Η σημασία των περιφερειακών στρατηγικών επικοινωνίας για τη συγκρότηση μιας Ευρωπαϊκής δημόσιας σφαίρας - Go local. The importance of territory communication strategies for the construction of the european public sphere

In the building of relationships between Europe and national Governments, the territorial dimension is becoming a strategic stake and a crucial issue for the Political and Communication strategies of the main European Institutions. The local dimension, within the post modernity and globalization age is becoming the matrix for social and cultural experiences because it gives back social sense to the growing complexity of relationships (Castells, 1996; Bauman, 2001). There are many signs of this trend, the most crucial of which is the EU Communication Policy which places the local dimension at the core of Brussels strategies to both fill up the gap between citizens and European Institutions and overcome opposition by national Member States. The aim of the White Paper on Communication (2006) is to reach citizens in their own territories, according to local interests and identities. Hence the efforts to implement a series of communication tools aimed at encouraging the development of a European public sphere at the local level. This is the declared goal to narrow the democratic gap involving citizenship processes. This article will present the project “Going Local”, the European local communication strategy in Northern Italy, supported by the Commission Representation Office for Northern Italy which is in charge of 8 regions and about 20.000.000 citizens and will analyze the Piedmont case, one of the Regions involved. It shows the EU’s efforts to increase the amount of information about Europe in the local context, according to the guide-lines of the Europe Direct network that views the local information as a strategic tool in the construction of a European public sphere.