Terms and Conditions

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

YOUR EUROPE, YOUR SAY! 2025

 

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been hosting Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS) since 2010. The YEYS event brings together young people from the EU Member States, candidate countries and the UK to learn about the EESC, discuss matters and work as a youth assembly which proposes recommendations on specific subjects. The EESC feeds those recommendations into its advisory and political work with a view to their implementation.

YEYS 2025 will be held on 13-14 March at the EESC premises in Brussels. It will take place over one and a half days, including two plenary sessions and various interactive workshops. Online participation is not possible.

For updates on the preparations for the event and posts during the event itself, see the dedicated EESC website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

ELIGIBILITY

YEYS 2025will welcome 133 participants from secondary schools, youth organisations and national youth councils. These participants must live in:

  • any of the EU’s 27 Member States; or
  • any of the nine candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine; or
  • the UK.

The 133 YEYS participants will comprise:

  • 37 students aged 16-18 representing 37 secondary schools, accompanied by one teacher per selected school (one school per country);
  • 37 delegates from national youth councils, with one representative aged 18-25 per country;
  • 21 delegates aged 18-25 from youth organisations from the eligible countries; the delegates must be nominated by the EESC’s ad hoc Youth Group, in close consultation with the EESC’s Employers, Workers and Civil Society Organisations groups;
  • one delegate aged 18-25, nominated by the European Youth Forum.

As the event will be held entirely in English, participants must be able to understand and speak a very good level of English.

CIVIL SOCIETY WEEK

In order to convey the discussions and priorities of YEYS 2025, three YEYS participants will be selected by the YEYS organising team in a random draw and invited to take part in the EESC’s Civil Society Week (17-20 March 2025). YEYS participants will be asked if they would like to be included in the draw; only those who agree will be entered into it; there is no obligation to take part.

The three randomly selected participants will include one secondary school student, one representative from a national youth council and one representative from a youth organisation. As the European Youth Forum is expected to take part in Civil Society Week in any case, the draw will not include their YEYS delegate.

Read about Civil Society Week 2024 here.

1. SECONDARY SCHOOLS APPLYING FOR YEYS

To be eligible, a school must:

  • be a secondary school or vocational training school in one of the 27 EU Member States, or one of the nine candidate countries or the UK, with students aged 16-18;
  • be recognised by their country’s education authorities;
  • have a computer with internet access and an official email address;
  • select a teacher who will be available to accompany the selected student and help prepare that student for the event. This can involve using any educational materials provided by the EESC. The accompanying teacher will be responsible for travelling with the student to and from Brussels, for escorting the student to the EESC premises, for supporting them where necessary and for taking part in the parallel programme for teachers. The accompanying teacher must be able to communicate in English;
  • select one student in their penultimate year, aged 16-18, who will be available to participate in the YEYS event as the school’s representative. The selected student must be able to communicate in English. The school criteria for selecting students should be clear, fair and non-discriminatory. The schools must ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to be selected, and inform the EESC of any special requirements in advance;
  • host an EESC member for an information session between January and March 2025;
  • direct students to the official EESC webpage and social media to find out about the event and the preparations for it.

SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

To be considered for selection, schools must:

  • ensure that the teacher and student complete the online application form by 25 November 2024;
  • designate an accompanying teacher proficient in English, confirmed by the school’s headteacher on the application form;
  • provide contact information for the school’s headteacher and the accompanying teacher.
  • The school is responsible for ensuring that the accompanying teacher is available and for requesting the consent of the student’s parent or guardian both before applying for YEYS and/or for the draw and possible participation in the EESC’s Civil Society Week.
  • As part of the application form, students are asked for their motivation in up to 550 words, outlining why they want to take part in the event;
  • This motivation will be assessed by the event organisers at the EESC when selecting schools. Please note that the selection by the EESC event organisers, based on this moti-vation, is final; no justification will be provided to applicants and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

In order to ensure as balanced a selection of the overall YEYS participants as possible, the assessment of applications will be based on the following criteria:

•            Age: 16 to 18 years old at the time of travel to the event;

•            Gender;

•            Nationality and residence;

•            The strength of the student’s motivation.

 

SELECTION OF SCHOOLS

  • Schools will be selected by 15 December 2024;
  • One school will be selected per country, with a reserve list of two other schools per country;
  • Selected schools will be notified by email and listed on the EESC website;
  • The student and accompanying teacher from the selected schools will be invited to complete registration forms. Once they have registered,  travel and accommodation arrangements can be made;
  • Schools may indicate in the registration form whether their students should be entered in the draw and possible participation in the EESC’s Civil Society Week;
  • If selected to take part in YEYS, the school must also ask the student’s parent or guardian for any health-related information that needs to be taken into account by the school, student, accompanying teacher and the EESC; pertinent information can be included when filling out the registration form;
  • Unsuccessful schools will be informed by email.

PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT

  • An EESC member will visit the selected schools to provide information about the EESC and the event between January and March 2025. For this visit, schools must provide a meeting room equipped to project PowerPoint slides and raise awareness about YEYS, for instance through local press and/or social media. The YEYS organisers will discuss the details of the visit with the accompanying teacher;
  • Schools will receive educational materials to prepare for the YEYS debates and workshops;
  • Students and teachers should discuss these materials in class, so that as many students as possible can increase their awareness and knowledge about the EESC and the YEYS event in particular and the EU in general.

2. NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCILS or NATIONAL YOUTH ORGANISATIONS

To participate, young adult individuals must:

  • be between 18 and 25 years old;
  • be a resident of an EU Member State, a candidate country or the UK;
  • be proficient in English;
  • have access to a computer with internet access and a working email address.

Please note: Only one participant from a national youth council per country may take part in YEYS 2025. Nevertheless, an alternative must also be nominated to take the place of the original nominee should they be unable to travel due to illness or any other reason beyond their control.

PROCEDURE

  • National youth councils or national youth organisations will be invited to nominate one delegate and one reserve delegate; only one council or organisation per country may nominate a delegate and reserve delegate;
  • Nominated representatives will be invited to register online;
  • Registrations must be submitted via the online form no later than 25 November 2024;
  • Nominated representatives should ensure a balance of the following criteria: age (18-25 at the time of travel to the event), gender, nationality and residence.

3. DELEGATES FROM YOUTH ORGANISATIONS or ASSOCIATIONS

To participate in YEYS 2025, individuals must:

  • represent a youth organisation and be nominated by the EESC’s ad hoc Youth Group;
  • be 18-25 years old at the time of travel to the event;
  • be proficient in English;
  • have access to a computer with internet access and a working email address.
  • live in any of the EU’s 27 Member States, or any of the nine candidate countries outlined above or the UK.

PROCEDURE

  • One delegate and one reserve delegate from a youth organisation will be nominated by the EESC’s ad hoc Youth Group; only one youth organisation per country may be represented;
  • Nominated representatives will be invited to register online;
  • Registrations must be submitted via the online form no later than 25 November 2024;
  • To ensure a balance for YEYS, the following criteria must be applied when nominating delegates and reserves: age (18-25 years old at the time of travel to the event), gender, nationality and residence.

4. DELEGATE FROM THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM

To participate, one individual must:

  • be nominated by the European Youth Forum to take part in the event;
  • be 18-25 years old at the time of travel to the event;
  • be proficient in English;
  • have access to a computer with internet access and a working email address;
  • live in any of the EU’s 27 Member States, or any of the nine candidate countries outlined above or the UK.

Please note: Only one participant from the European Youth Forum may take part in YEYS 2025. Nevertheless, an alternative must also be nominated to take the place of the original nominee should they be unable to travel due to illness or any other reason beyond their control.

REGISTRATIONS

Delegates nominated by the national youth councils, delegates from the youth organisations selected by the EESC’s ad hoc Youth Group and the delegate from the European Youth Forum will be asked to:

  • complete an online registration form by 25 November 2024.
  • Delegates should indicate whether they want to be entered into the draw for possible participation in the EESC’s Civil Society Week; delegates should ensure that they are available to take part before doing so.

FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

NON-COMPLIANCE

Failure to meet the conditions outlined above will result in exclusion from the event, application or registration process.

WORKING LANGUAGE

All YEYS sessions and workshops will be held in English.

 

REGISTRATIONS

A link to the registration form will be sent to selected schools and nominated delegates. Students and teachers from the selected schools, delegates from national youth councils, representatives from youth organisations nominated by the EESC’s ad hoc Youth Group and the delegate nominated by the European Youth Forum must complete the online registration form by 25 November 2024.  Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the event; an alternative from the reserve list will be invited to take their place.

When registering for the YEYS event, certain categories of personal data must be filled in. If those categories of data are not filled in, you will not be able to register for the event.

The EESC will primarily communicate with participants by email, so an email address that is checked regularly should be provided in the registration form.

PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT

All participants will receive educational and supporting materials to prepare for the event.

They are encouraged to discuss these materials in their schools or communities or on online forums.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION

Participants are expected to arrive in Brussels in good time for the start of the event (i.e. by noon on Thursday 13 March) and to leave only after the event ends on 14 March (i.e. in the evening or the next day).

For successful applicants and nominated delegates, the EESC will arrange and pay for accommodation in Brussels for two nights, as well as a return flight (economy class) or train/bus journey between the country of residence and Brussels.

For the three participants of the YEYS event who are selected and invited to take part in the events of Civil Society Week starting on 17 March, the EESC will also arrange and pay for accommodation in Brussels for up to three nights, as well as a return flight or train/bus journey between the country of residence and Brussels.

The EESC will not cover the cost of travel from the place of residence to the departure airport or train station for any participant, nor will it cover the cost of or provide tickets for transfers (taxi/train/bus/metro) from the airport or train station in Brussels to the hotel or the EESC.

The registration form contains information for booking travel and accommodation. The EESC will arrange travel and accommodation through an agency. The EESC will not reimburse the costs of any arrangements made independently by participants.

All participants are responsible for ensuring that they have valid travel documents. Where required, participants are solely responsible for applying for a visa or any other documentation from their national authorities needed to enter the EU.

Where an official invitation from the EESC is needed by a participant, for example for a visa application, they should indicate this in their registration form.

Travel guidelines and accommodation details will be shared with participants once they have registered.

IDENTIFICATION AND INSURANCE

Participants must carry their personal travel documents (valid passport or identity card) with them at all times.

Participants must have their own travel insurance and bring evidence of coverage.

For participants from EU countries, the European Health Insurance Card is available free of charge from their national public health insurance providers (more information available here: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559).

Participants from candidate countries or the UK must contact their national health system or private insurance company to check that they are covered when travelling abroad.

The EESC’s accident, civil liability and repatriation policy covers participants during the event on its premises in Brussels. It does not cover personal belongings or those periods when participants are not on EESC premises.

PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

Under EU law, people must be informed when their personal data are processed (collected, used, stored) by any organisation, including one of the EU institutions. They have the right to know how and why the data are being processed.

As the host of YEYS, the EESC may collect the personal data of applicants for and participants of YEYS 2025 only to the extent necessary to process their applications and/or registrations and to organise, manage and communicate YEYS 2025. Photographs, audio and video recordings and web streaming related to the event may be used for communication and reporting purposes. Please read the data protection notice for more information.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

The event will take place in the EESC premises in Brussels on 13-14 March 2025: JDE building, rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99-101, 1040 Brussels.

The EESC premises are accessible to persons with disabilities. Any special requirements should be communicated via the registration form or by email to the YEYS organising team when the applicant is selected to participate in YEYS 2025.

Schuman and Maelbeek are the nearest metro stations (in walking distance) to the EESC premises.

Detailed information will be shared with participants prior to or upon arrival in Brussels for the event.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Information about the event can be found on the YEYS website: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/your-europe-your-say-2025.

You can also send questions to the YEYS organising team by email at: youreurope@eesc.europa.eu.

General information about the EESC is available on the EESC’s website: www.eesc.europa.eu.

YEYS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/youreuropeyoursay

YEYS on Instagram: @youreuropeyoursay!

#YEYS2025 

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  • TERMS AND CONDITIONS YEYS2025