Collective projects

Parts of the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and of the Balkans have been experiencing ethnic, religious and territorial conflicts and civil wars as well as a rise in violent extremism fuelled or justified also by religious interpretations. More empirical and interdisciplinary research is needed to understand the various historical, geopolitical, socioeconomic, ideological, cultural, psychological, and demographic factors that drive these conflicts and violent extremism in these regions.

Trust is a fundamental condition for a fair and cooperative society. It also plays an important part in contributing to social capital. While a degree of distrust may be required for a well-functioning democracy, waning trust in governments and other institutions and in the EU can impact European governance in multiple ways. The challenge is to restore and improve trust as a basis for sustainable and legitimate governance.

Boosting social rights can help address divergence in social trends among Member States and reduce the risk of socio-economic shocks. At the same time, social rights are essential for the full realisation of EU citizenship and reaching the EU's targets in reducing poverty and social exclusion. By mitigating social risks and by assisting people with transitions and vulnerabilities, social rights can boost trust to public governance.

To exploit the potential of big data approaches for research and innovation policy making by providing more timely and in depth information on the performance of the research and innovation system and its links to productivity growth.

The ICT are generally valued in terms of skill development, learning and future employability of young generations. Educational and training institutions are getting equipped with ICT tools and educators are trained for designing activities aimed at digital literacy and for making use of media for educational purposes. The time children and young people spend on ICT has been increasing in school, at home and for leisure. However, research on the impact of ICT on health, lifestyles, wellbeing, safety and security has identified potential threats.

While policy areas such as development or trade benefit from global governance structures, a global refugee governance regime is still in its infancy. The challenge is to safeguard international law standards on the treatment of asylum seekers and internally displaced persons, address imbalances in sharing responsibilities, and ensure the EU plays a key role globally while also aligning the reform of its common asylum system to feed into the emerging regime of global asylum governance.

Global migration is growing in scope, complexity and diversity, which requires better preparedness and responses. A deeper understanding of the drivers of migration and of their interrelation with people’s propensity to migrate is needed as well as projections and scenarios that are essential for appropriate planning and effective policymaking.

A greater understanding of the social and economic effects and impacts of migration in Europe is needed in order to obtain an objective overview of developments and to address misperceptions. In light of recent and current migratory flows, an assessment of integration policies and efforts is equally important for ensuring their effectiveness in promoting the integration and inclusion of migrants in host societies.

The ever-increasing role of technology in our daily life offers huge potential for added value for our society. Artists can help unleash this potential. They can help shape a better relation of technology and humans and stimulate human-centred innovation through their transversal competencies and unconventional thinking.

The challenge consists of developing innovative solutions for the delivery of humanitarian aid based on frugal application of advanced technologies.