a European Youth Event in the European Parliament in Strasbourg

Thousands of young people shall be gathering in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on 9 and 10 June 2023.

The EYE (European Youth Event) brings together at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and online thousands of young people from all over the European Union and the world, to share and shape their ideas on Europe’s future.

It is a unique opportunity for 16 to 30 year olds to interact, inspire each other and exchange their views with experts, activists, influencers and decision-makers, right in the heart of European democracy.

EYE2023, the fifth edition of the event, will take place on 9 and 10 June and will feature both in-person and hybrid activities in Strasbourg.

During the event, participants will take part in activities co-created with institutions, international organisations, civil society, youth organisations and participants themselves, offering a space for discussions and networking.

In light of the European and global context and ahead of the European elections 2024, part of the programme will focus on the role of democracy and youth engagement.

Following the event, the ideas, expectations  and  concerns  from young people will be collected in the Youth Ideas Report distributed to all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Some participants will be able to further develop the  most inspiring ideas  and present these directly to the MEPs during the EYE Hearing. 

The EYE strives to promote equality, inclusiveness and sustainability with a strong commitment to accessibility for everyone. Our aim is to accommodate the needs of all participants and to implement solutions that make the event sustainable and environmentally friendly. In 2021, the EYE obtained the ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management, which will be renewed for EYE2023.

Culture is a European issue

Culture – from artistic output to customs, language and religion – plays a fundamental role in human life as a source of identity. It also makes a significant contribution to the EU economy. The arts, culture and creative sectors accounted for 4.4 % of EU gross domestic product in 2019. In 2021, the culture sector employed 3.6 % of the total EU workforce, with twice as many self-employed people as the EU average.

Each EU country decides its own cultural policy. However, under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the EU must support (including financially), supplement and coordinate EU countries’ efforts to preserve cultural diversity and cultural heritage across the EU. This support aims at helping the culture and creative sectors face challenges including increasing digitisation, market fragmentation along language barriers, global competition, and difficult access to funding for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The EU supports culture through a variety of initiatives, including the European Capitals of Culture scheme and various prizes in film, architecture, literature and music. The Music Moves Europe Awards, a prize for popular and contemporary music, are co-organised by the Eurosonic and Reeperbahn Music Festivals. Previous winners of the European Border Breakers Awards include Stromae, Dua Lipa and Adele, among many other young European talents. The Creative Europe and Horizon Europe programmes, and the New European Bauhaus initiative offer funding or support for cultural projects. In addition, regional policy funds support cultural events, cultural tourism, regeneration of cultural sites, preservation of cultural heritage, and cultural and creative sector businesses. They help local and regional authorities support their cultural life and community participation, make their regions more attractive to visitors and investors, and help regional economies do better, thanks to well-developed culture and creative sectors.

Digitisation has transformed every aspect of the cultural sector: creation, production, dissemination/distribution, exhibition/reception, and consumption/participation. Culture and artistic creation have gone digital, and technology has given rise to new art forms, including video games. Technology is key to democratic access to these cultural goods and services. Digital content travels faster than traditional media, and increases and potentially diversifies the cultural works on offer. However, while it empowers public access, digitisation nevertheless favours dominant players in the market. It can also widen the gap between privileged groups and the individuals, social groups, regions and countries who have less easy access to the internet or equipment, or who have lower levels of digital skills.

A wealth of digital cultural content is available online for free, for a fee, or in pirated versions. This abundance of cultural content and the various ways to consult it online bring new challenges to attract our attention and direct it to specific content, monetise content, and ensure creators get fair pay for their work.

Algorithms that steer us to content that is similar to what we have already consumed, or that others have liked, can seem to be the only way to navigate the profusion of online content from all over the world. However, such algorithm-driven (social) media services, can lead to us becoming vulnerable to deliberate disinformation. Boosting our media literacy is an important counter to such negative effects. The use of algorithms also means audiences may not get the same opportunities or information. It can lead to a lack of diversity in the audiovisual content we consume, and undermine local content. Moreover, when linguistic minorities do not feature online or do not promote their language, there is a risk of ‘digital extinction’, because algorithms do not have enough good quality data to feature the content. On the other hand, the internet can be a powerful tool for language revitalisation connecting diaspora communities. Creation supported by artificial intelligence also raises concerns regarding European artists’ digital skills, and copyright issues.

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Additional reading

European Parliament and EYE Village again a hustle and bustle of young people