Meet the volunteers driving European change: Lana, Andreas, and Siro share their stories

Collecting one million signatures in a year is no walk in the park—even when the cause is deeply inspiring. Yet citizens from all walks of life rise to the challenge, driven by hope, conviction, and the belief that their voices can shape Europe’s future.

• New to the European Citizen’s Initiative? Learn the essentials here

Students, scientists, farmers, activists, and professionals—each with unique stories and motivations— form the invisible army behind the campaigns of the European citizens’ initiatives. They are not paid, and most juggle jobs, studies, or caregiving with their volunteering. Yet they still find time to give their all: organising the Initiatives, collecting signatures on the street, supporting events, running social media, creating content, and answering emails late into the night. Their diverse experiences and shared commitment keep the European citizens’ initiatives moving forward. Even in the age of AI, it is their human drive—grounded in lived realities—that remains irreplaceable. In this story we turn the light on the people behind the campaigns—ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work.

Attracting unlikely allies

Lana Čop is smiling widely. Her initiative "My Voice, My Choice" which is campaigning for abortion rights, had just secured and surpassed the necessary one million signatures and was going confidently to the verification phase.

Lana is member of The 8th of March Institute, a women’s rights organisation based in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana that launched the ECI “My Voice, My Choice.”

Living in Strasbourg, she is coordinating the campaign in the French Alsace region and also campaigning in Brussels.

“I was looking for a group of volunteers, so I went to different universities doing the presentation of “My Voice, My Choice”, to events and to the social media”, recalls Lana.

“I ended up with a group of 10 amazing girls who decided to campaign together with 1,500 other people active across Europe”, adds she.

Read more from the organiser of My Voice My Choice: Game-Changing Strategies and Insider Tips for Expanding your ECI's Network of Partners

One of the first things the team did was setting up signature collection points and spending hours of countless talking about the campaign. 

“We searched for partner organizations and other citizens who wanted to be involved. What was really interesting is that we tried to go beyond our usual bubble,” Lana explains.

The secret of the success – reaching out to unlikely allies.

“In Strasbourg, for example, it was the drag queen community—a beautiful community that embraced our campaign. They invited us to all of their shows, where we presented My Voice, My Choice,” says Lana. 

Read about the cooperation between My Voice My Choice and Ban on Conversion Practices ECIs

In Germany, they managed to engage a group of elderly ladies who joined them during the street protests organized by the campaign.

“My Voice, My Choice” was also successfully promoted online, with influencers recording dedicated (and unexpected) diverse content such as cooking videos.

“It’s very satisfying. I think being part of this beautiful movement probably changed my life and the way I see society.”

Never give up

For Andreas Dikomitis, volunteering for an ECI put his life into a different mode. Having worked for 15 years at the European Commission, he is now a pensioner enjoying his time in the city that became his second home—Brussels.

It was his former boss, Armel Prieur, who invited him to join the campaign of Air-Quotas, the initiative promoting wider citizen engagement with reducing air polution in Europe.

Find out more about Air-Quotas

Born in Cyprus, Andreas is collecting signatures in Belgium, Greece, and on his home island for the ECI, which aims to convince the European Union to introduce a trading scheme for personal travel, similar to the EU quotas for the big polluting industries.

He spends at least two hours every day sending emails and advocating for the cause—a job completely different from the one he had previously, behind the desk of an EU official.

He doesn’t agree that volunteering is reserved for the young, saying there is no age limit to being an engaged citizen.

“From young to very old, they can enrol in our campaign. We have to do more for the environment. I have grandkids, and we want to give them a better future. We want to save the environment, the world. We have to do something.”

The power of shared values

Siro Romano is a Swiss national volunteering for the ECI HouseEurope! Power to Renovation.

“I study architecture, and in recent years, there has been a shift in the field toward renovation rather than demolition in order to reduce CO₂ emissions. The building sector accounts for about 30% of all emissions. We have to change things there, and that’s why I’m helping HouseEurope promote their initiative,” he says.

Romano got involved in the ECI through his ETH Zurich University professor, who is among the initiators of HouseEurope!

“We participate in street events, gather signatures, and travel to promote the initiative,” Siro explains.

As Romano is not an EU citizen, he cannot sign the initiative himself, but he is actively involved in coordinating between the ambassadors and members in Switzerland and Berlin, where the campaign is gaining momentum.

For him, participating in the campaign means dedicating two days a week (more often three, including nights), during which he creates content for social media—videos, interviews with people—and posts them to give the movement a voice.

“The semester is intense, as I have my exams and everything else during the other three days of the week,” he admits. 

“It’s really interesting because you are part of a big movement, and you have an influence on what’s happening. You can leave your imprint and help. I can also learn, talk to people, and improve myself.”

Being Swiss, Siro is used to referendums.

“For us, it’s normal. The referendum in Switzerland is just the voice of the people—direct democracy,” he says. 

“In Switzerland, the letters about the different referendums arrive in every household, and the only thing you have to do is sign them. It’s really easy. Here, you have to talk to people—you don’t have something that reaches everyone, so you have to do the work.”

After a day in Brussels, Siro heads to Antwerp, where House Europe is organizing an event at the University of Antwerp’s architecture school.

“We have a lot of formats: film screenings, sharing materials, discussions. It’s really interesting to be part of an international movement. I love filmmaking and working with people, working in a team. Coming out of Switzerland to Europe—that’s really cool.” 

The dedication and passion of volunteers like Lana, Andreas, and Siro are essential for the success of European Citizens’ Initiatives. They are the driving force behind these campaigns, going out of their way to raise awareness, collect signatures, and advocate for change. Their stories are a testament to the power of individual action and the potential of citizens to shape the future of Europe.

About the author:

Yovka Dimitrova is a Bulgarian journalist specialising in European affairs. As a Brussels correspondent from the very start of Bulgaria’s EU membership through the country’s first Council Presidency, she closely followed the work of the EU institutions for leading Bulgarian media outlets and specialised international publications. After a period at the European Parliament, she returned to journalism, focusing on the human stories behind EU policies. Working for ProMedia, during the 2025 ECI Days in Brussels, Yovka met with the volunteers driving European citizens’ initiatives—curious to learn what inspires these young and experienced citizens alike to dedicate their time and energy to the cause of European participatory democracy.