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This informal exchange of views provided delegations with an overview on different aspects of participatory and deliberative democracy. It further helped to better understand how participatory mechanisms can be strengthened and used more efficiently."

Strasbourg, June 7.– At an informal meeting on 3 June, delegations from the 46 Council of Europe member states held an exchange of views with representatives of civil society, other international organisations and experts on participatory democracy in Europe.

The aim was to exchange views on how best to strengthen the participatory culture and encourage citizens to participate in the decision-making process. The Council of Europe gives increasing importance to this subject which is a priority of the Irish presidency of the Committee of Ministers and will be at the centre of the next edition of the World Forum for Democracy.

DP.net.– This is the prevailing situation as of May 30, 2022:

Klitschko: Since February 24, Russian forces have killed 120 Kyiv civilians and injured 300 more. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced in Davos that 16 children had been hospitalized in critical condition in the Ukrainian capital, and four of them died in the last two months of Russia's full-scale invasion.

In Donbas, Ukraine's military has repelled 12 Russian attacks last week. On May 26, Russian forces fired on some 50 communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk autonomous regions, killing nine civilians, injuring 14, and destroying 60 civilian infrastructures, according to Ukraine's Operational Tactical Group "East."

Russia's war has killed 240 children and injured 436, according to the Prosecutor General's Office. The estimates are likely to be higher because they exclude child casualties in areas where hostilities are still ongoing and in Ukraine's temporarily Russian-occupied regions.

Kiev, May 29 (DP.net).– The leaders of the central branch of the Orthodox church in Ukraine have made a formal break with the hierarchy in Moscow, widening the schism that is opening since 2014, and declared independence from the Russian Orthodox Church over its support of the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement on the Ukrainian church's Facebook page on Friday.

Archbishop Kliment said the church's congregation felt it could no longer remain silent. He was speaking inside Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery –one of the most ancient and holy sites in Ukraine– a day after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchy declared "full independence"... "It is difficult for me to (understand) the explanation or silence of the representatives of the Moscow patriarchate on the tragedy that is happening today," he added, as tens of thousands are killed and millions displaced. His wing of Ukraine's church is one of the last remaining links to Russia.

"Much more can be achieved to build a Scottish democracy fit for the 21st Century"

 Edinburgh, May 24.– At ERS Scotland we are constantly monitoring the political seas and updating our course to make sure we have the proper heading. Following this year’s local elections, the elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2021, and Westminster in 2019, we wanted to give an idea of what we are looking to achieve in the coming years.

The constitutional question continues to shape the nature of Scottish politics. But, Scotland is also distinct from other parts of the United Kingdom in terms of how its democracy functions. While Westminster is elected through First Past the Post, the Scottish Parliament uses proportional representation and local elections have used the Single Transferrable Vote (STV) system since 2007.