European workshop and contest for the (further) development of digital formal participation in the European Union

How far advanced are different EU Member States in terms of digital participation? What lessons can be learned from EIA-procedures carried out during the covid-19 pandemic, that had to rapidly adapt to digital formats? What do modern EIA portals need to ensure broad participation?

These are questions we want to explore during our workshop with distinguished experts from Estonia, Slovenia, Austria and Germany. In the second part of the workshop, the winner of our „European Innovation Lab“, a contest with young professionals who have been developing designs for a modern participation EIA-platform, presents her design.

The workshop is part of our project Aarhus-Strong, a project aiming to strengthen digital participation rights in environmental protection in EU Member States. The results of the workshop will be used to develop an innovative participation guide for environmental authorities in the EU.

Background:

Digital Public Participation is a vital element of modern democracy. Especially when it comes to infrastructural projects such as power plants, factories, or railway networks, the whole society is affected. Therefore, EU law provides for a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), where the public concerned can contribute its needs and expertise. Authorities are obliged to publish information on the planned projects and offer online EIA-portals.

With the ongoing COVID-19-crisis, the essential importance of an effective and efficient design of digital processes is more evident than ever. Existing processes need to be rethought and translated into the digital age. Yet the implementation of EIA-portals in the EU is quite inconsistent across member states of the EU.

We invite you to take part in the disussion and look forward to insightful presentations and inspiring exchanges.

If you have any queries, please contact aarhus-strong-project@ufu.de.