Summary of the 8th Danube-Networkers Partner Meeting on Strengthening Civil Society in the Danube Region in the frame of the Donaufest Ulm / Neu-Ulm, 11-13 July 2024
The Partner Meeting of the international educational network “Danube-Networkers” and other Danube stakeholders took place from 11th July to 13th July in the framework of the 13th Danube Festival Ulm/Neu-Ulm 2024. Active members of the “Danube-Networkers” educational network as well as guests from other EUSDR networks were invited. The main focus was on the importance, tasks and forms of cooperation between civil society organisations and between citizens in the Danube Region and Europe.
On the 12th of July at the conference “Strengthening Civil Society in the Danube Region for a Joint Europe” the participants used keynote speeches and working groups to address the question of how a combination of digital cooperation and analogue encounters in various areas of society can be used to establish and further develop stable cross-Danube networks based on European values that strengthen the sense of belonging and shared responsibility for Europe.
The event started on the 11th of July at the Family Education Center with welcoming speeches marking the official opening of the meeting and lasted from 16:00 to 17:00 p.m.
From 17:00 to 19:30 p.m., an intergenerational workshop entitled “Shaping the Future Together – How Can Human Potential be Used in Civil Society” took place at the Family Education Center and in the “Verschwörhaus Ulm” as part of the Project “Taking Little Steps Towards Change” funded by the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry. This workshop brought together participants from different age groups and countries to discuss how better to use human potential in civil society. The discussions were organized in different thematic subgroups within the project, with a particular focus on the groups of older people, women, migrants and young people. The day ended with a social gathering at the Family Education Center, where participants have an opportunity for further networking and discussions of the day’s activities in an informal setting.
The conference entitled “Strengthening Civil Society in the Danube Region for a Joint Europe” took place in the Edwin-Scharff-Haus in Neu-Ulm and began at 9:00 am. The First Mayor of the City of Ulm, Mr. Bendel, opened the conference and welcomed the participants, after his speech Ms. Niombo Lomba, Head of the Danube Region Service Agency, spoke on behalf of the Baden-Württemberg State Ministry. The representative of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung gGmbH, Stuttgart, Dr. Ágnes Sebestyén, as well as Mr. Michael Joukov, the member of the Baden-Württemberg Green Party parliamentary group, unfortunately had to cancel their participation, but sent greetings to everyone.
Organiser of the meeting, Carmen Stadelhofer, gave her opening speech on the topic “We Are All Danube-Networkers: Participation and Networking, Offline and Online – The Mix That Matters”. She emphasized the integration of traditional and digital methods in order to promote effective participation and networking.
Keynote speeches by Gisela Erler, former State Secretary, Petra Siegele from the Agency for Education and Internationalization (OEAD), Vienna, Dr. Heidrun Mollenkopf from the BAGSO Bonn/Age Platform, Brussels, Armin Pialek from the German Foundation for Engagement and Volunteering (DSEE) and Stefan Barth from Agapedia gGmbH/Network Civil Society EUSDR, Stuttgart, formed the basis for the participants‘ discussions in the subsequent working groups.
In the working groups, various projects and opportunities for networking and interaction were presented by different partners and conference participants: in the first part, they were divided into three groups on the topics of “Getting to know each other through joint cultural activities: offline and online”, “Shaping the environment using the example of Citizen Science” and “Using digitalization and media skills”. The afternoon working groups focused on the topics “Promoting cooperation through European care projects with selected examples”, “Opportunities for civil society participation in the EUSDR through various funding programs” and “Empowerment of women”.
During the lunch break and at the “Market of Opportunities”, partners were able to present their organisations and projects in a poster exhibition, as well as to take the opportunity to network and socialise.
The final plenary session presented the results of the working groups and a summary by the meeting organisers. The results and discussions showed that all participants used actively the opportunity to exchange ideas and that many topics will remain in focus after the meeting as well. The day ended with a social gathering in the parish hall of the St. Peter’s Church in Neu-Ulm.
During the conference, participants could see an exhibition of posters from various Danube networks and organisations, as well as an exhibition with the results of the competition “Traces of Europe in my city” and get to know the international and intergenerational online platform ViMA danube (vima-danube.eu) in order to stay in touch after the conference.
The Partner Meeting ended on Saturday, 13 July 2014, during “Sing and Swing Along the Danube” event’s performances, which took place on the stage of the Danube River bank in Neu-Ulm during the Danube Festival. Participants of the conference from Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria, as well as participants from Ulm (Ukrainian choir “Stefania”, Ukrainian children’s choir, 2 German school choirs, dancing group “Saitenspringer”, German-Bulgarian Association and others) took part in the program.
The meeting with around 100 participants from 14 countries showed that there is a great need for exchange and that everyone used actively this opportunity to present their own projects and greatly appreciated it. Such meetings, in combination with digital opportunities for exchange, are essential for strengthening further cooperation in the Danube Region and promote a united Europe.
Find out more about the programme of the partner meeting here.
