While the Europaeum Scholars Programme starts the 4th cohort this spring, the winning team of its cohort no. 1 commemorates their project activities which they have been carrying out for the last 5 years. With the 2024 European Parliamentary elections on the horizon, the You&EU team is sharing insights from their successful social media campaign, aimed at mobilising young voters in the 2019 election, with other similar initiatives emerging this year. Among them is a new project under the 4EU+ European University Alliance, which recently joined forces with You&EU. Representatives from both groups met in person in Prague on 18th and 19th January to share knowledge and best practices, engage in common brainstorming sessions as well as collective team-building activities. This gathering was financially supported by the prize which You&EU received from the Financial Times in autumn 2019, a reward for their remarkable activities. Let us briefly summarise this unique collaboration, its outcomes, and possible future common activities!
The 4EU+ Alliance connects 8 European universities with the intention of creating one comprehensive research-intensive university network and fostering cooperation in teaching, education, research, and administration. In the summer of 2023, inspired by the activities of You&EU in 2019, Charles University 4EU+ coordinators started exploring the possibility of launching a similar activity targeting the upcoming 2024 European elections. Encouraged by the great response from Charles University students, the You&EU team eagerly agreed to collaborate and share their expertise from the Europaeum Scholars Programme (2018-2019) and to support the initiative financially.
Following initial online discussion, the meeting in Prague brought together students, professors, and 4EU+ coordinators from Charles University, Sorbonne University, the University of Milan, and the University of Warsaw. After two days of brainstorming, sessions with external guests, and best practice sharing with You&EU, the 4EU+ team elaborated a plan for an international social media campaign with specific local content, tailored to the needs of the respective countries where the participating universities are located. Driven primarily by university students, such a project thus serves two purposes: it not only aims to increase public engagement in the European Parliamentary elections but also seeks to enrich students’ knowledge and skills. These are goals that perfectly align with the You&EU team own aspirations!
And what are the next steps now? You&EU has shared its 2019 social media content, insights into the financial management of such a campaign, and various best practices the team gathered from their experience 5 years ago. The 4EU+ team is now set to create its own campaign material, ensuring they align with current trends and meet the needs of society, both at the European and national levels. You&EU team, together with the entire Europaeum alliance, are greatly enthusiastic about this initiative and looking forward to the project outcomes!
