The first of four international GenZ Votes events organized by EucA funded and supported by the European Parliament took place in Coimbra, Portugal. A total of 30 students from 15 EU countries came together to brainstorm, film, and edit engaging video content for their peers to be active European citizens. Grouped into 4 Youth Squads, participants worked during the 2 days to produce videos on the following topics:
Good news about everyday civic engagement that goes unnoticed.
Historical or current events that show how young people’s involvement sparked societal change.
Useful rights that European citizens have and should be aware of.
Even more than Erasmus! Available EU opportunities and how to make youth voices heard at the EU level.
The final goal of the project? To encourage youth turnout in the next European Parliament elections in May 2024 and engagement with EU decision-makers through the production of engaging videos!
The first day was the contact day. Students from every corner of the EU presented "A day in the life in their country" to their new colleagues. A dynamic way to understand the culture, customs, and traditions of the different origins.
One of the participants who attended the event in Portugal defined his experience in this way:
I had an amazing time in Coimbra, got to know a lot of people from many different countries, and experienced the joy of working with an international team, who were all devoted to bringing out the best of ourselves and this program as well. It was exceptional to see so many students invested in the future of the European Union and the place young people have in it.
The historical atmosphere of the streets in Coimbra captured the young people, bringing out their most cultural side. The breakfasts, lunches, dinners... Everything was fascinating!
The second day was dedicated to the contribution of the experts to encourage the young audience to participate actively in their society. In the morning, it was the turn of young Portuguese activists: Duarte Costa, Sofia Barbeiro, and Dinis de Oliveira.
Only 3 out of 10 Portuguese voted in the last European elections
How to approach the production of videos? Thanks to the help of experts such as journalists, Rui Caria and Iryna Shev, who attended the event with this aim.
During the last two days of the event, students walked around Coimbra's historical monuments, recording videos to show the power of youth activism.
It was such a great experience! Very nice opportunity for networking, improving communication skills, and getting to know different cultures and people.
We are grateful to all the participants coming from our Colleges for their commitment: 30 citizens - 4 from Italy (2 from Rome, 1 from Catania, 1 from Torino) 3 from Romania (3 from Cluj-Napoca), 3 from Germany (3 from Bremen), 3 from Greece (3 from Thessaloniki), 2 from Belgium (2 from Leuven), 2 from Austria (2 from Vienna), 2 from Hungria (2 from Budapest), 2 from Spain (2 from Madrid), 2 from Ireland (2 from Dublin, 1 from Poland, 1 from Sweden (1 from Stockholm), 1 from the Netherlands (1 from Amsterdam), 1 from France (1 from Paris),, 1 from Luxembourg (1 from Luxembourg), and 1 from Portugal (1 from Coimbra).
Thank you also to Perrrotis Collegue - Convitto Nazionale Mario Cutelli for their collaboration on this project! It was a pleasure to meet our partners in person!!
And thank you to EVERYONE involved for making GenZ Votes Coimbra an enriching & outstanding experience from beginning to end!!
Even though this chapter has come to an end… If you want to see the content created by these young people you need to be alert to our social networks!! We will be uploading them to improve the knowledge about the EU. There are still many surprises ahead! Stay tuned #changemakers!
What’s next?
The 30 participants of the Youth Squads will create more media content in Catania to make the revolution real! Another 30 students will join them!! GenZ Votes is just getting started!!!
