What different types of events does the EYP organise? – Part 1: Sessions

The National Committees and the International Office of the European Youth Parliament organise almost 500 events annually, all run by voluntary young people. The types of events most frequently organised generally follow our session concept but are vastly different in terms of length, target group and topics discussed. 

The events organised are called “sessions”. At a session, young people take up different roles starting from delegates who are the main participants of the event, to the organisers and other volunteers running the session. About a third of a session is spent with teambuilding where delegates get to know each other and learn how to interact with their group. After that, a focus is given to more in-depth research and debating on specific socio-political issues in committee work, where a group of delegates dives deeper in a topic and forms suggestions for future policies. These suggestions – called resolutions – are then debated in a plenary format in the General Assembly at the end of a session. The whole session is framed with a cultural programme introducing participants to the location where the session takes place. You can read more about the EYP session concept here.

Through its sessions the EYP aims at promoting active European citizenship, intercultural dialogue and European values. Sessions increase participants’ knowledge about Europe’s cultural diversity, prepare them for active participation in society, contribute to the development of their personal skills and provide a forum for debate and reflection on current topics of European politics.

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  Small-scale EYP sessions

  Small-scale EYP sessions, often times held at schools for local students for one or two days, give a short introduction into the work of the European Youth Parliament. During the event, participants can discuss current issues and exchange knowledge and ideas with their peers.

  Regional Selection Conferences

  Regional Selection Conferences are the stepping stone into the Organisation for most of our participants. They are organised locally to select delegates or delegations for the National Selection Conferences whilst giving an insight into the work of our organisation and introducing new members into the European Youth Parliament.

  National Selection Conferences

  All National Committees organise at least one National Selection conference each year to. Delegates and delegations are selected by their National Committees through a competitive selection process on the national level – usually at a National Selection Conference. They are selected to attend international Sessions or other EYP sessions abroad.

  International Forums

  International Forums are organised all year around so participants can travel to other countries, meet people from different cultural backgrounds and discuss current political issues. The focus of international fora is promote cultural understanding, promote exchange and provide a forum for debate.

  International Sessions 

  The International Sessions are the flagship events of the EYP. The very first International Session of the European Youth Parliament was held in Fontainebleau, France in 1988. Since then, more than 80 International Sessions have been held all over Europe. Currently, the EYP organises three International Sessions every year. Each of them brings together about 300 young people from around 40 European countries for 9 days each.

  To host an International Session, every National Committee can submit an application when a call to host a session is open. A list of all the countries that have been selected to host previous and upcoming International Sessions can be found here.

  In the framework of the European Youth Parliament, many other events are also organised across Europe which will be introduced in the upcoming weeks.