The local youth groups from Bochum and Nordhausen within Generation Europe – The Academy actually work closely with their project partners from Italy and Portugal, respectively Spain and Poland. However, such a large network also enables additional alliances. Bochum in the Ruhr region and Nordhausen in Thuringia have been official twin towns since 1990. What could be more obvious than to fill this connection with life also at the level of youth work? And so, active young people from the two cities met in Bochum for a four-day exchange.
They talked about the joint projects with their European partner groups and discussed a lot about the local activities that they are organising. And about the challenges they face. For example, the time problem: in addition to school, training, university and work, finding common time slots for meetings in larger groups can sometimes be complicated. Not to mention the general resources: in view of all the pressure to perform in terms of your own career, mobilising energy to save the world is not that easy.
And yet, even at the meeting in Bochum, the activists were not able to let go of the big issues: civic education, nationalist tendencies within the EU shortly before the elections, environmental problems – the young people discussed all of this. The political situation in their own communities and the voting behaviour of 16 to 24-year-olds also played a major role in the discussions. This mutual exchange about problems that directly affect young people is an important component of the concept of Generation Europe – The Academy. After all, dealing with issues together at eye level is an important step towards being able to become active oneself.
Peer Consulting and Evening Programme
The guests from Nordhausen then enjoyed a typical Bochum currywurst and, after a short stroll through the city, a visit to an astronomy show in the Bochum Planetarium with the fitting title “Destination Future – From Now to Eternity”.
It is clear that the active young people from Bochum and Nordhausen want to continue their translocal cooperation. And they plan to do so in the near future: the Thuringian group has already invited their friends from Bochum to make a return visit to Nordhausen from 6 to 9 June. That’s when the traditional Roland Festival will take place. And the two groups have also decided to join forces in the days leading up to the EU elections, to promote the wishes and demands of their Generation Europe together.