Unser Mitglied IUC-Europe entwickelte ein Projekt für junge Menschen, die zum erten Mal die Gelegenheit haben an den Europawahlen 2009 teilzunehmen.

Projektvideo auf Youtube

Aims:
to educate and make new young voters at high school level interested in the EU and the European public sphere, as an introduction to and participation in the European Parliament election 2009 through a number of activities: academic input, meeting with youth ambassadors /trainers from European countries - the Europe4You-team - work with topics of current interest, formulate statements and take part in meetings with (young) candidates for the European Parliament election. A YouTube video will be produced and distributed to the participating schools.

Topics:
1) Integration of Immigrants/Minorities (Philipp)
Due to increasing unemployment and hostile sentiments towards immigrants on the rise, integration might become an even more complicated problem to handle. In order to find solutions one must look at issues like language, prejudice, religion, ghettos etc. Are we heading towards a ‘Fortress Europe' or should we relax restrictions on immigration?

2) Security/Terrorism (Minke)
Terrorism represents a threat to the security, freedom and values of the European Union and its citizens. Since 9/11 and terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London 2005, security has become a top priority for the EU, which is working hard to prevent and crack down on terrorism, but is it enough? Are the measures in conflict with the fundamental rights of citizens?

3) Gender Equality/Women in Politics (Alexandra)
Is there gender equality in politics? It is known that in the political environment there are more men than women. Women represent more than half of the EU population. So, for a better democracy in Europe there must be an equal representation of both women and men. What do young voters think about this? What do young voters expect from the candidates? Does voting mean taking politics into our hands?

4) Energy/supply (Andreas)
The need for energy supply represents the worldwide challenge of the decades to come. Not only is the environmental impact at stake, but also the delicate geo-political balance in several parts of the world. Europe takes part in the competition aspiring at being the guide towards sustainability. What is to be done to raise the awareness of the related problems among the EU citizens? How is the EU's technology potential to be improved and implemented to avoid environmental crisis? How should the EU find common strategies to keep its credibility in the negotiations with energy-sources-exporting countries?

5) Young People in Europe (Barbara)
Young people in Europe - does anybody care about me?
"Brussels" is a synonym for politics that nobody knows about but that touches everybody's life. In our workshop, we will analyse reasons for this perception of European decision making and try to develop alternative strategies. Youth politics will serve as our subject to narrow down this research attempt to an issue relevant for you as young students. In preparation, you should brainstorm about the following questions: What should the EU do for you? In what way have you profited individually from the EU?