In May this year, Make.org and JEF Europe launched EurHope, a unique participatory initiative to reach young citizens in the 27 EU member states, with the support of the European Parliament. Two months later, with already more than 150 000 votes and a large coalition of actors engaged, young citizens from all across Europe are making their voices heard to create an “Agenda of Hope” ahead of the EU elections 2024.
In the context of the return of war to the European continent and in the face of multiple social, environmental, economic, health and democratic crises, young citizens of the 27 EU member states must - more than ever - become the spearhead of Europe's fate.
The EurHope initiative combines the transnational and volunteer activism of JEF with the innovative digital engagement tools of Make.org. The first phase of the campaign, a citizen consultation, is accessible until September 2023 in all 27 member states on the multilingual online platform eurhope.org. A single question, "What are your ideas for building together a Europe that can respond to future challenges ?" creates an unprecedented dialogue on a European scale that has already engaged more than 150 000 votes all across Europe and will ultimately identify the priorities of young people ahead of the 2024 elections. This Citizen's Agenda of Hope, which is set to be revealed next November in Madrid, will serve as a lever for the massive mobilisation of young people and the sharing of ideas with elected representatives and members of civil society.
A strong coalition of diverse actors is supporting this initiative. This coalition is increasing every week, engaging more than 40 civil society organisations from all member states and partners coming from academic, media and private sector on board. As the first phase of the EurHope initiative is on the rise, we interviewed some of our partners about the initiative and their involvement.
Mladi u EU is a Croatian youth association that deeply promotes, develops and improves the values of the European Union among young people. According to them, “Europe is a cohesive force that brings together nations that have never coexisted in peace for such a long period in history. But it is sometimes easy to forget how good you have it while you do.” As a member of the coalition, Mladi u EU sees “EurHope as a reminder to our citizens of what Europe has brought to us and what it can still bring in the future. And the only way to make that future brighter is to have all Europeans involved in shaping it, starting from exercising their right to vote.”
The organisation is planning to set up an event for young people with a specific focus on youth coming from rural communities, or from smaller urban centres. They plan to focus on Croatia's membership in the EU, since this year Croatia is celebrating 10 years of membership.
These 2024 elections are particularly important in Mladi u EU’s view : “In Croatia, the upcoming year is of undisputable importance as it is the so-called ‘Superelections’ year. We will have parliamentary, presidential and European elections all in the same year. The last European election turnout experienced a positive trend, hence it is necessary to make sure it continues. Croatia, having one of the lowest turnouts in the EU (at 29,85% in 2019), still has a long way to go. Young people are the driving force of positive change in our communities, but are sometimes demotivated to participate in European politics as it seems too distant to their reality. These elections will determine the direction the EU takes on many relevant matters which affect the future of our planet, our youth, our jobs, and at such a critical point in human history, the EU and its members need to be future-proof. The way we make sure that happens is : choosing those that truly represent us and our beliefs.”
Another partner of the campaign EurHope is the Geremek Foundation (Fundacja Geremka). The aim at the heart of Fundacja Geremka is to support the development of education and political thought and culture in Poland.
In Geremek Foundation’s views : “Europe is facing global challenges related to migration, climate crisis, ageing population, etc. Most of the decisions that will shape the future for decades are taken at the EU level. At the same time, young people, whose lives will be most affected by these crises, are the least interested in these processes and the least motivated to take part in them. The Geremek Foundation joined the EurHope initiative to raise awareness and strengthen its voice in Europe”.
The Geremek Foundation will “carry out social media campaigns to encourage young people to vote in the upcoming elections. Online activism is a priority, as we believe we need to reach young people where they are, through the media they use and, on the platforms, where they consume content.”
These 2024 European elections are crucial also in Geremek Foundation’s perspective : “In this election, European societies will decide whether they will elect representatives focused on past and past grievances or future and future challenges. With crises looming, we have no time to waste and make mistakes - any election cycle that results in the election of politicians focused on maintaining the status quo will keep Europe stagnant and hold European societies back.”
Citizens for Europe is a partner organisation willing to support and create a more participatory and democratic Europe, its interest in taking part in the EurHope project is expressed clearly :
“One of the mottos of Citizens for Europe is ‘encouraging cooperation to overcome competition’. In the run-up to the crucial European elections, we felt that joining the EurHope coalition was an excellent way of pooling the diverse and complementary strengths of European civil society in the service of an ambitious and innovative project that puts young people and their visions for Europe at the heart of the action”.
Citizens for Europe “are pleased to be relaying the initiative to their community of members (530 organisations - associations, foundations, media, etc.) throughout Europe and will continue to mobilise them through regular communications.”
Citizens for Europe’s belief is that “against a backdrop of multiple crises (economic, ecological, social, migratory, etc.) that many are using to divide people, thus contributing to the rise of extremes and a deteriorating democratic situation, it is vital to mobilise citizens around issues that unite them. We need to rally people around constructive hopes and ideas if we are to continue to move the European project forward together! ”
EurHope is not only supported by institutions, NGOs and academics, but also by several corporate partners. In line with its mission to “create sustainable living spaces that reinvent living together”, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is strongly supporting the EurHope initiative, which contributes to civic engagement and social cohesion. “The company’s group has deep roots in Europe, with a presence at the heart of Europe's largest cities. With a large physical (680 million visits per year in Europe) and digital (38 million visits) audience”, URW will “help to make this consultation accessible to as many people as possible by relaying the campaign in the various European countries.”
The first stage of EurHope’s consultation will end on September 30th. On November 10th, we will officially present the final results of the consultation in the Senate of Spain in Madrid, in the scope of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Right ahead of the European elections, offline events will be organised on the ground, with a final event in Brussels in May 2024.
The last 2019 European elections were a positive sign of general increased voter turnout, but still far from a citizens’ participation renaissance (50.6%). This increase in the participation rate comes mainly from the younger generations of Europeans : those under 25 (+14 points) and those aged 25-39 (+12 points) were more likely to vote than before. On these grounds, as we aim to strongly support the engagement efforts towards young people ahead of the European elections in 2024, EurHope is our answer to make Europe and Hope sound the same again.