• Brest• Torpoint

• Almussafes

• Lahti

Four countries, four cities, 32 youths, gathered at the West head of France, in Brest, Brittany.

For five days, in Spring 2014 – weeks before the European elections, facing Brest harbour – they gathered and exchanged on a topic which affects us all: the European Union and its policy, especially for the young generation.

The Your Hope Festival was part of the European programme “Youth in Action.” It was held from January, 1st to May, 4th 2014.

Meet the MEPs

From January to April, before the encounter, each young delegation met their MEPs to interview them thanks a jointly elaborated questionnaire.

The youths picked up topics such as: employment, education, the environment, integration and policy in general. The aim of these encounters was to discover and better understand their local MEP’s work.

Meet the MEPs

Welcome in Brest !

Lahti (Finland) – Brest: about 3000 km (1860 mi)Almussafes (Spain) – Brest: about 1500 km (930 mi)

Torpoint (Britain) – Brest: about 300 km (186 mi)

Each day of the festival started with playful exercises and “energizers” in order to create great group dynamics.

As far as languages were concerned, French and English were used daily and some heartedly tried some Finnish.

4 countries : Finland, Spain, UK, France

Experience the festival

Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe

The festival gathered many from across the whole Union: people from Britain, Spain, Finland, France, Greece and Germany. The steering team was European with a Bulgarian, a Spanish, a German and French students.

The Your Hope Festival was a real melting pot of European countries! To celebrate this, we organized an intercultural night during which each group introduced their particularities and local specialities, with an initiation to Breton dances and a “galette” workshop!

It was the occasion to taste some French cheese, British crackers, Spanish sangria and Finnish jam. What a sweet programme!

Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe

A night open to all young people from Brest was set: The Your Hope Challenge. It gave the opportunity to youths to give artistic perfor-mances and to win the jury prize composed by all the Europeans participating in the project. The talents from Brest districts were thrilled by this evening.

Celebrate cultural diversity in Europe

Knowing and understanding each other

Thanks to the preparatory work with the representatives, the delegations could present the results of their work through video, slides, ... The most engrossing part was certainly the disappointment of the Spanish delegation who did not manage to encounter and interview a MEP and who was angry at the Spanish policy.

The most important and urgent part for all the participants was the issue over employment and education. How can we deal with young unemployment, and how can justice be guaranteed in the different member States?

For the young people to express their ideas and proposals, we organised symbolic elections « Vote For Your Hope ». The result is the final declaration.

Knowing and understanding each other

Participate in creative workshops

Workshops for musicians, actors and artists: during the whole duration of the Your Hope Festival, the young people were involved in workshops composed of eight people (of course, of different nationalities). The youths prepared their own contribution for the final show. The Arts workshop prepared the setting for the Drama workshop. The Bodypercussion workshop allowed youths to try body expression on stage. Finally, the Batucada workshop with its Brazilian instruments was focused on the music.

Learning together

Participate in creative workshops

Perform the show togetherThe three days in the workshops led to the final performance which was open to the public in Le Fourneau – the National Centre for Street Arts in Brest! The work of the four workshops was gathered on stage to create this finale oeuvre! Everybody had a key role in the show. And in the end the result was MAGNIFICENT!The two concerts of Bom Sam and Talkin’ Dumbs were the only thing left. These two bands of young talented people concluded under the marquee the last evening at the Nautical Centre, in the Moulin Blanc harbour before saying “good-bye” in the early morning.

Perform the show together

YOUR HOPE festival declaration

May 1st 2nd and 3rd 2014 Brest

The Your Hope festival promotes the active citizenship of the European youth. This event has gathered young people from Finland, Great-Britain, Spain, France, Greece, Germany and also Morocco.

They have expressed their hopes for Europe during a vote on 5 topics: employment, education, politics, environment and integration

This declaration gathers the expectations of young people from across Europe.

EmploymentEmployment is usually synonym of insecurity, low wages, social dumping and disparities between member states. The young of Your Hope want:• A minimum European wage to level earnings and

ease the mobility of workers without hindering countries with higher wages

• A policy to encourage the creation of companies and ease paperwork to create and preserve jobs in Europe

• The promotion of youth jobs and the valorization of internships in Europe

• To erase illegal jobs to tackle poverty• The equality between men and women regarding

wages and status in companies

EducationFor education, a major preoccupation, the young of Your Hope festival want:• A financial help to be able to carry their studies• An education that is free and of quality throughout

Europe• The valorization of teachers’ work (regardless of the

levels and subjects)• The spreading of ideas and the way we understand

education at a European level to develop teaching and harmonize curriculums

• The teaching of languages to offer the possibility to pupils and students to learn foreign languages and civilizations

PoliticsTo fight abstention and gather people on political actions, the participants of Your Hope Festival want:• To enforce an efficient policy against corruption

of politicians, the complete transparency of their expenditures and the end of political careers

• A real policy to stress the importance of voting• To take into account the blank vote as a real ballot• To better consider young people in European

policies to give them the opportunity to be heard and to take part in the Parliament’s decisions

EnvironmentThe young of Your Hope want a real environmental revolution in Europe through:• A drastic reduction of CO2 emissions at a European

level• The reduction of the abusive consumption of natural

resources• The relocation of production units to reduce

transportation• The increase in green energies at a European level• The enforcement of sanctions on the basis “the

polluter pays”

• A help to developing countries using green energies (windmills, tides, sun, geothermic…

• A ban on the exploitation schist gas at a European level

• An environmental friendly and united protectionism to face globalization

IntegrationCitizenship and European identity pass by the integration of the whole population of the EU and of people from non-member states. The young of Your Hope want:• Europe to become one democratic, tolerant and

multicultural whole• A higher protection of legal and illegal emigrants

while keeping an eye on migratory flux• A European program to tackle racism and other

forms of discrimination.

Finland: Elli EsterLatva-HakuniKrista Jonna Elina Pääkkönen Topi Rami Petteri RautiainenJanne Tappio SiltanenMerike MauringJoona Sebastian SilvennoinenMariana SofiLavos AlvesKimi Erkki Uosukainen

France:Martin GrönwoldtHugo ConqMarie Magdeleine VerinQuentin MarchandMona SoliymaniJordan BernardEirini Nianiou

Spain: Sofia Duart NavrroNoa Vivanco ParadaMaria Ferri SeguiRaquel Pastor FerriBarbara Sancho TobosoVictor Ribes MorenoRafa MagranerMaria Luisa Sanchez Dominguez

UK:Philip MartinKirsty EldridgeAdam Will GarnerJack LeeAidan HoleLuke ChurchKonstantinos MountrisChristina Saljandi

Photo credits : Lara Zölck, Martin Grönwoldt, Zaparojdik (map) Realization of the booklet : Hervé Quillien

Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You ! Thank You !

Leaders: Irene Lüders, Sari Tuulikki Immonen, Lara Zölck, Carles Grancha Bosch, Antonio Benaches Bodi, Andres Pedron Gimenez, Michelle Maunder, Suzette Crossman, Erwan HeréOrganisers: Justine Eveno, Laura Nieto Cuervo, Polina Prandhzeva, Emilien Nohaïc, David Lafont, Sandra Trébaol, Delphine Kerlan, Karine Quéré, Gwenaëlle Goyat, Michèle Casu, Pierre Yves Cavellat, Gaëlle Le BrigantVolunteers: Jason Fretard, Geoffroy Burel, Frédéric Wendland, Cyril Ruz, Mehdy Eibaraka, Alana Vallet, Gurvan PressardParticipants: Lionel (Producer), Coline (Web Reporter), Stéphane (Batucada), Florent (Body Percussion), Anaïs (Body Expression), Arek (Graphic Expression), Florian (Declaration writer)