Citizen Empowerment

Part of Volt Europa's 5 +1 political challenges

We want to strengthen the voice of the citizen on a daily basis and make sure that it is not only at election time, the citizens voices are heard!

Civic action will change politics!

We want to strengthen the voice of the individual citizen in everyday life, so that it is not only at elections that you are listened to.

One of the strengths of the Volt is that we actively share good solutions across borders.
It should be possible for citizens to participate in citizen consultations so that their concerns and ideas are incorporated into solutions.
Volt actively supports initiatives that foster good democratic conversation.

For example, a pan-European news service that makes news from across Europe available to all Europeans in their language so that what is happening in other countries is easier to understand.

To have a participatory democracy, Volt wants to enable citizens to participate on their terms, digitally, in person or transnationally.

YouTube: Citizen Empowerment | Volt Europa 5+1 Challenges

Citizen Assemblies

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We citizens should be involved in the decision-making processes that concern us and must be done in a transparent and effective way. We therefore want to make citizen assemblies a common tool in our democracy.

Free media safeguards the citizens!

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We see free media as a public good, not a commodity to be sold. We want our free media to have the resources and the freedom to hold our leaders accountable, to reveal the inability of business and the corruption of power. Therefore, we want to ensure that the media settlement strengthens precisely engraving journalism, cultural and debate journalism and we want to have a greater focus on the EU so that the Danes are equipped for the reservations debates to come.

Easier access to EU funds

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It should be easier to apply for EU funds as an ordinary citizen. Local and civic initiatives can in many cases be of greater benefit and can be executed cheaper than larger national campaigns. That is why we want to make it easier for citizens to make a contribution to their ideas from the EU.

What kind of a Minister claims that women's rights can only be safeguarded by breaking the law?

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No, we must not jeopardise our legal system and our principles.
And no, girls and young women should not be sentenced to one life based on choices they did not make in a war they did not start.

Støjberg's actions are even more glaring because they suggest that existing laws do not protect women. It also shows how the Danish civil service can be forced into actions that undermine our legal principles. Denmark must regain its foothold as a state governed by the rule of law, not fall into the hands of a banana republic.

There is already quite clear law that can be used to empower girls and women to live a full life away from war and away from societies that despise them. And what type of minister does not instruct his office to apply existing law?

Firstly, the UN Child Convention a child as a person under 18 years. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx   

Article 1, Section F (3) of the UN Refugee Convention further states that a refugee must not be guilty of a crime against the principles and purposes of the UN. Those principles and purposes are described in Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter and require, among other things, respect for the fundamental freedoms of human beings, regardless of gender or religion.
https://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-i/index.html.

According to Article 2 of the same Refugee Convention, a refugee must
comply with the laws of the country of residence - and Article 12, section 2 dictates that a marriage can only be recognized by the receiving state if the marriage would have been valid in the receiving State. https://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10

Finally, we can trust the Danish penal code in which §213 is quite clear: "Anyone who violates his or her spouse by negligent or degrading treatment is punished with imprisonment for up to 2 years" and the entire Chapter 24 of the Penal Code is about sexual crimes. §216, paragraph 1 speaks of it being illegal to coerce a person into sexual intercourse under threats of violence.

Støjberg claims to be a value warrior but she fails in her power perfection. With the Ministry of Integration behind it, she failed to apply the laws that already exist and she misunderstands the value of UN purposes and principles. In doing so, she is putting back our legal system and human rights principles!

Kathrine Richter, Co-President Volt Danmark - 24 May 2020

Instrukskommissionen: https://instrukskommissionen.dk/

How else can we achieve Citizen Empowerment?

  • We want to strengthen access to open data - for example, research results from publicly funded universities should be publicly available.
  • Based on Volt’s own transnational debate forum, we want to enable Europeans to exchange political ideas on a common platform that can lead to innovation and political innovation. “A pan-European moderated discussion platform should aim to identify issues Europeans care about in order to then facilitate a moderated exchange beyond party lines among citizens and politicians, political institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant interest groups. Discussions and exchanges should be moderated by an independent, multi-stakeholder entity adhering to a clear set of principles and values. Facilitation should involve a strong commitment to clear etiquette and a bridging of party lines. ”
  • By ensuring that citizen initiatives are heard and discussed by various actors.