‘The unusual suspects: what is really going on in Europe’s so-called civic deserts?’

‘The unusual suspects: what is really going on in Europe’s so-called civic deserts?’

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So called civic deserts are usually located outside of big urban centers and capitals and are described by low civic literacy and poor civic infrastructure. Poor civic infrastructure is characterized by the need of community spaces and by civil society actors lacking capacities to make the change they strive for. Civic literacy, the understanding that citizens are active members of their communities and can contribute to positive change, is very low or missing in these regions. However, this is only one part of the conversation and barriers to participation are sometimes more mundane than the undoubtedly widespread polarization on the local level. In this panel, we want to spend the time discussing reality in the so-called civic deserts with few civil society actors active in such areas. The panel is joined by some of the local projects realized with the support of Civic Europe and some of its partners in Central and Eastern Europe.
Key questions of the sessions evolve around:
What are some of the most common challenges in civic deserts?
Who are the active ones in so called civic deserts?
How is civic work in such places different from civic work in big urban centers?
What does it take to turn civic deserts into places with thriving civic life?

Panos Petridis, European Village & Winner of the Civic Europe 2020 Idea Challenge, Greece (tbc)

Moderator: Louisa Slavkova, Sofia Platform Foundation & Civic Europe Capacity Building Program, Bulgaria