During the European Youth Event (EYE) organised by the European Parliament, on 20-21 May 2016, 8000 young people will gather from all over Europe to meet with their peers, policy-makers and high-level speakers to exchange ideas on youth-related issues and debate under the motto “Together we can make a change”. As the EP’s main partner for the EYE2016, the European Youth Forum is organising the YO!Fest (Youth Opinion), a political youth-led festival.
On 23-25 October, the YES Forum participated at the first YO!Fest preparatory meeting taking place in Brussels. The aim was to build a programme reflecting young people’s concerns and expectations. The brainstorming sessions and (sometimes) heated debates focused on creating an attractive YO!Fest, a youth-led space, a sustainable and inclusive event, and enhancing advocacy. The YES Forum’s contribution was based on the input of its members.
The activities proposed by the youth organisations are interactive, have a highly qualitative content, and a great variety, ranging from political debates and workshops to games and educational activities. They will be clustered around similar lines as the EYE’s 5 themes:
- War and Peace: Perspectives for a Peaceful Planet
- Apathy or Participation: Agenda for a Vibrant Democracy
- Exclusion or Access: Crackdown on Youth Unemployment
- Stagnation or Innovation: Tomorrow's World of Work
- Collapse or Success: New Ways for a Sustainable Europe
The next steps are to finalise the programme and register the groups of young participants. The YES Forum will bring a group of 36 participants to the EYE, in May 2016, in Strasbourg.