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Eurotour des Campus : Les jeunes au coeur de la démocratie européenne

2021-2-FR02-KA154-YOU-0000406152021Youth participation activitiesfinalized
Countries: FR · Grant: €55,200
Reaching the policy level/dialogue with decision makersDemocracy and inclusive democratic participationAwareness about the European Union

Objectives

The year 2022 was going to be rich in structuring European events. Indeed, between the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the end of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the 35th anniversary of the Erasmus program and the European Year of Youth, Les Jeunes Européens - France wanted to do everything possible to ensure that young people are fully involved in these major events and that their voice is heard and taken into account at all levels. The European public debate could not take place without the involvement of young people and students, from all social and economic backgrounds and from all university courses. In order to do so, an initial awareness of European issues was essential. Our main objective was to target young people so that they could be concretely involved in the European debate. Indeed, the young people of the university campuses where our project took place are the citizens of today and tomorrow, they are those who will go to the polls in May 2024. Their vote will allow them to express themselves on the European Union they wish to see built in the coming years. We wanted these young people to vote with the stakes of the elections and the basics of the functioning of the EU in mind and thus be able to vote conscientiously. The young people targeted in the implementation of this project are those who were born with the EU in their lives, who have always known the European passport, the possibility of traveling with a simple identity card through the different European countries. However, it is sometimes these same young people, who are not aware of all the opportunities that the status of European citizen offers them. Some young people are less and less interested in European issues, even though the EU and its advances concern them directly. It was therefore important for us to place them at the heart of our project. However, when some young people are interested in societal and political issues, and try to influence the decision-making bodies, they are not listened to or not listened to enough. Their voice is rarely taken into account during political arbitration. Through our project, we wanted to put all young people, whether they are far from European issues, curious, involved or not, knowledgeable or not, at the center of the European debate so that they become informed citizens of the issues related to the EU. Another objective that we wanted to achieve is to raise awareness about voting in the European elections. These elections are very often neglected by young people as the polls for the 2019 elections show. Conducting simulations of the European Parliament allows us to confront young people with the jobs and issues of a European parliamentarian. Taking part in these simulations is the best way to understand and integrate the functioning of the institutions, the role of the elected representatives and to remember them. This awareness of the European institutions in action helps to reinforce the feeling of belonging to the EU and to make citizenship tangible. This experience is a key step before voting. Moreover, European citizenship is also experienced through European or international mobility. On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Erasmus, we also aimed to promote European mobility among young people and students. Thus, during each stage in the campuses, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) took the floor and made a speech to the students in order to raise awareness of all the issues related to mobility. Citizenship is also expressed through the encounter with others, with people of different nationalities and through the discovery of new places and new cultures. Interculturality is a pillar of a full citizenship. The meetings and activities organized in the cities in France allowed to inform students from all horizons on the stakes of the European events that were taking place. Our activities aimed to give a voice to young people in order to encourage exchange and debate. Our inclusive activities allowed us to overcome social and societal barriers and thus promote a social mix within our target audience. By making young people aware of the opportunities and challenges of their European citizenship, they became real actors. Our actions were carried out at the local and national levels, revolving around large-scale European events, aimed at bringing Europe closer to young people and young people closer to Europe. Our goal was to make the commitment of young people accessible so that they can participate in the construction of tomorrow's Europe, adapted to issues such as the ecological transition, social justice and peace.

Project partners (1)