The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to an unpresented health crisis that has also affected the functioning of economies and the wellness of societies and communities across Europe. The spread of the pandemic has led to a temporary restriction in the enjoyment of fundamental rights and democratic values have been severely challenged. Strengthening and nurturing democracy in the European Union is central to the 2024 European Parliament elections, so is the participation of citizens in the elections, especially first-time voters. Young people make up one third of Europe’s demographics, but often they do not have an interest in politics or the political processes. The project Make your Vote! encourages youth participation in Europe’s democratic life by raising awareness of the common European values, the importance of young people's voice in Europe and encouraging citizens to make informed decisions. Through a bottom-up approach, the project will implement activities that promote active citizenship, youth engagement and participation in democratic life and bringing together young people and decision- makers together to help young people discover and take their place in today’s complex society.

Objectives:

• To encourage the participation of young people in the democratic life of Europe: Engage, Connect and Empower
• To strengthen democratic participation, and to foster inclusion and empowerment of young people and first-time voters
• To promoting active citizenship and young people’s voice in the decision-making process
• Raising awareness of EU’s common values, such as: democracy, freedom, equality, fundamental rights
• Creating tools to effectively participate in public life and skills to make young people’s voices heard in shaping policies and in Europe’s resilience process

We are pleased to invite you to attend the online international event World Café as the launching of the project Make Your Vote! 

We believe that participation in democratic life is of utmost importance when it comes to shaping our European future. Thus, we encourage young people, first time voters and citizens to join us for a discussion on the European Commission’s priorities (2019-2024) and to get poll answers on crucial topics related to the EU as a whole. 

This event will be online from 16:00 to 18:00 (CET, UTC +1) on February 22nd (Wednesday) via Zoom.

Facilitator of the event is Domagoj Morić.

Domagoj Morić has a BA in Public Relations and MA in Scientific Research of Mass Communication. He has more than 10 years of experience as a trainer and led training under the programmes “Education about the EU” and “Public Relations in Education”. Domagoj is also the owner and CEO of the small company DOMAS, which works with NGOs from Croatia and abroad, the National Agencies for Erasmus+ Programmes and private companies and agencies for project consulting.

Your opinions and attitudes are important to us, so please register here by February 20nd:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpde-qrzotHtEWU-oXorqF2TfBaeWfCJ6c

You can download the agenda of the World Cafe event below:

We announce with pleasure, that on Wednesday 14th of June 6pm, Kaplani 10 Ioannina, we will host a simulation of a Citizen’s Debate. The event is based on the concept of Citizen’s Debate of the EU, being carried out between citizens and policymakers. In Ioannina, local people will have an opportunity to ask questions and share suggestions about local and EU policies, priorities with Christina Kotsanti, the Vice Mayor of Ioannina, representing the department of Social Protection and Migration Policy. Moreover, some of the participants will have an opportunity to participate in video making regarding our expectations from the future Members of the European Parliament.

Everyone, especially people aged 18-35 are welcome to participate in the debate, to apply please click on the link below and register: https://forms.gle/F6NzNm44iYAY6KCV8. 

From 6th to 10th November three participants, among them one of our staff members, took part in an International Skills Training, CONNECT, which took place in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia. This training is part of a long-term project called Make Your Vote, in which we are partners together with other organisations from EU countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Poland, and Croatia. Make Your Vote is a project funded by the European Commission and is part of the CERV Programme. 

During these days in Sofia, participants had the opportunity to discover and foster their skills for active participation in policy-making. Different techniques and methods were used to build the content, such as World Café, debates, or learning by creating. At the end of the training, through collaborative dynamics, the participants created innovative tools for civil and civic participation of young people in democratic life.

From the 5th to the 9th of February, the International Youth Debate “EMPOWER” took place in the city of Ioannina, Greece. 5 working day mobility in which 34 participants coming from all project partner countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Poland, Spain, and Greece) had the change to became more aware of EU common values and the importance of voting in elections, both at national and European level. Moreover, through the sessions they could discover the decision-making procedures of the EU Parliament, by performing a youth debate related to the European Commission six priorities, similar to a session of the European Parliament. 

One of the outcomes of the International Youth Debate “EMPOWER”, was creating recommendations aimed at policymakers. The defined structure of the policy recommendation created by the participants of the event is the following: to address the overall youth participation in the EU democratic processes through the areas of youth strategies, education, partnerships, and digitalization and media; and, furthermore, to work on a better future for the EU through the social, cultural, environmental, and digitalization pillars. 

Non-formal and informal educational methods were used in order to conduct the activities, which included joint analysis, large group debate, action and learning by creating recommendations aimed at policymakers.