Press Release: Launch of the 'Puzzled by Policy' eParticipation Platform

Dear colleagues,

 

I am delighted to announce the launch of the 'Puzzled by Policy'
eParticipation Platform. Please redistribute this press release to
related mailing-lists. I look forward to seeing your contributions on
immigration policy in the debates.

 

Kind regards,

Deirdre Lee

 

Reconnecting Citizens with Policy

Launch of the Puzzled by Policy Platform

 

Every day, people encounter situations that are governed by national and
EU policy: what mode of transport to take to work, are they eligible to
live in an EU member-state, where can they study? However, many are
unaware of what their country's and EU current policies are and, as
such, whether they agree with them. 

 

Puzzled by Policy 'Helping you to be part of the EU' aims to help
correct this situation by providing citizens with an engaging and
easy-to-use platform, where they can learn about and give their voice to
policy issues concerning immigration in the European Union. 

The Puzzled by Policy platform allows users to graphically compare their
views on immigration with national and EU immigration policies, as well
as with the opinions of relevant stakeholders. Users are then encouraged
to join discussions on particular aspects of immigration policy they
feel strongly about. 

The platform is customized for Greece, Hungary, Italy and Spain,
profiling users based on national and European immigration policy.
However the platform is also available in English and discussions can be
automatically translated into any language. To ensure accessibility to
all users, the Puzzled by Policy widget can be embedded on any social
media site, blog or website.

Local, national and European decision-makers have expressed their
support in participating in debates and listening to the results of
these collaborative discussions. Another avenue for bringing citizens
and policy stakeholders closer to the making of immigration policy in
the EU and its member-states is through the official public consultation
processes, such as the current consultation on the right to family
reunification in the EU[1]. Puzzled by Policy aspires to contribute
policy proposals and summaries of the discussions taking place to such
consultations. 

Try Puzzled by Policy for yourself: http://join.puzzledbypolicy.eu

"Puzzled by Policy" is funded by the European Commission under the
Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) - ICT Policy
Support Programme (ICT PSP). The project is led by the Digital
Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) at NUI Galway and has a consortium
consisting of 12 partners from nine European Countries (Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and United
Kingdom). It started on 1st October 2010 and will run for 3 years.

 

For more information, contact Deirdre Lee, the project coordinator, at
NUI Galway, Ireland, tel.: +353 (0)91 495336, email: 
deirdre.lee@deri.org <mailto:deirdre.lee@deri.org>  

 

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Deirdre Lee

Research Associate

eGovernment Domain (DEG)

DERI, NUI Galway

IDA BusinessPark, Lower Dangan,

Galway, Ireland

 

deirdre.lee@deri.org
skype: deirdrelee
+353 91 495336

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[1] 
http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/news/consulting_public/consulting_0023_
en.htm