General

30. June – 1. July

4. July – 9. July

Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein invited to international youth meeting at Europaburg Neumarkt

Vienna/Graz (OTS) – In the first week of August, everything revolved around the VIG YouthDays for the third time at Europaburg in Neumarkt: 20 young people between the ages of 14 and 17 from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Serbia spent an exciting and varied time. What all the young adults have in common is that at least one of their parents works in the VIG Insurance Group. The VIG YouthDays were initiated by Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, the main shareholder of Vienna Insurance Group (VIG): “In cooperation with EYFON, we bring young adults closer to values such as diversity, intercultural understanding and moral courage. Especially now, it is important to emphasise what we have in common. We are focussing on togetherness, especially when it comes to children and young people. Because they are our – and Europe’s – future”, explains Robert Lasshofer, Chairman of the Managing Board of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, VIG’s main shareholder.

A week with many highlights

At VIG YouthDays 2022, the young participants created their own podcasts on the topic of “My Message for Peace”, discussed their ideas for a peaceful, liveable future in Europe and learned about European solidarity and mobility programmes. “Bridge building” at the domino rally, archery, geocaching and – the highlight for many – a visit to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg followed by a go-kart race closing off the exciting week.

In order to secure one of the highly coveted places at Europaburg, potential participants had to be original in advance: interested parties submitted elaborately designed videos, collages, poems and essays on the topic of “What peace means to me”. From 200 entries, the creators of the best and most creative contributions were invited to take part in the varied programme of workshops, lectures, discussion rounds and leisure activities.

Neumarkt helps refugees from Ukraine

Neumarkt met with refugees from Ukraine at Europaburg

There are currently 90 refugees from Ukraine staying with 5 families in Neumarkt, mostly children with their mothers. The market town of Neumarkt and their mothers. The market town of Neumarkt and EYFON organised a Ukrainian get-together at Europaburg, better known as Europahaus or Forchtenstein Castle. This event was organised by Edith Juritsch, the local councillor responsible for European issues in Neumarkt, and the EYFON team, which is primarily concerned with encouraging a lively exchange of contacts, especially among young Europeans, at the Europaburg in Neumarkt. The President of EYFON is the former President of the Austrian Economic Chamber, Christoph Leitl, who was represented by the former Provincial Councillor Christian Buchmann from EYFON – European Youth Forum Neumarkt due to illness and, together with Mayor Josef Maier, was delighted with the large number of helpful citizens of Neumarkt.

EYFON was an invention of Christoph Leitl and presents itself as a dialogue platform for young people in Europe. Recently and currently, there have been seminars for young people from Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Italy and Georgia at Europaburg; these seminars reflect on the future of Europe and, in view of the war in Ukraine, these encounters could provide important impetus for peaceful coexistence between peoples, according to BR Christian Buchmann. He sees himself as part of EYFON. As part of the festival of encounters at Europaburg, a friendship agreement was signed on intensive cooperation between the market town of Neumarkt, EYFON and the University of Ternopil in western Ukraine, with the aim of supporting young people in Ukraine in the best possible way, according to the main organisers. Rector Andriy Krysovaryy and Vice-Rector Oksana Desyatnyuk travelled to the signing of the friendship agreement.

“We hope that we can create a climate of helpfulness and solidarity in Neumarkt that is an expression of peace and freedom,” said Buchmann. For the Ukrainians present, the speeches were translated by an interpreter.
Musical contributions were provided by a brass band from MV Neumarkt and the Perchau Kiddy Choir. The families and many helpers for the refugees from Ukraine were presented with small gifts of thanks for their willingness to help by Mayor Maier. Ukrainian borscht and regional pastries were served in aid of the refugee organisation.

EYFON kicked off the 2022 season with “EYFON meets FRIDA” from 30th of May to 3rd of June. 17 pupils and 6 teachers from Sweden, Slovenia and Austria spent a few eventful days at Europaburg in Neumarkt in Styria. The project focussed on sustainability, youth goals and bees and will be continued in the coming years with other partners from Greece. Pupils from Fridagymnasiet Mölnlycke, IT-HTL Ybbs and Gymnasium Anton Martin Slomšek in Maribor experienced the habitat of bees as part of a “European Bee Day” and learnt about Holzwelt Murau and sustainable projects in the region. Together with the “Panthersie for Europe” team, the young people designed postcards on the topic of sustainability and various “My message for Europe” podcasts, which are printed on the postcards using a QR code. The specialist programme was rounded off with discussion rounds on the topic of “My future in Europe” with Claudia Weyringer from the EYFON team. The highlight of the leisure programme was the soapbox e-mobility challenge at the end of the week, in which the participants demonstrated a great deal of creativity and skill.

The program

As part of the EYFON meets FRIDA event, a youth meeting with young people from Sweden, Slovenia and Austria at Europaburg in Neumarkt in Styria, one day was dedicated to the importance of bees. Wild and honey bees are an important part of a functioning environment and a flourishing agriculture. The production of honey in Europe is largely sustainable and contributes to a sensible circular economy in line with the Green Deal. The young people were prepared in advance for the EU regulations and projects and learnt how the implementation of environmental goals can be realised using practical examples in the Zirbitzkogel – Grebenzen Nature Park. At the Naturlesemuseum Neumarkt, the pupils were able to familiarise themselves with the distribution of roles in the bee colony as well as the biology and lifestyle of bees at close quarters using a show beehive. The young people were able to make their own contribution to preserving the habitat of wild bees by making their own “flower bombs”. The afternoon was dedicated to a visit to the Maier family’s organic beekeeping business in Mühlen, which looks after around 70 bee colonies. The day-to-day work of a beekeeper, honey extraction and sustainable marketing were also discussed before the pupils were allowed to spin honey themselves and were able to taste the differences between blossom and forest honey during a tasting session.

European Future Conference is an opportunity for Europe’s youth

EYFON President Christoph Leitl: EYFONISTAS have also contributed their ideas

Vienna/Gratz (OTS) – The European Youth Forum Neumarkt (EYFON) as a meeting and dialogue centre for the future of Europe in peace and freedom invites 1000 young people to the Europaburg in Neumarkt in Styria every year. In the European Year of Youth, the EYFONISTAS also contributed their 3000 ideas to the European Future Conference.

The expansion of Erasmus youth exchanges, more mobility for international apprentice exchanges, European school representatives at all schools and the merging of the EU Commission and the European Council, together with the call for a European Youth Parliament as a signal of greater youth participation, are important concerns of the EYFONISTAS.

Today, 9 May, Europe Day, the final of the European Future Conference will take place in Strasbourg. “The proposals discussed by young people in particular must be taken seriously and implemented quickly!”, emphasised EYFON President Christoph Leitl and “Eyfon will continue to give Europe’s youth a voice and at the same time raise awareness of a united Europe and Europe’s values”.

“With the EYFON PeaceDays for young people from conflict regions and the EYFON YouthDays – this year with participants from the Western Balkan countries, among others – we will continue to invite young Europeans to get actively involved in the future of Europe, develop ideas and experience Europe in peace and freedom,” concludes EYFON Managing Director Christian Buchmann, who is also a member of the European Future Conference as a member of the Federal Council.

Europe must focus more than ever on its youth

Vienna/Graz (OTS) – The European Youth Forum Neumarkt (EYFON), a meeting and dialogue centre for young people from all over Europe, can look back on four successful years: in several EYFON surveys, young Europeans were asked about their wishes and ideas for the future of Europe and over 2000 concrete suggestions were collected, which were incorporated into the platform for the Conference on the Future. Important investments and modernisation measures have been successfully implemented at Europaburg Neumarkt in recent years. A varied programme of YouthDays, peace events, apprentice formats and guest events has filled Europaburg with life.

The Executive Committee of the European Youth Forum Neumarkt association was re-elected at last week’s General Assembly and the current members of the Executive Board were confirmed for a further four-year term of office: Christoph Leitl as President, Franz Majcen as Vice President and Treasurer, Gerhard Stürmer as Vice President and Secretary and Christian Buchmann as Managing Director. EYFON President Christoph Leitl emphasised:

“Europe must rely on its youth more than ever! How great the Russian/Ukrainian youth meeting was six months ago at Europaburg in Neumarkt! Young people, inspired by a shared vision of the future, with a desire for peace and the search for positive life prospects, united in joint work in the workshops, but also in sports, games, leisure, nature and culture. This is what Europe can be when it focuses on its youth. And is it a coincidence that it is predominantly young people who are protesting against the war in Russia and taking enormous risks in doing so? Let’s support Europe’s youth, it’s our only chance for the future!”

In the Year of European Youth, EYFON would like to thank all those who have contributed to the doubling of the Erasmus+ programme and have thus also given young people in employment and young entrepreneurs the opportunity to experience and feel Europe.

The dramatic and upsetting events in Europe in particular make it clear how important it is to strengthen the identity and soul of Europe through youth encounters. EYFON and its EYFONISTAS will continue to make their contribution to this.

EYFON and Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein – a successful partnership for Europe’s youth

Vienna/Graz (OTS) – The European Youth Forum Neumarkt (EYFON) has been organising and hosting a wide variety of formats for young people from all over Europe for four years now. Discussing ideas for Europe together, developing new perspectives for a future worth living and strengthening intercultural understanding are just some of the objectives that EYFON pursues with its initiative.

Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, the main shareholder of Vienna Insurance Group (VIG), specifically supports projects that promote international bridge-building and cross-border encounters and has been an important partner of EYFON from the very beginning. As part of this cooperation, VIG YouthDays were launched in 2019, enabling the children of employees of VIG Group companies throughout Europe to take part in seminars, workshops and discussion forums organised by EYFON at Europaburg in Neumarkt, Styria. The first VIG YouthDays took place in summer 2019 with participants from Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Some young people were particularly pleased to meet up with old friends they had already met at the VIG Kids Camp, new friendships were forged and many expressed a desire to continue this format.

Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein also supports the European Youth Forum Neumarkt with scholarships that are awarded to participants in other formats, in particular EYFON /Peace Events and EYFON / YouthDays – as was the case in 2020, when the VIG YouthDays could not be held due to the pandemic. The following year, the EYFON team and its cooperation partner therefore decided to create a new digital format: The children of employees of VIG Holding and the insurance companies were invited to share their ideas and thoughts on the topic of “My future prospects with Corona”.The best entries were selected by a jury and the young people were invited to discuss them with each other at several Zoom meetings in November and December. Among the numerous entries were self-made films, essays and collages; the four best and most creative entries received tablets and smartphones. “Europe’s youth is our future and we are very pleased to be able to use this great initiative to bring young people closer to the high value of internationality, diversity and intercultural understanding,” emphasised Robert Lasshofer, Chairman of the Managing Board of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, at the end of the event.

The current annual report (download at https://eyfon.at/ueber_eyfon) contains a detailed report on this and other programme highlights in 2021 and provides insights into the idea behind EYFON. This year, the European Youth Forum Neumarkt in Styria would also like to offer a programme of events. In addition to the existing communication channels (homepage, Facebook, Instagram, annual report), our first newsletter of the year will be sent out in the coming weeks, which will inform partners, all interested parties and former event participants – the “EYFONISTAS” – about news about the EYFON project and our annual programme for 2022.