The questionnaire

1. The state of civil society in the four macro-regions

  1. Civil society organisations are important in my (macro)region because …… (please finish the sentence)
  2. Civil society organisations operate under different circumstances in countries of the four macro-regions. Why should they develop some common policy lines? How should they cooperate? Would an annual meeting of CSOs from the four macro-regions assist this process?
  3. What are the biggest challenges civil society organisations face in your region/country and how should they overcome them?
  4. How would you make citizens and their organisations more interested and involved in (macro)regional strategies? Please give an example!
  5. What is your experience with civil society organisations?

2. Democracy and values; bottom-up approach, citizens’ ownership; partnership and participation; multilevel governance

  1. How would you argue for organised civil society participation in (macro)regional decision-making processes? What factors impede it happening?
  2. How to make citizens aware that (mnacro)regional policies are also their business where democracy, participation and partnership can also be practiced?
  3. How to increase citizens’ ownership towards macro-regional policies?
  4. How can (macro)regional policies promote pro-European sentiments and attitudes of citizens?
  5. How to make civil society organisations with their bottom-up approach more influential in (macro)regional policy-making? Please give a concrete example!

3. Meeting the citizens, human contacts, confidence-building; tourism

  1. Why human contacts are important elments in elaborating and implementing macro-regional strategies?
  2. What innovative measures should (macro)regions apply to increase trust, confidence and better understanding among citizens?
  3. What forms of human contacts should be promoted to overcome the negative consequences of the frequently met stereotypes in your macro-region?
  4. What can citizens and their organisations do to promote sustainable cultural tourism and preserve cultural heritage?
  5. How the introduction of a ’My macro-region tourist card’ offering benefits can promote this process?
  6. Share your experience as a tourist with a cultural mindset in one of the macro-regions!

4. Corona virus/COVID-19; solidarity; lessons learned; increased EU integration

  1. What are the harmful consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in your (macro)region?
  2. How did politicians in your (macro)region respond to the pandemic situation?
  3. What are the lessons learned aspects of the COVID-19 created situation and how can they be embedded into future macro-regional policies?
  4. What was/is the role of communication in addressing the COVID-19 situation?
  5. What are the new features of solidarity in pandemic times? What is your personal experience?

5. Youth involvement

  1. What are the benefits of youth involvement in (macro)regional policies?
  2. How would you make (macro)regional policies an interesting action field for young people?
  3. What are the factors hindering a more active engagement of young people in public life and how to overcome them?
  4. How to channel youth creativity and dynamism into (macro)regional policy-making?
  5. What methods could be used to encourage exchange of information, best practices and coalition building among youth actors of (macro)regions? What is your personal experience?

6. The Conference on the future of Europe (CoFE) and its impact on the current legislative term for and by citizens; the way forward

  1. How to avoid the well-known ’business as usual’ top-down approach in organising the Conference on the future of Europe’ EU initiative?
  2. On the basis of best practices of citizens consultations how would you channel citizens’ ideas/proposals into the Conference process?
  3. How can (macro)regional policies act as an interface between the EU institutions and citizens during the Conference period and beyond?
  4. What new communication tools should be used to reach out and involve citizens in the debate on the future of Europe?
  5. What is your message to the Conference?

7. Circular economy/sustainable development/green Europe; visions for 2030

  1. How would you argue in your environment for the need of sustainable development?
  2. How to make decision-makers aware that sustainable development is a long-term project?
  3. What would you change/give up from your current lifestyle in order to save the Earth?
  4. What methods would you use in your (macro)region to make people aware of the importance of a green and sustainable future for Europe and beyond? Does the European Green Deal offer a helping hand in this regard?
  5. What is your vision of Europe in 2030?

8. Creativity/inventiveness/digitalisation/smart solutions

  1. How can creative solutions assist the elaboration and successful implementation of macro-regional strategies? How to translate creative ideas into concrete actions?
  2. How can civil society organisations contribute to the emergence of a creative sector in your region/country?
  3. How can youth inventiveness be used to find solutions to challenges what macro-regions face?
  4. What are the far-reaching consequences of digitalisation vis-a-vis human nature?
  5. Could you share a success story from your region/country based on creativity?

9. Non-EU member states; possibility of EU accession

  1. What are the challenges and consequences of participation of non-EU countries in macro-regional policies?
  2. How can civil society organisations contribute to building closer ties between EU and non-EU countries for the promotion of macro-regional strategies?
  3. How can joint civil society actions assist to bring non-EU countries and their societies closer to mainstream European processes?
  4. Would you illustrate with a concrete example the benefits of cross-border cooperation?
  5. What is your message to citizens of non-EU countries participating in macro-regional processes?

10. Communication

  1. Where and how can you collect information today if you are interested in (macro)regional issues?
  2. What type of communication channels/tools would you like to see developed where the current (macro)regional situation and possibilities are presented in attractive forms to the public?
  3. What could be a civil society contribution to the development of an attractive and reliable communication policy on macro-regional issues?
  4. What would be your favoured topics in presenting the macro-regional idea to citizens? What style would you use?
  5. How do you recognise fake news?
  6. Share with us a communication success story!

The questionnaire