It did not take the two referenda in France and the Netherlands to see that Europe faces a veritable challenge: connecting to its citizens in order to determine common ground for the way forward. 490 million citizens are divided by 23 official languages and many internal borders. The discussions are fragmented in 27 national public spheres with distinct communication cultures and media sectors. For most citizens, Europe is in Brussels, and Brussels is far away. Yet Europe impacts their lives fundamentally, and they have a stake in its future. How is it possible, then, to create a European discussion about shared priorities, concerns and ideas? At the current stage of Europe's development, productive communication among its citizens is becoming an essential requirement for progress. Hence, the European Citizens' Consultations are more than a one-time exercise in citizen involvement. They are designed as a model for dialogue across the boundaries of geography and language and thereby aim at establishing a template for future European citizens' participation projects that

• create dialogue in a multilingual and decentralised setting,
• empower randomly chosen citizens to set the agenda and lead information debates,
• use innovative facilitation methods and modern technology to make every voice heard.

The European Citizens' Consultations take advantage of many individual methods and countless experiences. They combine state-of-the-art facilitation methods with modern technology, and of course with interpretation and translation between the European languages. If you want to learn more about the methods and the technology used, please see the section ?New methods and technology for dialogue?.

However, the European Citizens' Consultations are not only designed to work but they are designed to matter in the real world. Unlike many projects labelled "dialogue", they are systematically seeking to create a broader discussion about citizens and their view of the future of Europe and to inspire decision-makers as they take on the big questions facing Europe. If you want to learn more about how to create policy impact, please see the section ?Policy Integration?.
 

Finally, the European Citizens' Consultations have a special relationship to the European Commission's communication strategy, the so-called "Plan D? for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate. While the European Citizens' Consultations are an initiative of civil society institutions independent of the European Commission, they are financially supported by Plan D and attempt to deliver on its promise of creating dialogue to strengthen European democracy. If you want to learn more about Plan D, please see the section ?Plan D?.