The “Primo Vere” team, composed of two Técnico students and one ISCSP student, won the #SOTEU Hackathon, promoted by the European Commission Representation in Portugal, which aimed to involve citizens to debate the state and the future of European Union.

The hackathon took place between 19th and 21st August 2020. To take part in the hackathon, students would have to answer the questions “If you were the President of the European Commission what would be your top priorities? How would you communicate them in order to involve all citizens?”.

“We wanted to express our voice as European citizens and to take this opportunity to demonstrate our ambitions for the future of Europe, without fear of showing wishes and fears. It was also very important to realize that these fears and anxieties are shared by the rest of the Portuguese citizens”, said the team members.

The team identified five major challenges. The revitalization of the economy based on the transition to a more circular economy, the defense of European principles and values, the defense of “institutional singularity in the face of the attack on the rule of law”, “the promotion of cooperative relations between Member States in order to prevent that other countries follow the UK out of the EU and to take up the global challenge of climate change together with the other world’s large powers”.

According to the team members, and in order to respond to the issues raised, “the pandemic was an opportunity to show our ability to achieve the carbon neutral goal in 2050, as seen with the temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the state of emergency, and also to pass an image of a cohesive Europe combating inequalities in access to education and healthcare”. The team considered the issue of migration as a possibility of “combating an aging population”, as well as a “process of social and cultural inclusion, where differences are understood as a positive factor for humanitarian development.” Finally, the technological development was presented as “a way of reducing external economic dependence, by developing more profitable renewable energy”.

Primo Vere’s speech at the competition is available here.