History

“A gathering of five friends at our home, rue Royale in Fontainebleau, France. We were all looking for a new challenge and agreed that the first person to come up with a really good idea, would be supported by the others. Having created the Anglophone Section at the local College International, I had seen the benefit of teenagers from all over the world working together and learning about each other’s cultures. It occurred to me that a programme for 16–19-year-olds from each country of the (then) EEC would broaden their horizon and prepare them for working together as adults. With democracy being one of the cornerstones of our civilisation, I chose a ‘youth parliament’ as the best structure to use. There were no other youth parliaments yet, so we were the first and not just any parliament: The European Youth Parliament!”
– Bettina Carr-Allinson, Co-Founder of the EYP