The ECI Gamified: Young People Learn to Have Their Voices Heard in the European Union

“As in the previous days, the discussion on the Media Freedom Act in the Council somewhat turned into a power struggle and did not focus much on the reason why we all should be here: debating the safeguard of press freedom and the protection of journalists. The amendment discussion went on and on about the deletion of all of the passages that centralise power in the hands of the European Commission or the European Parliament. Ministers from Germany, Poland and Greece were very vocal on the issue of giving control over media freedom legislation to the Member States and faced quite a fragile opposition from the Ministers of Spain and France."

Did you think this was a leaked insight from a meeting of the Council of the EU? Not really – this is the opening paragraph of an article by Giulia Lisdero (pictured below), a Master's student in Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Eastern Europe, who joined the “press team” of InforMEU in Sofia, the “official news channel” of the Model European Union initiative that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from July 6th to July 9th 2023.

The Model European Union is a simulation of the decision-making procedures of the European institutions at which means that participants are encouraged to interpret a role of a European decision-maker they have been assigned to. The Model EU initiative and role playing with the European Citizens’ Initiative are being applied widely across the EU to raise awareness and increase young people’s engagement with policy making in the European Union.

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Aiming at fostering the determination of young people to become an active part of democracy, MEU Sofia gathered 70 young pupils, students and professionals from across Europe to debate the Media Freedom Act and the Regulation on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings. The Sofia event followed up on Model EU Sofia 2022, when it introduced the European Citizens’ Initiative to high schoolers in Bulgaria. Students from three high schools brought their ideas forward through a simulation of the ECI, aimed at raising awareness of the participatory democracy tools of the European Union. After consultations with the winning team, the initiative was used as a basis for a team-written directive on youth and education.

How Did the ECI Simulation Work

To kick-off the simulation, the MEU Sofia discussed the ECI and young citizens’ participation. The panel discussion emphasised the need for the decision-makers and civil society to close the gaps between the EU and citizens in order to establish a participatory democracy.

 Citizens are at the heart of the European Union and without their participation, it stops beating.

After participating in workshops and stemming from their own experiences and societal shortcomings, the teenagers proposed the following initiatives:

Fostering an inclusive and plural Europe for youth

This proposal addresses homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic harassment among young victims with the potential of correction. This initiative advocates for intensifying the fight against homophobia among youth, fostering inclusivity and acceptance while ensuring that everyone can live their lives peacefully and in harmony with themselves and the others.

Regulating the use and availability of cigarettes to persons under 18 years old

In the context of ineffective national laws and the hazardous effects cigarettes pose to health, pupils call on EU laws to regulate the use and availability of cigarettes to minors. This proposal advocates for the health of children, which is in the hands of the lawmakers.

Steering youth with necessary resources onto their desired career paths

This proposal addresses the wide-spread problem of finding a suitable career path for youth by embarking on the right studies, in a context of unavailable or incomplete information on prospects as well as insufficient guidance. Therefore, with this proposal, the young advocate for more information and guidance available to all youth, that transcends socio-economic boundaries and includes all groups. The initiative foresees equipping the youth with the right set of skills for the future in order to contribute to the society.

The winning initiative

To enable a realistic approach to the ECI, the voting threshold has been lowered to 100 votes from 7 Member States. All three initiatives passed it, with the winning initiative receiving no less than 270 votes. The voters gave most recognition to the need for Steering youth with necessary resources onto their desired career paths. However, the other initiatives received numerous votes as well, counting up to 539 votes in total.

The next step consisted of consultation sessions between the winning group of high schoolers and the MEU Sofia organising team. The ideas stemming from the consultations formed the basis for the team to write a legislative proposal - the Youth and Education Directive. Based on the legal ground of Article 149 TFEU, the directive aims to encourage cooperation between the Member States in the field of education and to create initiatives to develop exchanges of information and best practices.

The Youth and Education Directive served as a legislative proposal in Model European Union Sofia 2022, where students and young professionals from across Europe came to Bulgaria to take the roles of MEPs and Ministers in the Council. They successfully debated, amended and voted on the proposal, learning more about the legislative and participatory mechanisms of the European Union in an informal and international educational context.

At a time when democracy in Europe is at stake and when there is a need to enhance youth participation, this exercise was successful. Not only were several people involved (high schoolers, family, friends etc.)  introduced to the ECI for the first time and became aware of their right to support existing ECIs, but the young people themselves got encouraged to pursue active European citizenship.

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