The European Youth Parliament selects Valencia
The European Youth Parliament selects Valencia 2019 to host it’s 90th International Session
The European Youth Parliament has chosen Valencia as the city for its summer session of
European debates in 2019. More than 300 youngsters from all over the continent will come
together to debate current topics regarding the future of Europe.
More than 300 youngsters from up to 40 countries across Europe will debate during ten days current topics which affect the European Union (EU) such as migration, gender equality, climate change, unemployment, freedom of press, etc.
Valencia 2019 is an innovative initiative which intends to secure an important region in EYP España.
This event will try to prove that the Valencian Community is a diverse place where boundaries are not set by walls and where the intercultural exchange and dialogue amongst European citizens is possible.
The selection of the hosting city happens a year and a half prior to the event as the organization of it requires a considerable amount of time as the organizing team is made up of young volunteers which are still studying or have just finished their education. The team is led by Aritz Labrador, Carlota Cumella and María Granero. Months before they received the green light from the International Office the three of them were already working to find the perfect venues, activities and patrons for this event.
The event place will take place under the theme “Sailing towards new horizons”, which aims to combine both the uniqueness of the city of Valencia and Horizon 2020 of the European Union, its biggest investigation and innovation project. From 2014 to 2020, the program fosters investment in science, industry and technology.
The organizers foresee the event as a place in which the participants will be able to, on the one hand, decide which objectives in Horizon 2020 have been met and on the other hand which horizons the EU sail should to.
“Respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, human rights, promotion of peace and the wellbeing of all nations are the values which I feel indispensable. It is our responsibility as citizens of the EU and as youngsters to ensure that such values are respected, as there is too much passivity and conformism”, said Cumella.
EYP is one of the most dynamic not-for-profit European organizations and currently it has representation in 40 European countries which form a net of more than 35.000 volunteer participants. This makes it one of the biggest European platforms of public debate, civic education and exchange of ideas amongst youngsters. Its mission is to inspire and promote young Europeans as tolerant citizens with open minds and active participation in civil society both at a national and international level. Effective, transparent and democratic in its internal functioning, EYP hopes to promote critical thinking, intercultural exchange and social thought.
“We are a generation which is fully conscious that this is the moment in which we must show those who come after us what no one knew before. A generation which must be prepared for that which no one knows just yet. Valencia 2019 is the opportunity to follow a path already traced beforehand”, says Granero.
The European Youth Parliament has been awarded a wide range of prizes such as the European Movement of the Year 2012 and the Mérite Européen. It also has the support of important public figures such as the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Torbjørn Jagland, and the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker. The mother company which allows the development of this organization is the Schwarzkopf Stiftung Junges Europa which has its headquarters in Berlin. For EYP, Europe is not simply an abstract and distant structure, but a real entity with real life thanks to young people which are motivated and willing to push this continent forward.
Each of the sessions has its own spirit and concept. However, there are a series of patrons which follow from session to session in EYP. For example, all of them take place in English and are divided into three phases:
Teambuilding, Committee Work y General Assembly.
The General Assembly, which will take place in the prestigious Palace of Congress of Valencia, will mark the end of all the work done at the 90th International Session. It is during the last two days of the session when the committees defend their resolutions to the participants. The delegates live in these days an authentic parliamentary debate, learning to position themselves on certain topics and to defend what they believe in.
At the end of each debate there is a vote to determine which resolutions pass and which do not and those which are approved by a majority of the session are sent afterwards to the European Parliament to be considered.
This project requires an extensive net of volunteers. EYP is an NGO and so the first objective of the organizing committee is to attract investors and institutional support to develop its activities at its full potential. You can contact the organizing team at info@valencia2019.org
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