UYD22 - a week of learning and action building

In mid-September, the EYCA Youth Panel met up for a week’s worth of activities in Mollina, Spain. The setting was the University on Youth Development (UYD), organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.

With over 200 participants from across the Euro-Med region, this gathering was a wonderful opportunity to build new friendships and learn from people with very different experiences from our own. 

In fact, the learning dimension took centre place in the Youth Panel’s agenda for the week. With the overall theme focused on reinforcing youth participation outside of elections, we held deep-dive sessions exploring an array of issues: from preventing extremist influences on youth, to lessons on civic participation in the USA, and the role of inclusive design to allow the participation of all.

Putting this knowledge into practice was the objective for the latter days. With the Youth Panel a centrepiece of EYCA’s organisation, the tools at its disposal can be used to engage with often overlooked citizens: rural youth. As such, plans are currently being put into place to increase EYCA’s actions for the inclusive participation of people in rural areas.

After a busy week, the UYD was brought to a close with the Glocal Farewell Fest, a well-deserved celebration bringing together locals from the town and international participants. A mix of music and dancing styles from across cultures appropriately summed up the week: we aren’t that different from each other.

The EYCA Youth Panel is a group of young, engaged Europeans selected by EYCA members. Together, they meet regularly to drive EYCA towards more youth-friendly and future-proof actions. Meet the members here