European youth parliament

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European youth parliament
logo
legal form registered association
founding 1990
Seat Berlin , Germany
motto Understanding Europe, Rethinking Europe, Shaping Europe
main emphasis European politics , international politics
Action space Germany , Europe
Chair Rebekka Ostrop
Members 380
Website www.eyp.de

The European Youth Parliament in Germany eV ( Engl. European Youth Parliament in Germany; in short, EJP) is a registered non- profit association , which European political education has prescribed. For this purpose, the association organizes simulations of the European Parliament across Germany .

European Youth Parliament in Germany eV

In Germany, the EJP represents the European Youth Parliament (EYP) - a network of 40 national organizations that work together to educate young people about European politics . Every year the EJP organizes up to ten parliamentary simulations in Germany, in which young people from Europe take part. In 2015, the EJP Germany reached around 2000 young people with its work; around 35,000 young people across Europe.

Goal setting

The events aim to convey the basic knowledge and values ​​of the European Union to young people , to make democratic structures tangible and to promote cultural exchange beyond the borders of the member states. In this way, participation and responsibility of young people for Europe should be promoted. The association is supported exclusively by schoolchildren and students on a voluntary basis and is organized on a non-partisan basis.

Board

The board of the EJP is regularly elected for a period of two years by the association members with a simple majority. In accordance with the Articles of Association, it consists of eight members of the Executive Board; Two of these form the chair and five are authorized to represent. In the 2019/20 club year, the board is composed as follows:

Board of Directors 2019/20
Surname Department
Rebekka Ostrop CEO
Fabia Feykens Deputy CEO

International network and member support

Stefan Näger Treasurer
Tim Kniepkamp Press and public relations
Justyn Brockmeyer Funding and academic work
Valeria Mihailova National selection process
Jorinde Bauer Outreach and knowledge management
Korbinian Franks Funding and alumni coordination

Board of Trustees

The national board of trustees consists of Klaus Hänsch , Hans-Gert Pöttering , André Schmitz , Gesine Schwan , Michaele Schreyer and Christina Weiss .

Events

General Assembly of the EYP session in February 2014, Melk Abbey .

The central element of the association's work is the alignment of extended simulations of the European Parliament . Each event follows a structure that has been tried and tested over 30 years and is assigned to one of three project strands.

construction

Each session consists of three basic modules: dynamic group communication training (team building), committee work and general assembly. For the meeting, the participating young people are divided into thematic committees. The committees are led by alumni of the European Youth Parliament from Europe. The sessions are complemented by an academic and cultural program.

Group dynamic communication training (team building)

The group dynamic communication training creates mutual trust and motivation. Through basic introductory games and problem-solving tasks, the delegates recognize their strengths and weaknesses and learn to act as a closed team. In this way they develop the most important prerequisites for the substantive work on a joint resolution.

Committee Work

The work of the committee serves to deal with the content of a given European policy issue that is coordinated with the main topic of the respective meeting. The delegates compile their results in a resolution modeled on the European Parliament . In a first part, this analyzes the current situation and in a second step presents solutions that reflect the vision of young people.

Parliamentary General Assembly

The parliamentary plenary assembly concludes a session of the EJP. According to the rules of the European Parliament , each committee presents its resolution to the general parliamentary assembly . The debates of the young people are mostly followed by representatives from politics and business. Defense and aggression speeches are followed by debates, a summary speech and finally the vote on the resolution. The discussed proposals are then passed on to politicians and decision-makers as well as supporters of the respective meeting.

Academic and cultural supporting program

The individual event elements are expanded by a multi-layered supporting program. This consists, for example, of several hours of talks with experts on the respective committee topics and half-day sports and cultural programs.

Project strands

The extended parliamentary simulations of the EJP can be subdivided into three project strands: National selection process, international forums as well as trainee and student forums. The project strands differ in the language of the event, the duration of the session and the age of the participants. This division aims to do justice to all types of schools in Germany.

National selection process

In the student competition , which has been held annually since 1990 , the EJP selects the young people who will represent Germany at the next international meetings of the European Youth Parliament . First, 30 school delegations (each with seven participants) and 30 individual applicants are selected and invited to one of the three regional selection meetings in Germany. To do this, they have to prepare a topic overview for a selected topic. At the regional selection meetings, a four-person jury evaluates the work of the students based on various criteria such as: B. Language skills, content quality of your contributions and participation. Ultimately, the jury selects the three best school delegations and individual applicants, who are then invited to the national selection meeting. Every year around 300 young people from Germany take part in the competition. In 2019 the national selection meeting took place in Kiel at the beginning of June .

International forums

In addition to the national selection process, the EJP organizes international (academic) forums every year, which bring together around 120 delegates from all over Europe. The participants are regularly between 18 and 25 years old and debate current European challenges in English. In the past, the thematic priorities were, for example, the European Conference on Human Rights 2012 in Nuremberg , the International Energy Forum 2013 in Essen or European Foreign and Peace Policy 2018 in Augsburg. The association thus offers the opportunity to participate in meetings of the EJP outside of the national selection process and to experience European politics .

Trainee and student forums

Since the beginning of 2010, the EJP has been running two-day parliamentary simulations in German at schools as part of the “EJP in School” project, in which around 40–80 young people take part. These projects are aimed at pupils aged 14–18 in grades 9–11 of all types of school, including vocational schools.

Positions

Participation in an EJP event can take place in various roles. These vary depending on the level of experience required and the content.

Delegates

The delegates are regularly between 14 and 25 years old (depending on the project strand) and come not only from Germany but also from other European countries. You will be selected through an open application process. During the extended parliamentary simulation you slip into the role of a MEP. They are assigned to a committee, work with eight to ten other delegates to develop a resolution and defend it during the general parliamentary assembly. In doing so, they consistently represent their own political opinion.

Project staff

The project team together make up the 20-strong organizational team. Parallel to school, studies or training, they are involved in planning and implementing the meeting for six months. They come from all over Germany and are largely recruited from delegates from past events. They were selected in an open application process based on motivation, professional and social skills. During the organization of the meeting, they are assigned individually or in pairs in a work area (e.g. venues and catering, evening and cultural program or delegate support). The team is led by one or two project managers.

Committee leaders

The committee leaders are responsible for the academic quality of the meeting under the direction of a three-person presidium. They are each assigned to a committee that they chair. In the run-up to the conference, they present the main focus of the respective committee to the delegates. During the event, they lead the group dynamic communication training, lead the discussions of the delegates towards the final resolution and coordinate the contributions of the committee during the general parliamentary assembly.

Meeting journalists

The session journalists are under a three-person editorial management team; together they form the media team. Your central task is the multimedia documentation of the event. You prepare the content internally for the participants and keep an eye on communication with the press and the general public. On the other hand, the journalists contribute to the content design, act simulatively as the “fourth power” of the decision-making process and offer the delegates content-related input on the topics of the conference.

Jurors

The four-person jury oversees what is happening during the meeting and evaluates the delegates during the committee work and the general parliamentary assembly. It is only used in the national selection process and on the last day of the meeting determines the delegates who will reach the next level of the school competition. The selection committee consists of experienced alumni of the European Youth Parliament in Germany

Opinions from politics

The EJP is also finding increasing acceptance in real state, federal and European politics. The following quotes are examples:

“What is in danger today is what generations have worked hard for decades. 25 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, more and more people are wondering whether the old dividing lines may be redrawn in these days. It is all the more important that young people like you are passionately committed to a free and peaceful coexistence in Europe and not only overcome borders, but walls in their heads. What some do not understand, but you do, no country in this world can solve the many crises and conflicts on its own. " (Frank-Walter Steinmeier, 12th Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany)

“Live democracy! Democracy needs democrats. Democracy in Europe must always be discussed openly and seriously - in the parliaments of the member states, in the European Parliament and in public. Against this background, the European Youth Parliament and the young people of Europe contribute fundamentally to a lively democracy and the growing together of Europe. You are an innovative, driving force that Europe needs! " (Prof. Dr. Dres. Hc Andreas Vosskuhle, President of the Federal Constitutional Court)

"With its school competition, the European Youth Parliament is devoting itself to an immensely important and demanding task - to motivate young people not only to be interested in Europe, but to get involved in a very personal way through political debates on key issues." (Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka , former Federal Minister for Education and Research)

Press reviews

Demarcation

The public perception of the EJP is often confused with other parliamentary simulations. However, there are both structural and content differences compared to formats such as MUN , MEP or SimEP.

Model United Nations (MUN)

The event format Model United Nations ( MUN for short ) differs from the EJP in two ways. On the one hand, MUN events serve to simulate the United Nations, whereas the EJP simulates the European Parliament . On the other hand, the participants of MUN regularly represent the opinion of a state assigned to them, while the delegates of the EJP develop their own opinion and advocate it. In addition, this format regularly dispenses with group dynamic communication training and meeting journalists.

Simulation European Parliament (SimEP)

The simulation European Parliament ( short SimEP) conceptually follows the EJP by the European Parliament represents. At the same time, SIMEP is limited to two events per year and operates exclusively in the Berlin-Brandenburg area , whereas the EJP operates throughout Germany and organizes up to ten events per year. Another difference is the clear division of the delegates in EU - Member States and European political groups . The EJP, on the other hand, encourages delegates to formulate and defend their own opinion. In addition, this format regularly dispenses with group dynamic communication training and meeting journalists.

European Parliament (MEP) model

The European Parliament model ( MEP for short ) corresponds structurally to the EJP in that it simulates the European Parliament . However, the present delegates unlike EJP not their own opinion, but argue on behalf of their assigned EU - Member State . In addition, the MEP events always take place in Berlin, whereas the EJP organizes extended parliamentary simulations throughout Germany. In addition, this format regularly dispenses with group dynamic communication training and meeting journalists.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Annual report 2015. In: Website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ EJP Germany - About Us. In: website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 .
  3. ↑ EJP Germany - Board. In: website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 .
  4. ↑ EJP Germany - National selection process. In: website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 .
  5. ↑ EJP Germany - National selection process. In: website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Trainee and student forums. In: website. European Youth Parliament in Germany, accessed on December 27, 2019 .