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They are neither politicians nor web professionals, and they do not wish to be. They want to keep the magazine firmly based in everyday life. While they wish to promote European understanding, the site takes no particular view over what political form Europe should take. They hope that other people will want to join the group, until all of Europe is covered. HISTORY Early in 2005, a number of people came together via Internet discussions because of their common interest in Europe. One common theme was how to develop the much-talked-about idea of European Understanding. There has, of course, been much discussion of the political aspects of European Integration - whether it is desirable or even possible, but mostly the national leaders decide what will happen in the name of ‘Europeanisation’, more often than not without seeking the approval, let alone the understanding, of the people they supposedly represent. During their discussions, they felt they ought to do something: it is not enough to leave this process to politicians, since it will mean nothing if it is not supported by the people. They suspect, behind the fine words, politicians simply don’t know how to make this process happen - or perhaps they realise that they don’t actually have the power to change people’s fundamental views of the world. The limits of the political process became very evident during the Spring of 2005, when two of the founding nations of the E.U. rejected the proposed European Constitution in national referenda. Economic and political union really mean very little to many people - they are certainly not enough to command the loyalty and imagination of the supposed citizens of this continent, nor to make them vote for a settlement of which they had become suspicious. Therefore the idea of Living Europe was born - a small contribution to building another Europe. They put politics largely to one side; they have no collective editorial view on what political form Europe should take, but simply believe that people from this relatively small part of the Earth’s surface ought to understand each other better, and that the misunderstanding caused by their history of separation needs to disappear. The Online Magazine launched its first edition in September 2005, run and managed by co-founders Ian Stock, Roel Vaneerdeweg and '''Geoff Clark''', soon followed by '''Stefania Coco''' in October 2005. The intention is to publish 4 Editions per year, with ongoing updates as writer's submit material. MAGAZINE CONTENT AND EDITORIAL LINE The co-founders want the content of Living Europe to be deliberately ‘ordinary’, simply people writing about the places they know and the things that they do. They are pleased to receive one-off contributions, though hope some people will write frequently enough to create a commentary of life in their particular part of Europe. The magazine is divided into the following sections for articles and reports:
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