Greece and Cyprus are among the national winners of this year's 2022 European Charlemagne Youth Prize announced the European Parliament.
The European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen award the Charlemagne Youth Prize every year to projects by young people with a strong EU dimension. Since 2008, more than 4,250 projects have competed for the prize.
The winning Cyprus and Greece national projects are:
CYPRUS - The 25 Percent Project
This project was created ‘by young people, for young people, and determined to help all of us raise our voices and change the world’. The project originated in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe and is based on the feeling that young people have been left out of decision-making for too long. Against that background, The 25 Percent formulated a clear and ambitious mission: to empower young people and to make their voices heard.
The 25 Percent project aims to build a movement of young people across Europe. To that
end, it has developed a handbook for activism (a guide to change) and organises different
events where young people are invited to discuss ideas about the future of Europe. A first
objective of this movement is to get young people in front of decision makers and represent their ideas for a brighter future at the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Website: www.cyc.org.cy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyprusyouth
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CyprusYouthCouncil
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cyprus.youth.council
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CyprusYouthCou
GREECE - Greece: Towards a European Civic Service
Ecogenia is a Greek non-profit organisation that is offering civic service as a way to mobilise young people. Their goal is to strengthen the civic space, specifically the notion of civic engagement, in Greece. They consider it a critical tool to guarantee an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future for all.
Their objective is to highlight the value of civic engagement and mobilise young people
to enact local change, and create openings for regional exchanges. Their aim is to create
a unified experience for young people across Europe.
As they continue to lay the foundation for a national program in Greece, they have been building momentum with our target group, 18 to 28 year olds, and engaging strategic advisors and partners from across sectors.
They have conducted five rounds of focus groups: with young people, non-profit organisations, and representatives from municipalities. An important part of building the civic service has been their engagement with national and European partners.
They have been working with Unis-Cité, France’s national civic service program, since 2018, and they have served as strategic mentors and partners. As members of the European Collective for Civic Service, recipients of the Prix Charlemagne in 2020, they are an active part of the network practicing and promoting a European-wide civic service scheme with national terms and mobility exchanges for youth between countries.
Website: ecogenia.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecogenia.org/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ecogenia.gr/?hl=e
About the winning national projects:
The top three winning projects per country were chosen from 26 projects nominated by national juries in each EU country. The first prize is €7,500, second prize €5,000 and third prize €2,500. If the situation allows it, representatives of all national winning projects will be invited to Aachen, Germany, on 24 May 2022 for the award ceremony.
Projects must have met the following criteria to qualify:
- Promote European and international understanding
- Foster the development of a shared sense of European identity and integration
- Serve as a role model for young people living in Europe
- Offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community
The national winning team projects are as follows:
AUSTRIA - Young ChangeMaker Challenge
BELGIUM - Voters Without Borders European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI)
BULGARIA - Summer Academy "Perspectives"
CROATIA - European coolture+
CYPRUS - The 25 Percent Project
CZECH REPUBLIC - Politika (nejen) pro mladé
DENMARK - Board of Nordic National Committees - Nordic Summer Summit 2021
ESTONIA - Creation of an international youth innovation (HUUB) network
FINLAND - Sustainable Venture Creation
FRANCE - Espions à la Commission
GERMANY - Ukrainian Vibes - European Public Sphere
GREECE - Towards a European Civic Service
HUNGARY - SaveEUstudents
IRELAND - Student Council Charter
ITALY - The Giufà Project
LATVIA - Aizstāvības akadēmija/Advocacy Academy
LITHUANIA - YES: Young (Ex-)Offenders' Support
MALTA - Enterprising Europe
POLAND - Model European Union Poland & Serbia 2021
PORTUGAL - Orchestra Without Borders
ROMANIA - EUROSFAT 2021 - Europe is the Future
SLOVAKIA - Youth United Media
SLOVENIA - Ljubljana 2021 - 94th International Session of EYP
SPAIN - MEU Spain 2021 - Simulation of the European institutions
SWEDEN - Bridge the Pond
THE NETHERLANDS - Maastricht 2021 - 4th International Forum of the European Youth Parliament
