“Can you feel the pulse of Europe ?” laughs Jane, 19 years-old a participant to the Level EUp ! event as the hundred young people gather in the hall of the venue to celebrate the formal start of the project. Emilien Faucon, young regional state representative from rural Northern France, inaugurates the event by congratulating every participant for their associative engagement and underlines the benefits of youth participation in the civic society.
Like many other participants from all across France, Jane came to Paris in order to follow a 3-days training on media literacy and content creation hosted by the European Youth Parliament – France. Centered on popular education methods and interactive learning, the Level EUp ! aims at raising awareness on active European citizenship and empowering young people to voice their opinions on European issues.
Beginning with get-to-know games with the other participants on the first day, Jane proceeds with her track on animation. Along with a dozen persons, she will learn the basics of group dynamism and leadership as well the practicalities of organising an event for young people with Clara, Vice-President in charge of national events of EYP France. She looks forward to the module on “How to animate debate for young people from a marginalised background”, co-animated with partner organisations in line with EYP France’s Divercity european program.
In the room next door, Vicky encourages the participants to get acquainted with their camera and all the possibilities it offers. In charge of the external communication for the National Board, Vicky decided to focus her training on real-life practices in letting her trainees report the events of the weekend in writing, photos. The objective for the 3 coming days is for the participants to learn the art of podcast-making and create their own to be shared on social media.
The Level EUp ! project has been organised with the support of the Hippocrène Foundation and JA Europe through the Pulse Z initiative which aims at uniting young people around their shared interest in politics, journalism and multimedia. The Pulse Z platform is a collaborative platform with a central content hub, along with events, training and entrepreneurial opportunities, allowing young Europeans to contribute to mainstream media and apply these skills in global youth initiatives. “The Pulse Z platform is a great way to connect with other content creators from all over Europe”, says Benjamin amid the many post-its with their ideas written all over them. “I can’t wait to see everything it has to offer”.
On the second day, Benjamin is proud to announce the finishing of his Topic Overview on Online Disinformation and Democracy, an article which will be of great use in the coming regional mock parliamentary session for informing participants about the challenges of AI-generated fake news in the civic and political life. “The article will be used by the participants of the event to conduct their debates – which is so rewarding ! I feel like a professional !”
For now, the Level EUp ! project is beating with the pulse of the music in the evening along the Parisian canals after a good day’s work with a pizza. The participants will resume their training for the final day tomorrow.
See you somewhere in Europe !