The Foundation brought together 60 political, trade union, association and expert leaders at a seminar on “Citizenship and democratic quality”(read more).
The Foundation brings together sixty political, trade union, association and expert leaders
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| The event began with speeches by Carles Barba and Joaquim Brugué. | |
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| Joaquim Brugué stressed the value of the policy |
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| The group discussions dealt with participation, commitment and… | |
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| … education, the risks of anti-democratic extremism, etc. | |
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On February 4, the Fundació Catalana del Esplai organized in Barcelona a seminar on “Citizenship and democratic quality”. The meeting, which took place at the Palau Macaya (Barcelona) of the Fundación la Caixa, was the first of a series that will be held also in Valencia, Madrid, Bilbao and Seville.
Online and face-to-face debate to improve democracy
These sessions are part of the process of collective construction of the collection Documents for Debate on citizenship that the Advisory Council of the Esplai Foundation, at the national level, promotes throughout Spain.
The debate, which began on October 3 with two contributions by Iñaki Gabilondo and Josep Ramoneda, has continued in a virtual forum during November and December on the www.ciudadaniaycalidaddemocratica.org website.
The face-to-face debates, which opened on Tuesday 4 , are based on the contents elaborated to date and aim to elaborate proposals for the improvement of democracy in our country. This debate is based on the premise that democracy and inequality are incompatible concepts, that our democracy is sick and that the role of the citizenry is essential for its regeneration.
Reclaiming politics and the foundations of democracy
Joaquim Brugué, Professor of Political Science and Director of the IGOP of the UAB, he began the reflection with a lecture in which he highlighted democracy and politics as an essential tool to face conflicts and serious imbalances in society, claiming the values of the classics, stressing the need for changes in representative democracy. and warning of pendulum effects when proposing changes to the system.
Decalogue for a proactive program
Carles Barba, vice-president of the Fundació Catalana del Esplai, presented a decalogue, entitled “Cal…”, of the main ideas that have been generated during this period and that served to organize the debate that took place. Among the points raised were the need to put people at the center of political and economic decisions, to strengthen the democratic culture in our country, democracy as an essential tool in the fight against inequality, the need for changes in representative democracy and the incorporation of proposals for direct and deliberative democracy, the convenience of rebuilding the transition pact in when the structuring of the state gave voice to the citizenry, the contributions of citizen movements and the importance of reforming institutions and the historic opportunity for different generations to share the yearning for the improvement of democracy.
Complementary views
The event had the particularity and value of bringing together dozens of people from different organizations and institutions with high levels of responsibility and very substantial personal trajectories. The debate therefore had complementary views from trade unions, political parties, third social and environmental sector entities, human rights movements and organizations, members of the educational and social community, academics and experts, and the academic world, who contributed different proposals and points of view.
The contents elaborated therein and the rest of the pending debates will constitute the next Discussion Paper No. 6 on “Citizenship and Democratic Quality”.