Youth Votes!

Since mid-February 2009, MIJARC Europe has officially launched its campaign “YOU(th) can make the Europe of tomorrow”.

Through this campaign, we would like to provide quality information about the upcoming elections of the European Parliament to rural youngsters and invite them to go to vote on the 7^th of June 2009. We also want to create a direct and closer relationship between the European Parliament and young citizens. That is why we have invited the young people from our network to send postcards to the candidates in the European elections and to request appointments with MEPs in order to make them express directly their specific requests about Europe. *In the next 2 months, 20.000 postcards will be sent and hundred of meetings with candidates in the elections will be organized by the young people from our network.

Recently, the team of MIJARC Europe also sent letters presenting its “5 proposals for Europe” to the MEPs members of the Committees on “Agriculture and Rural Development”, “Culture and Education”, “Employment and Social Affairs” and “Environment”.

This campaign has been translated in 8 languages and disseminated to 150.000 young people living in the rural areas in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Bulgaria.

Be part of Europe’s biggest soundwave and make your voice heard with MTV!

This is what it’s all about. Join us for the biggest shout in Europe. Ever. A roaring soundwave that can be heard from the North of Finland to the South of Spain.

Yes, that big. Yes, that loud.

What? On April 30 at exactly 3:30 pm, we invite you to shout “Can you hear me Europe?” as loud as you can.

Why? To make your voice heard. To be part of something bigger. To make Europe notice you!

How? Do it yourself or with friends – on the street, in town, at home, from a window or on through a webcam. Record your shout and upload the video to www.caneuhearme.eu, the website of the « Can you hear me Europe ? » campaign. Or…

Join the shout with MTV in:

Milan, Piazza Duomo

Berlin, Brandenburger Tor

Prague, Stromovka Park

The event will be filmed for a TV special that will be shown across Europe on MTV. We need your voice – we want to shout bigger and louder than ever before!

If you can’t make it, watch the shouts LIVE from Milan, Berlin and Prague on 30  April  at 3.30 p.m on MTV.

First stop of the Y VOTE UK Tour: London.

The perfect kick-off to a 42-days tour through 28th cities, which will end the day before the European Parliamentary Elections with a conference in Edinburgh. Opening the tour, that will bring Y VOTE all across the UK, 20 participants will gather in the UK capital together with the Y Vote team and the invited experts, and will have a look into the European Union’s institutions structure and their decision making process during three working days.

This is “The Island of Y”: starting on the 25th of April.

Piccadilly Circus, Hide Park, Camden Town… emblematic places of the city will give the name to the working groups in this conference to tackle to topics of the EU’s historical development, the EU treaties,

and will discuss different approaches to formalize the hybrid combination of the EU. Don’t miss the chance to join the project, and be part of it.

For more information, read the Y VOTE UK booklet.

Should all EU Member States follow the example of Austria? Is lowering the voting age to 16 a good strategy to get more young people actively involved in society? In 2004 67% of young people aged 18-24 didn’t vote for the European Elections. Will lowering the voting age help young people to regain faith in the democratic process? Will this help in having a more youthful European political scenario?

On EuroparlTV Debate: Voting for 16 year olds? (10’17″)

What the YFJ has to say:

From “PROPOSALS FOR A NEW YOUTH AGENDA FOR THE EU: THE YFJ’S MAIN EXPECTATIONS OF THE NEXT MANDATE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT & EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2009-2014)”

(Adopted by the YFJ GA in November 2008)

Lowering the voting age to 16

“The most tangible form of participation in society is the right to participate in a system of representative democracy and vote in elections. Currently, different voting ages apply across the European Union, with the lowest age for all elections established in Austria at 16. It is the European Youth Forum’s opinion that young people should be granted the right to vote at all local, national and European elections from the age of 16. The European Youth Forum therefore calls on the European institutions to modify the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, establishing a common voting age of 16 for the European Parliament elections.”

“Resolution on lowering the electoral age to the age of 16” (Adopted by the YFJ COMEM in April 2006)

Three arguments:

• Increase Democratic Participation;
• Balance the Demographic Changes;
• Citizens Rights in line with Responsibilities.

Links

DUF : http://www.duf.dk/home/key_issues/votes_at_16/

On Cafèbabel.com : http://www.cafebabel.com/eng/article/29168/vox-pop-austria-right-vote-16-opinions.html

In Ireland : http://www.voteat16.ie/

In the UK : http://www.votesat16.org.uk/

Friday 20 March, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and its Member Organisations are holding a coordination meeting in view of the forthcoming European Elections (4-7 June 2009).

Bringing together project managers, coordinators and responsibles for European, local and national campaigns to get more young people to vote!

Networking. Sharing of good practises. Shaping ideas.

Europarl Today: Raising young people’s interest in the EU

Debate: Is Europe boring?

Featuring:
Tine Radinja, President of the European Youth Forum (YFJ)
Marta Semplici, Member of the Executive Committee of JEF
Dragan Stojanovski, President of AEGEE-Europe
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, MEP
Dan Jørgensen, MEP