izvoli! – spodbujanje demokratičnih procesov in udeležbe na volitvah eu / encouraging democratic processes and voter participation in the eu elections

Projekt IZVOLI! naslavlja probleme občutka nepovezanosti z EU: nezainteresiranost prebivalcev in posledično nizko volilno udeležbo, zaradi česar poslanci ne predstavljajo zares vsega prebivalstva; razrast populizma in odločanja brez vsebine; nepoznavanje dela poslancev in njihove moči ter nenazadnje apatijo in manko politične participacije državljanov.

Kandidate bodo pozvali, da se vsebinsko opredelijo do vprašanj, ki zadevajo prav vse: varstvo okolja, vojne, človekove pravice. Organizirali bodo javne dogodke v več krajih, promocijske akcije za povečevanje volilne udeležbe in javno soočenje programov v Ljubljani.

Volivce in volivke bodo poskušali opomniti na pomen volitev in vrednot EU, jih informirati o programih kandidatnih list, podkrepiti zavest o njihovi lastni državljanski pravici do participacije v demokratičnih procesih in o njenem pomenu za prihodnost družbe. Z akcijo bodo podprli razvoj demokratične družbe, saj je usmerjena v spodbujanje aktivne udeležbe državljanov v demokratičnih procesih ter krepitev transparentnosti in odgovornosti izvoljenih predstavnikov na EU ravni.

Kaj bodo dosegli:

• Pridobili bodo vsebinske odgovore vsaj tretjine kandidatnih list.
• Organizirali bodo soočenje, kjer se bo predstavilo vsaj 5 kandidatov oz. njihovih programov.
• Pokrili bodo naslednja izbrana področja: zeleni prehod, varstvo narave, vladavina prava, človekove pravice, militarizacija Evrope …
• Pri pripravi konkretnih vprašanj bodo sodelovali posamezniki in posameznice, volivke in volivci (vključenih jih bo vsaj 200), bodisi preko spletnega obrazca, bodisi v živo na soočenju.
• V okviru terenske kampanje bodo obiskali več (vsaj 4) krajev po vsej državi.
• Aktivnosti bodo prispevale k večji osveščenosti prebivalstva o pomenu in moči EU parlamenta, upajo pa tudi, da bodo spodbudile volilno udeležbo, predvsem pa, da se bodo volivci in volivke odločali zaradi dejanske vsebine volilnih programov.

DOSEŽKI

Uspešno smo zagotovili, da se je 7 od 11 kandidatnih list vsebinsko opredelilo do zastavljenih vprašanj in zahtev. Kandidatne liste so odgovorile na 12 pomembnih vprašanj, ki so se nanašala na ključne zaveze političnih strank glede prihodnosti Evropske unije.

Na javnem soočenju 28. maja se je predstavilo 7 volilnih kandidatnih list in njihovih programov v primeru izvolitve v Evropski parlament. Dosegli smo predviden rezultat predstavitve programov najmanj 5 kandidatnih list. Soočenje je omogočilo neposredno primerjavo volilnih programov kandidatov, kar je pomembno prispevalo k informiranju volivcev. Vabila na soočenje so bila poslana vsem kandidatnim listam, novinarjem in javnosti. Soočenje je bilo tudi zabeleženo in je dostopno v obliki videoposnetka.

Primerjali smo vsebino volilnih programov na 7 relevantnih področjih, ki smo jih izbrali skupaj s širšo javnostjo: to so zeleni prehod, varstvo okolja, kultura, vladavina prava, človekove pravice, neodvisni mediji in socialna Evropa. Izvedli smo javni nastop s koherentno vsebino. Pred volitvami smo organizirali novinarsko konferenco, kjer smo predstavili primerjavo volilnih programov po izbranih področjih.

Povečano ozaveščenost neposrednih udeležencev in splošne javnosti smo ocenjevali na podlagi evalvacijskih vprašalnikov, preverjanja na terenu in sprotnega preverjanja dosega objav na socialnih omrežjih. Med terenskimi akcijami po Sloveniji smo sproti izvajali anekdotične evalvacije, ki so pokazale pozitivne odzive udeležencev. Evalvacijski vprašalnik je izpolnilo 88 ljudi, kar nam je omogočilo pridobitev dragocenih povratnih informacij. Udeleženci so izrazili večje razumevanje pomena udeležbe na evropskih volitvah in boljšo informiranost o političnih strankah, ki so kandidirale. Preko evalvacijskih vprašalnikov pa smo tudi zaznali še večjo potrebo po širši in konkretnejši vsebinski opredeljenosti kandidatov. Kar se tiče socialnih omrežij in klasičnih medijev (TV, časopis in radio), šlo je za obsežno pokritost aktivnosti, kar smo beležili skozi kliping kampanje, kjer so bili različni članki o analizah odgovorov kandidatnih list, javnem soočenju in novinarski konferenci označeni z različnimi barvami.

Participatorni proces je zajel do 200 posameznikov, ki so prispevali vprašanja ali pobude bodisi v živo na javnih dogodkih bodisi po drugih komunikacijskih kanalih. V participatorni proces preko spleta smo uspeli vključiti 160 posameznikov in 9 organizacij, ki so prispevali svoja vprašanja in pobude. Prav tako smo pridobili neposredna vprašanja od udeležencev javnega soočenja, katerega se je udeležilo približno 50 ljudi. Ta vprašanja so bila ključna za oblikovanje vsebinske razprave s kandidati, kar je povečalo transparentnost in vključevanje javnosti v demokratične procese.

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The project IZVOLI! addresses the issue of disconnectedness from the EU: the disengagement of residents and consequently low voter turnout, leading to representatives not truly reflecting the entire population; the rise of populism and decision-making without substance; lack of knowledge about the work and power of MEPs, and finally apathy and a lack of political participation among citizens.

They will encourage candidates to substantively address issues that concern everyone: environmental protection, wars, human rights. They will organize public events in multiple locations, promotional campaigns to increase voter turnout, and a public debate of programs in Ljubljana.

The project aims to remind voters of the importance of elections and EU values, to inform them about the programs of candidate lists, and to strengthen awareness of their own civic right to participate in democratic processes and its importance for the future of society. Through this campaign, they will support the development of a democratic society by encouraging active citizen participation in democratic processes and the strengthening of transparency and accountability of elected representatives at the EU level.

What they will achieve:

• They will obtain substantive responses from at least a third of the candidate lists.
• They will organize a debate featuring at least 5 candidates or their programs.
• They will cover selected areas including the green transition, nature protection, rule of law, human rights, and militarization of Europe.
• Individuals, voters (at least 200 of them), will be involved in preparing specific questions, either via a web form or live at the debate.
• Through their field campaign, they will visit multiple (at least 4) locations throughout the country.
• These activities will contribute to greater awareness among the population of the significance and power of the EU parliament. They also hope to encourage voter turnout, particularly for decisions based on the actual content of the election programs.

ACHIEVEMENTS

We successfully ensured that 7 out of 11 candidate lists had a substantive response to the set questions and demands. The candidate lists responded to 12 important questions regarding the key commitments of political parties for the future of the European Union.

At the public debate on May 28, 7 electoral candidate lists and their programs presented themselves in the event of being elected to the European Parliament. We achieved a planned result where at least 5 candidate lists presented their programs. The debate enabled a direct comparison of the electoral programs of the candidates, significantly contributing to voter information. Invitations to the debate were sent to all candidate lists, journalists, and the public. The debate was also recorded and is accessible in the form of a video.

We compared the content of the electoral programs on 7 relevant areas selected together with the wider public: these are the green transition, environmental protection, culture, the rule of law, human rights, independent media, and a social Europe. We conducted a public appearance with coherent content. Before the elections, we organized a press conference where we presented a comparison of the electoral programs across the selected areas.

We evaluated the increased awareness of direct participants and the general public through evaluation questionnaires, field testing, and continuous checking of the reach of posts on social media. During field actions across Slovenia, we continuously conducted anecdotal evaluations, which showed positive responses from participants. A total of 88 people filled out the evaluation questionnaire, providing valuable feedback. Participants expressed a greater understanding of the importance of participation in European elections and better knowledge of the political parties that were running. The evaluation questionnaires also revealed a greater need for a broader and more specific content stance from the candidates. Regarding social media and traditional media (TV, newspaper, and radio), there was extensive coverage of the activities, documented through a clipping campaign where articles on analyses of candidate list answers, the public debate, and the press conference were color-coded.

The participatory process involved up to 200 individuals who contributed questions or proposals, either live at public events or through other communication channels. We successfully included 160 individuals and 9 organizations in an online participatory process, who contributed their questions and proposals. Additionally, we received direct questions from the participants of the public debate, attended by approximately 50 people. These questions were crucial for shaping the content discussion with the candidates, increasing transparency and public involvement in democratic processes.