YEL Attends U4EU’s Civil Society Week

Young European Leadership attended the Your Europe, Your Say! 2024 in Brussels during the Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) Civil Society Week.

In attendance to represent our organisation were Maïa Madani Davies (Director of Partnerships) and Gregorio Vichi (Deputy Director of Partnerships). This was a fantastic opportunity to join more than 100 young-budding future leaders across the EU, its candidate countries, and the United Kingdom, to participate in a vibrant youth consultation to share their expectations for the future of Europe and formulate impactful recommendations which will be presented during the upcoming European Parliament elections.

During the course of the day, there were speeches from Oliver Röpke, President of the EESC; Aurel Laurenţiu Plosceanu, EESC Vice-President in charge of Communication; and Alice Stollmeyer, Founder & Executive Director of Defend Democracy, who all spoke on the power the the younger generation to become change-makers in the ever so uncertain future we are seeing. Collectively, the youth consultation agreed on the following five recommendations to be presented:

1. Create a youth quota for elections of the European Parliament.
2. Approve the directive for due diligence to make Human Rights and environmental considerations mandatory in supply chains and in companies for transparency.
3. Develop a legal framework for social media to mitigate polarisation and disinformation.
4. Develop a standardised common strategy on sexual reproductive rights.
5. Special taxation guidelines for goods and services harmful to climate, e.g. Luxury goods and use money to fund climate-friendly measures. 

“The youth are the now; rather than the future.” This remark stood out powerfully alone, as it beautifully highlighted that we, the change-makers, are the microphone for future generations and can pave the way for great social change. 

We want to thank the European Economic and Social Committee for the invitation and we hope to continue collaborating into the future.