February 20, 2020

#EYPInnovations at Power Shifts events

Twenty participants from fourteen different countries with countless new ideas to inspire the EYP network!

“In EYP, every year we have over 1500 discussions, 1500 topics being discussed. How can we make sure that those topics are in line with topics other people want us to discuss?”

Noura Berrouba, Governing Body member

This question guided the Innovation Lab that took place in Berlin between the 29th of November and the 2nd of December in the frame of Power Shifts project. Twenty innovators from all corners of Europe gathered to talk about innovation, sustainability, and EYP. During the productive weekend, participants covered a wide range of topics: how to involve external stakeholders in the EYP, how to integrate topics such as energy and Sustainable Development Goals into EYP conferences, and how to extend the impact of a conference to the local community.

To exchange best practices on innovation, five Alumni EYPers who shared their experiences from when they implemented their innovative ideas in their own sessions joined the Innovation Lab. Among them were Lars Kristian Selbekk, who was in charge of in the 84th International Session in Trondheim & Røros; Kseniia Choni, who headed the organising team of the International Forum “Agora on Security Kyiv”; Nora Wilhelm, who single-handedly head-organised the 83rd International Session in Laax, Lena Strehmann who presided the International Forum in Mechelen, and Janis Fifka, who organised the International Academic Summer Forum in Augsburg.

The Innovation Lab takes place in the Power Shifts framework, which encourages participants to implement topics like energy and sustainability in EYP conferences. The results of the Innovation Lab have been bundled into the Innovation Booklet for those wishing to implement their inspiring ideas. But it doesn’t end here: After the lab, five selected projects received financial support from the Power Shifts Fund 2020 to continue to push innovation within and outside of the EYP network. We congratulate the organisers of national EYP conferences in Ireland, Spain, Armenia, Norway and Youth Academy on Sustainability organised by EYP Serbia!