On the afternoon of 23 May, the final event of EU Talks took place in Palazzo Vecchio's historic Salone dei Duecento. The event provided an opportunity to highlight the European University Institute's (EUI) involvement in civic engagement, as well as its cooperation with the University of Florence, Europe Direct - Firenze, and the Municipality of Florence.
EU Talks were originally launched by Europe Direct Firenze together with the EUI's European Documentation Centres (EDC) and the University of Florence (UniFI). The talks bring together students from the University of Florence, with facilitators chosen among researchers from UniFI and the EUI, to discuss the future of Europe.
"Talking about Europe is part of our mandate," shared EUI Secretary General Marco Del Panta in his opening address to the 2023 edition of EU Talks.
During the event, UniFI students had the chance to present and reflect on the outcomes of their deliberations through three roundtables that focused on the topics of mobility, equal opportunities, and cultural heritage.
The roundtables consisted of approximately 10 students from the University of Florence led by two to three facilitators, involving at least one EUI and one UniFI researcher. At the end of the deliberation process, the groups had the opportunity to provide constructive ideas on the three topics in the context of Florence.
This year, for the first time, the project has been organised in close collaboration with the Municipality of Florence. In fact, this third edition took a local dimension as the groups were advised to deliberate on the three mentioned themes by linking the European and local contexts.
The event was organised by the EUI Library and the EUI's researcher-led working group, Ponte Europa, together with Europe Direct Firenze, the University of Florence, and the Municipality of Florence.