Citizens

Emilia-Romagna, Europe Region: performance compared between regional, national and European averages

In preparation for the European Session, the Board of the Emilia-Romagna Region prepares the Cognitive Report.

It is an essential window that allows to observe the performance of the Region compared to the 7 objectives identified by the EU in the following thematic areas:

  • Employment and the gender gap
  • NEET
  • Research and Development
  • Energy and renewable
  • Dropout
  • University education
  • Poverty and social exclusion

 

The resulting image is of a strongly European Region: more in line with European average performance than with national results. However, the magnifying glass does not escape some problems that the averages shade.

Read more https://regioneer.it/RERinEuropa

Edited by Europe Direct Emilia-Romagna

The European Session: how the Region participates in the definition of future EU standards

Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the European Session opened in the Legislative Assembly: a path of participation in the formation of EU policies and law.

The European Session provides for the discussion, in the Committees of the Legislative Assembly, of the initiatives on which the European Commission intends to work, in order to gather the opinion of the local and regional level. In Emilia-Romagna, this process, active since 2009, is made even more participatory by the involvement of stakeholders, such as trade associations and representatives of civil society, which have the opportunity to intervene in the debate and influence the definition of European policies. Therefore, in the legislative field, the European Session represents a bridge between the European and the regional level.

Read more about on https://regioneer.it/SessioneEuropea-ArticoloCompleto 

This year we will talk about cybersecurity and mental health, social economy, sustainable transport, refit program and much more.

Edited by Europe Direct Emilia-Romagna

European Parliament approves a new law to combat global deforestation

The legislation requires companies to ensure that products sold in the EU do not cause deforestation, to combat climate change and biodiversity loss.

Between 1990 and 2020 deforestation affected a larger area of the EU and EU consumption responsible for about 10% of losses.

The European Parliament has definitively approved a law that provides that companies will be able to sell in the EU only products whose supplier has issued a declaration of “due diligence” certifying that the product does not originate from deforested land and has not contributed to the degradation of forests, including irreplaceable primary forests, after 31 December 2020.
As requested by Parliament, companies will also have to verify that these products comply with the relevant legislation of the country of production, including on human rights, and that the rights of the indigenous peoples concerned have been respected.

Products covered by the new legislation include cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soya and wood, including products containing, fed or produced using these products (for example, leather, chocolate and furniture)as originally proposed by the Commission. Also included rubber, coal, printed paper products and a number of palm oil derivatives.
At the request of the EP, the definition of forest degradation has also been extended, which now includes the conversion of primary or naturally regenerated forests into forest plantations or other woodland.

The text must also be formally approved by the Council and will then be published in the Official Journal of the EU, to enter into force 20 days later, so it will be directly applicable in all EU countries.

More info https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/it/press-room/20230414IPR80129/il-parlamento-approva-una-nuova-legge-per-combattere-la-deforestazione-globale

Europa Experience centres: David Sassoli exhibition space in Rome

Experience Europe – David Sassoli is the exhibition space, inaugurated in October 2022 in Piazza Venezia in Rome, dedicated to the EU promoted by the Parliament and the European Commission and named after the former President of the European Parliament.

Dialogue with citizens, starting with young people, was one of the issues that was particularly important to the former president Sassoli.

“Europa Experience” is a project that provides for the opening of multimedia centres in all the capitals of the 27 Member States.

Inside the structure you can live a multimedia path that, through interactive devices and role-playing games, allows you to immerse yourself in the functioning of the European Union, offering the visitor a direct view of how the collaboration takes place to address the most important challenges of the present.

The centres promote knowledge of the EU, its actors, policies and campaigns, but also the values of democracy, inclusion, accessibility and multilingualism.

The main objectives are three in particular: to present Europe as a whole and to ensure that citizens understand the impact of European democracy in their lives, to provide interactive and up-to-date content on the EU, act at local level and involve the citizens of the Member States in an efficient manner.

The area also has a conference room for events, seminars and debates: a place aimed at encouraging the meeting between citizens, stakeholders and European parliamentarians.

More information: https://visiting.europarl.europa.eu/it/visitor-offer/other-locations/europa-experience/rome 

…and just the visit to the center “Experience Europe David Sassoli” is the prize that will win the class winner of the photo contest “La Tua Europa” (section schools), promoted within the EU Factor project.

DISCOVER HOW TO PARTICIPATE OR TO PARTICIPATE, it is very simple!

Vuoi partecipare al contest fotografico con la tua classe? Vai al regolamento del contest #LaTuaEuropa per le scuole superiori

 

Do you want to participate in the photo contest with your class? Go to the contest rules #LaTuaEuropa for high schools

Take part of the photo contest #LaTuaEuropa with your class!

The winning class will have the opportunity to visit the multimedia center “Europe Experience – David Sassoli” of Rome to discover how the European Union works and put yourself in the shoes of Members of the European Parliament through an engaging interactive role-playing game organized by the staff of Europe Experience.
CONTEST

#LaTuaEuropa is the photo contest of the EU FACTOR project.

The Contest will be active from 1 April to 15 May 2023.

Secondary school classes wishing to participate in the competition can do so by sending a photo that answers the questions “What is Europe? What does it represent for its citizens? Where do you meet it in your daily life?” to the e-mail address eufactor.project@gmail.com indicating the class, the name of the school, name, surname and e-mail address of a school contact (teacher) together with a short text (maximum 1500 characters) explaining why that is LaTuaEuropa!

YOUR IDEA OF EUROPE

You can portray a landscape, a significant place, a monument, a symbol, an object or people. The strategic objectives of the European cohesion policy can be considered as a starting point. How has Europe improved life around me in terms of sustainability, inclusion, digitalization, mobility, rights, work?

The photos below the requirements will be published by the organizers on the Instagram page of EU Factor @eufactorproject and published on the website www.eufactor.it


AWARDS

A commission of experts of the EU FACTOR project will select, at its sole discretion, the winning photograph based on criteria of originality and quality.

The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to visit the new exhibition space dedicated to the EU “Experience Europe – David Sassoli” in Rome promoted by the Parliament and the European Commission and named after the former President of the Parliament. The Europe Experience Centre – also present in other European cities – promotes knowledge of the EU, its actors, its policies and its campaigns, but also the values of democracy, inclusion, accessibility and multilingualism.

Discover the rules and participate!

Regolamento Contest fotografico_LaTuaEuropa_SCUOLE_EUFACTOR

What Europe does for me, a website and an app to discover the concrete impact of the EU in the lives of its citizens

How does Europe enter our daily lives? How does it affect our jobs, our families, our healthcare, our hobbies, our travel, our safety, our consumption choices and our social rights? How is it present in our countries, cities, and regions?

What Europe does for me is the interactive and multilingual website created by the European Parliamentary Research Service. It contains hundreds of short, easy-to-read articles providing examples of the real impact the EU has on citizens’ lives. Users can easily find specific information about what Europe does for their region, their profession, or their favorite pastime.

More than 1500 locations

The site provides about 2000 one-page articles to share or reuse as web pages or as PDF files. The articles are divided into two main sections. The first, “In My Region,” allows users and their families to select where they live or work. How is Europe present in our cities and regions? This section includes more than 1500 locations in every part of the European Union.

More than 500 snapshots of what the EU does for citizens

The second section of the site, “In my life”, allows each user to choose from 500 articles that touch on important aspects of the lives of European citizens. For example, how the EU impacts families, healthcare, hobbies, travel, safety, consumer choices and social rights. A series of podcasts in a growing number of languages is also available in this section.

Citizens’ App: Europe in the palm of your hand

This mobile application helps citizens find out what the EU has done, is doing and intends to do. It is browsable, shareable, can be customized and is available in twenty-four languages. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store and Google Play.

Join the EU FACTOR photo contest: take a picture at #LaTuaEuropa and win

Take a photo at #LaTuaEuropa and win

Take a picture of what Europe represents for you, share it on your Instagram profile. Tag @eufactorproject and use the hashtag #LaTuaEuropa. 20 euro online vouchers and many other prizes.

CONTEST

#LaTuaEuropa is the photo contest of the EU FACTOR project – for a cohesive, sustainable and fair Europe.

What is Europe? What does it mean for its citizens? Where do you meet it in your daily life? Let us know with a photo. The ones that get the most likes will win a voucher in an online store.
The theme is free. You can portray a landscape, a significant place, a monument, a symbol, an object or people. The important thing is that they explain because that is Your Europe. Post the photo in your profile and tag it #LaTuaEuropa (archive photos are fine too).
Photos will be shared on the EU Factor Instagram page.
And if I don’t have Instagram? If my account is private? You can still participate by sending your photos to eufactor.project@gmail.com

The competition is open from 1 April to 15 May 2023. Participation is open to all. The 3 photos that will have obtained more “like” and the 10 photos selected by the EU Factor jury will be awarded.
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 11 am at the Open Laboratory of the Cloisters of San Pietro di Reggio Emilia will be held the event of awards and presentation of photographs of the Photo Contest #LaTuaEuropa. The initiative is included in the program of events of the OFF Circuit of European Photography 2023 XVIII EDITION – “EUROPE MATTERS Visions of an uneasy identity”.

TELL US “YOUR IDEA OF EUROPE“

Again, the subject is free. If you want to take a cue you can consider the strategic objectives of European cohesion policy. How Europe has improved life around me in terms of sustainability, inclusion, digitalization, mobility, rights, work.
To participate post the photo on your Instagram profile, tag the @eufactorproject page and use the hashtag #LaTuaEuropa (do it, it’s crucial to be rewarded).

AWARDS

They win the three photos that they receive most like at the deadline of the contest (May 15). In addition to these, a commission of experts will select and mark 10 other photographs worthy of their unquestionable opinion, based on criteria of originality and quality.
We will announce the winners on the Instagram profile of the EU FACTOR @eufactorproject and warn them with a private message on their Instagram profile (or email in case of participation via email).
Each of the 13 selected photographs will receive a voucher of 20,00 euro that can be spent at the online store www.librerie.coop (or equivalent).
The winning photographs and other photos reported by the jury:
– will become a calendar that will be printed and given away in limited edition
– will be the protagonists of a special edition of the television strip “Pills of Cohesion” of the EU FACTOR project broadcast on TV channels of TR MEDIA
– will be presented in a dedicated event that will be organized within the OFF Circuit of the XVIII EDITION of European Photography in Reggio Emilia, international cultural festival dedicated to contemporary photography
– published in a local newspaper/web tv with the names of the authors
– will be used by the communication channels of the EU FACTOR project

Discover the guidelines.

Regolamento Contest fotografico_LaTuaEuropa_EUFACTOR

The Open Laboratory of Modena, yesterday and today.

At the beginning of the ‘900, close to the historic center of Modena, stood the AMCM sector, home of the Municipal Electricity Companies (AEM) that managed the tram power network, to facilitate the extension to serve the new districts that would soon become part of the city perimeter.

The re-functionalization of the former AEM, which became the headquarters of the Open Laboratory of Modena, took place using the European resources of Axis 6 (sustainable, intelligent and attractive cities) that allowed to redevelop the spaces, set up and start the management of the Open Laboratory and support its integrated promotion at national and European level.

The first concrete projects for the regeneration of this building of industrial archeology are therefore born thanks to the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020, which the Emilia-Romagna Region has also used to return to citizens, places destined to become centers of knowledge exchange for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Open Laboratory is today a hub of research, innovation and experimentation for culture, entertainment, and creativity, as well as a meeting point and a workspace between professionals, start-ups and institutions, open to citizens, and a center of activities, events, workshops.

Go to the website https://laboratorioapertomodena.it

International Women’s Day: the European Parliament for Gender Equality

The EU has adopted legislation, published recommendations and good practices to improve gender equality at work, in politics or in other fields. The European Parliament, with its Standing Committee on Women’s Rights, has always strenuously defended the cause, and every year raises awareness of the issue by organising various events to celebrate International Women’s Day.

The European Parliament has repeatedly asked the European Commission to propose new measures to reduce the gender pay and pension gap. Proposals to combat sexual harassment in the workplace were also introduced in 2018.

The Parliament also calls for measures to improve the reconciliation of career and private life. In 2019, MEPs adopted new rules to reconcile work and private life and strengthen the rights of parents and carers in families.

With its resolutions, the Parliament also draws attention to the need to combat specific forms of violence against women, such as sexual harassment or online stalking, and the need to improve policy coherence for gender equality and other policies such as trade, migration and development.

Find out more about the European Parliament’s action for gender equality in the EU.

Source: www.europarl.europa.eu

The EU plan for the circular economy, a sustainable “revolution”

Limited resources and climate change require a shift from a “production-consumption-waste” society to a zero-carbon, environmentally sustainable, toxic-free, and fully circular economy by 2050. The circular economy would cut CO2 emissions, while stimulating economic growth and creating job opportunities.

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption based on sharing, lending, reusing, repairing, reconditioning, and recycling existing materials and products. This extends the life cycle of products, helping to reduce waste to a minimum.

We are facing an increase in the demand for raw materials and at the same time a scarcity of resources: many of the raw materials and resources essential to the economy are limited, but the world population continues to grow and consequently the demand for these finite resources also increases.

Thanks to measures such as waste prevention, ecodesign and material reuse, European companies would achieve savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The production of the materials we use every day is responsible for 45% of CO2 emissions.

Starting in March 2020, after a series of actions and measures, in March 2022, the EU Commission published the first package of measures to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Proposals include scaling up sustainable products, empowering consumers for the green transition, revising the Construction Products Regulation and a strategy on sustainable textiles.

In November 2022, the Commission proposed new EU-wide rules on packaging. These include a proposal to improve the design of packaging, provide it with clear labelling and incentivise reuse and recycling. The proposal also includes a transition to bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics.

Circularity and sustainability must be integrated at all stages of the value chain to achieve a fully circular economy: from design, to production, to the consumer. The European Commission’s Action Plan set out seven key areas essential for achieving a circular economy: plastics; textile; electronic waste; food and water; packaging; batteries and vehicles; buildings and constructions.