Event report

This panel discussion was organised as part of European Economic and Social Committee's 2021 "Connecting EU" seminar, a flagship communication event held annually. The seminar was devoted to the Conference on the Future of Europe, seen as a key step towards regaining people's trust in and support for the EU. The seminar focused on helping meet the first of the two conditions identified as critical to the success of the Conference, namely ensuring that as many Europeans as possible got involved in the debate and expressed their ideas, wishes, concerns and expectations about Europe, and that the exercise did not remain confined to the "usual initiated circles” that knew about and were already part of EU life. The seminar was mainly directed to communication professionals working for civil society organisations, who were encouraged to relay the information to their members "back home", so that they would be aware of the stakes, know the rules of the game and are in a position to say what kind of Europe they dream of. The seminar chose to focus its three discussion panels on three of the nine key topics singled out for debate under the Conference, namely: • Health • A stronger economy, social justice and jobs • European democracy A 100 people including press officers, EESC members, journalists and researchers, participated in the event. More information on the event together with a full report are available on the EESC website at: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/connecting-eu-2021