Occasions of BREXIT and migration flows, the rise of extremism and pro-nazism trends have resulted in the rise of Euroscepticism within EU member-states and concerns about the Union’s future in citizens’ mindsets.

The project, targeting at young Europeans, aims to identify the root causes for Euroscepticism trends within youth  and  to  propose  measures to  mitigate the distancing between  young European  citizens  and the European idea.

Focal point is to demonstrate European Citizens Rights, promote European values such as solidarity and freedom in order to eliminate negative view points towards the European Venture.

The main objective of the project is to create a network of towns under the consortium established in order to establish the forum of discussion on Europe’s future by sharing common values and promoting democratic and active citizenship.

All activities selected aim to foster European citizen identity, civil participation and engagement of young people to policy shaping.

The network of the project is established by cities of common European orientation that aim to foster direct democracy procedures within their communities applying the need for youth participation on issues of public interest.

The participants of the project’s activities are young people and  students  willing  to  enhance  their  competences  and  knowledge  towards  the  European  identity experiencing innovative tools for civil participation enhancement.

The project is based on the participatory approach aiming to fully engage the participants during its whole lifecycle. The activities contain innovative and interactive tools of fostering civil participation and societal dialogue, such as the Structured Dialogue and AGORA Activity.

Non-formal education tools and methods will be applied during the Workshops in order to enhance the interest and active engagement of the young participants. The creation of the Policy Paper aims to engage youth to policy making process in European context.

The project comprises of a mixture of activities that aim to boost the interest of the participants within all phases and reach high impact. Thus, the project consists of the following activities:

• Opening Ceremony, Athienou, Cyprus

During the Opening Ceremony, a press conference will be organized, introducing the project, its aims, objectives and activities to young participants, local authorities, local community and national press. A kick-off meeting between the representatives of partner organizations will also take place so that details concerning all stages of the project to be arranged.

• Structured Dialogue in each partner’s city

The structured dialogue will focus on the Debate on Euroscepticism under the title “How European Citizens Rights’ implementation combats Euroscepticism trend. EU solidarity in the times of crisis.” Key note speakers as civil society representantives, EU Institutions Representatives and MEPs and young participants will share their experiences and views towards Euroscepticism and how the promotion of the European Citizens Rights in everyday life can eliminate the waves of Euroscepticism.

• Local workshop in each partner city

During the 2-day workshops the young participants will focus on issues of youth engagement to European initiatives, active civil participation and European identity. Causes of distancing of young people from the European venture will also be explored and measures to be taken will be developed by the participants. The workshops will be implemented by experienced trainers in the field concerned based on non-formal methods and tools.

• AGORA – Open Dialogue in Athens, Greece

This event concerns an Open dialogue in a Public space where a simulation of democratic process n decision- making during Ancient Athens will take place. This experimental method of dialogue and participation will be applied under the topic “The ability to support the local authorities in order to promote European Citizen Rights and European cultural heritage.” During AGORA, young participants will interact with academics, local authorities representatives and local community.

• Writing Policy Paper & Presentation in European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium

This activity concerns the creation of a Policy Paper regarding proposals of youth engagement and active participation and actions towards young people reinforcement into European initiatives. The paper will be based on the outcomes of the workshops and the structured dialogue activity and will be developed by the representatives of partner organization. The presentation of the Paper will take place during a Promotional activity in Brussels with the presence of MPEs, young people and press.

• Closing Ceremony, Athienou, Cyprus

Young participants, local authorities, community and national press will be invited to attend the Closing Ceremony of the project. During the closing of the event, the outcomes of the project will be communicated to the public. A video, which will be produced during the project including moments, snapshots of all project activities, interviews and discussions, will also be presented to the attendants. After the ceremony, the partner representatives will participate in a follow-up meeting.

Find out how to engage to the project activities here