Brussels, Belgium 18 th April – 20 th April 2013

 Youth forum organised by the European Economic and Social Committee.  Allowed youth from across Europe to meet like-minded students, talk to political leaders and exchange views.  The fourth edition of "Your Europe, Your Say" youth event took place in Brussels from April  A total of 110 students and teachers were invited to the youth plenary session.

 Representatives were given the chance to form the youth policy of the EESC.  Representatives were asked to rank 12 pre- planned priorities and suggest 3 more before going to Brussels.  In Brussels, the representatives voted on the most important priorities for the youth of Europe.  EESC base their 2 year working programme on the top 3 priorities.

 EESC sent information to every school in Ireland about the workshop.  We applied to represent Ireland.  Presence of European Studies and the European Dimension of the school helped our application process.  Picked as Ireland’s representatives – 3 students and 1 teacher  Worked on the priorities before we left for Brussels.

Opening Ceremony with Henri Malosse (President EESC), Jane Morrice (Vice-President EESC) agus Neelie Kroes (Vice-President of the European Commission). Students had the opportunity to meet with these political leaders and discuss their views and worries about Europe informally with them. Games after dinner.

 Groupwork – mixed group of EU representatives.  Group presentation on “Europe in 2030”.  Excellent showcase of what European Youth hope to achieve in the future e.g. Erasmus for all, European Universities, employment levels rising.  Group work largely based on 15 priorities

 Students picked their favourite priority and 15 groups were formed.  Each group had to present their prioirity and the reasons why the representatives should vote for that priority.  Each student had one vote, a small sticker.  The priorities were displayed around the room and each representative cast their vote by placing their sticker on their top priority.

 The top 3 priorities were presented to Henri Molosse (President EESC) Priority No 1 Develop the European concept of access to first-time employment Priority No 2 EU bursaries for students from low-income families Priority No 3: Encourage Youth Entrepreneurship

 Opportunity to explore their European Citizenship.  Opportunity to meet other European students in an intellectual but fun environment.  To realise that Brussels is not “far away”.  Exercise their voice on European matters.  Enhance their understanding of the political process in Europe.  Allowed youth of Europe to voice their opinions and be heard.

 Based on European Parliament elections  Slogan ‘act, react, impact’.  To apply, get in contact with EESC headquarters in your country.