After supporting Brussels-based networks of civil society organisations in strengthening their messaging and communications in 2020, testing campaigns from 19 European CSOs and institutions that were run ahead of the European elections 2019, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021 we have investigated drivers of citizens’ behaviour as well as the main topics and narratives present on social media in each of the eight project countries. We have examined the attitudes of European citizens towards the EU and democracy, along with their opinions about specific issues like the environment, immigration, gender equality and human rights. The findings were presented at online events — Democracy Tables — to help enhance civil society’s communication and outreach capacities. LTE will continue to support more effective and targeted European narratives, message framing and audience outreach by sharing the data with like-minded CSOs, implementing digital communications outreach in eight EU countries, and cooperation with National Councils and civil society partners.

For the sixth year running, the 2021 edition of the Women of Europe Awards, organised with the support of the European Women’s Lobby, was held online this year and featured four inspiring winners: Angela Merkel (Woman in Power), Jenny Rasche (Women in Action), Özlem Türeci (Woman in Business) and Great Thunberg (Woman in Youth Activism). See more on our website and social media campaign.

We partnered with the European Commission to continue a series of online discussions launched in 2020, entitled  Talking Europe, which aims to foster debate on the EU’s work and the effect it has on the lives of citizens. This year’s one-to-one discussions featured Themis Christophidou, Director General of DG for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture; Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General of DG Energy; Raffaele Mauro Petriccione, Director General of DG CLIMA; Salla Saastamoinen, Acting Director General of DG JUST; Monique Pariat, Director General of DG HOME, as well as Maciej Popowski, Acting Director General of DG NEAR.

In 2021, we continued the series of online discussions entitled EuropeanChats launched in 2020, gathering members of our network from across Europe for informal discussions on different issues surrounding the COVID-19 crisis from their perspectives, including national responses, the need to sustain European cohesion and solidarity, the role of civil society in a public health crisis, and the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. This year’s discussions featured the European Movement offices in Spain and Serbia, as well as SGI Europe, ETUC, CEMR, Europa Nostra, GESAC, the European Youth Forum, AEGEE and ALDA.

Democracy, Values and Citizen Participation

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

The Rule of Law

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• An updated position on the Rule of Law, advocating for a for a more effective framework to protect the rule of law in EU Member States
• A policy focus on the Rule of Law in light of the recent developments in Poland
• A policy focus on potential breaches of the Rule of Law in the European Union

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• A public event on “Threats and Challenges to the Rule of Law in Europe” with Brando Benifei MEP and Daniel Freund MEP

The Digital Transition

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• A policy position on Digital Sovereignty and Citizens’ Rights emphasising the role and challenges of the EU in the digital age
• A policy focus on the EU Digital Transformation calling for effective regulation on digital policy

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• A joint event with the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on Digital Sovereignty of the European Union in the International Arena to discuss digital sovereignty and data protection

European Green Deal

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• A policy position on the European Green Deal, calling for a green transition to tackle the climate crisis and that leaves no one behind
• A policy focus on the Fit for 55 package supporting an intermediate step towards EU decarbonisation
• A policy focus on the EU Green Deal as the main legal framework of the Green Deal

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• A joint event with Europa Nostra and CEMR on “The New European Bauhaus and its Relevance for Citizens – Shaping a More Beautiful Future in Europe” on the occasion of the 2021 European Week of Regions and Cities
• A public event on “The Role of European Citizens in Shaping the EU Green Deal” with members of EMI’s network to discuss how the EU Green Deal can contribute to society taking into account the environmental, social and economic perspective

Enlargement and Western Balkans

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• A policy focus on the European trajectory of the Western Balkans on the occasion of the EU-Western Balkans Summit
• A policy focus on EU enlargement to analyse the work of the Slovenian Presidency to the Council of the European Union on the enlargement process

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• A joint event with the European Movement Finland entitled „Spotlight on the Western Balkans | EU Enlargement: Albania & North Macedonia“ to discuss the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans in the context of the candidate countries of Albania and North Macedonia
• The tenth edition of the event series Talking Europe featuring Maciej Popowski, Acting Director General of DG NEAR to address the state of the enlargement and neighbourhood policies in the European Union

Migration

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• A policy focus on European immigration and asylum policy stressing the need for a fully-fledged EU migration policy
• A statement on the Belarus-EU border crisis highlighting the humanitarian crisis

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• The ninth edition of the event series Talking Europe featuring Monique Pariat, Director General of DG HOME to tackle the developments in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the Schengen Area, migration and integration

Europe in the World

We published and used for our advocacy and communication:

• A policy position on the EU-China relations
• A statement on the Libya Peace Process
• A statement on the Belarus-European Union Border Crisis

To promote our positions and engage relevant stakeholders we also held:

• A joint event with Raiffeisen Bank International on “The EU’s Place in the New Geoeconomic Order” to discuss the recent developments and future challenges of the EU’s internal market vis-à-vis the international arena

Together for Europe Campaign (Europe Day)

Following the success of last year’s campaign, this year our network’s Europe Day celebrations went fully digital and consisted of three different campaign videos, as well as several locally produced campaign content. The campaign was intended to reach and influence not only our base audiences, but also the ‘persuadables’ who operate just outside our normal spheres of communication, and was promoted in 20 countries and in 20 languages.

With this campaign we wanted to play our part in the work to spread a sense of European solidarity and counter the abundant negative messages, narratives, and fake news that are circulating online, especially regarding the pandemic. We were also able to effectively expand our base audiences and increase the number of European citizens we reach with pro-European and pro-democratic messages. Several of the campaigns went viral with thousands of likes, comments and shares.

Also, the response from our participating National Councils has been very positive, with most reporting that they have been able to reach new audiences and gain a great deal more interactions and followers on their social media channels and within their networks.

Women of Europe Awards 2021

The Women of Europe Awards 2021 were well-promoted over our social media channels and received a lot of external interest, reaching a record of at least 2.3 million people on Facebook alone. Thanks to our promotion of the nominees, the shortlisted, the jury, and the winners via social media, we raised awareness throughout Europe for the Awards and the important cause they serve. Key to that was our media partnership with Euronews, as well as our digital partnership with Meta. The outcomes of the ceremony were covered by Euronews, Politico Europe, Euractiv and several national outlets. If you missed it, or want to rewatch it, you can view the full awards ceremony on our website.

Listen to Europe

Our work on Listen to Europe continues to evolve in a great way. This year, we continued developing our extensive database looking at the drivers of behaviours and attitudes of European citizens towards democracy and authoritarianism. Our intention with this work is to equip CSOs with knowledge that will allow them to better communicate with a variety of different audiences, positively engaging people also outside core supporters. The website, www.listentoeurope.info, is being extensively updated and upgraded, not just with new data, but also to enhance the user experience. Moreover, this year, we were also able to test citizens’ outreach campaigns based on the lessons learnt so far, reaching more than 2 million citizens, based on data from public surveys and social media listening in eight countries.