Nine months ago, during the third week of september, I landed in Vienna to take part on a conference tackling with European elections, organised by AEGEE, the European Students’ Forum. To be honest, this was one of the first moments where I knew we would have elections in june 2009. I was taking part in a project with 40 other participants, trying to encourage young people to vote for the European Parliament. And we were told that this would be just the kick off of one of the biggest campaigns in Europe runned by young people for young people. This project was called Y Vote 2009. European Youth Choice. And Vienna was the place were this project turned into reality.
More than 10 conferences in different european countries, decens of local activities, street actions, cobversations with policy makers and canvassing with young people on the streets, university lectures, media presence and, above all, lots of enthusiasm of every single person who came in contact once in their life with the Y Vote family. For the last month, the porject astarted its highlight, the UK Tour, from London to Edimburgh, stopping in 28 cities, and spreading the message about the importance of the Vote. And all this combined with hearings at the European Parliament, interviews on Media, presence in other projects as “think about it”, and of course, constantly present on our minds.
And why all this?
Many reasons pushed the Y Vote team, formed by AEGEE really active members, to bring this project into reality. First of all, the importance of bringing together hundreds of students of every European country, from September to June, from Malta to Finnland, From Russia to Portugal, and, maybe the most important, from the most europhile to the most sceptic. They gathered together during nine months to put in common the most important issues for Youth in Europe, and the importance to Vote for our future in the European Union. The importance of bringing Europe closer to the first voters, and to the citizenship in general. Fresh ideas, future policy makers, discussing about hot topics with the current politicians to increase the interest of our population about issues that matter.
Being myself a proud participant of the whole Campaign, and having enjoyed the experience, there are some ideas I would bring here. It is very easy to face the importance of democratic processes, such as elections, just being involved. Politicians and active citizens have to work together to make people feel integrate, and this would be the key for the growth of interest. Easy to say, but, of course, a challenge to win.
On the other hand, democratic involvement in such way shows how similar european citizens can be, and after all, every vote does count -the same-. Again, we just need the tools to come together, and use opportunities like this to communicate to each other.
If I think how many bracelets to remind the vote I have given since september, if you think how many times you told your realtives that there were elections in june, if you count all the iniciatives you’ve seen on facebook, on internet,…I feel that something is going on in Europe for the Vote. You could think about it, debate the EU, ask yourself about the topic Why Vote, or maybe you want to be heard in Europe…These and many more are activities been runned since months in our countries, by our friends, for each of us.
As the project is coming to its end, I would really like to express my big thank you for all the people who make possible the big experience of Y Vote. A real example of youth efforts, project management, mixture of fun and seriousness, achievements and success. A great picture of the future policy makers of Europe and a present full of hope. Good luck for the closing ceremony in Edimburgh, and don’t forget to vote!
This is all a summary of many ideas that came to my mind just one week before the vote. Maybe I still have to decide my choice, but after so much time, at least one thing is sure: When bringing the Vote on 7th June, I will ratify my strong belief in this Europe that we call home.
(5 votes, average: 3.20 out of 5)
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Congratulations!
Have you learned anything from your time as a th!nk blogger? And do you think you will continue blogging after the competition is over?
And importantly: how are you going to blog the elections!
Hello Josef,
Thank you very much for your comment!
Yes, I learnt a lot as blogger of think about it. I had already some contact with this world, but of course not at the same level as with this project. I learnt to use more tools, I learnt hoe to lookf for information and, above all, I learnt many other platforms, bloggers, etc. I also experienced something very positive, which was learning to accept the comment, which not always are agreable ones. I’ve learnt to process critizism, but also to have in mind that my style doesn’t have to be like the other’s one, and to keep this personality on the way of writing, even if other topics that the ones you deal with could be more popular, for example. And of course, it’s also a matter of time, by the time I’m writing in two places more, and with university duties and so…it is sometimes difficult to find time to write all you would like to.
And for the elections…Maybe I would like to cover a personal perspective, how all this internet, youth, media movements have influenced people to go and vote…Maybe trying to know if they didn’t know about the elections before, and if they went just becasue they got to know in some of these places. But of course, I will write something about it
Kind regards!
It sounds like TH!NK has been very valuable to you!
You are correct about criticism - it is very important for people to criticise your work. Otherwise, you can never improve. It hurt your pride if comments are too spiteful - but it’s important to think carefully if the criticism is valid. If it is, then make an effort to change. That way, you can know you are always improving!
If you are interested in seeing TH!NK continue after the elections, then please consider adding your support to this post by Frank: http://elections.thinkaboutit.eu/2009/05/what-happens-to-thinkaboutit-after-the-ep-elections/comment-page-1/#comment-3635
We really want to keep TH!NK alive!
*it CAN hurt your pride, sorry!
Heheh, no problem.
I just wrote on Frank’s post. I really would like to go on!
And also, about the value of the project. I must say, I’m still finishing my studies in Journalism. That means I am right now coming to the “outher” world of communications, it was one of my first experiences posting in english, and also about “non-personal issues” (meaning not a diary or fotolog). So, in comparision with people already professional in the field, I can say the project contributed a lot to my formation. So a big Thank You!