د . إAEDSRر . س

6 Things We Learnt From Europe’s Biggest Youth Gathering

Article Featured Image

Thousands of young people from every corner of Europe gathered in Strasbourg to discuss issues that matter to them at EYE2018 before letting loose and hanging out at Yo!Fest later in the evening.

Attending an event like this can really open your eyes to a lot of life lessons, but here are six important ones worth sharing.

1. Perseverance is key

This one may have been an accidental lesson, but with the whole event being put on the brink of cancellation due to flash floods, the entire organisation team went out of their way to ensure things ran smoothly.

Despite huge obstacles, the whole thing went off without a hitch.

2. Brexit is a huge deal

Almost every discussion from small workshops to the large-scale hemicycle talks spoke about Brexit, and for many of the young Brits, this ‘final’ event before Brexit was an emotional one.

3. Young people have a lot in common

No matter your political beliefs, when so many young people gather together there is an easy flow of communication between them. We speak the same language, even when we don’t speak the same language.

Everyone there was looking to make a better future in their own personal way, and everyone can respect that.

4. But more populist views are also working their way into youth politics

When I was involved in youth politics around five to seven years ago, there was a lot more of a ‘united Europe’ focus in all discussions. This event saw a number of participants showing up with ‘Make Europe Great Again’ hats and having an aggressively anti-EU stance.

5. There need to be more events like this, if a little smaller

Being able to walk through spaces where decision-makers work can be an inspiring experience. Having the chance to network with people from loads of different sectors is also important. While budgets may restrict meetings of 6,000 young people every other week, it might be a good idea to open up nations’ parliaments and other government bodies to young people more often.

6. You’ll never fully understand how the EU works, but you can easily find a section that works for you

The more events you attend the more you realise you may never fully grasp the scale of things – but the advantage of that is you’re certain to find a focus group, a lobbying party or even just an individual who shares your passion and goals – and that can turn out to be the little push you’ll need.

Tag a friend who should attend the next one

READ NEXT: Anti-Brexit ‘Supergirl’ Wins Young European Of The Year

You may also love

View All