Connect.Euranet launches communication platform for the EU and its citizens
Overview
The basic idea behind connect.euranet is to bring together important politicians with students and citizens from the individual member states and to encourage debate about current pan-European issues. In line with Euranet’s core competence, this is primarily to be implemented through audio streams and the skilful employment of social media. Important partners in the implementation of connect.Euranet include a number of European university radio stations.
The solution in detail
Connect.Euranet has been set up as an independent microsite. Its structure and design follow the main Euranet website. The site’s core element is an in-depth discussion of a previously defined topic that changes every month. Over the course of three weeks, the university radio stations and the Euranet editorial team uploads audio and discussion contributions on the monthly topic. The highlight of the final week will be a live debate with well-known members of parliament, commissioners and students, which will initially be uploaded as a recording. There also is the option of offering the debate as a live stream at a later date.
Visitors to the website are able to comment on the individual contributions, and thus actively contribute to the discussion. Because of its wide distribution and great success, Euranet has decided to use the Facebook Connect API and integrates the Facebook social plugin. On request, visitor comments will also be published on their personal Facebook profile. Connect.Euranet also has its own Facebook page, where users can leave comments and contribute to the discussions.
All the participants in the debates will be briefly introduced under the heading “People” including links to their personal Facebook or Twitter profiles, if available.
The connect.Euranet microsite uses the existing infrastructure of the Euranet website and the audio exchange platform to make radio contributions available. The homepage can be designed flexibly with blocks using the integrated portal system.
The result
The microsite brings the EU institutions and their work and EU citizens closer together through direct discussion. A broader public is addressed through the social networks on the Internet, and the discussions and audio contributions on specific topics ensure that the themes are in touch with the people and current, and provide different points of view.
