We all know the begginings are the hardest part..but that's not always the case. As participants we experienced the same thing!
The first day of the program consisted of traveling, eating and sleeping (maybe not so much for the participants..but it was worth it!). We all hit it off the next day participating in intresting activities. The purpose of the activities was to meet each other first on a name basis and then more deeply, and mostly to stop being shy in this big group. It was very succesful as the intercultural night that followed was a big success! I personally dont think that there's anything better than music, food and good company. We enjoyed folklore dances from Slovak, Romanian, Greek and German Trandition, a luxembourgish quiz, the ''faces'' of Italy through music and the not so nice parts of Belgian history - reality.
We own a big thanks to all the participants and we hope the best for the rest of the program.
More updates coming soon ;)
Created by Klara Hradska
The Sunday morning started for all the participants and leaders with a good breakfast, necessary for the intense day that followed!
The day started with a small warm up game to wake everyone up and a brief explanation / overview of the simulation. Then the participants had the chnace to spit into 6 smaller groups in order the participate in an activity to deepen their understanding of the simulation. Each group was handed a checklist and had to pass through 7 small workshops, each of which was created by a team leader, and collect the signature of each leader. The workshops were explaning the roles of the President, the Parliament, the Governement, the Parliament, the Press, the Police and the Judge inside of the simulation. After that the youthcracy team enjoyed lunch.
After lunch the participants had the honor of becoming official citizens of the Youthcracy simulation by being handed their Ids - necessairy for themto vote in the upcoming elections. Then followed the creation process of political parties based on the shared vision of the participants on how they envisioned the program for the next one and a half day. The created parties ''Vox Populi'' and ''YDA - Youth Democratic Alliance'' presented each their respected programs to the citizens of youthcracy. After a very lengthy and tedious voting process the result were in! The political party ''Vox Populi'' by just more 5 votes won the elections! Their afternoon program consisted of a party in the Mikado room and a watching the FIFA finals!
More to follow :)
Created by Rafaela Mavroudi & Dimitrios Zarkos
Todays program kicked off with great energy and enthusiasm. Yesterday evening young people from 7 differenet counties connected, got to know eachother and - driven by work and passion - immediently set about putting into plan the points that got them elected laast night! In the morning the participants ate a nutritious breakfast and then participated in a treasure hunt created only the night before by ''Vox Populi''. A series of elaborated riddles tested the participants teamwork, quick thinking and speed. The emotions were super hyped and the participants competed in teams for their chance to win the first place prize. Before the tresure hunt beggined the participants could also write their name in the big whiteboard where numerous sports were written (volleyball, dodgeball, chess, catch the flag, ultimate frisby and football) in order to participate in the championships taking place on the evening. After that tiring morning the participants enjoyed lunch and some rest.
The evening was very eventfull as the championships were taking place but also our first trial! The person standing in the defendants position was Victor who Tomas accussed for destroying legal documents. Its important to mention at this point htat the Tomas who accused Victor is also a member of the judges board ... so theres an obvious conflict of intrest. The trial had a rather climatic ending as the process created a lot of tension in the participant group and both were sentenced to cleaning the dishes in the sink. As the day drew to a close, new parties were created and new elections were held. The two partied were "The Mafia" and the "Next Generation". The results of the election showed that "The Mafia" won 3 seats in the parliament and "Next Generation" the remaing 2.
Serving as both a columnist and a member of the first governement, I can say that this is a highly demanding task - organizing activities for such a big group - as we lack prior experience and confidence in our public speach and expression; yet the entire process - despite our mistakes - created a shift in our mindset, and helped us become more responsible, and to act in the intrest of the people. We now eagerly await the continuation of this wonderful journey and the innovative adeas of the new party in power!
Tune in for more :p
Created by Nagia Kogia
A very exciting day awaited for us created by the elected governement "The Mafia"! The participants woke up and had their breakfast as usual and then they had the chance to create their own lunch packets to enjoy next to the river. The hike down to the river was easy. Participants were having impromptu pick nicks, skipping rock competitions and genuine relaxation by the river bed. After some time the we started walking towards Bouillon. Even thought the road was long - 3 hours actually -, we passd by a lot of picturesque places, a monastery and cows!
Arriving in Bouillon the plans to split in teams and to explore separately the medieval castle and the river in the pedalos (small boats driven by two people biking) were not realised and the whole group just went on a nice boat ride in pedalos. After that we had very limited time just to grab a quick lunch and to meet with all the participant and leaders in the meeting point to get shuttle buses to Loryhan.
Before dinner the citizens of Youthcracy had again the chance to create parties for unfortunately the last time and to go into elections. The two parties created were ''Vox Populi" (for the second time) and "Luxembourg Direction". The elections started very late due to poor organisation and multiple subotages.. At the end and despite all the terbulances the result was 17 votes for ''Vox Populi" and 23 votes for "Luxembourg Direction" meaning that the latter party reserved 3 seats in the parliament and the former 2 seats.
Long story short, it was a long day filled with drama...
Until the next one :o
Created by Rafaela Mavroudi
It's Wednesday morning and all of the participants are preparing their stuff and packing lunches for our trip to Brussels. The bus arrived at 7:00 AM, and we were ready to go.
After a 2.5 hour journey, were everybody was sleeping, we arrived in Brussels. Upon arrival, we visited the European Parliament, passed through control, and made our visitor ID cards. The first lecture was about the general functioning of the parliament. We learned that the European Parliament has three workplaces: one in Luxembourg, one in Strasbourg and one in Brussels. We also learned that over 720 members of the European Parliament work there and over 40% of them are women! Then we visited the hemisphere and took some pictures in this famous space were important decisions are made.
After that we had the chance to engage in conversation with a representative from the Green Party named Tilly Metz! She was very honest with us and she was very open to answer whatever question we had related to her profession even if it was about taboo topics. She was kind enough to gift us some goody bags filled with nice gifts! After the Parliament tour we unexpectedly visited the Museum of European Culture and Art which was very interesting but unfortunately we didn't had enough time to thoroughly see the exhibition as we had limited free time after that.
Then followed our free time in Brussels! The group was split into groups of 5 and also was given lunch money for the day! And then the fun started with the exploring of the city, shopping etc. This was a great trip, and we would like to thank the organization of EVEA for putting this whole trip together!
The trip back home was silent as most people were sleeping, regaining power after such a tiring day filled with input and exploration.
The drama wasn't missing thought as we had a trial after which inlcluded 6 cases! Most of them were related to the pedalo riding in Bouillon as some people were jumping from one pedalo to another and the election manipulation as one of the leaders who shall remain nameless was found sneaking some extra votes into the ballot box. The punishments included a theatrical act, confiscation of the persons sleeping pillow for one night and washing the plastic cups in the sink.
Stay tuned for more!
Created by Sebastian Nosek
The program of today - as created from the acting governement of the last election on the 21st of July - included a trip to Luxembourg! The day didn't start that late for the citizens of Youthcracy as they had to leave in groups from Loryhan starting at 8:45. We all managed to be there in time to catch the 10:21 train to Luxembourg. We had to change trains three times with a little time in between, but thanks to the great organizations skills of the leader team we managed to be where we had to in the right time!
When we arrived in Louxemboug we took the tram - which is completly free! - and visited the ''Ascenseur Panoramique du Pfaffenthal'' which offered breathtaking views for the whole team. After that we split into groups of 4 and had free time in the city until 4:40. The possibilities were endless as we were also allowed to take the tram. The different groups visited some famous landmarks of Luxembourg City like the ''Balcony of Europe'' and had the chance to do some last shopping for souvenirs!
Then we took the train back to Paliseul and drove to Loryhan where dinner was waiting for us. After dinner some of us met in the mikado room to watch a movie. All in all it was an awsome day :)
The two last articles are coming soon...
Created by Dimitrios Zarkos
Today was dedicated to the closing of the simulation and to evaluating our experiences on this program. The day started with an energizer and then the group split into national groups in order to have the last thorough evaluation. The evaluation consisted of 30ish questions relating to politics and democracy, personal reflection, human rights, justice and connecting everything that transpired during the simulation to reality. After that we had some time to organize ourselves and to figure out what we wanted to prepare for dinner today!
After lunch and some freetime, we worked again on national groups on our Youthpass certificates and then started preparing as a group the dinner. Some people were preping the vegetables and chicken for our Fajita wraps and others were making tiramisu. Another group prepared the tzatziki, some greek salad and a mosaik, which is a dessert made from chocolate and biscuits.
The table was set and the food was delicious! We all got to enjoy our last dinner together but not as citizens of youthcracy, but as group of friends!
Then followed our farewell party that open with a theatrical act made from some of the participants. 10 of us created a satirical act mimicing our dear leaders! Their reaction was priceless! During the party we danced, we played ''Just dance'' and we ate some yummy snacks :)
Final update coming tomorrow...:(
Created by Nagia Kogia
The end of our program was here and emotions were high. The day started slowly, as the party last night lasted until late, with a well needed breakfast. The group woke up by participating into a dancing warm up. Then we had the Youth-pass ceremony where we were handed the certificate we filled yesterday. After that followed an activity organized by some participants called ''Memory Paper''. Each participant taped a blank paper in their back and every participant had the chance to fill the paper with kind farewell words! It was really sweet and emotional.
After lunch already the Luxembourgian, Belgian and German group departed, leaving the Italian, Romanian, Slovak and Greek group in a house that was not longer what they were used to...a house no longer filled with laughter but just memories.
Tomorrow the remaining teams will take the road back to their countries filled with new experiences and new friendships.
This is the last article from the press team for the 2026 Youthcracy Program!
As the leader in charge of the press team I would like to say a huge thank you to every participant that contributed, pouring their creativity and time into this project!
See you next year :)
Created by Eleana Kyriakopoulou