About EYP

 

The European Youth Parliament is a peer-to-peer educational programme that empowers young people from across Europe to be open-minded, tolerant and active citizens. We provide participants with a forum to develop and express their opinions on a wide range of topics. By bringing young people from different backgrounds together, we build intercultural understanding and friendships across borders. EYP participants and volunteers get equipped with the knowledge and the skills needed to positively shape the world around them.

As a network of independent associations, the EYP is present in 40 European countries and organises more than 500 events every year, involving a total of around 30,000 participants. Thousands of young people are actively involved as volunteers all over Europe, making the EYP a genuinely youth-driven programme –  run by young people, for young people.

Facts and Figures

The EYP network is active in 40 countries across Europe

More than 30,000 young people, including 3,500 volunteers, take part in EYP events every year

Over 500 EYP events are organised every year across Europe (at local, national and international levels)

Since 1987, the number of EYP alumni has grown to over 200,000

Our History

 

The European Youth Parliament was founded in 1987 as a school project at the Lycée François-Premier in Fontainebleau, just south of Paris. The first “International Session” of the EYP was also held there, in 1988.

Ever since, the EYP project has steadily developed to include more countries and schools. In 1991, international coordination of the project moved to Witney, Oxfordshire, where it was run by Bettina Carr-Allinson (NL). The organisation experienced enduring growth for the next decade, evolving from a project associated predominantly with schools to a youth-led network, with National Committees and activities becoming larger and more numerous.

In 2004, the National Committees of the EYP mandated the Schwarzkopf Foundation to act as the international umbrella organisation of the EYP. The coordination of the network moved to Berlin and Philipp Scharff (DE) became the first full-time Executive Director of the EYP. He was succeeded by Jan-Philipp Beck (DE) in 2008, by Ville Vasaramäki (FI) in 2011 and Krista Simberg (FI) in 2013. Since 2017, Lukas Fendel (DE) has been the Executive Director of the EYP.

Since 2004, the EYP has continued to grow, involving young people from virtually all European countries in its activities. The European Youth Parliament is one of the largest organisations for non-formal political education in Europe.

Our Partners