From 27 to 29 June almost 100 young liberals and democrats from all over Europe gathered in the European Parliament in Brussels for the 2018 ALDE Summer Academy. This event is co-organised by the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) and the Young Democrats for Europe (YDE), the two youth organisations of ALDE.

This year’s Summer Academy aimed to inform and inspire young people with little or no experience of European policy-making or the legislative process in the European Parliament. ALDE Party Vice-Presidents Fredrick Federley MEP and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP, as well as Catherine Bearder MEP spoke to those in attendance.

The hosting organisations put together a joint statement on the youth’s view of Europe, stating that: “the future of Europe depends on the youth: by fielding young candidates and educating future generations we can ensure it not only survives but thrives. For the upcoming European Parliament elections, we want to see creative, citizen-centred campaigns that are done online, targeted at youth and concretely explaining what the EU is and has done for each and every one of us.”

To read the original article, or to see the statement in full, click here.