With the 2024 European elections around the corner, the Grassroots View is looking at the hopes and concerns of three groups whose voices are often neglected by policymakers: people with disabilities, senior citizens and young people.
We checked in with Milan Šveřepa, president of Inclusion Europe, to see if anything had changed on the accessibility front since 2019, when millions of Europeans were barred from voting due to intellectual disabilities or were prevented from going to the polls simply because the polling stations could not accommodate their physical disability.
We asked youth activist and influencer Nina Skočak whether she thought the voting age should be lowered to 16 and what was at stake for young people in this election.
We wanted to hear from Heidrun Mollenkopf, the president of AGE Platform, which advocates for senior citizens, about whether older people felt included in election debates or rather dismissed and written off by politicians.
And we asked the EESC’s vice-president for communication, Laurențiu Plosceanu, what the EESC does to keep amplifying the voices of civil society, making sure that the more vulnerable do not get side-lined or marginalised.
Enjoy our podcast, use your vote and speak up for yourself, shape up the Europe you want!
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With the 2024 European elections around the corner, the Grassroots View is looking at the hopes and concerns of three groups whose voices are often neglected by policymakers: people with disabilities, senior citizens and young people.
We checked in with Milan Šveřepa, president of Inclusion Europe, to see if anything had changed on the accessibility front since 2019, when millions of Europeans were barred from voting due to intellectual disabilities or were prevented from going to the polls simply because the polling stations could not accommodate their physical disability.
We asked youth activist and influencer Nina Skočak whether she thought the voting age should be lowered to 16 and what was at stake for young people in this election.
We wanted to hear from Heidrun Mollenkopf, the president of AGE Platform, which advocates for senior citizens, about whether older people felt included in election debates or rather dismissed and written off by politicians.
And we asked the EESC’s vice-president for communication, Laurențiu Plosceanu, what the EESC does to keep amplifying the voices of civil society, making sure that the more vulnerable do not get side-lined or marginalised.
Enjoy our podcast, use your vote and speak up for yourself, shape up the Europe you want!
17. Civil societies hand in hand against barbarism
The Grassroots View
11 minutes 55 seconds
3 years ago
17. Civil societies hand in hand against barbarism
Since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been facing Russian invasion. In addition to the military and financial aid that arrives from all over the world, European and Ukrainian civil societies are working hand in hand to help the populations in distress. In this episode of The Grassroots View, we invited some of their representatives to tell us their stories.
Elena Calistru, member of the European Economic and Social
Committee, explains how and why many Romanian citizens help fleeing Ukrainian refugees find shelter and food. She also talks about the role of the EESC which, by using the power of its network, manages to quickly set up mechanisms to help the weakest.
Marta Barandiy, founder of the NGO Promote Ukraine, based in Brussels and Kyiv, gives us a Ukrainian perspective on the situation. She tells us how her work changed when the war broke out, how the role of civil society is crucial, and how the Ukrainian people will never give up in the face of an invader.
Finally, Bartosz Wieliński, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, tells about the impact of the war in Poland and how the Polish people adopt a new view on the phenomenon of refugees. For example, he explains how the school system welcomes and
helps young Ukrainians.
The Grassroots View
With the 2024 European elections around the corner, the Grassroots View is looking at the hopes and concerns of three groups whose voices are often neglected by policymakers: people with disabilities, senior citizens and young people.
We checked in with Milan Šveřepa, president of Inclusion Europe, to see if anything had changed on the accessibility front since 2019, when millions of Europeans were barred from voting due to intellectual disabilities or were prevented from going to the polls simply because the polling stations could not accommodate their physical disability.
We asked youth activist and influencer Nina Skočak whether she thought the voting age should be lowered to 16 and what was at stake for young people in this election.
We wanted to hear from Heidrun Mollenkopf, the president of AGE Platform, which advocates for senior citizens, about whether older people felt included in election debates or rather dismissed and written off by politicians.
And we asked the EESC’s vice-president for communication, Laurențiu Plosceanu, what the EESC does to keep amplifying the voices of civil society, making sure that the more vulnerable do not get side-lined or marginalised.
Enjoy our podcast, use your vote and speak up for yourself, shape up the Europe you want!
