YEYS - Press Release - School visit - European School Brussels IV

On 31st of January the European school Brussels IV in Laeken will welcome Arno Metzler, president of the Diversity Europe group of the European Economic and Social Committee, to prepare for the 10th edition of Your Europe, Your Say, the youth assembly which will take place in Brussels on 21 and 22 March under the slogan  "#YEYSturns10: Vote for the future!"

The European school in Laeken will join, to celebrate the 10 years anniversary of YEYS, the thirty-three schools from across Europe that will come to Brussels in March to debate their views, hopes and expectations about the forthcoming European elections. The student's assembly will come up with three proposals encapsulating their generation's top priorities for the European Parliament to tackle. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will make sure that these proposals reach the law-makers.

Arno Metzler will work with the 16 to 18-year-old students ahead of the March meeting in Brussels. They will be ready to share ideas about the 2019 European elections and to have answers on specific key questions:

  • What in your view should be done to increase voter participation in the EP elections?
  • How can we strengthen representative democracy in the future?
  • What kind of political engagement exists beyond the European elections, and how would you take part in it?

During the YEYS plenary, the participants will vote on three proposals for the European Parliament to take on board in .

Background:

The 33 schools were selected to participate in this initiative using an electronic name picker. One school from each of the 28 EU Member States and five candidate countries (Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) will be involved. A record 1038 applications were received for this 10th anniversary.

Called "Your Europe, Your Say!" (YEYS), the event is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee, the voice of civil society at European level, and is the Committee's flagship event for young people.

Through this initiative, the EESC aims to ensure that the views, experiences and ideas of the younger generation are taken on board in EU policy-making.

Further details about YEYS2019 are available on the event's official page, and you can watch the YEYS 2018 video here.

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YEYS - Press Release - School visit in Belgium