Can Hybrid Civic Engagement Promote Inclusion? Lessons from Three Large European Pilots

Both online and offline forms of civic engagement in isolation appear to consistently exclude significant strata of the population. The current solution, promoted by practitioners and scholars, is to combine face-to-face and digital forms of engagement (i.e. hybridization). But does hybridization simply increase the quantity of participants, or does it also promote diversity of participants and inclusion? The EMPATIA project (Horizon 2020 No 687920) conducted pilots in Milan (~20000 participants), Lisbon (~35000 participants), and Wuppertal (~5000 participants) to explore different hybrid strategies. In each pilot we analyzed the profile of participants, by collecting a mix of basic demographic data (e.g. age, gender and education), and a survey, including questions regarding past civic engagement, interest in politics, and views of government institutions. Preliminary results show minor differences between almost exclusively digital processes (Lisbon) and more hybridized processes (Wuppertal and Milan). We conclude that hybridization is not a panacea, and is only one of the factors, together with the design and salience of the participatory process itself, and the presence of specific targeted communication strategies, that shape inclusion.