Europe Day is not only a date to celebrat, it is an occasion to bring Europe closer to young people’s everyday lives. In the week of Europe Day, in collaboration with our Swedish partner Malmo Ideella, more than 50 high school students from different study programmes in Trelleborg, southern Sweden, came together to explore the opportunities that Europe offers to young people for training, education and active participation, through the Erasmus+ programme and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).

The starting point was concrete experience, through personal stories and practical guidance, the students discovered new ways to travel, learn, volunteer, gain international experience and connect with people across Europe. Because opportunities only become real when you know how to reach them, during the day we also explored, step by step, where and how to search for projects, exchanges and useful information for taking the next step,  from official portals to the support that organisations like ours can provide.

The day did not stop at mobility. The presentations continued with workshops on democracy and participation, giving students from very different backgrounds the chance to reflect, create and express their thoughts about society, voice and change. What emerged went beyond our expectations: powerful conversations, inspiring new perspectives and amazing poems filled with honesty, courage and creativity, a reminder that, when given the space, young people have a lot to say.

But what matters most is what the students took home with them, new insights, fresh inspiration and the feeling of being ready to take action and shape their own future. And this is exactly why we do what we do.