60 students from 15 EU countries took over another city: Thessaloniki!
From 7 to 10 September 2023, Gen Z Votes landed in Greece for its third stop through Europe. During the event, the 21 permanent participants of the project — the so-called “Youth Squads” — were joined by 32 new students, some of them coming from Perrotis College (a Gen Z Votes partner) to take part in an adventure whose topic was “A Day in the Life of a European - EU Impacts on Daily Life”.
Before gathering together, the Youth Squads met online with EucA staff to finalize the event’s agenda and select topics related to democratic participation. After these meetings, they chose the following titles for their videos:
Understand the impact of the European elections on your daily life;
Just go vote!;
It’s not enough for YOU to vote! Convince others: Make a bigger impact!
The informative sessions and the promotion of the project bore its fruits on September, as students joined Thessaloniki from Romania (2), Austria (1), Hungary (8), Italy (14), France (3), Greece (17), Poland (1), Sweden (1), Germany (3), Ireland (2), Spain (2), Croatia (1), The Netherlands (1), Belgium (3), and Lithuania (1).
Once in Thessaloniki, the students were split up into 10 groups to brainstorm ways to encourage young people in their respective countries, to be engaged citizens. The hustle continued as they followed this first session with a dynamic and engaging piece of training on improvisation and theater techniques provided by Chara Adamidou and Morfoula Stergiou, professional theatrologists and drama teachers. The participants were taught the best ways to deliver their messages, and in the next few days, they could put into practice what they learned!
Throughout the four days of the event, tutors from EucA and Perrotis College reserved a time slot to help each group develop their ideas and challenges. Following the tutoring, the students were free to film their videos on the Perrotis College campus or in the city center. At the end of the day, they were allowed enough time to edit and produce the most appealing content possible.
Finally, on the final day of the event, a video festival was held so that everyone could proudly showcase their best work. With the laughs and claps of appreciation, the participants were assured of their power to make an impact!
By the end of the endeavor, the 10 teams of Gen Z Votes had produced and edited 90 videos in 8 different languages, all aimed at bolstering civic engagement among young people and increasing participation in the upcoming European elections of June 2024.
“I really enjoyed this event. I liked that the schedule wasn't as packed and that we could take our time to brainstorm and record. I greatly enjoyed the theatre class as well. Thank you!”
“This event made me realize how many cultures there are in the EU and how wonderful it is to meet and share experiences," said one participant. "I had a wonderful time at the event and everyone has been so nice and it was very well organized. Amazing!”
EucA expresses its sincere gratitude to all of the participants who came from colleges and universities throughout the EU for their incredible work and deep dedication. Special thanks go out to Perrotis College and Convitto Nazionale Mario Cutelli for their joint efforts on this life-changing project! Your support has been invaluable!
What happens now?
Gen Z Votes stop this April again in another European country: Croatia! A challenging three-day event in the heart of Dubrovnik that will remove around one topic "Removing Barriers to Youth Voting". As per usual, new participants will join the Youth Squads to make the best of the last event of this long journey. Stay involved!
Visit the Gen Z Votes! social media pages to check the amazing videos created in Thessaloniki. Share with your family and friends and join us in encouraging Gen Z to make their voices heard!