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Europawerkstatt
Start date: Aug 1, 2014, End date: Jan 31, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

What is the present state of Europe and what are the prospects for Europe's further development in times of economic crisis, youth unemployment and populism on the rise? Those questions in particular concern young Europeans - because it is their Europe and their future. Facing the legitimacy crisis of the EU and the widespread rise of eurosceptic positions, the Young European Federalists want to promote the pro-European forces in Germany and strengthen the young people's voice by enabling a level playing field for discussing their ideas with political decision-makers. The aim of the project "Europawerkstatt" is to empower young multipliers through information and networking to more active participation in European political processes and to include the perspective of young people via the discourse with policy makers. We want to create a serious and direct dialogue between young people and politicians, in which the ideas for a future and democratic Europe are discussed and further developed. This is also supposed to help the decision-makers when forming their opinion. The "Europawerkstatt" brings together around 120 youth multipliers from 16 to 30 years from various associations with around 15 delegates from the German federal state departments, the "Bundestag" and the European Parliament, as well as other European decision-makers, to discuss the present and future state of Europe. The basic idea of the project is communication on equal terms between young people and decision-makers. In absence of the usual hierarchy and division of roles between participants and experts, a unique mutual exchange becomes possible. In our proven method, named unconference, every participant may offer his/her own session in the style of an open presentation. Thus, the participants themselves design the agenda of the unconference, which enables them to address their interests in the best way and to include latest events. The three-day event (of which the decision-makers only participate on Saturday) will be held in September or November 2014 in Berlin. On the first day, the participants get to know each other. On the second day, the actual unconference is held and on the third day it is evaluated and joint initiatives are planned Even though the Young European Federalists are 'only' responsible for the organizational and temporal framework of the sessions of the participants, the success of the "Europawerkstatt" is, due to the specific target group, strongly depending on intensive groundwork. This relates especially to the contact to political decision-makers and to the application and networking of youth associations in order to get participants with diverse backgrounds. The project is organized on a voluntary basis by members of the Young European Federalists, supported by professional assistance of the federal office. Project partner is the Union of European Federalists, which particularly supports us in financing the "Europawerkstatt" and in mobilizing policy makers. Based on our experiences with the past two, very successful versions of the "Europawerkstatt", we are confident that out of the discussions and contacts, which are formed at the unconference, some successful projects and initiatives will emerge and that political processes will be initiated. In the long run, the exchange and cross-linking of pro-European forces and the integration of politically committed youth in the political process is of greatest benefit.
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