The Lithuanian College of Democracy is inviting teenagers to join the “Imagine EU” contest, organized by the “European Citizens’ Initiative.” This contest aims to encourage young minds to share their ideas about the future of the European Union.
The “ImagineEU” competition provides a special chance for teenagers to showcase their ideas, which might someday become the focus of a “European citizens’ initiative”. Open to students in their final two years of high school from all EU countries, the competition allows video submissions until December 13, 2023. For additional details about the competition, you can find more information here.
Videos meeting the criteria will be uploaded to the competition website, and starting from December 20, 2023, the public will have the opportunity to evaluate them. Contest participants can also conduct their own promotional campaigns for their videos, urging friends, family, and acquaintances to support and vote for their ideas. Public votes will be one of the factors crucial to the expert panel evaluating European citizens’ initiatives.
This competition is grounded in the concept of the European Citizens’ Initiative, which is a vital tool of participatory democracy in the EU, providing citizens with the opportunity to actively participate in shaping EU policies. The competition is organized by the SG.A.1 department of the General Secretariat of the European Commission, known as ‘Policy priorities and work program’.
Eligibility criteria
- A team should consist of up to seven students at the same secondary school in their final two years (from any EU country).
- The video should address a topic falling within one of the areas of competence of the European Union – as is the case with European citizens’ initiatives.
- Each video should be up to three minutes long; produced and submitted in any of the official EU languages, accompanied by a transcript in English.
- The application should be made by a supervising teacher, who will also accompany the students to Brussels if they win.
- The teacher should first upload the video to Vimeo or YouTube, and then include the link in the application form.
- Consent forms for each student appearing in the video, duly completed and signed, must be provided as part of the application.
The Lithuanian College for the Education of Democracy collaborates with the ‘European Citizens’ Forum’ in implementing the ‘Youth Voice: Empowering Positive Change (Youth4Change)’ project. The aim of the project is to provide children and young people with the opportunity to participate in the political process, reflecting their needs, and to promote democracy and inclusive democratic participation.”
For more information about the project, you can find it here.