At an international seminar on the topic "The future of the EU depends on you” youth leaders from 12 countries will discuss how to increase voter turnout in the European Parliament (EP) elections. This was announced by the National Student Confederation, BTA reported.
The youth training seminar is organized by the National Student Confederation together with the Union of European Federalists and the European Youth Movement under the “Erasmus+” with the support of the Center for Human Resources Development, the National Student House and the Bureau of the European Parliament in Bulgaria.
The participants will receive congratulatory addresses from the Bulgarian European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova and the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Galin Tsokov.
The event aims to consider what European Union (EU) politicians and institutions can do to connect and engage productively with young citizens in the context of the European elections.
Building on the pre-election momentum, the project will bring together decision-makers, youth activists, NGOs and citizens' campaigns to explore potential solutions to the main challenges facing young EU citizens and develop recommendations to the upcoming Parliament and the new EU leaders in line with the European Youth Goals. The implementation of the project aims to encourage young people to vote in the European elections and facilitate them to make an informed choice by strengthening the democratic participation and voice of young people in decision-making by increasing the necessary skills and creating tools for effective participation in the democratic life of EU, they add more from the confederation.
Politicians, officials of the European institutions, diplomats and youth workers will help young people to increase their competence to promote EU values and improve their European communication skills.
The European elections will be held in Bulgaria on June 9, 2024. All citizens over the age of 18 can vote if they have been in Bulgaria or another EU country for at least three months before the elections. Voters will vote for 17 MEPs. Elections to the European Parliament are held every five years. Only five months after Bulgaria joined the EU on January 1, 2007, the country sent 18 representatives to the EP. And the MEPs elected in the vote in June are for a shorter term until the regular European vote in 2009. Since then, Bulgaria has sent 17 representatives. The territory of the country, including the sections outside the borders of Bulgaria, constitutes one multi-mandate constituency.