“Cultivating Civic Habits”, a project promoting civic competence among young people, wins this year’s European Social Innovation Competition

The European Commission has announced today the winner of the 2024 European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC), during the European Social Innovation Forum Annual Event - NeSEI, a gathering that fosters innovation and collaboration among European social entrepreneurs and innovators.

The winning project is “Cultivating Civic Habits” by Sabiedribas Lidzdalibas Fonds (Latvia) that aims to enhance civic competencies among young people aged 14-18, empowering them to make informed public decisions as responsible citizens in a diverse, democratic society. The project offers an engaging app featuring daily civic activities based on real-life scenarios, designed to foster civic competence and engagement.

In addition, the European Commission has announced the 1st and 2nd runners-up:

“Live Agora” project by Stichting TAAT (Netherlands): A digital platform facilitating user-led collaboration and co-creation, Live Agora embraces a decentralised, community-owned model. This project ensures users maintain complete control over their data and interactions, promoting an innovative approach to digital democracy.

“The Newsroom” by Título Alternativo LDA (Portugal): A tool geared towards digital democracy, this project is equipped to address disinformation, connect democratic actors, and empower civil society using innovative and inclusive technology.

This edition of the competition was focused on projects promoting “digital democracy” in different forms: by developing tools to battle disinformation, fostering emerging democratic practices, and empowering grassroots communities, thereby reinforcing civil society engagement through participation and open technologies. 

The finalists have been selected by a jury of experts for their innovative approaches, inclusiveness, positive social impact, sustainability, scalability, and their contributions toward decentralisation and governance. As part of the recognition, the European Social Innovation Competition winner will receive a €75 000 prize, while the 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up will be awarded €50 000 and €25 000 respectively.

Moreover, the winner and the runners up will join the Network of Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators (NESEI) Group, a European Innovation Council (EIC) Community platform designed for expanding business and networking opportunities among EIC-funded organisations, and other innovation stakeholders. The platform provides access to matchmaking events, training, bootcamps, workshops, and the broader European innovation ecosystem.

Background

The European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC), now in its twelfth edition, is supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe. The competition aims to raise awareness of social innovation to a wide audience and inspires the creation of new socially innovative ideas and networks of like-minded practitioners.

Past editions’ challenges were: ‘fighting energy poverty’ (2023), ‘the future of living, innovation for affordable and sustainable housing districts’ (2022), Skills for tomorrow - Shaping a green and digital future (2021), Reimagine Fashion (2020), Challenging Plastic Waste (2019), Re:think Local (2018), Equality Rebooted (2017), Integrated Futures (2016), New Ways to Grow (2015), The Job Challenge (2014), and New forms of work (2013).

Stay tuned and follow the latest updates on X @EUeic #diogochallenge