CINEFOGO Objectives

At the EU level, the hope is that it will be possible to combine integration with respect for diversity. We are concerned with the questions of how European citizens learn to deal with different forms of belonging and identification, and how different social groups will be able to maintain their cohesion in societies so diversified and fragmentised that even the majority has lost sight of an overarching project and solidarity. Conflicts between national and European identities and the impact of diversity in cultural and political identities on the EU integration and its transformation into a concept of European citizenship are major issues in the activities of the CINEFOGO Network. With our engagement in this process we want to nourish the policy debate concerning the dynamics of European integration and the enlargement of the European Union with respect to the role of civil society and active civic participation. In this respect we want to discuss the importance of European citizenship, civil society and active civic participation for both citizens and non-citizens living in Europe.

With the establishment of advanced economic and political integration, discussions within Europe about the role of civic institutions in the promotion of an inclusive and active citizenship have intensified. The impact of civil society and micro level interaction on politics has been documented by members of the CINEFOGO Network in several national and cross-national research projects, and has been undertaken from a multitude of scientific perspectives. The next step is to develop an integrated and common methodological framework for understanding the importance of civic institutions and the civil society in creating an European identity. The obstacle for an integrated approach is not the multitude of disciplines, but the lack of communication between researchers and groups of researchers working on similar issues. In this respect the CINEFOGO Network want to create viable channels of communication between this Network and previous work done in the area of Governance and Citizenship under the Key Action ‘Improving the Socio-economic Knowledge Base’ of the Fifth Framework Programme of the EU. The CINEFOGO Network wants to shape a European Research Area under the heading of ‘Civil Society, Citizenship and Governance in Europe’ by integrating previous research groups into the programme activities of the Network.

Thus the CINEFOGO Network aims at providing knowledge about the relationship between civil society, citizenship and multi-level governance in Europe. The objectives of the CINEFOGO Network are

• To promote citizens' involvement and social participation in European policy making – how to enlarge and activate democracy and participation
• To understand the impact of the different forms of citizenship and civic participation – how to ensure social cohesion in a economic, social and cultural diversified Europe
• To identify factors facilitating the co-existence of multiple identities – how to combine recognition of social and cultural differences with universal citizenship rights and social justice

CINEFOGO Programmes

CINEFOGO meets its objectives by activities performed in two equally important programmes:

• Programme for Integrating Research Activities (PIRA) with a sub-programme for Jointly Executed Research (JER). Through the implementation of PIRA the Network seeks to minimize the barriers for integrated and coordinated research on European citizenship, multiple identities in Europe and the way these two topics relate to citizen participation in governance. In order to accomplish this goal there is a need to build new research capacity in European countries based upon the premise of collaboration in all aspects of the Network.
• Programme for Spread of Excellence activities (SoE).  The SoE is an arena dedicated to building institutional capacity for dialogue between researchers, policy makers, public service institutions and organized civil society on the CINEFOGO core themes. SoE ensures efficient and swift transmission of knowledge at high speed combining PIRA with an already established programme for SoE procedures based upon agreements with partners serving the public sphere and organized civil society.

CINEFOGO Theoretical Perspectives

Theoretical perspectives of the CINEFOGO Network are:

• Perspective 1: The relationship between cultural identity and civil society
  
• Perspective 2: The civil society tradition in the evolution of European democracy
• Perspective 3: The relationship between citizenship, welfare provision and gender

CINEFOGO Research Themes

Thematic Areas of CINEFOGO Research are:

• Theme 1: Identities, Values and Civic Cultures in Europe – Integration and Diversity

• Theme 2: Citizenship and Civic Participation in Relation to Social Protection
• Theme 3: Multi-level Governance and Organized Civil Society