Event report

The “Young voice of Europe” debate was launched in Poland by the Conference on the Future of Europe in which European Union young people want to live? What do they think requires change and reform? On 9 May 2021, on Europe Day, the European Commission in Poland gave the floor to young people to explain what is important for them and how they imagine their future. On Sunday 9 May 2021, an online debate “Europe’s young voice” took place on Europe Day, which launched a whole cycle of meetings, conferences and debates in Poland in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE). Three groups of young Polek and Poles have been involved in the debate organised by the Representation of the European Commission in Poland, who have been working in virtual workshops for several weeks to formulate their demands and ideas for change in the EU. They identified education, health and values, law and justice as the most important for their generation. They discussed them with experts: Andrzej graph, Director for Health Systems, Medical Products and Innovation, DG SANTE, European Commission, Dr. hab. Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene, expert Team Europe, Dr. hab. Marcin Napiórkowski, cultural semiotic, expert Team Europe and Justina Suchecka, journalist, author of Young Power. The debate was divided into two parts. In the first, young people representing the ‘Education’, ‘Health’ and ‘Value’ groups presented their requests and proposed solutions that could lead to the desired changes. The issues raised in their presentations were subsequently addressed by experts. The second part of the meeting held a plenary discussion. Young participants in the debate stressed that their demands, their voices, were not the voice of a selected group, but that it was indeed the voice of the young generation, many young people who think the same. An important demand for the Education Group was the evolution of the education system from the PRU system to a disability-friendly and life-prepared school. In their view, the current education system in Poland is completely unsuited to the realities and requirements of the twenty-first century and does not encourage teachers to exploit the full potential of students. Young people also pointed out that it is worth making use of the potential of NGOs, which could actively participate in youth education and thus alleviate the burden on teachers. The Health Group highlighted a very important problem related to the deterioration of young people’s mental health, which of course was also affected by the pandemic. However, as Justyna Dżbik rightly pointed out, the journalist leading the debate, regardless of the pandemic, is not talking about mental health problems in Poland, and there is also a certain feeling of shame, which affects young people in particular. The second important demand of the Health Group was to change the EU’s pharmaceutical policy to make it less dependent on its competitors and opponents. The content, not just the form, was relevant to the Values Group, especially with regard to European values. As a consequence of the insufficient message about the EU’s values, its attitude towards the EU, its blame for it, the ubiquitous myth of bureaucrats from Brussels, and the lengthy procedures that are infinite. They also believe that there is a need to change the way the EU communicates with its citizens and to adapt the “European stories” to audiences. We need to look at the EU and its meaning from the perspective of different generations, because for the grandparents of today’s youth, peace in Europe was the greatest sense of the EU’s existence. For their parents, this was the Schengen area and the possibility to work abroad. For them, however, these achievements are not unusual, as they have already grown in the world they offer. Young people therefore need a new, young, “their” motive for EU action. During the debate, the experts also referred to the questions and observations of internet users following the debate on the European Commission’s Facebook profile in Poland and on the YouTube channel. In summing up the debate, Justyna Suchecka, an education expert, stated that she had long not participated in a debate in which she had heard so many new ideas and proposals for solutions. She stressed the importance of bottom-up action in the process of change, which is the driving force behind many changes. Dr. hab agreed with her. Marcin Napiórkowski, an expert in the area of values, added that “fulfilling” the Union not only with values, but also with the actions through which these values are realised is extremely important and well raised during the debate. Andrzej Ryś, Director for Health Systems, Medical Products and Innovation, DG SANTE, European Commission, informed that the EU is already undergoing health-related changes. Their objectives include strengthening the Life Science sector, reducing the EU’s dependence on supplies from non-community countries, or improving the education of healthcare and patients on digital tools, which will significantly improve healthcare systems in EU countries. He also encouraged young people to actively put forward their demands and actions to speed up work on important regulations for them. Dr. hab. Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene, expert Team Europe added that while bottom-up activities may seem to cost much energy, it is worth sacrificing that now that the whole cycle of debates around the Conference on the Future of Europe began in Europe, it is time for EU citizens, including young people, to discuss their ideas, problems and demands with EU representatives. The demands of the young participants in the debate were put on the platform of the dedicated Conference on the Future of Europe (www.futureu.europa.eu). Every citizen can make their wishes and say what Europe they want to live in. The “Young Europe’s voice” debate can be viewed entirely on the European Commission’s YouTube channel in Poland – “Inaugation of the Conference on the Future of Europe – Europe’s young voice”.