Tuesday 25 September 2012

Young Minds from Europe Get Together to Reinvent Democracy in the Digital Era


In an effort to reconstruct the concept of democracy in the digital era, 24 young people from various European countries came together in a 2-day interactive co-laboratory which took place on the 14th -15th September. Through the Structured Democratic Dialogue Process, participants were given the opportunity to re-imagine the characteristics that an ideal system of governance should have, one that would make full use of innovative emerging technologies.

During the co-laboratory that was facilitated by the head of the non-governmental organisation «Future Worlds Center», Dr. Yiannis Laouris, and Dr. Afonso Ferreira, currently seconded as expert to the European Commission, DG INFSO, working at the Future & Emerging Technologies unit, participants invested over 500 man-hours to think, discuss, analyse, and ultimately vote in order to determine which are the most fundamental features that when implemented, could bring about the most grounding change for an ideal system of governance.

The co-laboratory made continuous use of the latest technology, as ideas were electronically recorded, compiled and processed so as to finally produce a map with all the data collected. The map that was gradually produced shows the manner in which if certain of the characteristics suggested were to be implemented, certain others could be immediately facilitated, as the key characteristics branch out and lead us to derivatives.

While ideas developed around the key question of "what are the features of an ideal future system of governance that fully utilises innovative emerging technologies?”, participants concluded that the most influential of all the characteristics were firstly the End of Political Parties as Institutions, the use of Technology for Time Management of Active Participation, the Re-definition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and finally the Continuous Passive and Active Participation of citizens in the Political Process via an Online Platform.  

By the end of the process, participants had collectively developed a vision and a shared commitment on how to propose and promote their suggested ideas with the vision to achieve reform, each starting in their own ideal socio-politico-economic systems of governance.

The results of the co-laboratory will be widely disseminated on-line with the support of the Cyprus Community Media Center, using video clips and modern digital technologies. The aim is to circulate these amongst other youth initiatives across the world and inspire further innovative suggestions for reform.



The co-laboratory took place back-to-back with the Cyprus EU Youth Conference, which built on the priority of the Cypriot Presidency to address the topic of Youth Participation in democratic life in Europe, as one of the main priorities of the trio PL-DK-CY adopted by the Ministers' meeting at the Council of Education, Youth, Culture and Sport.

The co-laboratory was the result of a joint initiative between the Future Worlds Center and the Digital Futures Task Force. It was implemented under the patronage of the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Sport, Media and Youth, Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, and was under the auspices of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, the Mayor of Nicosia, Mr. Constantinos Yiorkadjis, and the Youth for Exchange and Understanding.

For more information visit:http://www.futureworlds.eu/wiki/SDDP_Reinventing_Democracy_in_the_Digital_Era

Thursday 20 September 2012

Vice President of the EC, Mr. Maros Sefkovic honors Future Worlds Center




The Vice President of the EC Mr. Maros Sefkovic met and honored peace pioneers representing the Cyprus civil Society. The meeting was held at the Ledra Palace Hotel on the 31st of August and it was attended by representatives of key NGOS involved over the years in projects of reconciliation between the two communities. The Slovak Ambassador in Cyprus, H.E Mrs. Anna Turenicova, organized the event in collaboration with NGO Support Centre/Management Centre through the  Engage project. The contributions of Future Worlds Center, and ten other organizations were recognized by Mr. Maros Sefkovic who awarded them a Certificate of Appreciation. 

FWC has a long tradition in organizing activities empowering the civil society in Cyprus. It has envisioned, designed and implemented more than 10 peace projects over the last 15 years. It has been instrumental in strategizing and founding the Cyprus NGDO platform, the Cyprus Community Media Centre and the Cyprus Youth Power network.
On the same day, Mr. Maros Sefkovic also met with representatives of political parties to receive a first-hand impression regarding their peace efforts taking place outside the official negotiations.

In the picture from left to right, Her Excellency the Slovak Ambassador Mrs. Turenicova, Dr. Yiannis Laouris President of Future Worlds Center, His Excellency EC Vice President Mr. Maros Sefkovic, and Mrs Elia Petridou, Head of Global Education Unit of Future Worlds Center during the awarding of the Certificate of Appreciation (credits for photograph: UNFICYP). 
The remaining awarded NGOS are: CYINDEP, NGO Support Centre, the Management Centre Cyprus 2015, CCMC, Youth Power, AHDR, Hands Across the Divide, The Biologists’ Association, Kontea Heritage Project, Bicommunal Choir and the Cyprus Academic Dialogue.



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Ο Αντιπρόεδρος της ΕE κ. Maros Σεφκοβικ, συναντήθηκε και τίμησε τους πρωτεργάτες της ειρήνης ανάμεσα στους εκπροσώπους της κοινωνίας των πολιτών στην Κύπρο. Η συνάντηση πραγματοποιήθηκε στο ξενοδοχείο Λήδρα Πάλας στις 31 Αυγούστου όπου παρέστησαν εκπρόσωποι Μη-Κυβερνητικών Οργανώσεων που ασχολούνται ενεργά εδώ και χρόνια με την συμφιλίωση μεταξύ των δύο κοινοτήτων. Η εκδήλωση διοργανώθηκε από την Πρέσβη της Σλοβακίας στην Κύπρο, κα. Anna Turenicova, σε συνεργασία με το Κέντρο Στήριξης ΜΚΟ, υπό την αιγίδα του προγράμματος  "Engage". Ο κ. Maros Σεφκοβικ τίμησε το έργο του  Future Worlds Center, μαζί και άλλων δέκα οργανώσεων,  και τους απένειμε πιστοποιητικό Αναγνώρισης Έργου.

Ο οργανισμός Future Worlds Center έχει μια μακρά παράδοση στην οργάνωση δραστηριοτήτων για την ενδυνάμωση της κοινωνίας των πολιτών στην Κύπρο. 

Τα τελευταία 15 χρόνια εχει οραματιστεί, σχεδιάσει και υλοποιήσει περισσότερα από 10 έργα και προγράμματα για την ειρήνη. Έχει επίσης συμβάλει στην ίδρυση και το στρατηγικό έργο  της Πλατφόρμας Μη-Κυβερνητικών Οργανώσεων για την Διεθνή Ανάπτυξη στην Κύπρο, του  Κέντρου Κοινονικών Μέσων Επικοινωνίας Κύπρου, και του δικτύου Κυπριακών οργανώσεων για νέους Youth Power .

Την ίδια ημέρα, ο κ. Maros Sefkovic συναντήθηκε επίσης με εκπροσώπους των πολιτικών κομμάτων με στόχο να πάρει μια εικόνα των ειρηνευτικών πρωτοβουλιών που λαμβάνονται στο πολιτικό επίπεδο, πέρα των επίσημων διαπραγματεύσεων.    


Στη φωτογραφία (αριστερά προς τα δεξιά) η Πρέσβης της Σλοβακίας κα Turenicova, ο Δρ. Γιάννης Λαούρης-  Πρόεδρος του Future Worlds Center, o Αντιπρόεδρος της EC κ. Maros Sefkovic, και η κ. Ηλία Πετρίδου - ​​επικεφαλής της Μονάδας Παγκόσμιας Εκπαίδευσης του Future Worlds Center κατά την απονομή του πιστοποιητικού Αναγνώρισης Έργου  (φωτογραφία: UNFICYP).

Τα υπόλοιπα  ΜΚΟ  στα οποία απονεμήθηκε  πιστοποιητικό Αναγνώρισης ‘Εργου είναι τα εξής: CYINDEP, Κέντρο Στήριξης ΜΚΟ, Management Centre Cyprus 2015, CCMC, Youth Power, Όμιλος Ιστορικού Διαλόγου και Έρευνας, Hands Across the Divide, Ένωση Βιολόγων , Πρόγραμμα Κληρονομιάς Κοντέας, Δικοινοτική Χορωδία και ο Κυπριακός Ακαδημαϊκός Διάλογος.