The Young Changemakers Academy is a programme aiming to prepare young people to take active part in the democratic process constituting the election for the European Parliament, by means of three seminars and networking support with other young people and senior political figures from all over Europe with similar interests and objectives. The Young Changemakers Academy shall be a platform to train and connect young politicians engaging in political campaigning. The Young Changemakers Academy is organised by the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC) in collaboration with Friedrich Neumann Foundation (FNF) and the European Liberal Forum (ELF).   Event I, Rhetoric and Fundraising training Friday 30 November to Sunday 2 December 2018, Brussels (Belgium) This seminar will encourage young people to take active part in the democratic process that constitutes the election for the European Parliament. The seminar is divided into two parts: The first part focuses on networking and rhetorics, and the second part on fundraising for campaigns. By the end of this seminar, participants will:

•       Understand the basics of political fundraising (dos and don’ts)
•       Know how to create a fundraising campaign
•       Be familiar with the ins and outs of political networking – mingle with a goal
•       Have received rhetoric training

  Event II, Understanding the EP and Networking with MEPs Tuesday 05 to Thursday 07 February 2019, Brussels (Belgium) In this workshop the participants will be paired up with an MEP that they will be able to shadow for a full day in the European Parliament, in order to increase their hands-on understanding. The shadowing will be preceded by an informational part the day before to learn about the policy making process in the European Parliament and the event will end with a joint discussion about what was learned and what insights the participants gained. By the end of this seminar, participants will:

•       Have a more thorough understanding of EP political dynamics and processes
•       Have grown their network relevantly with possible mentors and relevant European political figures
•       Have a more thorough understanding of the legislative framework

    Event III, Training on Political Messaging, Communication and Campaign Building Thursday 28 February to Sunday 03 March 2019, FNF Academy, Gumersbach, Germany LYMEC will deliver, in close cooperation with FNF, an intensive 4-day training to participating young politicians, equipping them with tools, clues and personalised feedback to run a campaign. By the end of this seminar, participants will:

•       Have ideas for political communication in Social Media
•       Know the basics of setting up and leading a team of volunteers
•       Be familiar with the basics and best practices in political campaign management
•       Have received personalised advice on rhetorics, speaking and speaking to media

  Additional support

• Network: participants will be in touch with one another and will be invited to support each other with their challenges relating to the learning objectives of the programme
• Additional training options: participants will have access to LYMEC online trainings that will be taking place in the upcoming months

Application criteria

• CV
• Motivation letter
• Nomination letter by a LYMEC Member Organisation
• The applicant must be between 18 and 35 years of age

Call for Applications

• Every LYMEC Member Organisation (MO) will be able to nominate one person as an applicant. The official MO representative to LYMEC, normally the International Officer or a reported MO Board Member, will have to send a message to [email protected] with the CV of the chosen candidate for the spot, a nomination letter by a representative of the MO and a letter of motivation written by the applicant. The title of the email should read: “YCA application”.
•  All applications, fulfilling all specified application requirements, have to be submitted by Sunday, 28 October 2018.
• Only 10 spots are available for this first edition of the programme. Therefore, MOs are encouraged to look thoroughly for an outstanding potential candidate in their organisation
• Evaluation criteria:
  • Having a strong and preferably demonstrable interest in becoming involved in European politics, especially in the framework of European Parliament elections
  • Full commitment to making it to all the programme sessions (if need be skipping other commitments), as well as to proactively participate in the broader (online) learning and networking process involved during the duration of the programme
  • Note, in addition, that if the number and level of quality of applications overcome our expectations, extra priority will be given to those applicants that show the greatest level of need for the skills hereby provided.

Travel reimbursement and no participation fee

• There will be no participation costs, meals and accommodation will be covered.
• There will be travel refunds, participants must buy their own tickets and get a reimbursement. If participants have trouble buying the tickets by themselves, please get in contact with LYMEC, we will find a solution