Next May the European Parliament will open its doors to up to 5,000 young people from all over the EU for the European Youth Event (EYE) 2014, which is aimed at generating ‘Ideas for a better Europe.’

The young participants will be given the opportunity to meet decision-makers, inspirational personalities and speakers, exchange ideas and perspectives on youth-related issues, develop new, innovative ways and solutions to crucial questions for the future and experience the rich cultural diversity within the EU.

Europe is at a cross-roads and its future is in the hands of young people.

The event will take place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg between 9 and 11 May 2014, and participants will be invited to engage in a variety of workshops and debates, and participate in cultural and sport activities outside the Parliament building.

Participants need to be citizens from one of the EU member states or candidate countries and aged between 16 and 30 years old.

The motto, ‘Ideas for a better Europe,’ is intended to carry a political, social and cultural meaning, and the event is designed as an ‘agenda changer,’ EYE 2014 activities will focus on five main themes: youth unemployment, the digital revolution, the future of the European Union, sustainability and European values.

The three-day event will offer the opportunity to participate in political debates, workshops and role-play games, and will include a concert and a street festival, as well as a youth village and a festival organised by the European Youth Forum.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz said the European Youth Event is your chance to share your ideas and make your voice heard. “We want to hear from you on how the crisis is affecting your lives and what you believe still needs to be done. We want to hear from you about how we can restore confidence in Europe’s future and regain your trust. We want to hear from you about what Europe should look like in the future. We want to hear about your dreams and hopes for our continent and beyond.”

Ways of participating

One of the core ideas of the event is to encourage young participants to actively participate in the EYE 2014 programme and its delivery, and there are three ways of participating:

Register for, participate and engage in political debates, workshops and other activities (in English, French and German) during the three days of the EYE. Ideas and conclusions will be compiled in a final report for presentation to the newly elected members of the European Parliament, as well as to other European decision-makers.

Apply to stage an artistic performance, be it music, dance, acrobatics, sketches or anything else you might want to propose.

A selection of the applicants will be able to perform during the street festival which will be held around the city of Strasbourg on Friday evening. Details will be issued at a later stage.

Apply to present a special initiative related to any of the five main topics. A limited number of initiatives can be presented at the EYE in an interactive way (for instance by organising an interactive stand outside, offering a practical workshop or the likes). Details will be issued at a later stage.

Registration

Interested groups of young people can register for the whole three-day event or for individual days. On Friday, apart from the regular programme, there will be additional activities targeting school groups.

There will be two phases of registration. In the first phase, group leaders will be able to apply to participate in the event through an online registration system. In the second phase, individual participants in a group will be able to sign up for programme activities.

Group registration is now open via this link: www.europarl.europa.eu/eye2014/en/news/news.html.

At the beginning of 2014 group leaders will be informed of when and how to register their individual participants for programme activities. Details will also be posted on the website.

There is no fee for attending the EYE 2014 event, but participants will need to cover their own transport, accommodation and meals.

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