It’s Our Turn! Congress of Young Europeans (Prague)

About the event

At the four-day congress in Prague, selected participants will have the chance to come together in a historically important Central European capital to discuss their visions of Europe’s future. Participants will reflect on the protest movements from 1968 and 1989 and debate issues that concern them today as well as ways in which they can mobilise to shape the future for the better. In addition to this, the Green European Foundation (GEF) will contribute to the congress with a pre-event online course, providing for a common knowledge base for all participants, as well as a platform for debates ahead of their trip to Prague.

Programme:

Thursday August 30

18:00-22:00 Opening event and dinner reception

Friday 31 August

9:30-10:30 Welcome and introduction

Ellen Ueberschär, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Carlotta Weber, Green European Foundation, Belgium

Teo Comet, Federation of Young European Greens, Belgium

10:30-12:30 ‘It’s Our Turn’ – plenary discussion about young activists, politicians, artists and public engagement

Moderation: Özge Kara, Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, Serbia

Václav Kříž, Mladí občané, city councillor in Krásno, Czech Republic

Sergey Lagodinsky, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Vincent Madeline, Europe Écologie-Les Verts, France

Maria Demisheva, Feminist Workshop, Ukraine

14:00-17:30 City walks in Prague

17:30-19:30 Film screening: ‘Leave/Stay’ followed by discussion with Mariann Dósa, School of Public Life, Hungary, and László Józsa, Film producer, Hungary

19:30-20:30 Dinner

20:30-22:30 Screening of the film “Jan Palach”by Robert Sedláček (2018, English subtitles)

Saturday September 1

9:30-10:00 Introduction of the community space Studio ALTA

10:00-12:00 WORKSHOPS: Protest Movements and Activism

• Elections, protest movements ad the role of young people – School of Public Life, Hungary
• The use of artistic tools in contemporary activism – Studio ALTA, Czech Republic
• Human Rights Workshop – Panoptykon Foundation, Poland
• “The spirit of 1968”: What it was and what is left – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

12:00-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:30 Participants’ presentations and discussion

15:30-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-18:00 WORKSHOPS: Our Role in Public Spaces

• Manage your town! – Mladí Občané, Czech Republic
• Art and culture shaping public spaces – Studio ALTA, Czech Republic
• “We started from the bottom, now we are here” – interactive workshop with urban activists from Eastern Europe – Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, Serbia
• Children in Urban Development – Milota Siorová, Urbanist, Slovakia
• Housing in European cities – Czech Young Greens

18:00-19:30 Dinner

19:30-21:00 PANEL DISCUSSION: The Future of Democracy in Europe – How to defend the core values of open and plural societies?

Moderation: Agata Skrzypczyk, Journalist, Poland

Lluis Camprubi, Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, Catalonia – Spain

Vít Havelka, Europeum, Czech Republic

Terry Reintke, Member of European Parliament for Greens/EFA, Germany

Ellen Ueberschär, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany

Sunday September 2

9:30-11:30 WORKSHOPS: Our Future of Europe

• European Green Activism – Green European Foundation, Belgium
• Safeguarding Democracy in the EU – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany, and Linda Schneider, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
• The Role of Youth in Shaping Europe – Federation of Young Europeans
• “Migration is our Encounter with Globalisation!”: A Future Lab on the EU’s Migration Policy – Heinrich Böll Foundation, Germany, and Ali Nobil Ahmad, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

11:30-12:00 Coffee break

11:45-13:30 Presentations from workshops – Follow-up

13:30-14:45 Lunch

14:45-16:00 Evaluation and closing

16:30-19:00 Film screenings and discussion in cooperation with the JIHLAVA Film Festival

19:00-20:00 Dinner

20:00-22:00 Farewell Party with a concert of Šarbilach Orchestr

This event is organised by the Green European Foundation in collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation Prague.