EURopean Youth Initiative for the Future of our Agriculture Erasmus Project

Project Title

EURopean Youth Initiative for the Future of our Agriculture

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

Nowadays, most European countries do not seem to be implementing ambitious environmental plans. Yet, evidence that we need to act rapidly is everywhere: the alarming IPCC report on global warming, the observed loss of biodiversity worldwide or the constant shrinking of cultivable soils in our regions. A series of spectacular actions have been launched by the young and inspiring Greta Thunberg. This movement quickly reached students in Belgium, Germany, Sweden or Switzerland. In fact, every week, thousands of people protest in the streets of the major cities of those countries. They have many different demands but two of them concern us most: the urgent need for massive investment in a sustainable agricultural system (inspired by agro-forestry and agro-ecology) and setting up a better food production system in Europe. To us, these objectives are crucial.

Among the protesting youth, many of them are willing to participate daily in a concrete project. EURYIFA (European Youth Initiative for the Future of our Agriculture) aims at creating an online platform which enables young people to act, connect and synergize. Practically, the platform with list up projects linked to sustainable agriculture development that are carried out by the youth of Europe. Within this online community, they will be able to find inspiration, support and resources to initiate their own project or join an already existing one. They will be able to do so either on a general European platform (EURYIFA.eu) or on a national platform (EURYIFA.country). In the long run, another objective is to give them a channel so that they can be heard by European decision-makers.

The development of these on-line platforms will carried out of by a pilot group until June 2020. This group is currently made up of four young Belgians combining different sets of skills (communication, agro-forestry, education…). They are already supported by partners in France, Germany and Italy. Other European partners will join the project over time. To achieve this integration, we will organize a communication campaign (with an explicative video on the project, a map displaying the location of the members, a Facebook page…) and we will organize a trip across Europe in order to meet potential partners. All of this will lead to the first general International Meeting in November of 2019 in Germany. There, we will distribute the tasks between multiple work groups (communication, I.T., strategy…) whose members join depending on their skills and interests. This “Strategy” group will then take over the coordination of the EURYFA project from November 2019 until June 2020.

We hope that this project will lead to positive changes among the members in terms of habits of food production and consumption.

On a final note, we also hope that the project will provide them the courage and skills they need to launch their own projects, allowing them in the end to bring their dreams and convictions to fruition.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 20625 Eur

Project Coordinator

EURYFA Belgium & Country: BE

Project Partners

• EURYFA Germany
• EURYFA France