Every two years, the European Youth Event (EYE) brings together thousands of young people from across Europe and beyond at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This year it was co-hosted by the European Youth Forum, who set up a large EYE Village next to the parliament building.
The event welcomed around 8,000 young people including individuals with an interest in the EU and their youth policy, activists, NGOs, and educational and political delegations.
Our group consisted of 10 board, staff and PER members, as well as some grass-root members from our member organisations. We not only participated in the large variety of workshops, plenary sessions and the diverse side programme, but also actively contributed to the programme ourselves. We were proud to contribute with interactive activities that reflect the voices and concerns of rural youth.
We had great visibility putting RYE on the map by hosting two different workshops both days, offering Q&A sessions in the parliament’s ‘Advocacy Corner’ and having our very own info stand too.
The first workshop was “Myth Busters: Food Production in Europe” where the participants discovered myths and eye-opening facts about agriculture and food. The second workshop “Powering Change: Rural Youth in the Energy Revolution” followed up on our Energy Transition seminar last year in Manchester and prepared for a follow up project starting this year. The participants explored the sustainability of different energy sources and discussed sustainable solutions for the energy transition in rural areas during a role play.
In the numerous conversations with participants and visitors to our stand, we got great feedback for our work, were able to promote rural youth work in Europe and raised the importance of vibrant rural areas.
Macra na Feirme member Rebecca Banville said: “It was an incredible opportunity to represent rural young people in Strasbourg, we had the chance to present ideas, attend workshops and connect with other young people around Europe.”
Our team was very motivated and everyone has contributed amazingly to the activities. We enjoyed the great conversations, team spirit and overall vibe of the event.
We are looking forward to the next EYE in 2027!