Idea for a European Vision
A reference document on what self-governance actually requires, written in Mikulov, open for the European public to refine, challenge and extend.
The problem
Across Europe, democratic systems are being unmade deliberately, through capture of institutions, privatisation of public attention, manufactured division, and the slow normalisation of the idea that self-governance is naive. This is a shared, plain-language reference for what functioning democracy actually looks like from the inside, something citizens can work towards in the future.
The solution
A short, principled whitepaper — "Idea for a European Vision" — that names the conditions of real self-governance: legitimacy, information integrity, cognitive sovereignty, meaningful participation, resistance to backsliding, and a clear-eyed view of the European project. It is not a programme or a policy platform. It is a reference point, published for free reproduction with attribution, and built to be argued with, translated, and strengthened by people across borders.
Who it's for
Citizens, civil-society organisers, journalists, educators, students, public officials and policy researchers across Central Europe and the wider EU, anyone who needs a shared baseline for what democracy requires, and is willing to defend or improve it in their own context.
What we built & tested
The first public version of the whitepaper is live at hub.crossborderdialogue.eu/challenges/whitepaper. It was drafted collectively at Cross Border Dialogue, Mikulov 2026, and is being read and circulated by participants and partner organisations. Early feedback is shaping the next revision.
Next step
Open the document up to structured public contribution. Concretely:
0. Challenge every assumption and extend. 1. Translate the whitepaper into Czech, Slovak, German, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian and other regional languages — and link the translations from this project page. 2. Add national "distance reports": short notes from each country measuring how far current conditions sit from each of the seven principles. 3. Collect counter-arguments and missing principles. If something important is absent (e.g. economic power, climate, migration, digital rights), propose a new section with reasoning. 4. Build teaching materials: one-page explainers, classroom exercises, and discussion guides derived from the principles. 5. Sign on as an organisation or individual endorser, and tell us how you plan to use the document locally.
How to contribute on this site: • Click "Edit this project" above to add your translation link, endorsement or distance report directly to this wiki page. • Add yourself or your collaborators as Team members (create your participant profile first on the Participants page, then add yourself here). • Use the share button to circulate the whitepaper and bring new contributors in. • For larger edits to the whitepaper text itself, propose them here first so the Mikulov drafting group can integrate them into the next version.