The European Year of Youth 2022 - Your Year!

 

2022 has settled in for good. The season of strong encouragement to make some New Year’s resolutions is gone, the gloomy reality surrounds us. But not everything needs to be so gloomy. Young people from all over Europe are setting up their own initiatives. They are ready to change the world! What are their hopes for this year? What are the prospects awaiting them?

© European Union 2017 - European Parliament

 

The Youth Are The Future 

 

Following the proposal of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council came to an agreement, and in December last year a piece of news spread around the world: 2022 is going to be the European Year of Youth.

 

2022 is your year! The European Year of Youth.

Join the events, programmes and initiatives we have in store for you this year. 

We are the future! And together, we will make this year a success. 

source: https://t.co/dXspTjTAOn@EU_Commission

  • As a result of this decision, the European Commission coordinates all the activities taking place as part of the European Year of Youth. The European Commission is cooperating with the European Parliament, student organisations, and - naturally - with the youth. Each EU country is obliged to inform young people about initiatives that are raising awareness of benefits of volunteering, and to promote educational and eco-friendly projects. The financial contribution to the initiatives within the European Year of Youth comes to €8 million. That is also due to the support of the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps.

 

What Do The Youth Need?

 

What is more, the European Commission presented the Call for the Ideas report. Over 4000 interviewees at the age of 18-24 indicated forms of the would-be event, presented in this report. These include:

  • festivals,

  • trainings,

  • debates.

 

According to young people, the issues related to education, environment, physical and mental health require the most action and should be addressed during the European Year of Youth.

The issues pointed out by the interviewees go hand in hand with the goals and values of ESN. It means increased opportunities to share the expert knowledge of the Organisation with a wider target group and to exchange good practices.

 

How to Promote Mobility?

 

ESN, as the largest international student organisation, is also involved in activities organised as part of the European Year of Youth. Since the 1st of January, there is a Facebook event named “In 2022 I’m going on Erasmus!”. This ESN initiative, open throughout the year, is addressed to those who would like to go on an exchange or for an internship in a foreign company - mostly students. The goal of the masterminds behind this event is to familiarise everyone with the complexity of the application process of applying for Erasmus+ studies or internships. And there is more! There is a lot of useful information posted on the event, explaining the formalities related to preparations for the journey, and stories of former international exchanges’ participants. That way, everyone that is planning on going on  mobility in 2022, will effortlessly find reliable, verified information.

 

The Erasmus Generation

 

Why such a big buzz about Erasmus and EU initiatives? It is all thanks to a continually growing community, called “the Erasmus generation”. This term is used to describe young people who are open to explore the world, develop their skills and participate in mobility programmes. They create an international community that exists beyond divides and traditional borders set by the countries. The genesis of this community dates back to the start of Erasmus+ programme. It was developed to support education and enable young people to acquire competencies that could be useful in their future when they would enter the labour market. Not to mention that studying abroad is an experience not to be forgotten!

 

EYY as a Festival of Great Opportunities?

 

One thing is certain - a very exciting year is awaiting on the European scene. The European Year of Youth combines three levels: local, national, and international. It is a kind of promise to implement real changes on the European level, and also reaching out to the young generation that has a vision of a better world. This vision gets rolling in one’s backyard. Supported by the volunteers, we will aim to promote mobility, trying to reach new audience and change their life for the years to come. We hope that the awareness of the possibilities that Erasmus+ programme gives to the young people will increase, and - eventually - even more people will benefit from it. Acting both individually and collectively, we are capable of building a strong bridge that will increase integration and connect different generations.

 

Written by: Paulina Bednarek,

English Translation: Monika Latos, PR Committee of ESN Poland