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Your Europe, Your Say: It is your Europe, take your place!
Young people want to be heard in political decision-making processes and call for access to the relevant political bodies. “We have the ideas, and we know what we want and what we need.”
This was the main message at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)'s 6th Your Europe, Your Say event, which took place on 23 and 24 April in Brussels.
"It is your Europe, take your place", with these words, EESC President Henri Malosse encouraged the 84 school pupils to play their part in the political agenda yesterday. "Don't wait until other people are willing to make space for you; you are the reality of today and the future of tomorrow. If you want to change something then you have to start now". With these words, the president urged his guests to be focused, patient and consistent but also to "push for your ideas."
Yes to participation, but having the vote at 16 is not a priority at the moment
The Austrian model, which allows young people from the age of 16 to vote, triggered a great deal of thought and discussion, which revealed considerable doubt and scepticism about lowering the voting age to 16. “Not sufficiently politically educated”,or “too heavily influenced by parents” were the main arguments against it, while supporters stressed that having the opportunity to vote would also increase interest in and commitment to political issues. "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem", was one of the many strong arguments for political participation.
Main preparatory steps: Education, exchange of best practice and experience abroad
More diversity in education, proper political education, a focus on foreign languages and more exchanges within Europe were among the main demands. The young people called on the European Union to increase funding, especially for projects such as Erasmus or Young entrepreneurs. Young people are also interested in what makes their neighbours "tick". They want to learn about the culture, customs, and life in general in other European countries. “When we know more about each other, then we can understand each other better.”
The event ended with a vote for the three top proposals for more active European citizenship:
- The environment: going beyond the 2020 goals
- Youth employment: you can't get a job without experience, but you can't get experience without a job
- International transferring of educational qualifications
More information on these two days of intensive discussions and the ideas young people developed in an open-space workshop chaired by Vice-President Jane Morrice on “Active European Citizenship” can be found on the EESC webpage.
The main proposals and conclusions will be passed on to the EESC ad-hoc Group on the European Citizen Initiative (ECI), which will ensure they are properly followed up.
For more information, please contact:
EESC Press Unit – Silvia Aumair
E-mail: press@eesc.europa.eu
Tel: + 32 2 546 8141 / +32 473 520 774
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