• Home
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
    • Previous events
  • Members
    • Who are AER’s members?
    • Member Directory
    • Join AER!
  • Mutual Learning
    • About Our Committees
    • Committee 1 for Economy & Regional development
    • Committee 2 for Social Policy & Public Health
    • Committee 3 for Culture, Education & Youth
    • Digital Health Network
    • AER Action Plan
  • Advocacy
    • About Our Advocacy Work
    • The Bureau
    • The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
    • AER Political Priorities 2020-2025
    • Intercultural Regions Network
  • Projects
    • About Our Projects
    • Ongoing Projects
    • Look for Partners
    • Completed Projects
  • Programmes
    • AER Eurodyssey
    • AER Summer Academy
    • AER Youth Regional Network
    • Regional Innovation Award
    • AER Observatory on Regionalisation
  • About
    • The History of AER
    • Governance & Structure
    • Statute & Strategies
      • AER Statute
      • AER Procedures
    • AER Executive Board
    • Contact the Secretariat

Assembly of European Regions

Connecting regions, inspiring Europe since 1985

You are here: Home / Projects / Where do you want to #IChooseEurope?

Where do you want to #IChooseEurope?

1 May, 2019 By Rosanna Fanni

Facebooktwitterlinkedinmail
Share this!
Belgian MEP candidates and JEF Europe representatives in Brussels

The #IChooseEurope campaign aims to encourage all Europeans to take part in the elections held on May 24-27 across the continent. To reach out, a series of debates and public events were organised by young activists to raise awareness about the European Elections.

One of the key messages, campaigning for a more united Europe, was literally implemented with a dedicated bus which visited 12 cities. At each stop, the #IChooseEurope volunteers organised a public event where locals, politicians and gathered to speak about their visions for Europe.

The campaign particularly involved young people as a growing social and political force, especially in the current debate on the future of Europe. The young activists and the widely-engaged public were thus starkly contrasting pessimistic observations about increasing disengagement voiced by decision-makers and the media.

The bus toured across Europe during the month of April:
The first trip started in Frankfurt am Main (DE), with stops in Krakau (PL), Vienna (AT) and Budapest (HU).
The second part included stops in Ljubljana (SL), Sofia (BG), Thessaloniki (GR) and Skopje, Macedonia (FYROM).
The final trip started in Rome (IT), passed Barcelona (ES), Paris and Lille (FR), before its final stop in Brussels (BE).

AER is pleased to contribute to the pan-European project as a partner: We strongly support the spirit to encourage citizens across Europe in engaging with matters they care about. Furthermore, being a voice for regions, the #IChooseEurope bus tour suitably united local actors and political activists. In stimulating creativity and encouraging political debate, the project is exemplary for opening up a bottom-up, pan-European discourse.

Besides the main organiser, the Young European Federalists [JEF], other partner organisations included Animafac, Balkans Beyond Borders, Center for Intercultural Dialogue, DYPALL Network, Europe4Youth, European Educational Exchanges – Youth for Understanding, and the Union of European Federalists. 

Together, the civil society organisations aim – in the run-up to the European Parliament elections – to strengthen public participation before and after the elections. Thereby, #IChooseEurope sent a strong message to decision-makers and the public that the European youth is not just a passive audience, but a growing social and political force.

One #IChooseEurope participant, Jimena, tweeted:

Young people were furthermore participating in the tour because they claim to be particularly affected by the outcome of the results and the composition of the next European Parliament. Next to raising awareness about voting, the public events stimulated people to reflect about what kind of Europe they would like to vote for.

On April 30th, 2019, to coincidence with the European Youth Week, the #IChooseEurope bus tour finally arrived in the “Capital of Europe”, in Brussels. Many JEF members as well as interested citizens attended the closing event.

Belgian candidates for the European Parliament were on the panel: Maxim Vandekerckhove (sp.a/ S&D), Saskia Bricmont (ECOLO/ European Greens), Christophe Calis (Volt), Laura Hidalgo (MR/ ALDE) and Jan der Volder (CD&V). After a brief introduction on the elections in Belgium, the audience was excited to ask the political representatives: What would they have to say about the future or Europe?

The discussion touched on many issues around inequalities, a more sustainable Europe, inclusive and fair education – all of pertinence to young people. The candidates agreed to the importance of local political actors and initiatives to strengthen active citizenship. European decision-makers should not only implement policies but also get in touch more frequently with their constituents. “The roots lie in local democracy, it is only in your area where you can understand the way Europe really works.”

It is therefor crucial that young people turn out to vote on 23-26 May 2019. Through the project “European Youth Together: Road to the Future” and the #IChooseEurope campaign, AER hopes to boost citizen participation in the upcoming elections and ensure in particular that young people’s voices are heard.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Filed Under: AER events, Events, Featured, Member events, News, Ongoing projects, Partners, Projects, Uncategorised Tagged With: Cohesion, Democracy, Education, Elections, Equal opportunities, Europe, european elections, europeanregions, Interregional cooperation, Youth

← AER meets Commissioner for Environment Final Call: European Capital of Smart Tourism →

More articles on this topic

Committee 3 Annual Report June 2018 – May 2019
Dr. Riccardo Illy, President of Friuli Venezia Giulia, elected President of the Assembly of European Regions in 2004
General Assembly 2004 in Vienna: Dr. R. Illy, President of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, elected President of the AER
Committee 3 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020
To another 35 years of Eurodyssey regions on the move!
Activity Report 2018-19: Sustainability

AER. Connecting regions, inspiring Europe since 1985.

Follow our newsletter!




View previous campaigns.


Upcoming Events

  1. REGISTER NOW: AER Summer Academy 2022 – Donegal, Ireland

    29 August - 1 September
  2. ANNOUNCEMENT: Bureau Debate on Youth, August 31 2022

    31 August 11:30 - 13:00

View All Events

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Tweets by @europeanregions

Funding Opportunities

How To Foster An Intercultural Approach To Education & Training- Highlights From Includ-EU Webinar

EU4Health Programme: new calls for proposals open

More funding opportunities

Partner Search

Partner search: innovating communication targeting SMEs

Partner Search: resilient ecosystems for circular tourism

More project opportunities

Visit our SDG Website

Library

Statutory Documents
AER Strategies
Minutes
Media Kit
Activity Reports
Newsletters
European Regions Map

Join AER!

Become a Member

Job Opportunities

Sign up for our Newsletter

Search

Website map

Brussels · Strasbourg · Alba Iulia

A Network, a Partner and a Voice of European regions, since 1985 · Copyright © 2022 · Assembly of European Regions · [email protected] · Log in