ENGSO Youth shapes Europe’s future at the European Youth Event 2023

The fifth edition of the event (EYE 2023) took place on 9 and 10 June and featured an enriching programme co-created together with youth organisations and focusing on a wide variety of topics such as democracy, youth engagement and participation, Human Rights, sustainability, digitalisation, skills and competencies.

With a team of 11 participants, ENGSO Youth hosted two workshops during the event, focusing on the topic of youth entrepreneurship in sport. The workshops “Youth entrepreneurs in sport are the perfect candidates” were fully booked and supported young leaders to acquire creativity and entrepreneurial skills through sport.

During the workshops, ENGSO Youth presented different aspects that come into play within the sport sector and the opportunities it offers to young people. The participants were asked to think about specific challenges and respective possible solutions from the perspective of different “sport roles” that were assigned to them during the workshop, such as coach, sport for development manager, sport infrastructures manager, sport player, and sport director. 

The young leaders were encouraged to think outside the box and find creative solutions in a Human Rights based approach by addressing potential power imbalances, sources of discrimination and drivers of inequalities. 

The contribution of sport in fostering crucial skills and competencies that allow young people to strive is particularly relevant and can be further developed in light of the current European Year of Skills and the opportunities it offers to young people. The workshop was highlighted by the participants as a particularly enriching experience, fostering their knowledge and skills on sport and entrepreneurship while remaining physically, mentally and democratically active. 

During the event, ENGSO Youth team participated in the different activities and workshops provided inside the European Parliament and also in the EYE Village, and which included networking and discussing with Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and other youth organisations, a simulation of being a MEP for a day, and also had the possibility to share their ideas for Europe’s future and be in the shoes of the interpreters that work at the European Union institutions. 

The European Youth Event is a unique opportunity to engage, empower and connect young people from all over Europe and the World, providing the stage for young people to have a say in Europe’s future and reminding the crucial role youth plays in our world, for more inclusive, equal, sustainable and democratic societies.