#EYE hearings: Empowering young people

Some 7,500 young people came to the Parliament in May 2016 to come up with ideas on how the improve the situation in Europe as part of the European Youth Event (EYE). In recent weeks a number of these participants were invited to present their ideas on anything from asylum policy to e-voting to Parliament committees. Thanking participants at the end of the hearings this week, Vice President Mairead McGuinness said: “Your future is determined by politics, make sure you are involved in it."

From 11 October until 29 November, EYE participants presented their best ideas to a number of Parliament committees. Most of them can be found in the EYE Report, a collection of 50 ideas produced at the event.Addressing EYE participants this week, Vice President Sylvie Guillaume described the encounter as a “breath of fresh air” and welcomed the opportunity to “put youth issues at the heart of Parliament’s agenda”. She noted the importance of not just listening to the ideas of young people but also ensuring that that they are followed up on and promised to work with EYE participants to ensure that that happens.