YEU Representation - YEU world

YEU keeps engaging and taking part in various processes that can empower and engage young people.

Take a look below to check what YEU has been up to the last few months.

April 2018:

• European Union Youth Conference - Bulgarian Presidency of the EU:

From 17th to 19th of April, YEU, youth organizations and public officials from European and National level, met in Bulgaria to discuss youth topics as set from the Structure Dialogue process - 6th Cycle. YEU was part of the European Youth Forum - European Working Group delegation and was part of the Equality Working group. Outcome of the Conference was the Youth Goals and currently we are in the process towards the Austrian Presidency which takes over on July 2018. For more on the youth goals, press HERE.  

• TTBW - Project meeting and Volunteers Training:

Giulia Annibaletti attended the project's meeting in Jambville, Paris (FR) from 18th to 19th of April. Project partners discussed the ongoing processes and coordinated in regards to the upcoming volunteering projects supporting refugees. Morover, on 8th and 9th of June, selected volunteers had their pre-departure training in order to be ready for their volunteering activities with refugees and children. YEU would like to thank our members Active Bulgarian Society, Cid Kumanovo and Sivil Yaşam Derneği- Civil Life Association for their support.

Find out more about the project on www.timetobewelcome.eu 

• GDPR Session - YEU:

On 27 of April, our Governing Board member held a session on the GDPR upcoming legislation together with YEU staff members and other Brussels-based european youth organizations. The session covered explanation of the legislation, steps to follow and good practices. To know more about YEU's policy press HERE. 

May 2018:

• Session on EU MMF - LLLP:

On May 3rd, our Policy Officer - Panagiotis, joined other members of LLLP in order to discuss and better understand the ongoing process for MFF 2021-2027 and how that will affect youth related projects. The session led to valuable discussions on the negotiations, changes and developments proposed in the new MFF proposal.

• Brussels Pride - Kick Off event:

Supporting diversity and equality, YEU was invited to attend the Kick Off event of the Belgian Pride at the Municipality of Brussels. On the 4th of May, YEU was there to shout loud that equality is an important pillar for the organization and we stand next to LGBTQI+ community. 

• 6th MedUni - North South Center:

From the 7th to 11th of May, Panagiotis Chatzimichail attended the 6th MedUni - participating at the 5th "Stucture Participation in Democratic Processes" training. The event brought together several Europeans and Northen African stakeholders and young people in Tunis in order to attend a variety of training that focused on Global citizenship, SDGs, Peace and inclusive societies. 

• South Africa - "Youth Participation Pargour":

YEU together with Member Organization - CID, attended first activity of the ”Youth Participation Parkour” project, from the 9th to 16th of May. The meeting took place in Johannesburg (South Africa), hosted by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. The project is a global partnership between 10 countries and led by CID. The project has a focus on developing the advocacy capacities of youth organizations and young people towards civil society in general. Morover, it aims to develope competences of staff of civil society organizations to become champions of youth participation.

For pictures of the Activity, press HERE. 

• GDPR Session - European Youth Forum (YFJ):

As GDPR implementation date was approaching, YFJ held a session on the 23rd of May, to discuss the legislation and cover questions from its' member Organizations. The session covered good practices, steps to follow as set by the legislation and also parts of the legislation that are applied specifically in the case of Belgium.

• Civil Society Days - EESC:

Giulia (YEU intern) attended the event, as part of the celebration of Civil Society Days. In order to cover the celebration, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organized a two-day conference (24-25 May) with several workshops focused on Citizenship, Democracy and Culture in a digitalized Europe. There was a high and active participation, with constructive discussions at the end of each panel that surely will inspire the YEU work. The discussions and speeches focused mostly on the issues of digitalisation and artificial intelligence, the lack of digital skills to people of various socio-economic status and age, the creation of more inclusive virtual public spaces and the digital democratic and civic engagement strategies. The overall conclusion could be summed up to the belief that in order to maximize the benefits from technologic devices we should invest more on IT education. As a consequence, the digital mechanisms and tools could be used to foster active civil engagement.

June 2018: 

• EYE 2018:

YEU was once more at the European Youth Event 2018, that took place on 1st and 3nd of June 2018. After a long period of preparations and coordination, YEU prepared 4 sessions - however held 3, due to bad weather condition that affected the event. YEU delegation included participants of Cultrue in a Tin, Variety is a Spice of Life and WYRED project. All participants met in Strasbourg, together with more than 9000 young people, to present outcomes of this YEU activities. Besides YEU activities, our participants also supported the Time to Be Welcome activity and an ongoing activity with EFIL. Activities here held in the European Parliament (WYRED), and 2 Hubs of the Yo!Fest (WYRED within Young and old: Keeping up with the digital revolution, CiT and Variety within Safe and dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times).

• Lifelong Learning Interest Group - LLLP:

YEU had the chance to share the opinions and ideas of young people, current outcomes and the process of WYRED Project towards partners and EU Institutions as part of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group. The event focused on the "21st Century Learning Environments. Where is Non-Formal and Informa Learning in the Future of Learning", held on the 6th of June by the Lifelong Learning Platform and took place at the European Parliament.

• Youth-led initiatives in the field of Equal Rights - Equal Rights AEGEE working Group:

On the 6th of June, YEU attended the activity held by the Equal Rights working group, presenting WYRED and Variety is a Spice of Life. As part of the work of the Group, YEU shared the outcomes of the process, focusing mainly on the toolkit of Variety and engaging opportunities as part of WYRED project.

• ‘Europe Goes Local’ long-term project (https://www.europegoeslocal.eu/):

On the 6th of June, vice presindent Joao Dias, joined a group of representatives from YFJ, NYCs, INGYOs, Eurodesk and the Council of Europe in order to support the development of a European Charter on Local Youth Work. The process was mainly focusing on developing a Charter that recognises the value of youth organisations as youth work providers!

• PET Meeting - YEU:

On 9th and 10th of June, members of YEU Structure - People for Education and Training (PET) met for their annual meeting in order to update themselves with changes, achievements and directions of YEU, share and learn from past activities and each other and plan the future.The meeting was held in Crnomelj (Slovenia), at the  Mladinski Center Bit.

• Validation Task Force - LLLP

On 13th of June, YEU was present at the event held by European Association for the Education of Adults - EAEA, "PeerReview VNFIL Extended", linked to Lifelong Learning Platform Validation Non Formal and Iformal Learning (VNFIL) Task Force. The event was linked to the European project "Transnational Peer Review for Quality Assurance in VNFIL Extended", bringing together european and local stakeholders. 

• European Validation Festival - EC:

On the 14th and 15th of June 2018, stakeholders working on Validation - VNFIL, attended the 1st European Validation Festival. The Festival was organized by @EU_Commission's department working on employment, Social Rights & inclusion. YEU attend the event together with the delegation of Lifelong Learning Platform, presenting the outcomes of the European Badges Alliance. 

To find more about the event, press HERE. 

• WYRED Project Meeting:

From the 18th to the 21st of June 2018, partners of WYRED project and its' Advisory Board (AB) held the 4th project's meeting in Bath. This meeting focused on feedback from the AB, evaluation of the ongoing processes, coordination of the Working Groups and planning of the future steps.

The project is funded by European Commission HORIZON 2020
Find out more at www.wyredproject.eu

Checking the events and projects above, it is visible how important representation is for YEU.

Our focus in each of the processes is always promoting, advocating and highlighting the positions and ideas of young people and our member organizations towards important stakeholders and partners.

Summer maybe here, but there is yet a lot to come, so stay tuned. 

by 

Ioanna, Giulia and Panagiotis 

YEU AO