The 90th International Session of the European Youth Parliament took place in Valencia, Spain in August 2019. For 10 days, 300 participants from 40 countries across Europe engaged in intercultural encounters and explored ways to be active citizens. Here are some of the highlights of the event.
The International Office of the EYP regularly offers volunteering experiences in the context of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) for young people who would like to support its work and gain professional insights into the operations of an international, peer-to-peer educational NGO. We asked our current volunteers Alex and Arda about their reasons to dedicate their time to long-term volunteering at the EYP Office.
The European Youth Parliament network is run by young people who jointly steer the organisation. The EYP councils allow more active members to be involved in shaping the EYP on an international level. This year, the councils met in different corners of Europe, proving how the EYP can be efficient in a mobile, rotating and decentralised manner. Find out more about the outcomes of the council meetings!
The EYP network is active in 40 countries across Europe. This is possible thanks to young volunteers who dedicate their free time to developing the organisation. We asked Matti and Ida from EYP Finland how is it like to run a peer-to-peer educational NGO in their country.
In EYP, young people engage with the most pressing challenges of our time and offer fresh perspectives on how to solve them. Thanks to the EYP Power Shifts project, we had a chance to share the youth's opinions on the future of energy with decision-makers attending the EU Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels.
On 22.06.2019, the European Youth Parliament launched a partnership with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to jointly address questions around sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, youth participation with a focus on leaving no one behind, as well as the role of non-formal education in reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
More than 500 EYP events take place every year across Europe. But who are the young people who run them? Meet Cecilia, Ali, Julia and Realdo who have been busy for the past few months preparing our flagship event - the EYP International Session in Valencia, Spain, coming up this summer. We asked what are their reasons to do this.
The EYP National Committee Support Fund is about to kickstart distributing €14.000! We will support 16 national organisations and 27 different events and projects which will be carried out by EYP across Europe throughout 2019. Supported projects include national organisation capacity building, strategies, administrative costs and legal fees, sustainability, and strengthening the diversity of the network.
The European Youth Parliament encourages young people to make use of their voting rights, also in the European elections. The EYP #IvoteFor campaign invites youth to name their own reason to vote. We asked Catarina, Jonas and Vincent who initiated the campaign about their experience with mobilising others to vote.
How will European democracy look after the elections in May? Will young people feel more represented? In 2014, only 28% of 18-to-24-year-olds voted in the European Parliament elections, compared to 51% of those aged over 55. The European Youth Parliament (EYP) encourages young voters to make use of their voting rights. This peer-to-peer educational programme offers young people the space to actively engage with democracy, not just during elections, but in everyday life.
