My future prospects with Corona

The EYFON | VIG YouthDays took place for the second time this year – for the first time in digital form. Together with our partner, Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, we invited the children of employees of VIG subsidiaries and VIG Holding to share their ideas and thoughts on the topic of “My future prospects with Corona”. The main prizes for the three best and most creative entries were tablets and smartphones.

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. Dr Claudia Weyringer from the EYFON team was the moderator. In addition to the presentations of the individual contributions by the participants, the programme of the meetings also included keynote speeches and statements by EYFON President Dr Christoph Leitl, EYFON Managing Director Christian Buchmann and Dieter Bacher from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War.

The entries from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine included self-made films, essays and collages. The participants impressed the EYFON and VIG jury with their ingenuity, their own experiences during the pandemic and their positive perspectives for the future. It was therefore difficult to decide which of the entries was the most creative, who dealt best with the given topic and who was able to convince the other participants in the Zoom meetings.

After four joint meetings, both the participants and the jury were invited to vote for their favourites using an online tool. At the award ceremony on 15 December, which also took place virtually, Prof. Elisabeth Stadler, Chairwoman of the VIG Managing Board, selected the four winners:

1. Place: Andreea Bobeica, Moldova
   • Prize: iPhone 12
2. Place: Elene Sulkhanishvili, Georgia
   • Prize: Weekend in Vienna or IPhone 12
3. Place: Viktoriia Bosak, Ukraine
   • Prize: iPhone SE
4. Place: Eneida Likaj, Albania
   • Prize: iPad

The individual winning entries can be accessed by clicking on the respective names.

We would like to congratulate all the winners and thank the participants for their commitment, enthusiasm and good ideas, which made this format a special experience for everyone involved. As a small thank you to all those who sent in their entries, they will receive an EYFON fleece blanket and a copy of the book “EU for YOU”.

EYFON would like to thank Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein for the excellent cooperation cooperation and the generous support that made this project possible.

Our new annual report is available for download here.

If you would like to receive a printed copy, please send an email including your name and address to office@eyfon.at and we will be happy to send you a copy by post!

As part of the end of the 2021 season, EYFON President Christoph Leitl and EYFON Managing Director Christian Buchmann once again hosted a Supporters’ Day this year and presented the programme for 2022 to existing and future investors over lunch at Forellenhof Knauder. Josef Herk, President of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce, accepted the invitation, as did Dr. Doris Kiendl from FH Joanneum, Prof. Dr Gerhard Riemer from the Federation of Austrian Industries, Michael Ikrath, former Member of the Austrian Parliament. Maria Pichlbauer from the Styrian Education Directorate, Mayor Josef Maier and Deputy Mayor Kurt Kreinbucher from the market town of Neumarkt as well as Max Wratschgo, Honorary Chairman of the EFB Styria.

After a guided tour of the Europaburg, it was time to round off the season at 15:00 with music from Urig & Echt, Sturm and Kastanien. Prof Martin Selmayr, representative of the European Commission in Austria, accepted EYFON’s invitation to the traditional chestnut festival and emphasised the importance of young people for the future of Europe in his keynote speech. Some participants of the European Peace Event from Russia, Ukraine, Italy and Slovenia took the opportunity to thank EYFON and Christoph Leitl for this unique opportunity and unforgettable moments of a special seminar week.

This year’s “European Peace Event” was characterised by peace, friendship and cheerfulness. Thirty students from Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Italy and Austria accepted EYFON’s invitation to come to Europaburg from 3 to 9 October and share their ideas for a common Europe worth living in across national borders, political attitudes and cultural differences in workshops, discussions and lectures. The participants were nominated by the Sochi Dialogue Forum, the University of Ternopil, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War, the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce and the Slovenian Embassy. Dr Albrecht Rothacher, former EU diplomat and specialist for Eastern Europe and East Asia, discussed the EU’s external relations with the students at the beginning of the seminar week. With EYFON President Dr Christoph Leitl, the young people exchanged views at length on the role of young people and the future challenges facing Europe and, together with Dr Claudia Weyringer from the EYFON team, contributed their ideas to the platform on the “Future of Europe’s Conference”. Dieter Bacher from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Consequences of War shed light on the highlights of Russian-Austrian relations, while a workshop on intercultural competence with Prof. Dr Doris Kiendl from the FH Joanneum rounded off the specialist programme. The varied leisure programme was organised and accompanied by teamgeist and the Murau ambassadors. Kennel learning activities, archery, tape art and go-karting delighted the participants. To round off an eventful week, EYFON invited the students to the traditional chestnut festival in the castle courtyard and then to the “Intercultural Evening” in the Schwarzer Adler. With poetry slams, singing, culinary specialities, traditional costumes and pictures brought along, the participants gave an insight into their traditions and celebrated the successful conclusion of a seminar week in which many new friendships were forged.

For the fourth time this year, EYFON welcomed a group of apprentices from Magna Steyr Farzeugtechnik to Europaburg Neumarkt. The 20 young people were able to deepen their knowledge of Europe in various workshops and discussion forums and share their ideas on the “Conference on the Future of Europe”. The programme included a Magna company presentation as well as group work on the topic of “Youth Goals”, which was accompanied by the Young European Federalists (JEF). This time, the varied leisure programme had a number of challenges in store for the apprentices. For example, they were able to put their creativity and technical expertise to the test in the “Soapbox E-Mobility Challenge”. A visit to the Obewölz high ropes course followed by a guided tour of the town and geochaching in the Graggerschlucht gorge rounded off an eventful week.

The European Youth Forum Neumarkt (EYFON) is a meeting and dialogue center with an educational mission for young Europeans. EYFON organizes and hosts forums at the Europaburg Castle in Neumarkt. In addition to the importance of Europe as a community of values ​​and the importance of deepening integration, young people should also be given the opportunity to find a model for Europe through encounter and dialogue with other people of the same age, to identify with it as well as to actively propagate it.

On the occasion of this year’s “Conference on the Future of Europe”, which was initiated by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2019, EYFON wants to give young people a voice.

Take a moment to answer 4 questions about the future of Europe.                                            

The results will be announced in autumn 2020.

Survey Link