The idea

On the occasion of the anniversary of a speech held by Charles de Gaulle to the young people of Germany the City of Ludwigsburg and the Franco-German Institute are jointly organizing a “Forum for Young People on participation in Europe – It’s our Europe”.

The speech given by de Gaulle to the young people of Germany in the courtyard of the Castle of Ludwigsburg was a very exciting and moving moment for German-French reconciliation and for Europe.

Today, the global situation has changed fundamentally. The finance and debt crisis, demographic and climate change have shown that the European member states are more co-dependent than ever before. The numerous political, economic and social challenges can only be successfully met by taking mutual action. At the same time, especially young people are demanding more codetermination and participation in political decisions that particularly concern them.

In the „Forum for young people on participation in Europe“ the participants look at the topic of democracy and political involvement in view of the current challenges in Europe. Using concrete case examples they will develop ideas and future visions of democracy and attempt to find solutions for how young European citizens can play an active role in politics.