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A Virtual Parliament: Why Democracy Needs Practice, Not Just Participation · REDefine // Civic Intelligence Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: When we began building the EU
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Democracy Campus,
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: our starting point wasn't
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: technology.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: It was a
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: fundamental problem Europe
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: understands deeply.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Democracy in Europe
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: doesn't falter because of differing
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: opinions.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: It
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: struggles when disagreement
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: lacks a shared space for
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: genuine deliberation.
• 0:18
  Across diverse
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: nations, languages, and
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: histories, Europeans rarely
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: experience what it truly
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: feels like to engage in
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: collective decision-making.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, we created that
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: space.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: We built a
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: virtual parliament, not as a
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: mere symbol, but as a
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: fully functional environment
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: for engagement.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Here, young people
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: from across Europe don't just
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: consume content about
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: democracy.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: They
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: actively step into it.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: They participate in real
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: time and negotiate
• 0:46
  across language
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  SPEAKER_00: barriers.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: They learn how
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: rules, roles, and
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: procedures directly shape
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: outcomes.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Virtual reality is
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: crucial here for one powerful
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: reason: it creates
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: presence without requiring
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: physical proximity.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Someone in Portugal,
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Bulgaria, Germany, or
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Italy can sit in the
• 1:05
  same virtual
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: room.
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  SPEAKER_00: They feel the tangible
• 1:08
  weight of their
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: participation.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: This changes behavior
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  SPEAKER_00: profoundly.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking becomes a deliberate
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  SPEAKER_00: choice, not an automatic
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: reflex.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Listening transforms from
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: optional to absolutely
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  SPEAKER_00: necessary.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Disagreement becomes something
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: you engage with,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: rather than simply scrolling
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: past.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: simulation of an ideal
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: democracy.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is a vital
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: rehearsal for democracy as
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: it exists in Europe
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: today: plural,
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: imperfect, slow, and
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: shared.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: The EU Democracy
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Campus isn't designed to
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: persuade.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's built to let
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: young Europeans
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: experience the true feeling of
• 1:46
  democratic
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  SPEAKER_00: responsibility.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because democracy is not
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: learned by passive
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: observation.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: It is learned
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: through active practice,
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: together.