The third stage of the “Federal Europe: towards a constituent phase” journey arrives in Padua, a city symbolising civic engagement and participation, to focus on the contribution of volunteering, associations and the third sector in building a new Europe.
After discussions with the academic world in Salerno and a look at global challenges in Florence, Padua represents the social and community dimension of the federal project. It is no coincidence that the meeting is taking place in a city that has distinguished itself as the European Capital of Volunteering, a lively place of civic networks, solidarity and social innovation.
The meeting on Friday, 30 January 2026, was dedicated to reflecting on the founding values of a truly united Europe and on the necessary responses to the major social issues of our time: inequality, poverty, rights, democratic participation, peace and environmental sustainability. The discussion between the main voluntary organisations and European federalist movements aims to strengthen a shared vision: a federal Europe cannot be created without the active involvement of organised civil society.
The Padua stage therefore aims to be more than just a meeting: it is a laboratory for co-design and co-responsibility, in which the third sector contributes to defining the social profiles of the European federal structure, bringing concrete experiences, real needs and practices of participatory democracy.
This is a fundamental step on the road to the 2026 Naples Summit – at the headquarters of the “United States of the World” – where these energies and proposals will converge to give shape to a true constituent phase of the United States of Europe.