PHOENIX General Meeting

The PHOENIX consortium has just wrapped up an interesting and motivating general meeting, which was organised by our partners Res publica (RP) and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the brand-new Campus Condorcet in Paris.

The three-day event has been an incredible opportunity for us to delve deep into the key aspects of the PHOENIX project, recap the work already done, and plan together the road ahead for the upcoming territorial pilots.

We were particularly excited to explore in detail the innovative components of our project, including the Territorial Commissions for Co-Design (TCCDs) and the PHOENIX Tangram. Developed at the moment by our partner CSIC, the Tangram is a system of participatory methodologies that, given specific, context-related aspects, allows the creation of a set of Enriched Democratic Innovations.

In the first stage, the Enriched Democratic Innovations work as suggestions for the participatory methodology that may be applied in a specific territory.

Once ready, each individual Tangram will be given to the Territorial Commission for Co-Design (a body composed of citizens, stakeholders and local representatives) that will discuss the suggestion and eventually decide on the particular methodology that will be applied in the pilot.

In other words, thanks to the Tangram and the TCCDs, PHOENIX aims to show that participatory processes should consider context-related aspects and that people should be involved not only in the discussion of specific issues but also in the deliberation of the participatory methodology that might be applied.

~~Unpacking the PHOENIX meeting~~

On the first day, after an icebreaker game that reminded us how deeply connected our tasks and activities are, we examined the work carried out by our partners in Work Package 2, which in December 2022 finalized its research activity. Afterwards, we organised 4 workshops to focus on and discuss together the challenges and opportunities we will face in the next year.

On the second day, we focused on the thematic and conceptual aspects of the PHOENIX project, with in-depth presentations on TCCDs, Tangram, and Evaluation activities. We also engaged with the different pilots’ administrative representatives to better understand their perspectives and needs.

Finally, the day closed with a keynote speech by Prof. Stefania Barca, Researcher at the Center for Social Studies – CES and member of the PHOENIX Methodological and Ethical Advisory Board.

On the third day, we had the opportunity to discuss important gender issues and explore proposals to make participatory practices as inclusive as possible.

We began with a presentation on the Gender Equality Policy Plan issued by our partner and project coordinator the Center for Social Studies – CES, followed by a group activity that focused on fair and equitable gender balance strategies in the territorial pilots and TCCDs.

Finally, after a self-organised discussion that allowed partners to set up 4 groups on different operational tasks, we ended officially our Parisian meeting with the PHOENIX General Assembly.

Last but not least, a PHOENIX delegation has been welcomed by the Paris organising committee of the Olympic Games (Paris 2024). This was a great opportunity to discuss with the people in charge of participation and civic engagement how the project of the Games has been submitted to public participation and how the French territory is involved through civic engagement and calls for projects.

Overall, our general meeting in Paris has been a resounding success, leaving us feeling more cohesive and better prepared to create new opportunities for citizens to participate and be heard in the discussion on ecological and environmental issues.

We cannot wait to get started with the participatory processes and make a real impact for a Greener Europe!