Young European Federalists (JEF) is a supranational, political movement active in over 35 European countries which brings together around 30,000 members at local, regional, national and European level, and which promotes a vision of a united and democratic Europe. As their next move, JEF is currently working on the launch of a new campaign to involve more youth and create more awareness.
Euroscepticism, a wave of disbelief in the functioning of the European Union and its effectiveness, is clearly on the rise in Europe. The EU has reached a crucial point in its existence where the time has come to take some tough and urgent decisions to ensure that the future citizens are working towards is a positive future for all. What trends have shown throughout the effects of such an ideology, however, is the lack of education about what actually happens in the European Union and the involvement of young people.
In fact, according to Eurobarometer surveys (which consider youth as being between 15-24 years of age) on a pan-European scale, only 5% of young people have participated in debates on a national level as means of participating in their national democratic process. JEF Malta, a student organisation based at the University of Malta, is tackling this issue head on this year through the campaign "ZERO HOUR’.
Supported by Erasmus+ and EUPA, this campaign will see 7 secondary school visits, 7 workshops and 7 debates on various topics taking place throughout the year. The aim of the project is to change the perception of young people towards building a better Europe, to brainstorm and propose ways forward through the workshops, and to discuss matters of importance with people with expertise on the matter during the debates. Through this project, young people have the opportunity to make their voices heard on a number of topics which heavily influence their future, including youth inclusion and the radicalisation of young people. Youth employment and inclusion in the labour market will be another topic on the agenda, as will restoring young people’s faith in European Politics.
While the school visits will aim to inform younger citizens about the decision making processes in the European Union and how they can be more active, workshops will see young people of various ages and backgrounds coming together and discussing innovative ideas which could tackle various problems on both a local and European scale. The name "Zero Hour’ itself reflects the urgency of the matter at hand: it is necessary to build a Europe which can act, one which empowers and defends its citizens. This is only possible if we work together.
Zero Hour will be launched on the 15th of October. For more information, follow updates on JEF Malta’s Facebook page, or contact the organisation at jefmalta.info@gmail.com.