Youth leader from Scotland part of UK delegation attending European Youth Week in Brussels

From left to right: Israel Campos, Rhia Danis, Amber Lewis and Rory Chapman, members of the EU/UK Youth Stronger Together delegation at EU Youth Week. ©
British Council

Monday 15 April 2024

Rory Chapman, from Alliance Scotland, has been part of a UK youth delegation attending European Youth Week in Brussels, a biennial event hosted by the European Commission promoting youth engagement, democratic participation and active citizenship.

He was selected to be part of the delegation through the British Council’s EU/UK Youth Stronger Together programme, which offers young people aged 15–30 from Scotland and across Europe opportunities to connect, cooperate, influence and implement change together on topics of common interest.

The programme aims to facilitate close and sustainable relationships between young people in the UK and the EU, working with young people across school and youth organisations and with young activists and journalists.

European Youth Week (EYW) raises awareness of youth involvement in decision-making, fosters dialogue between young people and policymakers, and showcases the talents and projects of young Europeans. This year’s event runs from 12 – 19 April, with an emphasis on promoting democratic participation and active citizenship, and empowering young people to engage in community activities.

Rory, aged 27, from Glasgow, is External Affairs and Outreach Development Officer at Alliance Scotland, and works on European engagement and outreach, as well as contributing to work on the Scottish Advisory Forum on Europe (SAFE). He is thrilled to have been part of the delegation, saying: “Attending European Youth Week as part of the UK delegation was an experience of a lifetime. It was so inspiring to hear the stories and backgrounds from young people attending across Europe.

European Youth Week has ignited a renewed passion for youth involvement. In particular, I feel a greater commitment towards advocating for enhanced UK-EU youth mobility. I am grateful to the British Council for allowing me to foster these connections, and I am determined to sustain them as we work towards a more inclusive future for young people.”

The EU/UK Youth Stronger Together programme is delivered by the British Council in co-operation with the European Movement International and co-funded by the European Union.

Speaking about the programme, Eirini Kareta, British Council EU Programme Manager, said:

“Through the activities of our Youth Leadership strand of the EU UK Youth Stronger Together project, we aim to strengthen the UK youth sector, enable connections with youth organisations, policy makers and practitioners and facilitate cooperation among young people in the EU and the UK for Europe’s collective benefit.

We are supporting active young leaders and representatives of youth organisations to attend youth events where they can network, share and interact with their peers in the EU on topics of common concern, from democracy and human rights to climate and the advancement of youth policy. These are vital opportunities for young people, giving them a voice to shape the future and empowering them to actively participate in making a difference.”

Ends

Notes to Editor

About EU/UK Youth Stronger Together:

Young people from Scotland can get involved in EU/UK Youth Stronger Together in various ways including:

School programmes: Schools from across the UK and the EU will come together to highlight the role of young people aged 15–18 as changemakers, active global citizens and leaders at a local, national and European level. Schools will have the opportunity to join virtual thematic events on Climate, Integration of Refugee students and Fake news/disinformation.
Youth organisations: Youth leaders and representatives of youth organisations aged 18–30 will come together from across the UK and EU. This will include through focus groups, youth policy and networking events and the creation of a network of youth organisations.
Young activists: Young activists aged 18–30 from across the UK and EU will work together through joint events and training to promote shared fundamental values and give prominence to the role of youth in bringing about positive change, social cohesion and peace. This includes a Competition receiving creative entries on the value of cooperation between the EU and the UK.
Young journalists: Young journalists from across the UK and Europe will be provided with training and networking opportunities. Following workshops in summer 2023 we offer travel grants to young journalists to cover major youth events across the continent.

To find out more and register your interest in being part of the EU/UK Youth Stronger Together programme visit: https://www.britishcouncil.be/programmes/education/stronger-together

EU/UK Youth Stronger Together continues the British Council’s work, building connection, understanding and trust between people in the UK and overseas through arts, education and English language teaching. To find out more about the British Council’s work in Northern Ireland visit nireland.britishcouncil.org, or follow on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language.  We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2022-23 we reached 600 million people.