• Lahti
• Torpoint • Brest
• Almussafes
Four countries, four cities, 32 youths, gathered at the West head of France, in Brest, Brittany. For five days, in Spring 2014 – weeks before the European elections, facing Brest harbour – they gathered and exchanged on a topic which affects us all: the European Union and its policy, especially for the young generation. The Your Hope Festival was part of the European programme “Youth in Action.” It was held from January, 1st to May, 4th 2014.
Meet the MEPs From January to April, before the encounter, each young delegation met their MEPs to interview them thanks a jointly elaborated questionnaire. The youths picked up topics such as: employment, education, the environment, integration and policy in general. The aim of these encounters was to discover and better understand their local MEP’s work.
Meet the MEPs
Welcome in Brest !
4 countries : Finland, Spain, UK, France
Lahti (Finland) – Brest: about 3000 km (1860 mi) Almussafes (Spain) – Brest: about 1500 km (930 mi) Torpoint (Britain) – Brest: about 300 km (186 mi)
Each day of the festival started with playful exercises and “energizers” in order to create great group dynamics. As far as languages were concerned, French and English were used daily and some heartedly tried some Finnish.
Experience the festival
Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe The festival gathered many from across the whole Union: people from Britain, Spain, Finland, France, Greece and Germany. The steering team was European with a Bulgarian, a Spanish, a German and French students. The Your Hope Festival was a real melting pot of European countries! To celebrate this, we organized an intercultural night during which each group introduced their particularities and local specialities, with an initiation to Breton dances and a “galette� workshop! It was the occasion to taste some French cheese, British crackers, Spanish sangria and Finnish jam. What a sweet programme!
Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe A night open to all young people from Brest was set: The Your Hope Challenge. It gave the opportunity to youths to give artistic performances and to win the jury prize composed by all the Europeans participating in the project. The talents from Brest districts were thrilled by this evening.
Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe
Knowing and understanding each other Thanks to the preparatory work with the representatives, the delegations could present the results of their work through video, slides, ... The most engrossing part was certainly the disappointment of the Spanish delegation who did not manage to encounter and interview a MEP and who was angry at the Spanish policy. The most important and urgent part for all the participants was the issue over employment and education. How can we deal with young unemployment, and how can justice be guaranteed in the different member States? For the young people to express their ideas and proposals, we organised symbolic elections ÂŤ Vote For Your Hope Âť. The result is the final declaration.
Knowing and understanding each other
Participate in creative workshops
Workshops for musicians, actors and artists: during the whole duration of the Your Hope Festival, the young people were involved in workshops composed of eight people (of course, of different nationalities). The youths prepared their own contribution for the final show. The Arts workshop prepared the setting for the Drama workshop. The Bodypercussion workshop allowed youths to try body expression on stage. Finally, the Batucada workshop with its Brazilian instruments was focused on the music.
Learning together
Participate in creative workshops
Perform the show together The three days in the workshops led to the final performance which was open to the public in Le Fourneau – the National Centre for Street Arts in Brest! The work of the four workshops was gathered on stage to create this finale oeuvre! Everybody had a key role in the show. And in the end the result was MAGNIFICENT! The two concerts of Bom Sam and Talkin’ Dumbs were the only thing left. These two bands of young talented people concluded under the marquee the last evening at the Nautical Centre, in the Moulin Blanc harbour before saying “good-bye” in the early morning.
Perform the show together
YOUR HOPE festival declaration
May 1st 2nd and 3rd 2014 Brest The Your Hope festival promotes the active citizenship of the European youth. This event has gathered young people from Finland, Great-Britain, Spain, France, Greece, Germany and also Morocco. They have expressed their hopes for Europe during a vote on 5 topics: employment, education, politics, environment and integration This declaration gathers the expectations of young people from across Europe.
Employment
Employment is usually synonym of insecurity, low wages, social dumping and disparities between member states. The young of Your Hope want: • A minimum European wage to level earnings and ease the mobility of workers without hindering countries with higher wages
• A policy to encourage the creation of companies and ease paperwork to create and preserve jobs in Europe • The promotion of youth jobs and the valorization of internships in Europe • To erase illegal jobs to tackle poverty • The equality between men and women regarding wages and status in companies
Education
For education, a major preoccupation, the young of Your Hope festival want: • A financial help to be able to carry their studies • An education that is free and of quality throughout Europe • The valorization of teachers’ work (regardless of the levels and subjects) • The spreading of ideas and the way we understand education at a European level to develop teaching and harmonize curriculums • The teaching of languages to offer the possibility to pupils and students to learn foreign languages and civilizations
Politics
To fight abstention and gather people on political actions, the participants of Your Hope Festival want: • To enforce an efficient policy against corruption of politicians, the complete transparency of their expenditures and the end of political careers • A real policy to stress the importance of voting • To take into account the blank vote as a real ballot • To better consider young people in European policies to give them the opportunity to be heard and to take part in the Parliament’s decisions
Environment
The young of Your Hope want a real environmental revolution in Europe through: • A drastic reduction of CO2 emissions at a European level • The reduction of the abusive consumption of natural resources • The relocation of production units to reduce transportation • The increase in green energies at a European level • The enforcement of sanctions on the basis “the polluter pays”
• A help to developing countries using green energies (windmills, tides, sun, geothermic… • A ban on the exploitation schist gas at a European level • An environmental friendly and united protectionism to face globalization
Integration
Citizenship and European identity pass by the integration of the whole population of the EU and of people from non-member states. The young of Your Hope want: • Europe to become one democratic, tolerant and multicultural whole • A higher protection of legal and illegal emigrants while keeping an eye on migratory flux • A European program to tackle racism and other forms of discrimination.
Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Finland:
Elli Ester Latva-Hakuni Krista Jonna Elina Pääkkönen Topi Rami Petteri Rautiainen Janne Tappio Siltanen Merike Mauring Joona Sebastian Silvennoinen Mariana Sofi Lavos Alves Kimi Erkki Uosukainen
France:
Martin Grönwoldt Hugo Conq Marie Magdeleine Verin Quentin Marchand Mona Soliymani Jordan Bernard Eirini Nianiou
Spain:
Sofia Duart Navrro Noa Vivanco Parada Maria Ferri Segui Raquel Pastor Ferri Barbara Sancho Toboso Victor Ribes Moreno Rafa Magraner Maria Luisa Sanchez Dominguez
UK:
Philip Martin Kirsty Eldridge Adam Will Garner Jack Lee Aidan Hole Luke Church Konstantinos Mountris Christina Saljandi
Photo credits : Lara Zölck, Martin Grönwoldt, Zaparojdik (map) Realization of the booklet : Hervé Quillien
Leaders: Irene Lüders, Sari Tuulikki Immonen, Lara Zölck, Carles Grancha Bosch, Antonio Benaches Bodi, Andres Pedron Gimenez, Michelle Maunder, Suzette Crossman, Erwan Heré Organisers: Justine Eveno, Laura Nieto Cuervo, Polina Prandhzeva, Emilien Nohaïc, David Lafont, Sandra Trébaol, Delphine Kerlan, Karine Quéré, Gwenaëlle Goyat, Michèle Casu, Pierre Yves Cavellat, Gaëlle Le Brigant Volunteers: Jason Fretard, Geoffroy Burel, Frédéric Wendland, Cyril Ruz, Mehdy Eibaraka, Alana Vallet, Gurvan Pressard Participants: Lionel (Producer), Coline (Web Reporter), Stéphane (Batucada), Florent (Body Percussion), Anaïs (Body Expression), Arek (Graphic Expression), Florian (Declaration writer)