At the Political Festival of Europe, 25 – 28 August 2022, Constantin Dedu, Vice-President of our network, represented Volonteurope in various debates and panels on the future of Europe and its present. Political Festival of Europe is an informal gathering of representatives from different professional backgrounds that took place in Mariager, northern Denmark, a community of 2500 souls on the shores of the fjord with the same name. Besides, a series of debates unfolded having as speakers: experts, activists, politicians, diplomats and ambassadors, academics and businesspeople. The participants were engaged in debates on the various stages of the festival in which Volonteurope was represented: Foreign Policy, Technology & Health, Business, Climate Change and Democracy. The whole programme can be found here.
Constantin attended the festival within the context of the Youth Friendly Administration, a strategic partnership funded through Erasmus+, coordinated by Your Missing Element Association from Granada, Spain, in partnership with Oriel Association from Verona, Italy and Imago Mundi from Romania. Acting also as president of Imago Mundi, Constantin discussed various debates and workshops on the project with the participants.
On Sunday 28th of August 2022, Constantin was one of the speakers in the debate on European Youth Capital, joined by Mads Duedahl, Chairman of the Council for North Denmark region, Mick Scholtka, representative of the Students Union in Denmark and Jan Kristoffersen, Danish politician. The debate was focused on topics such as the importance of European programs for youth and opportunities for involvement in EU initiatives for local initiatives, such as the European Youth Capital, awarded each year to a different city in Europe. Also, other issues regarding youth that we as Volonteurope have been focusing on through various projects were tackled such as:
- What does it mean to be a young European and how can local authorities support youth?
- How can we collaborate at the EU level in order to improve the living conditions of youth?
- How can we support youth at the local level, so that they are more involved in the democratic life of their communities?
These are the debates at which Volonteurope was represented by Constantin:
Foreign Policy Stage:
- European Defense and Security Policy, August 26th
- The Eastern enlargement of the European Union, August 27th
Europe Stage:
- Is Minimum Wage a European or National Issue? August 26th
Climate Stage:
- European Energy Security and Black Sea Region in the context of Ukraine War, August 26th
- Must we change our transportation demands to be less reliant on planes and cars? August 27th
Democracy Stage:
- With more countries wanting to join the EU, is it time to revise the criteria? August 26th
- Cultures and Religions in Europe, August 27th
Technology Stage:
- A new Era in Digitalization, what threats can we expect? August 27th
Business Stage:
- EU Social Rights – where are we at? August 27th