We were lucky enough this year to attend Your Europe, Your Say. This is an event hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)( in Brussels. We had small sessions discussing before we left and one student and teacher attended the event over 3 days in Brussels. It was in the local newspaper twice, in the school newsletter and on social media – so we may have reached more people with the news.

Our student said:
After an early 5am start on Thursday, we arrived at the European Economic and Social Committee in the heart of Brussels for the Your Europe, Your Say conference – the EU’s flagship youth engagement event. The first day was spent networking and working on effective communication so as to be best prepared to advocate for the issues most affecting young people in our countries. It was amazing to learn so much about the vast array of European culture from the other delegates, as well as hearing the myriad of languages everyone spoke (a very humbling experience!)

The second day was a day of collaboration and workshops to develop five recommendations to be presented to the EESC President, Oliver Röpke, and the European Commission on behalf of the European youth. The recommendations included a comprehensive plan to boost civil education in the EU and candidate countries, as well as suggested actions to promote equity and equality for young people across Europe – it was especially gratifying to contribute to discussions around preventing period poverty.

We also had a chance to visit the Parliamentarium and the House of European History, both of which offered invaluable insights into the political and historic climate of Europe, and how these intersect to make change on a national and international level today.

Overall, the YEYS conference was a truly eye-opening and empowering experience, which has left me inspired to continue driving positive change on a local, national and international level, and hopefully encourage others to do the same!