Yo!Fest 2O15 Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM PRESENTS: yo!fest 2015 Report EDITORIAL By Johanna Nyman, President of the European Youth Forum how development can happen, Forum, I had a real sense of not just in continents far away pride to see our members, youth from here, but also at societal, organisations and young people YO!Fest grows really did help young people, community and even at the raise up their voice through together! youth organisations and personal level. the debates, workshops and politicians to “grow together”. activities at YO!Fest. And, set in In 2015 YO!Fest was back in In my time at the Youth Forum I the very heart of the European Brussels and, in partnership with With a special focus on had already experienced three Union on the doorstep on the the Millennium Youth Project and development and social previous YO!Fests, but this year European Parliament – what in the context of the European inclusion YO!Fest 2015 explored it was different for me and as better way to have politicians Youth Week, this year’s YO!Fest President of the European Youth hear that voice loud and clear! 3 1) yo!fest 2015 7000 young people, youth organisations representatives and other civil society partners, as well as people from Belgium and beyond gathered in Brussels for the 6th edition of YO!Fest, the annual youth festival organised by the European Youth Forum. This political festival with debates, workshops and music was once again organised outside the symbolic places of the European Institutions - on the Esplanade of the European Parliament on 6th May. The festival is the biggest and key event hosted by the Youth Forum in order to showcase its member organisations and their activities to the broad public. Did you know…? The “YO!Fest” name comes from the YO!Mag (Youth Opinion), which is the magazine of the platform of youth organisations in Europe, going since 1980. 5 YO!FEST Year By Year 2014 In 2014 the YO!Fest moved 2013 the to Strasbourg to join forces with the European Parliament The YO!Fest 2013 was held in in mobilising young people for the frame of the European the European Elections at the Youth Week and marked the European Youth Event. YO!FEST 2015: “Europe and its youth time of youth claiming to become the main actors of can GROW TOGETHER in our diverse the re-launch of European and inclusive society.” democracy. In 2013 the League of Young Voters was launched as a mobilisation campaign for the European 2012 Elections, and the festival In 2012 the festival pushed celebrated 25 Years of EU for the endorsement by the Programmes for Youth. Institutions of a European Charter for Quality Internships and Apprenticeships (Intern Action Day). This year’s theme encompassed countries in faraway continents, 2011 growth, youth and but is happening every day, close In 2011 it celebrated development. The theme to home. It is about building young volunteers and encapsulated the idea that bridges and connecting people called for a European 2010 development is about all of us, and it is what the Youth Forum’s Charter on the Rights it is about youth organisations, members, youth organisations, of Volunteers (II In 2010 the YO!Fest asked it is about communities and are doing every day. It is about Youth Convention on the European Union to set society, from the local to the building an inclusive and caring Volunteers). up a structured dialogue national to the European level! society, for its young people and with youth. Development is not something ultimately for all. that should focus only on 7 CREATION OF THE 2) YO!Fest 2015 Partners, member organisations and volunteers Diversity and an inclusive The YO!Village became a approach are at the heart of shared open space, where the festival, and one of the national and international aims of the event is to create youth organisations as well an open space for civil society, as other civil society actors cultural, and other organisations and cultural organisations as well as our corporate partners engaged with young people to organise their own activities and the wider public through as part of the event. interactive workshops and exciting activities. More than 40 YO!Fest 2015 was hosted organisations were presented together with the Millennium in the YO!Village which was Youth Project Festival organised organised jointly with the by the Commune of Ixelles and Millennium Youth Project Festival. in a close cooperation with the European Youth Week activities As in previous years, the success of the European Commission. of the YO!Fest illustrated http://www. the positive contribution millenniumyouthproject.org/ volunteering makes to society. http://europa.eu/youth/eyw 20 enthusiastic volunteers from 9 3) Day programme The Magic Mirrors tent among young people, and the Erasmus+ tent politicians, decision-makers as well as civil society and were the two main corporate representatives. stages of the day programme. A wide range of topics and ideas were shared in the The debates and workshops informal setting encouraging took place from early morning the lively debates and active providing the space for exchange of opinions among discussions and interaction the participants. Belgium and beyond worked Youth Forum warmly thanks all of closely with the organising them for the kind cooperation. team in order to successfully deliver the event to more YO!Fest Premium Partners – than 7000 participants. The European Commission, Council European Youth Forum is very of Europe, Interrail and Visit thankful to all the volunteers Brussels provided a crucial who contributed to the creation contribution to the event. Vital of the event and - despite for the successful organisation unpleasant weather conditions - of YO!Fest was also the close made the festival happen. cooperation with the European Parliament and its Information The event could not have Office in Belgium. happened without the support Special thanks go also to MEPs of its partners and the European Terry Reintke and Brando Benifei. 11 and confirmed the importance ing youth. One of the youngest of youth organisations and MEPs from the European Parlia- active citizenship opportunites ment, Brando Benifei, recounted for young people. The Youth how he had grown up in one of Forum’s President Johanna the oldest villages in Italy. Lastly Nyman, for example, explained Léonore de Roquefeuil, of Voxe. how she learned team work org, explained her frustration at through her time in Scout camp. traditional ways of doing pol- Régis Pradal, a founder of In- itics and her fight to do things ternsGoPro, gave his experience differently. YouthUP! is an open- of gathering exploited interns source campaign that will be together to demand their rights. launched in the coming months Nora Rathje, of European Alter- aimed at empowering and natives, gave an insight into her bringing together all initiatives organisation that tries to find for better youth political partici- alternative models for engag- pation across Europe. ALKS T MAGIC MIRRORS YO!TALKS: YouthUP What turns young people into struggles and examined what youth activists? What is the inspired them. It was the launch change that we should en- event of the League of Young courage to ensure more youth Voter’s campaign YouthUP! The activism? The inaugural YO!talks five personal stories connected highlighted five youth activists very well with the audience of and explored their work and young people in the spiegeltent 13 Roundtable on Quality Jobs and Development: The economic and financial crisis demonstrated the imperative to review our traditional model of society and growth. This roundtable aimed to give young people the opportunity to discuss what kind of economic development they would like to promote, based on quality jobs. Speakers were invited to discuss the link between quality jobs and economic development and demonstrate that quality jobs are not necessarily detrimental to economic development, despite what we often hear in public debate. Claire Courteille, Director of the ILO Brussels Office, and Alexandra Grolimund, from the Global Network for Rights and Development, insisted on the fact that quality jobs could even be drivers of sustainable economic development. According to the ILO, investing in quality jobs, reducing the employment of vulnerable people and tackling working poverty leads to higher economic growth. The objective of the YO!Fest and of this panel in particular was also to illustrate that ‘development is about all of us’ and that young people can contribute themselves to a more sustainable and economic development. With this in mind, Jerome Herman, Director of Belgian cooperative Damnet, explained his decision to get involved in a cooperative, to contribute to an alternative model of development, based on quality jobs. 15 HIGH LEVEL DEBATE: Youth and the City The YO!Fest’s high-level debate mayors of past, present and focused on youth participation, future European Youth Capitals examining how young people (EYCs) brought their experience can be empowered to actively of youth engagement alongside shape their cities. Under the EU policymakers and youth heading “Youth and the City”, representatives. YO!DEBATE: Members, not only share- holders! How cooperatives enhance youth participation Organised by Cooperatives Europe This debate presented the Enrico de Sanso – BeesCoop, business models based on shared their cooperative and people participation, in discussed with the audience particular cooperatives. what participation means Three entrepreneurs - Dann to them and how youth Creupelandt, Ecopower, Julia participation