Stefania Attolini
Stefania Attolini
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The Jean Monnet Module DETWIN-GOV officially launches at UCLy’s École d’Annecy

by Stefania Attolini
The Jean Monnet Module
DETWIN-GOV (official webpage here)
officially starts today at the École d’Annecy of the Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy)!

Over the next three years, the project will explore how digital twins can contribute to the transformation of public decision-making in the European Union, focusing on the legal, democratic and environmental challenges associated with these emerging technologies.

Connecting the digital and environmental transitions…

Digital twins — virtual representations of physical systems that can be used to monitor, simulate and explore different scenarios — are increasingly being developed to support urban planning, environmental management and public policy.

At the intersection of the EU’s digital and environmental transitions, DETWIN-GOV will examine their potential to support more sustainable, transparent and participatory forms of governance, while critically addressing the legal and democratic questions they raise.

What will DETWIN-GOV do?

Through an interdisciplinary approach combining EU law, environmental governance and digital technologies, the project will develop several interconnected activities:

  • Teaching: dedicated courses and learning activities introducing students to digital twins and their implications for EU law and public governance.
  • Research: scientific analysis of the legal frameworks, democratic challenges and environmental implications of digital twins.
  • Events and dialogue: conferences, seminars and exchanges bringing together academics, practitioners, experts and students.
  • Student participation: activities encouraging students to actively contribute to discussions on the future of digital and environmental governance.
  • Knowledge dissemination: open educational resources, publications and outreach activities to share the project’s findings beyond the university.

DETWIN-GOV aims to create a space for interdisciplinary dialogue and critical reflection on the role of emerging technologies in shaping the future of European public governance.

The journey begins today!
Stay tuned for our upcoming activities, including our kick-off conference on 16 October 2026!

Find out more about the project on:

The project official page on the UCLy website.

 

 

 

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ProjectsTED Project

T.E.D. – Teaching Environmental Democracy

by Stefania Attolini

Click here to see the project flyer

TED on FocusEurope website

English version 

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy (UCLy website)

Erasmus+ KA220-HED Cooperation Partnership (2025–2028)

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy is an Erasmus+ cooperation project in higher education aimed at developing an innovative European training programme on environmental democracy through deliberative democratic methods and active student participation.

The project brings together universities and organisations from France, Italy, and Greece to design a joint academic programme combining environmental law, democratic participation, sustainability, and civic engagement. One of TED’s main innovations is the creation of a Students’ Assembly, allowing students to actively engage in deliberative processes on concrete environmental challenges affecting different European ecosystems.

The programme combines:

  • common courses on EU environmental law, sustainable development goals, and democratic participation;
  • specialised modules dedicated to mountain, maritime, urban, and Mediterranean ecosystems;
  • seminars, coaching activities, and practical case discussions;
  • international student mobility and a joint certification.

TED promotes innovative teaching methodologies that combine traditional academic learning with participatory democracy tools, fostering critical thinking, active citizenship, and environmental awareness among students.

The project also aims to create a transferable and scalable educational model that can later be adopted by other universities and institutions across Europe.

Partners

  • Catholic University of Lyon – UCLy (France) – Project Coordinator
  • University of Salento (Italy)
  • CESUE – Centre for European Union Studies / FocusEurope (Italy)
  • Athinaiki Agora for Democracy & Culture Foundation (Greece)

Dr. Stefania Attolini serves as Project Coordinator and leads the overall implementation and strategic development of TED

Duration

2025–2028

Programme

Erasmus+ KA220-HED – Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education

 

Versione Française 

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy

Projet Erasmus+ KA220-HED de coopération dans l’enseignement supérieur (2025–2028)

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy est un projet Erasmus+ visant à développer un programme européen innovant de formation à la démocratie environnementale à travers des méthodes de démocratie délibérative et la participation active des étudiants.

Le projet réunit des universités et organisations de France, d’Italie et de Grèce afin de concevoir un parcours académique commun associant droit de l’environnement, participation démocratique, durabilité et citoyenneté active. L’une des principales innovations du projet est la création d’une Assemblée des étudiants, permettant aux participants de prendre part à des processus délibératifs portant sur des défis environnementaux concrets liés à différents écosystèmes européens.

Le programme comprend :

  • des cours communs sur le droit européen de l’environnement, les objectifs de développement durable et les instruments de participation démocratique ;
  • des modules de spécialisation consacrés aux écosystèmes montagneux, maritimes, urbains et méditerranéens ;
  • des séminaires, activités de coaching et études de cas pratiques ;
  • une mobilité internationale étudiante et une certification commune.

TED promeut des méthodologies pédagogiques innovantes combinant enseignement académique classique et outils de démocratie participative, afin de renforcer l’esprit critique, la citoyenneté active et la sensibilisation environnementale des étudiants.

Le projet ambitionne également de créer un modèle pédagogique transférable et reproductible par d’autres universités et institutions européennes.

Partenaires

 

  • Université Catholique de Lyon – UCLy (France) – Coordinatrice du projet
  • Università del Salento (Italie)
  • CESUE – Centre for European Union Studies / FocusEurope (Italie)
  • Athinaiki Agora for Democracy & Culture Foundation (Grèce)

Dr Stefania Attolini assure la coordination générale ainsi que le développement stratégique du projet TED

Durée

2025–2028

Programme

Erasmus+ KA220-HED – Partenariats de coopération dans l’enseignement supérieur

 

Versione Italiana

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy

Progetto Erasmus+ KA220-HED di cooperazione nell’istruzione superiore (2025–2028)

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy è un progetto Erasmus+ volto a sviluppare un innovativo programma europeo di formazione sulla democrazia ambientale attraverso strumenti di democrazia deliberativa e partecipazione attiva degli studenti.

Il progetto riunisce università e organizzazioni di Francia, Italia e Grecia per creare un percorso accademico comune dedicato al diritto dell’ambiente, alla partecipazione democratica, alla sostenibilità e alla cittadinanza attiva. Una delle principali innovazioni del progetto è la creazione di una Students’ Assembly, che consentirà agli studenti di partecipare direttamente a processi deliberativi su sfide ambientali concrete riguardanti diversi ecosistemi europei.

Il programma prevede:

  • corsi comuni sul diritto ambientale europeo, gli obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile e gli strumenti di partecipazione democratica;
  • moduli specialistici dedicati agli ecosistemi montani, marittimi, urbani e mediterranei;
  • seminari, attività di coaching e discussione di casi pratici;
  • mobilità internazionale degli studenti e una certificazione congiunta.

TED promuove metodologie didattiche innovative che combinano insegnamento accademico tradizionale e strumenti di democrazia partecipativa, con l’obiettivo di sviluppare spirito critico, cittadinanza attiva e consapevolezza ambientale.

Il progetto mira inoltre a creare un modello educativo trasferibile e replicabile da altre università e istituzioni europee.

Partner

  • Université Catholique de Lyon – UCLy (Francia) – Coordinatore del progetto
  • Università del Salento (Italia)
  • CESUE – Centre for European Union Studies / FocusEurope (Italia)
  • Athinaiki Agora for Democracy & Culture Foundation (Grecia)

La Dr.ssa Stefania Attolini è coordinatrice del progetto TED e ne dirige l’implementazione generale e lo sviluppo strategico.

Durata

2025–2028

Programma

Erasmus+ KA220-HED – Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education

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ActualitésProjectsTED ProjectTEDNews

Supranational Democracy Dialogues – VIII ed.

by Stefania Attolini

Teaching Environmental Democracy: Reflections from the Supranational Democracy Dialogues 2026

On 23 April 2026, I had the pleasure of presenting my intervention entitled “Teaching Environmental Democracy: From Pedagogical Design to Democratic Tensions” during the VIII edition of the Supranational Democracy Dialogues, within the session dedicated to Democracy and Education.

The presentation was inspired by the recently launched Erasmus+ project TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy, which I coordinate at the Université Catholique de Lyon (UCLy) in partnership with the Università del Salento, the Democracy and Culture Foundation (Athens), and CESUE / Focus Europe Italia.

The intervention explored a central question: how can environmental democracy be taught today in a context marked by ecological urgency, democratic tensions, and growing complexity?

Environmental democracy is often understood through procedural rights such as access to environmental information, public participation, and access to justice. However, contemporary environmental governance raises broader and more challenging questions related to democratic legitimacy, expertise, participation, urgency, and the shrinking of civic space.

The presentation argued that teaching environmental democracy cannot be limited to explaining legal frameworks or institutional procedures. It also requires addressing tensions, contradictions, and real-world environmental conflicts, while encouraging students to develop critical thinking, deliberative skills, and democratic competences.

Within the TED project, this pedagogical approach takes concrete form through the creation of a Students Assembly, where students are invited not only to analyse environmental issues but also to deliberate collectively and experience democratic decision-making processes in practice.

One particularly interesting aspect discussed during the conference concerned the first empirical feedback collected from student representatives involved in designing the Students Assembly rules. Their responses revealed important tensions between participation and efficiency, inclusiveness and organisation, deliberation and decision-making — highlighting how environmental democracy is not a fixed model, but an evolving and contested process.

The intervention concluded with a broader reflection on the role of universities in preparing future generations to navigate ecological transitions through legal knowledge, democratic participation, and interdisciplinary dialogue.

The TED project will continue developing innovative teaching methodologies on environmental democracy throughout the 2025–2028 period, contributing to the broader debate on democracy, sustainability, and environmental governance in Europe.

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ActualitésProjectsTED ProjectTEDNews

T.E.D. – Kick-off event

by Stefania Attolini

TED kick-off event (Programme)

TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy: Kick-off Meeting in Lecce and Brindisi

On 16–17 March 2026, the cities of Lecce and Brindisi hosted the kick-off meeting of TED – Teaching Environmental Democracy, an Erasmus+ KA220 project co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Université Catholique de Lyon (UCLy).

The project brings together an international consortium composed of UCLy, the Università del Salento, the Democracy and Culture Foundation (Athens), and CESUE / Focus Europe Italia, with the aim of developing innovative teaching methodologies combining European environmental law, democratic participation and active citizenship.

At the core of the project is the creation of a Students Assembly, an innovative pedagogical tool through which students will discuss and deliberate on concrete environmental law cases, experiencing participatory and deliberative democracy in practice.

The kick-off meeting opened at the Rectorate of the Università del Salento with a public session dedicated to the importance of teaching environmental democracy. The project coordinator, Stefania Attolini, presented the objectives and long-term vision of TED, highlighting the need to strengthen environmental awareness and democratic participation among younger generations.

The programme continued with operational working sessions dedicated to the design of TED’s pedagogical methodology and with meetings involving academics, researchers and student representatives from the partner institutions.

On the second day, partners visited the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) – UNHRD Base in Brindisi, exploring the role of environmental sustainability within humanitarian logistics and international cooperation.

The kick-off concluded with a public event at Palazzo Nervegna in Brindisi focused on democracy, environmental awareness and European cooperation projects, followed by the first official coordination meeting of the consortium.

The TED project will run from 2025 to 2028 and aims to create a joint training programme and certification in Environmental Democracy, integrating innovative educational practices into the curricula of the partner universities.

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