As members of the research team for the project The Rule of Law Crisis in the EU, we participated in the University Open Seminar The Good News Workshop: How to Create Content to Share Advancements that Improve People’s Lives.
This seminar aimed to explore different formats for disseminating scientific knowledge to the broader university community and society in a clear and accessible manner. By creating content for media outlets and social networks, the goal is to facilitate the understanding of complex topics and their impact on everyday life. To achieve this, professors and researchers from various fields at our university were invited to share their projects with participants. In turn, students from the Journalism, Advertising, and Education programs proposed strategies to enhance the communication and dissemination of scientific findings.
In this context, some members of our research team—PhD researchers Almudena del Castillo and Zitan Peng Hao, along with Political Science student and Law graduate Enrique Roger—presented the project Rule of Law Crisis in the EU, led by Professor Susana Sanz. They explained how this project, funded at both the national and regional levels, brings together researchers from six EU countries: Italy, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Croatia, and Spain, with the purpose of analyzing the current challenges facing the rule of law in the European Union and its political, legal, and social implications.
During the presentation, the team explained the concept of the rule of law, its importance for democratic stability, and the fundamental role it plays in protecting citizens’ rights and maintaining institutional balance. They emphasized the need for journalists and the general public to understand this concept and its significance, especially in the current context of institutional crises in some European countries. Additionally, they introduced the project’s blog and the database, which analyzes the various challenges facing the rule of law.
Following the presentation, and as an essential part of the seminar’s dynamic, students from various degree programs in the School of Humanities and Communication Sciences proposed strategies to improve the project’s outreach. Among the most notable suggestions was the production of short videos that explain key aspects of the rule of law in a simple and visual way, covering everything from its definition to concrete examples of its application in different countries. Another proposal was to create interactive content that makes the topic more accessible and brings it closer to the general public from within university classrooms.
The project already has this news blog and a profile on the social media platform X, where updates and analyses on the evolution of the rule of law in the EU are shared. However, thanks to the insights gained from the seminar, we now have the opportunity to diversify communication formats and expand the project’s reach.
Our research team would like to express our gratitude to Professor Elisa Marco Crespo for organizing the seminar and inviting us to participate. It was truly a pleasure and an enriching experience.
