Program: Erasmus+,KA2 – Small scale partnerships on the field of youth
Project Leader: Socialinio Tvarumo Akademija – Litwa
uration: Marzec 2024 – Luty 2026
Partners :
- Estonia – Progress Center Estonia
- Polska – Stowarzyszenie Rozprawy o Europie
Project Summary:
This project was developed in response to the low participation and interest in European Union affairs of young people from Lithuania, Poland and Estonia.
The goal of the project is to equip young citizens with the knowledge, skills and motivation to actively participate in democratic processes in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia, as well as the European Union as a whole. In achieving the goals of V.I.P., we are working to foster a culture of civic engagement, strengthen democratic values, and ultimately increase youth voter turnout in European Parliament elections.
Project goals:
-Increasing youth awareness of participation in emocratic processes
-Stimulation of civic activity among young people
-Comparing the level of activity and ways to encourage young people to participate in elections in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia
-Supporting the culture of civic engagement
Main activities:
- A visit to the European Parliament
- Analysis of the European Parliament elections
- Local debates with candidates for the European Parliament in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia
- Youth initiatives in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia
- Orientation games about the European Union in Lithuania, Poland and Estonia
- Presentations in schools about the EU and EU opportunities using quizzes
Project progress
1. Study visit in Brussels
On April 20-22, Iga, Karolina, Dominika, Bartosz, Igor and Piotr took part in a study visit to Brussels Together with young people from Lithuania and Estonia, they learned about the history of the EU, European institutions and found out that the EU is really at our fingertips.
On the first day of our meeting, courtesy of MEP Adam Jarubas, our young people had the opportunity to see the European Parliament building from the inside. They saw places that are not available during normal sightseeing and also what a normal day at the Europarliament looks like, how our MEPs work on a daily basis and how the most important decisions for us are made. They also had a chance to participate in a meeting of the Subcommittee on Public Health, of which Mr. Adam Jarubas is chairman. We sincerely thank Mr. Adam Jarubas for this opportunity, it is probably one of those visits that our youth will remember for the rest of their lives!
In the following days, they again went to the Europarliament where they met with Robertas Pogorelis – a lecturer and administrator at the EP, who introduced the young people to the EU institutions and then went to the Parlamentarium – an interactive multimedia exhibition. In addition, they also visited the European Youth Forum, where together they discussed the problems faced by young people in our countries and how to remedy them. The next point of the day was the House of European History, where, through a tour and interactive exhibits, they learned how Europe was founded and its history over the years. At the end, together with the partners and the youth, they had time to discuss and debate the next steps of the project.
As you can see, there was a lot going on and more to come – this visit was just a prelude to what we have in store for you! Soon we will be announcing invitations to more initiatives – believe us, it will be happening!
2. Day of Europe
We’d like to take you back for a moment to May 9th when we celebrated Europe Day.
During the event organized by the Lubianka Reservoir in Starachowice, participants had the opportunity to listen to a presentation about the opportunities the European Union offers young people, including the Erasmus+ program and the European Solidarity Corps. Afterward, we brainstormed our own project ideas and demonstrated how to prepare and execute a project. We shared ideas, refined specific actions, and planned the next steps. Additionally, the youth created a Youth Map of Europe, marking the most important and interesting places for them. At the end of the event, each group presented their developed ideas and shared their thoughts.
The activities described are part of the “V.I.P. – Very Important Participation” project, funded by the European Union, and all activities were created by our youth as part of their own youth initiative.
Once again, we want to thank everyone who attended our event, and we warmly invite you to join us for future activities that we are already preparing for you!
3. Debate with EP candidates
On 17 May, we met in Tarnów for an event whose highlight was a debate between candidates in the European Parliament elections. The event was organised in cooperation with the Tarnów Youth Council. The event was attended by students from Tarnów secondary schools and universities.
The debate, chaired by Dominika Chmielewska, was attended by the candidates: Mr. MEP – Adam Jarubas and Ms. Chairwoman of the Tarnów Town Council – Małgorzata Mękal. During the debate, the candidates answered questions on how they intend to support youth, what their priorities are for the coming term, and also referred to current affairs in the lives of young Europeans. It is worth mentioning that there were many questions from the audience, which allowed the young people present at the event to get actively involved in the debate and get answers from the candidates to their most burning questions.
Immediately after the debate, a panel was held on the opportunities offered to young people by the EU, including the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps. Klaudia Chamera, an experienced councillor from Youth City Council in Starachowice, took the floor. Among other things, she answered questions about what these programmes are and the best way to take part in an EU-funded project. Klaudia also talked about the impact of the European Funds on the work of the Youth City Council and her own experiences with travel.
At the very end of the event, the floor was once again taken by Dominika Chmielewska, a representative of our Association with many years of experience in social work and coordinating EU-funded projects. Dominika gave a short lecture on ‘What is the European Union all about?’.
Both the debate, the panel and the lecture aimed to increase young people’s interest in the European Union and the European elections on 9 June.
Remember, use your vote on 9 June!
4. EU elections
#EuropeanElections2024 are behind us! From June 6th to 9th, millions of Europeans went to the polls to elect 720 members who will serve in the upcoming term of the European Parliament.
Among the overall number of European voters were also our volunteers, whom you can see in the photos attached to this post. For most of them, it was their first time voting in an election! Thanks to our VIP project, they were able to deepen their knowledge about the EU, its institutions, and how it operates in recent times.
We are proud that the younger generation feels a sense of responsibility for the future of the EU. Keep it up!
5. Orienteering game
Hi! The orienteering game ”EuroTrack” is behind us! In cooperation with Youth City Council of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski we organized an activity day in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
There were several points with tasks waiting for the participants, which they could find using the Actionbound application.
At the first point, 3 questions about the European Union had to be drawn from a pool and answered correctly to continue the game….
However, the bar kept getting higher and higher! The second point was to solve the cipher ”Chocolate”. The answer was a hint for the next point. But it could not be too easy! A point awaited the participants where, at the very beginning, they had the mission to find the ROE tattoos! Once they had succeeded, they were given another cipher – this time a ”mobile” cipher… We were testing whether our players still remembered the keypad on their old phones!
Moving towards the end, more points awaited the participants. Their task was, among other things, to solve a mathematical riddle. However, there was more than just maths. Knowledge of flags, dates and names related to the European Union was also needed! After giving a good score, the players received a mysterious envelope… Their task was to transport the surprise to the next point without being tempted to open it. At the last point on the map – time, attentiveness and cleverness counted. The envelope contained a text, a map and a sheet of paper with instructions. Participants worked on the history of the founding of the European Union! Cool prizes awaited the first three players with the best scores in points and time.
How do you think you managed to get through the whole game without making a single mistake?
Thank you to our volunteers and youth councilors for their help with the organization!
The project is financed by the Erasmus+ program, with funds from the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.