In June, over 8000 young people travelled to Straßburg to participate in the European Youth Event 2018. Y Vote was there too! We held a fishbowl discussion about the interaction with young Europeans and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

Terry Reintke (MEP) and Brando Benifei (MEP) joined us for a very fruitful discussion as well as Loes Rutten, the president of AEGEE-Europe at the time. In a very informal atmosphere, Terry talked about her daily schedule and ways how she gets in touch with the people she represents. Loes explained the perspective of youth organisations in Brussels, especially about the contact with MEPs. Together with our participants, we discussed how the interaction, communication and especially the follow-up of meetings at events between young people and MEPs can be improved. This includes recommendations to MEPs, as well as tips for us to keep in mind when contacting an MEP: Find the results below!

What is a fishbowl discussion, you may ask. It is a very interactive format where some people sit in the middle in a circle and discuss while the rest sits around them and listens. In our discussion, our speakers and the moderator Doro  were sitting in the middle the whole time, while three more participants could join them for ten minutes each. Other participants could also ask questions via Slido. Find a more detailed description below, if you want to organise a similar event yourself!