New narratives for a new Social Contract
The Challenge: Moving from Tacit to Express Consent
The EU Social Contract is currently facing major strains due to different disruptive forces. Historically, this agreement has been largely tacit. The core mission of EXPRESS2 is to transform this into an express, democratically participated, and legitimate EU Social Contract. This requires a powerful, resonant, and widely shared narrative.
We aim to achieve this transformation by recognising EU individuals and institutions as contractual parties who can directly express their opinions on the content, rights, and obligations of the pact.
Our Narrative Strategy: Concepts, Framing, and Storytelling
Building a legitimate contract draft requires deliberate narrative co-production. We apply a strategic framework that bridges academic theory with policy practice, focusing on three key elements:
- Crafting Concepts: We translate complex theoretical frameworks into clear concepts that stimulate imaginative policy design and assessment.
- Framing Policy Debates: We establish the parameters for what is both possible and desirable when defining the rights and obligations of the new social contract.
- Using Storytelling: We generate engaging stories and compelling content to lend legitimacy to the contract and reinforce its core values.
This storytelling approach directly aims to increase the accountability, transparency, and trustworthiness of EU institutions and their policies, thereby stimulating democratic participation.
The Campaign: Engaging Millions of Inhabitants (WP3)
The project's Narrative Change Campaign is the primary vehicle for disseminating the express social contract draft. This campaign is part of the Work Package 3: Citizens’ engagement and deliberation, leaded by the European Movement International (EMI).
Through strategic communications and innovative formats, including short-format videos, podcasts, and online content, we aim to promote participation by actively creating avenues for dialogue and deliberation, to explain the benefits of EU integration and the EU social contract as a unique opportunity to activate and enhance citizens’ deliberation and participation across Europe, and to actively engage inhabitants, policymakers, and civil society organisations to jointly define positive narratives that reinforce the social contract and strengthen democratic governance.
WP3 Team
Maja Bobić (Leader. See profile)
Contact maja.bobic@europeanmovement.eu
Sebastián Rodríguez (See profile)
Karen Jensen (See profile)
Emanuel Ferreira (See profile)
Marija Mihailovic (See profile)
Quintus von Roedern (See profile)