Y-FED: Europe is what we make of it

The project “Y-FED: Europe is what we make of it” aims to bring the EU closer to its young citizens by developing a proposal for an improved institutional framework of the Union in line with the European Youth Goals. The initiative, supported by an Erasmus+ “European Youth Together” grant, will be implemented between January 2020 and July 2021 through a series of capacity-building training courses, public policy hackathons, a large-scale simulation of a reformed EU and advocacy actions. The project partners comprise 18 civil society organisations as well as 2 networks of European and regional decision-makers.

The project builds on Y-FED: Model European Federation co-organised in June 2019 by JEF France, JEF Strasbourg and JEF Germany.

Aims and objectives

Aim 1. Bring the EU closer to its citizens by raising awareness of the EU institutional framework and advocate for its reform based on young people’s recommendations. Objectives:

  • Offer an inclusive space for young people and youth organisations to learn about the work of the European institutions and to share their views on how the institutions should work to be more representative and accountable to citizens.
  • Develop and test a model of a reformed EU institutional framework with young Europeans, offering them first-hand experience in policy-making and advocacy. 
  • Engage young activists and youth organisations in promoting the developed model through policy dialogue and political advocacy.

Aim 2. Raise awareness of the European Youth Goals (EYGs) and support their implementation by embedding them in the reformed EU institutional model and bringing them from the European to the local level. Objectives:

  • Raise awareness about the EYGs among young Europeans involved in the development of a reformed EU institutional model.
  • Raise awareness about the EYGs among regional and local decision-makers through local advocacy actions implemented by young people.
  • Encourage local/regional collaboration among young people and political stakeholders for the implementation of the EYGs at the local level.

Implementation

In the first phase of the project, young activists will be trained to prepare “Shape Europe” hackathons implemented in 5 European countries. During an expert meeting, the outcomes of the hackathons will be reviewed and compiled into a set of recommendations. These outputs will allow to develop a model of a reformed EU which is closer to its citizens and allows for effective implementation of the European Youth Goals (EYGs).

The project’s main highlight, the Youth simulation of the EU, will give young people the opportunity to test the developed model following a series of preparatory webinars. By playing the roles of decision-makers, lobbyists and journalists, the participants will get involved in a reformed EU decision-making process. Through this first-hand experience, they will improve their understanding of EU governance and will be able to discuss ways of bringing it closer to European citizens while keeping the EYGs in mind. 

In the second phase of the project, young people will become advocates for the implementation of the reformed EU institutional model based on the outcomes of the simulation and in line with the EYGs. All the outputs of the project, including a set of policy recommendations, will be presented at the final conference attended by youth activists and political stakeholders.

Check out our Hackathon Results!

Partners and roles

The Y-FED consortium, composed of local and European organisations representing the interests of diverse groups, will ensure that the voices of young people from different countries and socio-cultural backgrounds shape the deliverables of the project. The partners and their roles include:

Supported by: