In 1950, the Schuman Declaration gave us a dream and an idea for Europe. Today, 73 years later, there is still a lot to be done and we, as Europeans, have the right and the duty to protect it and prevent the world from falling back into the tragic mistakes of the past. At Re-Imagine Europa, we work intensely to build a better future in peace and unity because together we can make a difference.
On May 9th, 1950, Robert Schuman introduced us to a dream of a better future. An idea, in which Europe would unite and overcome divergencies to the maintenance of peaceful relations based on economic and political cooperation, in a gradual integration. As Schuman stated, “Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity”.
Robert Schuman’s vision of a united Europe was strongly shared by our founder President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who believed that “our European Union is a union of values, based on the dignity of the human being, freedom, democracy, rule of law and peace. This is unique in the world. Only by giving Europe a full political dimension can we build the society of tomorrow”.
The European project has been shaken over the last years by the economic crisis, the pandemic, and the return of war to the heart of Europe for the first time since the Balkan’s conflict in the 1990s. This permanent sense of crisis led to a rise of despair among citizens and a growing distrust in our democratic institutions. Nevertheless, history has shown us that many of our most brilliant solutions are forged in times of crisis.
At Re-Imagine Europa, we are committed to devoting our work, strengths and capacities for the benefit of a stronger and fairer Europe, building solutions together with our network of strategic and knowledge partners and with the Europeans institutions in our three main areas of work which are “Democracy in a Digital Society”, “Ideal Fiscal System for the 21st Century”, Media Ecology and “Sustainable Food Systems and Innovation”. One of our most recent and ambitious initiatives is the NODES project, which will establish the first European Narratives Observatory to fight Disinformation in Europe Systemically, bringing together the work RIE’s scientists and other leading research institutions like CNRS and Università Ca’Foscari Venezia as well as the fact-checking operations of Agence France-Presse and Science Feedback.
Ahead of next year’s European Elections, we will launch the Project “Future4Citizens Dialogues’’, which aims to break the Cycle of Distrust in democratic institutions fostered by the growing polarization of the debates in the public sphere, using an innovative Narratives Methodology, developed by RIE under the scientific leadership of Professor Andrzej Nowak. It aims to engage communities in a participatory and inclusive debate about their future and how Europe can support it.
To continue building the European project and work towards a brighter future we should always remember how it started: as a dream, an idea, a shared promise. In the words of Erika Staël von Holstein, Chief Executive of RIE, “Europe has always been a dream. Not in the sense of a mirage, but in the projected hope for a better future: a dream for peace; a dream for economic prosperity; a dream oriented towards the future”.
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