May was an important month for the political agenda in Europe not only because of the European Elections from 22-25th of May but also because the European Parliament in Strasbourg hosted the European Youth Event (EYE) on 9-11th May. An event where more than 5000 young people from Europe participated to have a say on how they would like to see a better Europe.

I was very happy to be able to be part of the International Young Nature Friends (IYNF) delegation going there. There were five main topics discussed upon in the EYE 2014: sustainability, youth unemployment, digital revolution, future of the European Union and European values. Therefore the event managed to tackle most of the pressing issues now in Europe, which are different from each other and in the same time interlinked.

In an event in which there are more than 5000 young people participating, you cannot help but feel so overwhelmed and scrolled by a strong wave of energy. We were invited there to share our concerns, our ideas, our visions of a better future. I was there to talk about sustainability, to share my vision of a Europe working even more on the issue of climate change. It was a great pleasure to talk about problems and solutions for the climate change issue and environmental problems with different people from all over Europe. I really hope the newly elected MEP (Members of the European Parliament) will take our visions and ideas into account.

There were several workshops, debates, ideas labs, role plays organized for each topic. The YO! Village outside of the parliament organized by the European Youth Forum was full of different stands of organisations, sharing information about Erasmus+ and calling youth to sign "no hate speech" pledges. It was the right atmosphere for bringing youth closer and exchange ideas. You could feel the Parliament buzzing with youth voices in every corner.
Overall, I think it is very important to say that the idea inside this event is very encouraging because it is actually showing that Members of the European Parliament are interested in listening to the youth voices.I strongly feel that especially the role plays organized by "Serious Games" were totally representing this message of inclusion, so I will share their motto with you:

Tell me and I will forget;
Show me and I may remember;
Involve me and I will understand;
                                                      Confucius

Kristina Huda

EVS volunteer in YEE