EXPLORING ACTIVE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP:AN EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT OF PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION

The European Union celebrates its thirty years anniversary in a peculiar historical moment characterized by crises and emergencies. Being able to count on an informed and active citizenship becomes increasingly necessary. Universities, schools and institutions are teaming up in order to propose projects for sharing information about and promoting the European Union involving all its citizens. Young people, in particular, are identified among the first interlocutors, to whom we entrust communication between peers, exploiting the potential of digital media. In a context often dominated by fake-news, complete and source-aware information about the European Union becomes an essential tool for citizens' empowerment. This article proposes a reflection starting from a multi-sited research conducted in the Italian cities of Bologna, Forlì and Ravenna through a project of the University of Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna Region entitled "Promoting active European citizenship in times of crisis". Through participant observation, the article reflects on the results emerged from word-cafés, workshops and meetings with citizens developed in three different territorial areas and with the involvement of three different targets: first and second grade high school students, university students and adult citizens.