European Youth Hearing: moving ideas forward!
The European Youth Hearing brought together Members of the European Parliament, young people, youth organisations, colleagues from other European institutions and experts to discuss the top-voted ideas from EYE2023. Want to know how it went and what comes next?
Publishing the Youth Ideas Report with the top-voted ideas from EYE2023 was a big milestone, but it was not the end. In order to keep all these ideas alive and help them develop into concrete results, we needed to take a moment to highlight and talk about them again in the European Parliament.
The European Youth Hearing held in Brussels on 7 November was the perfect occasion for young people to present these ideas and discuss them with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), colleagues from Parliament and the Commission, journalists, content creators and experts from youth organisations like the European Youth Forum, the Erasmus Student Network, UNICEF and Young European Federalists. Organised as a one-day event, the Hearing was followed by a series of workshops and a networking activity.
True agents of change
The Youth Ideas Report had 15 ideas but for the Hearing only 10 were presented. To present the ideas, we selected 10 young volunteers to become our ‘EYEdea Boosters’. They came from Latvia, Italy, Estonia, Albania, the UK, Belgium, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands and Germany. Each had a strong interest in one of the 10 ideas from the Youth Ideas Report and had plans to develop projects connected to the ideas, for example, creating an event, engaging schools in anti-food waste initiatives or pushing for policy change. Whatever the size of the project, big or small, they represent change and continue the conversation around the ideas that emerged from EYE2023 and on this platform.
Curious about which VIPs were involved? Among the 500 participants - in the room and online - we were joined by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Vice-President Pina Picierno, as well as 26 MEPs. After listening to all the ideas, they had the opportunity to highlight the legislative work the European Parliament has already undertaken and to discuss future priorities with young people, whose participation in the political process - and especially in the 2024 European elections - is vital. The exchanges were so fruitful that President Metsola even reached out to some young people individually to exchange emails and hear more about how their projects evolve! Ahead of the European elections 2024, the Youth Ideas Report ideas highlight the expectations, concerns and hopes of young people about topics that matter to them.
After the Hearing, the participants were invited to join a series of workshops. There, the EYEdea Boosters had the opportunity to present their project ideas in smaller groups, delve deeper and make a concrete plan for them, which is always important when dreaming big!
What next?
The process doesn’t end here. The EYEdea Boosters will work on their projects until March, when they will present them back to the Youth Outreach Unit team and again during the European Youth Week in April 2024.
Until then, keep an eye on youthideas.eu, rewatch the Hearing and get inspired to develop your own projects as well!
