The discussions organized by OPEK were developed in a similar way, posting its activities during this period on an EU multilingual digital platform. > https://futureu.europa.eu/
