Young People at the Heart of Europe A Decade of the European Youth Centre Budapest French edition: Les jeunes au coeur de l'Europe – 10 ans du Centre européen de la jeunesse Budapest, ISBN 10 - 92-871-5958-0 ISBN 13 - 978-92-871-5958-8 Hungarian edition: Fiatalok Európa szívében – A Budapesti Európai Ifjúsági Központ 10 éve, ISBN 10 - 92-871-5962-9 ISBN 13 - 978-92-871-5962-5 The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Council of Europe. Copyright of this publication is held by the Council of Europe. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes in any form or by any means, electronic, (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the prior permission in writing from the Publishing Division ([email protected]) Communication and Research Directorate of the Council of Europe. Reproduction of material from this publication is authorised for non-commercial purposes only and on condition that the source is properly quoted. All correspondence relating to this publication or the reproduction or translation of all or part of it should be addressed to: European Youth Centre Budapest H-1025 Budapest, Zivatar u.1-3. Tel: + 36 1 212 40 78 Fax: + 36 1 212 40 76 Edited by Yael Ohana English proof-reading: Rachel Appleby Cover design: Merán studios Photos: Merán studios, Art Factory, Andrea Haider, Antje Rothemund Published by the Directorate of Youth and Sport ISBN 10 - 92-871-5859-9 ISBN 13 - 978-92-871-5959-5 © Council of Europe, 2006 Printed in Hungary 2 "Many people have provided support and invested a great deal of energy into making the Centre what it is today: a widely respected place for intercultural dialogue, human rights and citizenship education. I should like to express my gratitude to you for what you have done so far and for what you will help us to do in the future. I want to pay special tribute to the Hungarian authorities for their unwavering political and financial support for the Centre, over four consecutive governments and spanning more than a decade" Terry Davis Secretary General of the Council of Europe 3 Thank you to Hungary Special gratitude is expressed to the Hungarian authorities and many civil society organisations and their staff for their continued support, assistance, encouragement and hospitality to the European Youth Centre Budapest since 1990, in particular to: > The Office of the President of the Republic > The Office of the Prime Minister > The Hungarian Parliament and, in particular, its Sub-committee on Youth > The Ministry of Foreign Affairs > The Ministry for Culture and Education (1994 - 1998) > The Ministry for Youth and Sports (1998 - 2002) > The Ministry for Children, Youth and Sports (2002 - 2004) > The Ministry for Youth, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (2004 - 2006) > Mobilitás, the Hungarian National Youth Service > The Hungarian youth organisations and NGOs. 4 Thank you to the contributors to this book Gratitude and appreciation are expressed to all those who contributed to the production of this publication. Special thanks are extended to > the personalities who were ready to share their memories and thoughts in the interviews; > the authors of the four knowledgeable and insightful articles; > all those, who shared their experience by sending birthday greetings to the EYCB; > Éva Szabó and Maureen Georges-Higgs for keeping the archives of the Centres complete so as to allow for the reconstruction of historical data; > Peter Lauritzen, who with his institutional and personal memory of several decades, has provided the kind of information, which cannot be found in any archive; > Partners, colleagues, supporters and friends for having provided critical feed- back, support, inspiration and encouragement; > And last, but not least, Yael Ohana, for conducting the many interviews, collecting and screening the materials, putting and answering many questions and for editing the entire publication. We apologise for omissions and errors and regret that unfortunately it was not possible to include all of the materials received in this publication. 5 Table of Contents 4 Thank you to Hungary BIRTHDAY GREETINGS FROM EUROPE AND BEYOND 5 Thank you to the contributors to this book 48 Anniversary Wishes received on the 10th 8 Introduction by Antje Rothemund Birthday of the European Youth Centre Budapest ARTICLES 15 A European Youth Centre in Budapest - Challenges, Obstacles, Innovations by Peter MISCELLANEOUS Lauritzen 72 Staff of the EYCB since 1995 and today 23 The EYCB and Hungary - A Special 73 Selected EYCB Publications 2000 to 2005 Relationship and a Little Hungarian 76 EYCB – Selected Press Review 1994 to 2005 Transition Story by Zsuzsanna Szelényi and 79 Programme of the EYCB Inauguration Zita Németh 80 Decisions related to the EYCB 31 The Human Heart Is Never Completely 81 Photo Index Born by Hendrik Otten 38 A Programme at the Centre at the Heart of Europe - The European Youth Centre Budapest and Human Rights Education by Rui Gomes HISTORY 60 A Short History of the European Youth Centre Budapest 69 Timeline of European Youth Centre Budapest Events INTERVIEWS 12 Miguel Martinez - "The constructive development of the continent must continue" 13 Catherine Lalumière - "The mission of the Centres in Budapest and Strasbourg is as important as ever" 14 Péter Wootsch - "Living proof of our common European project" 20 Daniel Menschaert - "A window onto a reunited Europe" 21 Philippe de Romémont - "We learned the true meaning of co-operation" 22 Gábor Fodor - "A significant opportunity for Hungary" 28 Éva Szabó - "One fax machine and an old typewriter" 29 Lucija Popovska - "Stepping into the EYCB felt like a pioneering act" 30 Daniel Tarschys - "A positive measure to promote youth participation" 35 Karin Scheele - "Concrete support for the development of European civil society" 36 Lord Russell-Johnston - "A kind of intergenerational dialogue" 37 Tamás Deutsch - "Freedom is hard won" 45 Alexandra Raykova - "Safe from prejudice and discrimination" 46 Sunduss Al-Hasani - "A whole new perspective on the issue of Muslim youth identities" 47 Aleksandra Vidanovics - "Support was out there" 58 Krisztian Koncert - "It is sometimes hard to gain the trust of decision makers" 59 Kinga Göncz - "A gateway to Europe" 7 Introduction ANTJE ROTHEMUND, Executive Director, European Youth Centre Budapest This book contains the contributions of numerous Europeans. They represent different age groups and a wide spectrum of political, cultural and social life in Europe. All the personalities, who have kindly offered us their memories and experience, have at least one thing in common. In their political or professional functions, in their work or in their voluntary commitment to civil society, present or past, they have come into contact with the European Youth Centre Budapest of the Council of Europe. These are young Antje Rothemund has been the Executive Director of the European and not-so-young people who have Youth Centre Budapest since 1999. She started her career at the participated in one or more of the Council of Europe in 1991 as Tutor at the European Youth Centre hundreds of activities that have taken Strasbourg and joined the staff of the EYCB in 1997 as Administrator place in the Centre since it opened in 1995. in charge of Training and Programme. Prior, Antje Rothemund worked They are or were decision-makers as Programme Executive for the European Region of an international essential to the establishment, youth organisation and for the municipal youth service of the City of development and consolidation of a Munich, Germany. 'Second European Youth Centre', in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. They are active and committed members of civil society, politicians, youth workers and youth leaders, trainers, educators, civil servants, researchers and staff members of the Council of Europe, many of whom have been several of these in different phases of their lives. Their individual memories, wishes and experiences present the numerous parts of a complex puzzle, which together give a colourful and vivid picture of what made and makes the European Youth Centre Budapest. I hope that you will enjoy the wealth of never before published and extremely rich material that is brought together in this book, exceeding even the editors' expectations at the outset of the project. * * * One could be forgiven for thinking that a European Youth Centre is a matter of merely bricks and mortar. However, its name can be considered a label of quality and stands for much more. The objectives, mission of, and expectations towards the European Youth Centre are first and foremost described in its statutes1, which state: "The European Youth Centre (…) shall be an educational establishment of the Council of Europe and a knowledge base on youth affairs, in particular youth policy and youth work, as well as emerging youth phenomena. As an instrument for the participation of European youth in the building of Europe, it shall contribute to implementing the youth activities programme of the Council of Europe."2 The Council of Europe's values, mission and ethical standards are the backbone of the European Youth Centre's work. Since 1949, the Council of Europe has represented reconciliation through the promotion of human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law. With, at time of writing, its 46 member states, it covers virtually the entire European continent and stands for the larger Europe by embracing its diversity. One of the unique features of a European Youth Centre is the extent to which it is embedded in a philosophy of youth: work in this field is done with, for and about young people. The Centre is the symbol of lively, interdisciplinary and pan-European co-operation taking place within the triangle of youth work, youth policy and youth research.