The economic and financial crisis has triggered bold reforms in the European Union, with further big changes still to come. More and more decisions that directly affect the lives of citizens are now taken at European level. The democratic structures of our Union, therefore, have to be strengthened further. Citizens need to feel confident that their voices count. That is why, in September 2012, the European Commission started the Citizens' Dialogues. President José Manuel Barroso and most Commissioners took part in the first series of 51 debates, held in all Member States to listen to citizens and to talk to them directly - about their expectations and ideas for the future of Europe. From the first debate in Cadiz to a unique Pan-European Dialogue in Brussels bringing together participants from previous events, the discussions had a European character: They were usually held with other European as well as national, regional and local politicians. And they inspired similar events initiated in several Member States. The following pages serve to keep alive the memories of these debates. An analysis of this series of Citizens' Dialogues shows how they are helping to develop a European public space: A space in which we talk with each other, not about each other. We have started a debate. We need to keep it going. Citizens' voices count and we must continue to listen as we further enhance democracy at European level. Let us move this debate forward, with many more Citizens' Dialogues. At European, national, regional, local level. For an even broader, truly European debate on the future of the European Union . -- EU Bookshop.

Educating for Civic Dialogue in an Age of Uncivil Discourse addresses an urgent challenge—to help students learn the skills of civic engagement—by offering a framework for authentic cosmopolitan education. As an invitation to ongoing civil dialogue with diverse voices in the classroom, the book aims to foster the skills of democratic and global citizenship that allow students to find their voice as local, national, and global citizens outside of the classroom. It suggests practical ways that teachers can promote the skills of attentive listening, intelligent questioning, reasonable positioning, and responsible dialogue in order to encourage authentic civic discourse. It also outlines specific pedagogical strategies designed to foster students’ cosmopolitan competencies as democratic and global citizens.

Since he took office in 2014, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has worked hard to make the EU more democratic. The EU has made it a priority to engage with Europeans and discuss the issues that matter to them. President Juncker asked his team of European Commissioners ‘to be politically active in the Member States and in dialogue with citizens’. This engagement has now become a widespread movement to listen to citizens and share their views with decision-makers all over Europe. Commissioners and other EU staff have travelled far and wide across Europe to talk with people, who have expressed their opinions on a range of issues. From asking the EU to tackle unemployment, to fighting climate change, no issue is out of bounds. It is not just the Commission that takes part in Citizens’ Dialogues, other EU institutions have joined in too. The European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions are now all engaging directly with Europeans.