Irish People to vote on children’s rights
On Saturday, 10 November 2012, Ireland’s three million registered voters are called to decide whether to amend the Irish constitution and to grant more rights to the child. Last week the Irish Government published the wording of Ireland’s 31st constitutional amendment, which...
"We must learn from each other" - Interview with Bruno Kaufmann
Bruno Kaufmann was one of the experts who participated at the hearing on citizen participation in Brussels on 18 September 2012. On this occasion Democracy International interviewed Bruno Kaufmann, who has been active for more than 20 years to implement direct democracy in...
Lessons from Switzerland for the EU
- Public Hearing on Direct Democracy and citizen participation -
On Tuesday, 18 September 2012 Members of European Parliament, academics, practitioners and citizens met in the European Parliament in Brussels on the occasion of a public hearing on „Citizen participation – How...
Barroso: "More integration demands more democracy, European democracy"
In his State of the Union speech delivered in Strasbourg on 12 September 2012, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso presented his vision for the future of the EU. According to Barroso a federation of nation states is to evolve, consisting of a deep economic and...
European Greens discuss EU convention
On Thursday, 6 September 2012, the Greens/ European Free Aliance met in the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss the future of the European Union and whether to campaign for an EU convention. On this occasion, Gerald Häfner, President of Democracy International and Green...
Democracy International has a new logo
Since 1st September 2012 two ascending, pastel green leaves embody the central theme of Democracy International, which is to strengthen direct democracy in Europe and the world.
Cologne artist Uta Schotten had designed the new image in close involvement from the board of...
Direct Democracy in the Making in the Dolomites
The civic committee “Più Democrazia in Trentino” has achieved tangible results with their initiative to introduce more and better direct democracy in Trentino, an autonomous province in Northern Italy, renowned for the Dolomites that form part of the Alps. This month, the first...
Merkel on EU Convention during German primetime
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fuelled the debate about an EU convention to elaborate a new treaty for the EU. In a TV interview broadcasted on Germany’s first channel on Sunday, 25 August 2012, Ms Merkel made clear that Europe must take steps towards more European...
ECI: Signature collection with Commission servers to solve problems
The European Commission has offered organisers of European citizens' initiatives (ECIs) to host their online collection systems of signatures on its own servers and to extend the one-year deadline for the collection of signatures.
“30 million Moroccans love their King”
In the evening of Wednesday, 15 August 2012, I sit down with Sarra after a full day of discussions at the youth congress “Democracy in Motion” taking place in an old, remodeled farm in the countryside close to Hanover, Germany. Sarra is 21 years old and from Féz in Morocco. She...