From Euroscepticism to Euro-Curiosity. Stories told by the most vulnerable about the significance of the EU in their lives.
Sinisalo-Juha, Eeva (2021)
Sinisalo-Juha, Eeva
Valo-Valmennusyhdistys ry
2021
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021070941296
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021070941296
Tiivistelmä
This research responds to the concerns of four organisations in Finland, Poland, and Lithuania regarding the rise of Euroscepticism. The perceived distance from the EU specifically, experienced by its most vulnerable citizens, has created a breeding ground for anti-EUism and the rise of extremism. This research takes all subjective experiences and beliefs of the EU seriously. The themes that emerged in the study are being prepared for dialogue between the most vulnerable and EU decision makers as well for building a common understanding of the EU’s role. The aim has been to make what is seen as the faceless EU entity more comprehensible to its citizens and to create new perspectives and positive curiosity towards the EU. Thank to the Europe for Citizens Programme for their interest in this idea and for funding this study. Without this financial support, conducting the present study would have been much more challenging, if not impossible. In practice, this research trained participants in the participatory evaluation method. Each organisation collected a total of 20 stories from their clients, in which the clients speak about what the EU has meant in their lives. Each organisation then selected the most meaningful story and justified their choice. Afterwards, the steering group went through the four selected stories in order to choose the most meaningful one and wrote down a justification for their choice. In the meantime, all the stories were sent to researcher, who classified the stories using content analysis methods. The nine resulting categories are based on what came to people’s minds when asked about the meaning of the EU in their lives. After all, there are no right answers, only subjective stories. The clients of the organisations are mainly users of the organisations’ services, not volunteers. For them, coping with the challenges of their daily lives takes up most of their resources and attention, and they are unable to participate in other activities. In this research, they were offered the chance to tell their own story, to be heard, to engage in dialogue, and thus empower themselves. This research has given the participants, representing the most vulnerable in our society, a real opportunity to understand what the EU could mean in their daily lives. This process has lowered the threshold for influencing different elements that are important for these citizens. The stories collected for this research, descriptions of the selection processes and thematic analyses, are included in this report. The research has provided an opportunity to learn about the expectations of the most vulnerable people in society regarding the EU. The role of the EU is seen as something that brings security to people and as a shared space, but also as a threat to nation states.