Feb 3 - 21, 2003

Title of discussion: "IRAQ-inspections or invasion!"

SUMMARY: Politalk and the Transatlantic Information Exchange Service (TIESWeb) are proposing to organize and facilitate a series of online discussions addressing important issues of common concern to the United States and the European Union. The discussions will be targeted at a diverse group of citizens and leaders of civil society, on either side of the Atlantic. We will use a variety of internet tools to facilitate this discussion, including: Online panel discussions, small group discussions, a calendar of events, a weekly e-mail newsletter, and a detailed library of online resources.

PURPOSE: To address a growing and present concern, that the United States and European Union are drifting apart politically, both at the grassroots and higher levels of government. These online discussions are intended to be a part of a larger overall effort to stimulate citizen to citizen dialogues that might help bridge the transatlantic public opinion gap, increase trust, and encourage cooperation.

These discussions will:

1. Draw the attention of citizens and civic leaders to the importance of the EU/US relationship and our shared global
responsibilities.
2. Stimulate additional discussions, events, research, and media coverage of the EU/US relationship.
3. Facilitate personal and organizational connections that may become the seeds from which future joint US/EU projects sprout.
4. Provide data from which researchers and policy makers can draw some conclusions about the shared and conflicting attitudes and assumptions of US and EU civil societies.

PARTICIPATION: Participants will be recruited through a network of NGO's, academic departments, and other online partners. Our goals are to start with an audience of about 500 for the first of the four discussions and reach an audience of about 2500 by the final discussion. Here are some demographic goals that we will be trying to reach:

45% US Participants
45% EU Participants
10% Other

25% Public Officials / Government Staff
25% Leaders of civil society, NGOs or Business Leaders
50% Concerned Citizens

METHOD: The Transatlantic Perspectives Project will initially be designed around a series of 4 topics that will take place over the course of one year. Each topic will be addressed for 3 weeks and include a Main Stage Panel discussion, along with opportunities for participants to join small group discussions. An extensive library of links to relevant articles and online resources will support both the main stage and panel discussions. A weekly e-mail newsletter that will be distributed to all participants, both during and between the larger topic discussions, will tie the entire project together.

This entire process will take place on a website set-up and maintained specifically to address this project.

At the end of each discussion, a 20 page summary report of the event will be compiled and made available to discussion participants. The report will attempt to summarize the overall event and draw some conclusions about the views of participants.

NOTE ABOUT LANGUAGE: To increase European participation our goal is to create small group discussions in French, German, Spanish, and Italian and recruit US participants able who are able to communicate in those languages. Summaries of these small group discussions will be translated into English and summaries of the Main Stage discussion will be translated into each of these "small group" languages.

TARGET AUDIENCES (partial):

• Government officials and staff (local, national, and international)
• Journalists (local, national, and international)
• Academic Experts in a variety of fields
• Students (high school and university)
• Business Leaders
• Non-profits and NGOs
• Citizen groups representing diverse interests
• RESOURCES (needed):
• Contacts at schools and universities interested in participating.
• Volunteer researchers / recruiters
• Translators
• Participants willing to simply participate in a language other than their native tongue.
• Organizations willing to endorse and publicize the online discussions/debates.