In the European countries, there are millions of non-EU citizens, who were not allowed to vote at the European elections. With our research project, we want to understand what these Europeans think about the European Union and give their concerns an outlet.
The Raval Project seeks to enhance political participation, representation and integration of immigrants. While many others are talking about those who choose not to vote in the European elections, we will focus on those who could not participate in these elections even if they had wanted to, i.e. third country nationals living in the EU. They do not have the right to vote in the European elections, remaining invisible and voiceless, although they make an important contribution to the European societies and are affected by European policies.
The project will seek to give these voiceless citizens a voice. Firstly, by aiming to understand what these third country nationals settled in Europe think about the European Union and what the main aspirations, interests and preoccupations are. This will be achieved through focus groups and in-depth interviews with immigrants and immigrant associations. Secondly, the project will make sure that these concerns reach the local and European policy-makers. The project will take place in El Raval, the neighbourhood of Barcelona with the highest concentration of third-country nationals with more than 20.000 non-EU citizens who represent over 40% of the total population of El Raval.
Partners:
Fundació Tot Raval: www.totraval.org
Funded by:
Héctor Sánchez Margalef, Researcher, CIDOB
