ICT for Societal Challenges - European Commission - Europa

ECRN
The project’s main objectives are:
• Increasing the efficiency of local administrations;
• Shortening time for public bodies to manage procedures and for citizens to reply to
certification requests;
• Enabling public authorities to gain immediate knowledge in case of changes in a
citizen’s civil status.
http://www.ecrn.eu
Funded by the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) - Competitiveness & Innovation
Programme (CIP)
Duration: 2008-2011
Active participation
in political life and decision-making
Is participation in politics and decision making still something which is limited to a
few groups? Thanks to ICT - particularly social media - more and more citizens are
able to take direct part in political debate. However,
the information and resources that governments and
public administrations make available to citizens
can be difficult to understand. This leads to a sense
of detachment and disillusionment towards public
bodies and the democratic process itself.
The better we understand our rights as EU citizens,
the more informed the decisions we can take and the
more we can contribute to the democratic life with
our engaged contributions. With this aim in mind, the European Commission decided
that 2013 should be the European Year of Citizens. Also, the Europe for Citizens
Programme (2007-2013) promotes initiatives that facilitate the active participation
in the civic and democratic life of the EU.
The projects presented here aim to enable participatory, transparent and inclusive
policy making and more democratic public life.
The Puzzled by Policy project provides citizens with a unique online platform to
learn about the EU and find out which specific policies are relevant to them at national
level. The project addresses immigration, giving users the opportunity to contribute
to policy drafting and impact assessment. To ensure wide accessibility, the platform
widget is available also on social media channels and mobile devices.
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