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Thousands of youths gather in European Parliament for exchanges on Europe's future

Xinhua, May 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The second edition of the "European Youth Event" (EYE) opened here on Friday, at the European Parliament (EP) where some 7,500 youth aged 16 to 30 from 39 countries came to participate.

Initiated by the EP and the European Youth Forum in partnership with the City of Strasbourg, this year's event is being held under the theme of the future of the Old Continent at time when the foundations of the European Union (EU) were burdened by multiple crises, especially those of refugees.

Around the slogan, "Together we can make a change," this year's EYE aims to "bring youth closer to the European institutions" and to allow participants "to exchange their ideas and their points of view on current events subjects linked to youth" but also "to imagine innovative solutions related to the large stakes of the future."

Among the young Europeans gathered in Strasbourg for the two-day event were those from EU member states, but also from Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Albania, Belarus and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the end of their debates, speeches, idea laboratories and workshops, they will submit their recommendations to Members of European Parliament (MEPs).

Five principal themes, selected via online questionnaires and Facebook, will be investigated: "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," and "Collapse or Success: New Ways for a Sustainable Europe."

A European youth village, YO!Village, will also be set up in front of the EP at the initiative of the European Youth Forum which is made up of 100 national and international youth associations in Europe.

In 2014, the EYE event brought together more than 6,000 young participants, 400 speakers, and dozens of youth associations to discuss youth unemployment, digital revolution and sustainable development. Endit