The European Student Voluntary Network “YouSmile” participated in the European Youth Event 2018 held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
30 July 2018
PRESS RELEASE
Athens, 23 July 2018
The European Student Voluntary Network “YouSmile” participated in the European Youth Event 2018 held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
The European Student Voluntary Network “YouSmile” participated in the European Youth Event 2018, held on 1-2 June 2018 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The young volunteers of YouSmile presented their workshop “Start your own raising awareness campaign” and showcased to young people from all over Europe how to launch their own awareness raising campaign. During the workshop YouSmilers created a campaign on children’s rights under the hashtag “eyesmile4rights”.
YouSmilers had a unique experience since they had the chance to share their opinion and their views for a better future along with 8000 young people from all over Europe. The importance of youth’s participation to the political participatory processes and make sure their voice is heard was highlighted, whereas among the topics discussed among participants were the impact of new technologies to society, equality issues, as well as environmental concerns.
At the closing ceremony the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Ramon Luis Valcarcel, thanked the young participants and highlighted the importance of not accepting injustice, but instead fighting for justice. Finally he expressed the commitment of the European Parliament to the creation of a better future.
Once again, the event proved that young people can contribute to the important topics as long as their voice is heard by the adults. Under the vision of Europe for providing equal chances for all individuals, the YouSmile Team hopes that the ideas of young people are taken into serious consideration by adults. We also hope that events like this will take place more often in the future.
Upon the conclusion of the event the team of YouSmile met with the Head of the European Parliament Office in Greece, Mr. Leonidas Antonakopoulos. YouSmilers shared with him their experience from the event and their contribution to the European Youth Event. In addition, they discussed ways for broader cooperation between the European Parliament Office in Greece and YouSmile.
