PREVIOUS EDITIONS

On 9-10 June, 8.500 young people took over the European Parliament in Strasbourg to discuss and share ideas on how to shape the future of Europe. 

Joined by experts, activists, content creators and decision-makers, young people had the opportunity to interact, exchange views and get inspired right at the heart of European democracy. The fifth edition of the event, EYE2023, featured more than 300 in-person and hybrid activities, including debates, discussions, networking opportunities, artistic performances, sports and interactive workshops. 

In light of the European and global context and ahead of the European elections 2024, part of the programme focused on the role of democracy and youth engagement. 

The 15 most popular ideas discussed during EYE2023 were published in the Youth Ideas Report, reviewed by three young editors and presented to MEPs during a European Youth Hearing in Brussels in the autumn. 

EYE2021 took place on 8-9 October 2021 and brought together 5.000 young people at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and another 5.000 online, to discuss more than 2.000 ideas to shape the future of Europe.

EYE2021 was the culmination of the European Parliament’s youth consultation process for the Conference on the Future of Europe. Started in May 2021, in collaboration with pan-European youth organisations, young people’s ideas on the future of Europe were collected on youthideas.eu. 

Among the proposals brought up at EYE2021, participants put forward concrete ideas to make recycling easier across the EU, to protect the EU values, and to reform language learning in schools in order to promote multilingualism. Young participants also came forward with proposals for a more federal Europe, together with ideas to keep companies more accountable for their contributions to climate change.

The most popular 20 ideas from EYE2021 were presented to the Members of the Conference and fed into the political debate.

The third edition of the European Youth Event (EYE2018) took place on 1-2 June 2018. On this occasion, 8,970 young people were welcomed at the Parliament in Strasbourg, along with over 250 speakers, 11 partners, hundreds of youth organizations and many enthusiastic volunteers. Participants came from all 28 EU Member States, plus countries from outside the EU, making a total of 109 nationalities present throughout the event. EYE2018 coincided also with the launch of the European Elections campaign “This time I’m voting”.

The President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, together with Vice-Presidents Ramon Valcárcel Siso, Sylvie Guillaume, Mairead McGuinness, Rainer Wieland, and many more MEPs, attended several activities, interacting with, listening to and offering valuable feedback to participants.

But the “youthquake” did not stop there. The EYE Report, a collection of the 100 most concrete ideas discussed at the event, is available in all EU languages. MEPs debated these ideas during the EYE hearings, which took place between October 2018 and January 2019.

On 20-21 May 2016, the European Parliament in Strasbourg opened its doors once again and welcomed 7,500 young Europeans, who had a unique opportunity to meet and discuss with European decision makers. Participants were encouraged to come up with their own ideas for how to improve Europe under the event’s slogan: “Together we can make a change”. EYE2016 featured hundreds of engaging activities, such as debates, hearings, workshops and digital games

As follow-up to the event, a team of young reporters coordinated by the European Youth Press drafted a comprehensive report, which outlined 50 of the most substantial ideas that were raised under the five themes. The ideas showcased in the report were circulated to all MEPs. In addition, participants presented and debated their ideas within ten parliamentary committees in the months after the event.

EYE2014 took place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 9-11 May 2014, and served as a platform for participants to share their ideas and opinions on issues such as youth unemployment, the digital revolution, the future of the EU, sustainability and European values. The three-day event attracted more than 5,500 young participants, 400 speakers and dozens of supporting partners and youth associations.
In an effort to collate and highlight the ideas put forward by the young participants, the European Youth Press, the European Youth Forum and over one hundred journalists who covered the event put together a final EYE2014 report, which was subsequently made available to new MEPs and was intended to serve as a source of inspiration, as well as a guide to the hopes and concerns of Europe’s youth. In addition, participants had the chance to present the most concrete ideas suggested by young people during the EYE to seven parliamentary committees and receive feedback from European policymakers.