From October 2022 to December 2025, e-Medine operated as a EUROPE DIRECT center for the City of Catania, with the goal of engaging citizens and empowering them to make informed choices about the future of the European Union (EU), while fully participating in the European democratic process.
By promoting a better understanding of how the EU works, its democracy, and the issues falling within the Union’s competences, e-Medine helped raise citizens’ awareness of the daily benefits of EU membership.
The main objectives pursued by e-Medine as a EUROPE DIRECT Centre were to:
- help identify aspects of EU policies that are important at the local level and define messages and activities that meet the needs of the local community;
- help lay the groundwork for the strategic political priorities of the European Commission and the European Parliament through awareness-raising and citizen engagement activities;
- listen to citizens’ expectations and convey feedback to the European institutions.
EUROPE DIRECT Catania worked closely with the European Commission’s representations and the European Parliament’s liaison offices (EPLOs) in the Member States. It also sought to cooperate with other EU outreach networks and local contact points, including relevant regional networks, by promoting exchanges and coordination among them.
To achieve these objectives, EUROPE DIRECT Catania organised and managed various communication and awareness-raising initiatives aimed at the public, including:
- Citizen information and engagement
- Relations with the media and local multipliers
- Awareness-raising on sensitive EU issues at local level
- Promotion of the EU in schools
- Development of a regional network of networks
