Communiqué March 2006
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In this issue:
Previous issues of Communiqué
Director’s diary
Reaching out to the public
European agencies are called upon to play a more prominent role in communicating the idea and vision of Europe: to bridge the gap between the European Union and its citizens. In their daily work, the 24 European agencies deal with issues and tasks that touch on citizens’ lives in many different ways. Many of the agencies are currently ensuring that their communication activities contribute to the recent European Commission initiative on Debating Europe, involving people.
Communicating with the general public has been central to the Foundation’s communication strategy for the past two years. In its series of visits to Member States, the Foundation has to date covered twelve countries and reached some 18 million Europeans via the media. These road shows are an ideal opportunity to present the Foundation’s current findings and data in a national perspective, as well as engage in bilateral discussions with social partners and government, NGOs and academics. The Foundation’s recently expanded network of National Outreach Centres, information relays in the Member States, also play an important role in getting the message across. The Foundation’s combined websites register more than 4.5 million user sessions per year. In 2005, the Foundation organised over 100 events which provided ample opportunities to present its findings and data.
This month, the Foundation will contribute to the debate on healthy ageing at a high-profile event during the Austrian EU Presidency in Vienna on 8 March. At the same time, it will take its road show on quality of life to Luxembourg on 8–9 March and to Bulgaria 20–21 March. Later, the Foundation will launch the findings of the recently completed study on temporary agency work.
Jorma Karppinen
Director