Gearing up for the YO!Fest and the EYE 2016
The YO!Fest is the biggest and key annual political youth-led festival organised by the European Youth Forum outside the European Parliament. This year, the 7th edition of YO!Fest will be an integral part of the European Youth Event 2016 (EYE 2016) taking place in Strasbourg on 20-21 May 2016.
Following the great success of the first EYE2014, the European Youth Forum is partnering up again with the European Parliament to organise the 2nd edition of the EYE. In May, the European Parliament will open its doors to 7,500 young people aged 16-30 from across Europe inviting them to debate with peers and decision-makers, tackle and create concrete ideas on some of the biggest issues of our time. Over 100 panels, debates, workshops and activities will take place inside and outside the European Parliament, focusing on 5 main themes:
- War and Peace: Perspectives for a Peaceful Planet
- Apathy or Participation: Agenda for a Vibrant Democracy
- Exclusion or Access: Crackdown on Youth Unemployment
- Stagnation or Innovation: Tomorrow’s World of Work
- Collapse or Success: New Ways for a Sustainable Europe
Martin Shultz, the President of the European Parliament addressed a message to the EYE participants.
The YO!Fest
Just outside the European Parliament, the YO!Village will be a vibrant, interactive and sustainable space for participants to meet, share and debate with each other, as well as decision-makers.
The programme for the EYE and YO!Fest has recently been announced, with highlights in the YO!Village including:
- Join a game or quiz, test your knowledge on youth rights and learn how to protect them
- Take part in the “Sustainable Development Goals treasure hunt” and win eco-friendly prizes
- Check out the chill-out area dedicated to health and well-being
- Borrow a human “book” in the Living Library and challenge yourself to better understand groups facing discrimination
- Catch a documentary screening and debate the issues raised in the film
- Enjoy one of the open-air circus, dance or theatre performances
Combining high-level political debates, interactive workshops, educational activities simulation games, live music and artistic performances, YO!Fest creates a unique, fun and meaningful experience of participation for young people. It will be built around five thematic hubs on the main EYE themes. Each hub will bring together youth and civil society organisations.
The YO!Fest does not end as the sun goes down! Thousands of young people will take part to a spectacular open-air concert featuring Balkan Beat Box. The politically engaged band – lauded by music critics as “a global peace-keeping mission you can dance to” – will make you groove until the late hours to their Mediterranean-inflected electronica sound. The winners from the Emerging Bands Contest run in partnership between the European Youth Forum and Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) will open the concert, giving a unique opportunity for young European bands to showcase their talent.
Read more:
Make sure you save some time for activities in the YO!Village during the EYE! There will be plenty to join on the spot, with no pre-registration necessary.
- Full EYE 2016 programme http://www.epgencms.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/upload/f2c6fb38-0303-4dfc-b25f-d501f139c4d8/A5_EN_eyeprogramme2016.pdf
- EYE 2016 Mob app https://crowd.cc/eye2016
- #YOFest and #EYE2016 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
YO!Fest gets is name from YO!Mag (with YO! standing for Youth Opinion) the magazine of the platform of youth organisations in Europe. The aim of the YO!Fest is to showcase the work of youth organisations and to mobilise other civil society, corporate and institutional partners, as well as thousands of people for issues concerning young people in Europe.
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