The Citizen Participation 2.0 Contest is to create an innovative idea for a digital tool that can increase civic participation in decision making at local, national, regional and EU level and deepen communication between citizens and decision-makers. The aim is to help citizens to become more involved in the decision-making process and to bridge the gap between citizens and authorities. The ideas in the competition should contribute to better governance, greater transparency and to the strengthening of democracy.
The Contest will run until June 23rd and will award a prize of 2,000 euros to the best new and innovative solution and / or tool for civic participation within the Youth4EU Project that aims to change the citizens’ position of passive actors to agents of change who are empowered and encouraged for civic and democratic participation at EU level and with a better understanding of their position in the decision-making process. In addition to the monetary value (which includes transaction costs and fees – the amount that participants will receive depends on the country of residence), the projects selected for the final stage of the Contest will have the opportunity to launch their idea for enthusiasts of technology, government representatives and non-profit organizations at the Debate in Zagreb that will take place in September 2019.
Eligible Countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia
Who can participate?
It can be a natural person or a team, student, activist, organization, startup or an initiative of citizens interested in improving society and governance – or better a set! We invite you to develop digital solutions with easy accessibility such as tools or web portals, communication tools, mobile applications, etc.
How to participate?
You can find the application form here. Applications must be submitted in English. Please read the Rules and regulations here.
Selection process and next steps:
Your project ideas will be evaluated against the following criteria: community impact, innovation, implementation potential, sustainability and open source structure. The Selection Committee composed of external experts and representatives of the Organization’s consortium in the YOU4EU Project will decide the best two-step design ideas of the Contest. We will be able to contact you during the second selection stage if we require additional information. After finishing the selection process, at most the top 5 finalists (teams or individual participants) will be invited to present their ideas at the Debate in Zagreb in September 2019, where the winner will receive the prize for the award of the Development Contest of the digital tool.
Open source and open data
The award-winning digital solution has to be published as open source and publicly accessible. If the application is built on available open source solutions and encourages the use of open data, it is an added bonus.
Organization: Belgrade Open School, Gong, PiNA, Alternative Institute, Access Info Europe. The project is supported by the European Union’s “Europe for Citizens” Program.