Leuven 2023 - 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium

“Democracy through diversity: Safeguarding a Secure and Innovative Europe” - by participants of Leuven 2023❤️

Time really does fly by when you are having fun and spending it with the people who make you happy, who make you smile, help you grow and accept you for who you truly are. From Monday to Friday, with each day and every hour spent there, we, participants of Leuven 2023, did just that💛 The faces you are seeing in this album, are the faces of the people who gave the first push for this amazing event to happen. However, they could have never done it alone, and for that, we are thankful for each and every brave and inspiring person that made Leuven 2023 - the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium that little perfect place for us all❤️

Finally, the day had come for the participants of Leuven 2023 to gather for the General Assembly in the auditorium of the European Parliament. Throughout the day, our academic team and delegates debated burning issues that the European Union, and Europe as a whole, are facing at this moment. The assembly has been closely supervised by our guests, teachers and of course, the jury team. To insure that our participants have all their needs met, the organising team was quick on their feet. Lastly, dear reader, for you to see, the media team was there to create this output, in hopes to inspire you to join us, to become a part of the EYP yourself one day💛🇪🇺

The academic team and our delegates were not the only contributors to the long but successful committee work process. Over these two days, our delegates and chairpersons had the opportunity to talk about their respective topics with experts from that area. Hereby, we wish to express nothing but the words of deepest gratitude for their willingness to share their knowledge and experience, thus help us ensure the highest quality of the academic output.

On wednesday evening, the Organisers hosted a magical Euroconcert, where Participants got the chance to showcase their talents and national traditions. Throughout the evening, Delegates and Officials got to relax after a day of hard work and bond over fun and touching perfomances! Special thanks to the lovely hosts, that made the show even more remarkable!

The expression “a fun but learning experience” in itself is a perfect caption for hours spent in the committee work. With a clear goal of finalising their resolutions, our delegates, with assistance of officials team, have been facing the world’s burning questions head on! A whole two days flew by filled with hard work, fun media projects and tasty breaks!

Later that evening, our participants were welcomed by Leuven city hall🏰, where they had the opportunity to talk to our guest speakers during the reception. Not long after, they proceeded to Opening Ceremony where they had the honour to hear our guest speakers talking about the scope of youth participation in decision-making and organising events such as an EYP conference. They stressed the importance of hearing young people out, while giving us a great insight of all the opportunities that Leuven, Belgium and Europe as whole have to offer to their young citizens 🇪🇺

Tuesday arrived, and so did the delegates of Leuven 2023❤️ The national selection conference kick-started with a good old game of rock paper scissors, with one little exception - more than 150 players were in it! As the academic team and the committees proceeded to get to know each other a bit better and finally break that ice, the organising team was there to ensure the whole day passes as smoothly as it did. The other two teams, jury and media, spend their day observing our delegates and waiting for that one special moment to get their best shot📸

On Monday, the officials team of the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium Leuven 2023, have gathered to enjoy some fun team building activities, as well as, to take part in interactive and interesting modules that will ensure the quality of the session for our lovely delegates! Throughout the day, our officials had received a warm welcome, while also having an honour to listen to the very inspiring and welcoming speeches by Livio Loonbeek and Marlies Vanthuyne.

*JURY TEAM*

With a lot of pride, we introduce to you the Jury team of Leuven 2023, the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium! 🤩

Led by Head of Jury , they evaluate the delegates’ ability to debate, work in teams and listen to each other. They also select delegates to send to other sessions after Leuven 2023! 🤍

*ACADEMIC TEAM*

Here they are: the Academic team of Leuven 2023, the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium! 🤩

Led by the Academic Board, these people are ready to lead the committees and guide them in writing their resolutions. They have already been working hard on creating the different topics and making sure that Leuven 2023 will be an interesting session for all our delegates 🤍

*ORGANISING TEAM*

It is with pride that we announce the Organising Team of Leuven 2023, the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium 🤩

Led by Head Organiser , these individuals have already been working for months to make this session a success! They will continue to work on all aspects of the session in the departments of Venues & Logistics, PR & Communication, HR & Health and Patrons & Fundraising 🤍

Please give a warm welcome to the Editorial Team of Leuven 2023: Eva Çupi, Mina Radojković & Niina Sipilä! 🤍

They will be working together to shape the visual identity and media output of this Session! 📸

It is with great pride that we announce the Event Safe Team of Leuven 2023, the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium: Eeva Ferrer, Drosini Sotiropoulou & Mia Kostić!

The Event Safe People will ensure a safe and welcoming environment during the session, as well as actively promote wellbeing of all participants ❤️

We are beyond excited to share the people who have been working alongside our Head Organiser Fien Verbelen as Core Organisers: Sien Billen, Réjan Van De Meirssche, Salas Estallo and Céline Taeymans! ❤️

They will each lead a group of Organisers in the departments of Venues & Logistics, PR & Communication, HR & Health and Patrons & Fundraising respectively. They support the HO with her decisions and together as the Core Team, they will make sure this session is going to be a success! 🤩

We are thrilled to share with you the people who will be working with our President Ali-Maeve Fitzgerald in the Academic Board of Leuven 2023: our Vice-Presidents Catarina Costa Cardosa, Dušan Ninković, & Nikos Theologou!

It is finally time to present to you our last member of the leadership. The wonderful Yannika Rönnqvist will be taking on the position of Editor.
Here are her first words:

Hey everyone,

My name is Yannika and I am thrilled to join Leuven 2023 as the last member of the Leadership. After having a three years hiatus from Editing I am excited to be leading a Media Team, this time in Belgium.
An important key word for my media vision of Leuven 2023 is relevance. EYP Media has been evolving rapidly in the last few years, something that I think can be in large part attributed to the digital era brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. New minds along with new avenues of creating and publishing EYP Media has emerged and I believe that EYP Media looks very different from what it did even a couple of years ago. Relevance for me means encompassing this switch in mindset and keeping EYP Media relevant to the current situation of the EYP Network.

Furthermore, the word relevance also ties into keeping the media output relevant to the current world affairs. EYP and EYP Media often exist in a bubble, more often than not only catering to the participants of the Session and the immediate people from the Network following the output of the Session. However, I believe it is important to look beyond this bubble and see what is going on around us. In line with the Session vision, “Democracy through Diversity: Safeguarding a secure and innovative Europe”, I would like the media output of the Session to provide yet another platform for the Session participants to speak out about their issues and reflect on the world as it is today.

I hope that you will be joining us in Leuven 2023!

Yannika

We are beyond excited to share with you the President of Leuven 2023, Ali-Maeve Fitzgerald! Here are her opening words:

Dearest future participants of Leuven 2023,

My name is Ali-Maeve FitzGerald and I hail from the rainy south of Ireland. I am honoured to be the President of the 29th National Selection Conference of EYP Belgium. Taking place in Leuven in March 2023, under the theme of “Democracy through Diversity: Safeguarding a Secure and Innovative Europe” - this session will become a celebration of the beauty of diversity we see not only in the EYP network, but the true diversity of what it means to be European. Forming a family of unique talents, interests, backgrounds, and strengths, I believe Leuven 2023 will become a perfect platform to take a valuable lesson from all those around us, recognising the value of reaching out across our differences to realise the core values that connect us all as members of the EYP network: as open-minded, accepting, curious, welcoming, and diverse young minds.

Alongside the members of the Official’s Team already assembled, I strive to create an atmosphere at Leuven 2023 where all feel comfortable to express their true selves, and where the well-being of all participants is paramount. Emerging from years spent isolated in lockdowns, now, more than ever, do we cherish the values of friendship and community, and the need to reach out a hand of support to all those around us. The family of Leuven 2023 will be a place where all feel valued and cherished for the unique talents we all can bring to the table, and strive to craft the “innovative Europe” that we cannot achieve without diversity and cooperation, as the future voices and minds of Europe.

I hope you’ll choose to accept this invitation to join us, and welcome to Leuven 2023!

Ali-Maeve

We are thrilled to share with you the next member of the leadership for Leuven 2023: Clara Gaughan! Here is her first statement:

Hi everyone,

I am so elated to join the wonderful leadership of Leuven 2023 as the Head of Jury. I am particularly excited about the well-being focus of the session. Not only is such a focus essential in its own right, it is central to ensuring that the very aim of our sessions can be achieved - bringing European youth together to speak freely on the issues that matter most to them. Without an environment that provides psychological safety, there can be no true dialogue or connection.

Furthermore, given the role of the jury at sessions, it is crucial to me to directly promote collaboration, understanding, and tolerance to foster the kind of discussions that can have a lasting impact long after the session ends.

On a more personal note, I am delighted to finally attend a session of EYP Belgium in-person, and meet so many of those I only know from behind a screen!

With that, I encourage you to be up to date on the session and apply for any roles that appeal to you. I look forward to seeing you at Leuven in 2023.

Love,
Clara

Dear all,

I am thrilled to finally be able to present to you a project that has been near and dear to my heart for quite some time now. Head Organising the 29th National Selection Conference of the European Youth Parliament Belgium is both exciting and humbling at the same time. This National Selection Conference will aim at gathering 200 participants from all over Europe to make sure to continue our ongoing tradition of informal education of European values and active citizenship among the youth.

In the months to come, I will be working alongside some very unique and inspiring individuals to provide a safe environment both emotionally and physically for all participants. I am pleased to announce that the conference will take place in Leuven, a city centered around diversity and innovation. It is the city in which I study and a city that has a special place in my heart.
That being said, stay tuned for all the calls and announcements to come!

Love,

Fien.