It’s our Europe! Forum for Young People on Participation in Europe

350 young people from eight European countries took part in an online discussion forum from March to September 2012. In the forum www.its-our-europe.eu they discussed and analysed current european topics and send their delegates to participate in a forum held from 19 to 21 September in Ludwigsburg. The results achieved by the young participants are summarised in the “Ludwigsburg Initiative”. The results were presented to politicians during the closing event on 21st September. The “Ludwigsburg Initiative” reflects the topics the young people worked on (debt crisis, demographic change, integration, climate change) and calls on young people in Europe to take responsibility. The state ceremony with Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande was the highlight of the project and will be a lasting memory for the young people. The ideas and results of the young people form the basis for a discussion in Europe between citizens and politicians. By taking part in “It’s our Europe!”, many young people feel inspired to engage and act for a common Europe. „It’s our Europe!“ was organized by the City of Ludwigsburg in cooperation with the Franco-German Institute and was supported by several institutions.