Living in Europe Together – Day 5

Youth Seminar

Day 5 was the very last day of our Youth Seminar “Living in Europe Together”. It was an enthusiastic and emotional day as we looked at the future (individual projects, exchanges of good pratices, potential partnerships…) and the past (evaluation of the past week, feedbacks, heartfelt remembrances…).

The morning was mostly dedicated to the future as the participants were invited to present the Individual Action Plan they had been able to develop the day before, with the help, advices and suggestions of their colleagues. The presented projects tackled a number of issues such as youth participation, refugees’ integration, LGBT’s rights…

The second activity of the morning consisted in a training on a technique of project analysis: the famous SWOT technique. The aim of a SWOT technique is to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a project. By teaching the participants the use of this technique, the Team gave them a tool for analysing their future European projects and the Individual Action Plan they would implement at local level later on.

This presentation was followed by a training on Advocacy in which the young people were taught about the 5 Steps for Advocacy: identifying the Needs/Issues that need to be sorted, set a Goal, find Allies, make an Action Plan, Never Give Up (Public Pressure). This very inspirational course was concluded by the following quote:

One candle alone cannot light a fire, but it can light many more candles.

Later on this day, Mariam, treasurer of the Board of Youth Express Network, presented the network in depth: its values and purpose, its structure. She explained the process of becoming a member of Y-E-N, talked about our SAY-ers, Y-E-N’s pool and ressource, and how the participants could join the network if they wanted. She also announced the dates for the upcoming General Assembly and next activity, inviting the participants to continue to be part of the organisation’s projects.

The rest of the day was focused on the past few days. It was a time for evaluating the seminar, exchanging the official certificates, remembering good times passed and saying goodbye and “see you soon”.

The last day of “Living in Europe Together”, our 5 days Youth Seminar, was intensely charged with gratitude and promises for a brighter and more inclusive future. Our participant have shared 5 brilliant days together and they left Thessaloniki with new friends, great ideas and confidence to achieve them, all together, in Europe.

Warm smiles and hugs from Thessaloniki,

Youth Express Network

Fonds européen pour la jeunesse

This project was supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union