The Young European Movement (YEM) UK was delighted to welcome participants from across the UK to London last week for its 2023 Erasmus+ Academy, a political bootcamp designed to connect like-minded young pro-Europeans and provide them with a toolkit of skills for how to run an effective political campaign.
This two-day programme of events kick-started with a Networking Reception in Europe House on the Future of UK-EU Relations in Education, where over sixty attendees heard unique insight from a number of senior commentators on the how the relationship can be strengthened.
The German Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Miguel Berger, laid down a marker at the offset by sharing his disappointment over the UK’s decision to terminate its Erasmus+ membership and added that it was his Government’s desire for this decision to be reversed.
Following on from Ambassador Berger’s assessment, Labour MP and former Member of the Parliament, Sir Mark Hendrick, took to the stage and gave a devasting analysis of the Government’s track record on Brexit and the damages which it has done to the economy. He shared Labour’s vision of a closer relationship with Europe on a plethora of different issues, including agreements on security and defence, Horizon+ membership as well as leaving the door open on Erasmus+.
We then heard from another former MEP and Liberal Democrat Peer, Baroness Sarah Ludford, who brought down the house with a witty and frank critique of how the Conservative Government has dealt with the fallout from leaving the EU. She citied the dangers associated with the Retained EU Law Bill and spoke of her work as the Liberal Democrats’ Europe Spokesperson in looking to shape a future where London and Brussels could engage in a meaningful and advantageous manner.
On Friday, YEM members then took to Bush House in King’s College London for an action-packed day of political training and insight, beginning with a presentation and workshop from European Movement’s campaign and communications team on their Retained EU Law Bill campaign. This workshop provided YEM members with insider knowledge on what constructing a good campaign looks like.
Following on from this, YEM members received an eye-opening presentation from globally renowned pollsters, Opinium, who shared with us public attitudes around Brexit: past, present and future. After lunch, we then heard from an aspiring young journalist, Eleanor Longman-Rood, from The New European on the current landscape of the UK media and how to get your message across.
We finished our afternoon’s training and capacity building with two in-house workshops, the first of which concentrated on public affairs and stakeholder mapping, and the second of which concentrated on our work campaigning to rejoin the Erasmus+ Programme.
The entre YEM team is thrilled with the success of the Erasmus+ Academy and is confident that it places us on a strong footing to advance our campaign and strengthen our network of young pro-Europeans through the United Kingdom