Acte Sector 6

[Catherin Bergan]

TheBrussels-based Association Civic Tech Europe (ACTE) was founded in December 2019 to represent organisations developing civic and citizen-oriented technological solutions (civic tech) at the European level. Democracy Technologies talked to ACTE President Adrien Duguet.

Adrien Duguet: The main goal was to bring together all civic tech professionals across Europe to promote the sector and raise awareness about civic tech at the EU level. We have so far gathered around 20 members and partners. Our members are organisations, companies, heads of networks, working in the field of civic tech, or interested in democratic innovation. Our strategy is to advocate at the high-level meetings in Brussels.

Duguet: To reach our goals, we juggle between training for different stakeholders, public policies, social good economies, startups, and the activist world ecosystem. We strongly believe in the European model, in the knowledge and skills of the European actors. With regard to concrete issues, we examine how to tackle the coming European elections in 2024, or how to follow up on the great Conference on the Future of Europe held in 2021.

Duguet: It depends on the way you look at it. If you define the civic tech market only as participative democracy platforms in Europe, it may be more than 50 million euros per year. This does not include related industries such as trainers or classical consultants. But if you consider all the projects which aim to develop citizen-centric services, that would be a much wider scope. I have no reliable figures because we lack studies so far.

Duguet: Our main concern is large international players from the US and the UK, who are very strong in their home markets and who make big efforts to roll up the European market, from outside and from within. The European GDPR framework, the most protective in the world, efficiently helps to prevent individual privacy violations. But it does not answer all the questions regarding the European ethics of citizen participation and mobilization. So it leaves the European civic tech market wide open to players who adhere to different ethics and a different culture. So far, European lawmakers are not taking the problem seriously, and do not act to protect our political culture.

Duguet: For public decision-makers, ID verification and improvement of the anonymisation process are long-standing requests to lead certain consultations, in particular on sensitive topics. A growing number of civic tech platforms are supporting the trend and offer the ability to automatically verify ID. Thanks to the latest innovations, it is now also available in the case of hybrid voting operations (both physical and digital voting), where double voting has to be avoided. That being said, the use of security mechanisms is still a trade-off to be found for each consultation. It increases confidence in the vote but also lower participation.

Duguet: I stated that already, but as it is the key factor, I will do it again. Lawmakers have to be aware that civic technologies are evolving very fast. We have to cope with the evolution of citizen engagement, and with progress in the area in other parts of the world. For that, we need funding and help from European lawmakers. We need them to recognise a sector which has been providing value to society for the last ten years. In another ten years, things may have evolved beyond imagination, and as an industry, we need to finance R&D in order to keep pace. Therefore we hope that lawmakers will recognise the role civic tech will play in a future society and the role that European industry must play in these developments.

Investing in Career and Technical Education Yields Big Returns

(Use it to show policymakers how investments in CTE will pay off for your community and state). Statistics from return-on-investment research of CTE programs across the country, showing that the economic impact CTE can have locally, statewide and nationally is enormous.

CTE: Readiness For All Careers

(Use it to communicate how CTE prepares students with employability skills for a variety of careers and industries). Connects the general workforce skills that employers most need with research demonstrating how CTE helps students develop skills with value across industries and career fields.

STATE POLICIES IMPACTING CTE: YEAR IN REVIEW

This publication gives an overview and a state-by-state summary of CTE-related policies enacted each year, including a chart showing key trends across the country, co-produced with Advance CTE. 2020 Year in Review (view recording from the companion webinar).

Family and Consumer Sciences: Career Pathways and Employer Connections

Family and Consumer Sciences education prepares students for a wide variety of fulfilling, high-demand, high-wage careers within the Human Services, Hospitality and Tourism, Education and Training, and Visual Arts and Design sectors. Access this tool as a handout or a poster, and see citations for data used in this tool. Special thanks to Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) for the use of the central graphic in the fact sheet.

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the appointment of 24 members to the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity (ACTE) under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Appointees to the Advisory Committee are drawn from academia, the private sector, and the transportation industry. They include experts in community engagement, transportation planning, design, research, policy, advocacy, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). The group will hold its first meeting in the fall.

Secretary Buttigieg re-established the ACTE to provide independent advice and recommendations about issues of civil rights and various contexts of transportation equity from a variety of leaders. The ACTE was originally initiated during the tenure of USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx and the re-establishment of the ACTE is necessary for the Department to carry out its mission to deliver the world's leading transportation system, serving all American people through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods.

Dr. Angela Andersson, Principal & CEO of KTEC, Dr. Bryan Albrecht, former President & CEO of Gateway Technical College, Tony Oran, Vice President of North America at Festo Didactic, and Jeff Gaskill, National Education Manager at Snap-on Industrial, also led a panel discussion about best practices related to leveraging industry insights to drive relevancy in CTE programming and highlighted case studies showcasing how to best prepare the next generation of workers.

Early exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) is essential in developing crucial problem-solving, design, and critical thinking skills, and through early access to STEM and CTE competency-based learning curriculum, NC3 and our industry partners are proud to be preparing students to drive one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy: Industry 4.0 and Advanced Manufacturing.

ACTE International is a key player in the international trade sector, developing secure and optimal solutions for our clients... regardless of their size or the complexity of their business!

With a wealth of operational experience, we have developed auditing, consultancy, support and training services for international companies wanting to sustain and develop their international activity.

With a range of activities and a wide scope of expertise, ACTE International has no equal in the business service sector. Our global and cross-disciplinary vision of supply chain management is a real asset to all executives and business owners!

If you are developing your business in the international market: importers, exporters, manufacturers, distributors, commercial brands, etc., you will benefit from our audit and consulting services, technical assistance and operational management.

ESG ratings play an important role in the EU sustainable finance market as they provide information to investors and financial institutions regarding, for example, investment strategies and risk management on ESG factors.

Today, the ESG ratings market currently suffers from a lack of transparency and the Commission is proposing a Regulation to improve the reliability and transparency of ESG ratings activities. New organisational principles and clear rules on the prevention of conflicts of interest will increase the integrity of the operations of ESG rating providers.

These new rules will enable investors to make better informed decisions regarding sustainable investments. Moreover, the proposal will require that ESG rating providers offering services to investors and companies in the EU be authorised and supervised by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This will also ensure the quality and reliability of their services to protect investors and ensure market integrity.

The Commission has today approved in principle a new set of EU Taxonomy criteria for economic activities making a substantial contribution to one or more of the non-climate environmental objectives, namely:

The criteria are informed to a very large extent by the recommendations of the Platform on Sustainable Finance, published in March and November 2022. The Commission has also adopted amendments to the EU Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act, to clarify the disclosure obligations for the additional activities.

The transition to a climate-neutral and sustainable economy by 2050 offers new opportunities for companies and citizens across the EU. Many companies and investors have already embarked on their sustainability journey, as the growing size of sustainable investment testifies. However, companies and investors are also facing challenges in this transition, especially when it comes to complying with new disclosure and reporting requirements.

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