In the last European elections, voter turnout among young citizens between 18 and 24 was particularly low, at around 40 percent. Therefore, during the different project weeks throughout Europe, one group made sure that the guests at the simulated "European elections 2020" voted for the party of their choice by making a "Vote for Europe" poster. What do you think about the campaigns?  Vote here

A whole host of exciting project weeks held last autumn and this spring have involved some 850 young people in no less than 18 European countries! They have formed parties and developed new, creative and innovative ideas for Europe's energy future. They have debated with local, national and international politicians and decision-makers - and it has been an exciting experience for students, teachers and the implementing partners:

"Young Ideas for Europe was special as it not only let our voices be heard, but also made it feel that our opinions mattered."

- Valter, participant, Sweden

"The project… allows young people from all over Europe to realize that certain issues are important to all of them no matter what country they come from."

 - Maria, teacher, Poland

"This project allowed young participants to become aware of current issues but also of their role as citizens."

 - Alina, project partner, France

If you have something to add and want to let us know what you think about Young Ideas for Europe, then we'd love to hear from you! Send us an e-mail with your comments - and thanks to everyone who responded to our call for statements and quotes about the project!

And the Young Ideas for Europe Action Plan couldn't come at a better time: The Spanish EU Presidency is - right now - in the process of drawing up its own energy action roadmap for the EU - and that for the coming 30 years. A delegation of Young Ideas for Europe participants will hand-over the suggestions contained in the Young Ideas for Europe European Action Plan in June during an event to be held in the Spanish Embassy in Berlin (date to be confirmed). In this way the Young Ideas for Europe delegation will let decision-makers know the wishes and ideas of the next generation.

For more info on the Spanish EU-presidency: http://www.eu2010.es/en/presidencia/programapol/

You might want to use blogs and online platforms to spread your ideas (even the ones that didn't make it into the manifestos), to enter competitions with your ideas or nominate Young Ideas for Europe for awards and talk to your friends and family about the project. For those of you who speak German for example, you can share your ideas with others and discuss them - not only with policy makers, but now with scientists on the dialogue project, "Wissenschaft debattieren": http://www.deine-idee-zu-energie.de/ (unfortunately only available in German).

If you have other ideas for spreading your ideas and Young Ideas for Europe throughout Europe, then let us know! We would love to publish your recommendations on our site under the "Participate" section, so send us your competitions, awards, websites, projects and initiatives so everyone involved can stay involved - and we can spread our ideas further!

What was the event all about? Global Business Day is a yearly gathering of global business leaders at the climate change negotiations (COPs) where these leaders debate and promote the business perspectives on the climate change agenda. This year's event, as in Bali and Poznan before, was organized by the WBCSD and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). This year it was co-organized with the Confederation of Danish Industries (DI) as a local partner.

It brought together some 400 participants, including UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, business leaders, among them 22 company CEOs, and representatives from civil society.

Young Ideas for Europe was invited to present the voice of youth and the three students from the Spyken Upper Secondary School in Lund tackled the challenge successfully. They raised their questions and formulated their ideas regarding the cooperation of business and politics in the issue of climate change and concerning the "2050 future" - in the plenary as well as in the workshop "Envisioning our 2050 future". Their contributions were well received - as a member of the workshop said: "Thank you for your contributions. It was terrific. We need your voice.” Last but not least Björn Stigson, president of WBCSD, was very interested in the Action Plan of Young Ideas for Europe. Overall, for the representatives of Young Ideas for Europe it was a great experience."

Photos of the event

"As usual!" the Vice-President of the European Commission remarked, after listening to the demands of the youth representatives - among them participants of Young Ideas for Europe who took part in the international conference "Sustaining People and the Planet: a Fair Deal in Copenhagen." The event was held by the Road to Copenhagen Initiative in Malmö, Sweden on December 8-9, 2009. More than 150 participants representing civil society, business and legislators gathered to explore the necessary drivers for ensuring that the deal reached at Copenhagen be based on climate justice: human rights, technology transfer and financial mechanisms which ensure fair burden sharing. The Road to Copenhagen Initiative is chaired by Margot Wallström, Margot Brundtland and Mary Robinson.

Young Ideas for Europe was, together with the Global Humanitarian Forum's Youth Forum and Save the Children, invited to make the voice of young people actively heard at the conference. A delegation of eight participants from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden jumped at the opportunity and voiced their opinions in the conference workshops on climate justice, financing and technology. These were chaired by the three prestigious patrons of the initiative. An even better opportunity for the young participants to present their ideas about the challenge of climate change was then offered to them in the form of their own workshop. Hosted by the Youth Forum and Young Ideas for Europe, the event focussed on intergenerational dialogue and the demands of the Youth Forum's "Copenhagen Manifesto" were complemented with concrete ideas of how to implement them. Small lively discussions groups drew up the results; among the participants were Gro Harlem Brundtland and Mary Robinson, together with the young people. The discussions were moderated by representatives of the Youth Forum.

The results: the revised nine demands of the "Copenhagen Manifesto" are listed below. These were then presented by the youngsters themselves in the conference's plenary and served as an introduction to the discussions on the Road to Copenhagen initiative's final communiqué. Again, the chairwomen were impressed by the quality of the work of the young people.

Straight after the conference, the three chairwomen went to the COP15 in Copenhagen to hand over the conference's messages and communiqué to the UNFCCC Secretary General Yvo de Boer. Upon receiving the communiqué he strongly recommended delivering these recommendations to all Ministers and Heads of State and Government that will be arriving at the COP15 in the coming days. ”It is a strong sign of encouragement to them to really live up to public participation from the young, businesses, and parliamentarians, and to do something here in Copenhagen that is significant.”

Not only did the Young Ideas for Europe participants manage to gain valuable experience through the "Sustaining People and the Planet" conference in Malmö, through their participation in the COP 15 as accredited observers they were able to approach a wide range of organisations and institutions and gain new insights and new ideas.

See a video from the press conference and our photos on Flickr Part 1 / Part 2 and facebook!

Click here for the Final Communique!

"Remember, even if you won’t vote, someone else will. And it will be their voice that counts, not yours.”, Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the Europen Commission, once said.