UPCOMING EVENT

Do European Citizens Initiatives help democracy in the EU? 

17 April 2019 - 6.30pm 

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Over the past few years, the concept of European civil society and the European Citizens Initiatives (ECI) as means to get involved in the EU legislative process has gained popularity. The extent to which this results in a more democratic EU, however, is questionable because simply having opportunities for participation does not equate to participatory democracy. The latest rules on ECI adopted in December 2018 aim at including individuals more in the process than before and give them more opportunities to speak up and raise awareness by using digital innovation.

Confirmed speakers: 

Elisa Lironi - Senior Manager European Democracy at European Citizen Action Service

Maarten de Groot - European Programme Officer at Democracy International 

Olga Kikou, Head of Compassion in World Farming EU (CIWF-EU)

Pablo Sanchez, Representative of the Right2Water ECI

About the speakers: 

Elisa Lironi is Senior Manager European Democracy at European Citizen Action Service (ECAS). Elisa’s main responsibilities are supporting the Secretariat-General of the Commission in the development and implementation of the ECI Forum as well as taking care of the development and implementation of EU projects related to Digital Democracy, Populism and Online Disinformation. Before joining ECAS in September 2015, Elisa worked as a Policy and Advocacy Officer at the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and was previously a researcher for the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS). She has been an active member of numerous organizations and youth projects, especially in raising awareness on EU issues among citizens. She holds a Master’s Degree in European Studies with a specialization in EU External Relations (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium).

Maarten de Groot is currently working as European Programme Officer at Democracy International. Previously, Maarten was EU Democracy Campaign Coordinator for The ECI Campaign, a politically independent civil society organisation working towards the successful reform and implementation of the European Citizens’ Initiative. Maarten was also Vice-President and External Relations Director in the international Board 2016-2017 of AEGEE / European Students’ Forum. In that capacity, he was also involved in the organisation of the European citizens’ initiative ‘More than education – shaping active and responsible citizens’.

Olga Kikou is a substitute representative of the Citizens' Committee for the End The Cage Age European Citizens' Initiative. Olga holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts and has worked in international organizations, in the non profit sector, and in research and planning. She has a long time involvement in animal advocacy. Since joining CIWF, she has worked to advance farm animal welfare and sustainable food and farming policies at EU level, by developing and implementing lobbying strategies in order to influence policy on key issues. She has been responsible for promoting many initiatives and campaigns, exploring synergies and developing productive relationships with civil society organizations and other stakeholders with the aim to increase awareness and bring an end to factory farming.

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