Introduction
EDUC is an alliance of eight universities in Europe, each concerned with its role in and contribution to the local community. They wish to provide young people in their territory with the tools to make them active citizens, but also to give them a place to connect between young Europeans. The concept of the Youth Integration Lab emerged from this concern, which conditions the choice of the themes, the target group and activity formats.
In line with this, the eight universities agreed on a framework for the YIL and its activities, validated with young people from each of them, to ensure the achievement of this ambition. Young people, as a target group, will also be involved in the elaboration and organisation of the YIL activities.
Additionally, the YIL wishes to gather various civil society actors from the territory of the 8 universities as local associations, governmental entities and public or private companies. One of the first steps in this task was to identify the actors and partners at each university involved in existing initiatives and policy for the local youth.
The Youth Integration Lab plans to set up 6 events with at least 40 participants each (including 15 young people) at the University of Paris Nanterre, the University of Potsdam, the University of Cagliari, the University of Pècs, Jaume Primero University and Masaryk University.
The concept of the Youth Integration Lab (YIL)
The concept of the YIL reflects the shared vision of the alliance's universities, and its members define it as follows:
What is the YIL?
A space formed by 8 universities connected with their territory implementing activities for the meeting and exchange between young people to help them to develop their critical thinking and become active citizens on current challenges and armed against discrimination.
What is a YIL-event?
A YIL event is an event organized by a university of the alliance that will allow young people from its territory and students from EDUC universities to exchange and build together around a theme; on-site during three days, accompanied by researchers and partners identified by the organizing university who will provide them with the knowledge and tools necessary for their reflections.
Which are the thematics of the YIL event?
The choice of the thematics of the YIL events is directly linked to the main purpose of the Youth Integration Lab, which is to help young people take a stand on current challenges and break down the discrimination they face. But also takes into account the forces and the specificities of the eight universities local territory. For this reason, the universities first identified existing initiatives and policies in favour of local youth and cross-referenced them to agree on common thematics. Working on common themes highlights and makes visible the expertise of each region, but also encourages interconnections between partners and young people around these common topics.
The umbrella thematics for the YIL events are:
- Digital Education for inclusion
- Diversity and disability
- Science for Children
- Structures/Space for youth reflection and action
- Gender Inequalities
- European policies / Citizen rights
Planned activities of the Youth Integration Lab for 2024-2026
The six universities hosting a YIL event over the years 2024-2026 started to work on a suggested event according to the common framework. The universities of the alliance agreed on the elaboration of a common tool for the assessment of all the events. This will be important to ensure the quality of the YIL activities and the achievement of the qualitative objectives (especially the impact on youth).
| Hosting University | Themes of the event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| University Paris Nanterre | Diversity and Disability & Gender Inequalities | 2024, April 12th, 13th & 14th |
| University of Potsdam | Youth Participation in Urban Spaces, Urban Diversity | 2024, Fall semester |
| University of Pécs | Active Citizenship in Underprivileged Groups | 2025, April |
| University of Cagliari | Empowering Youth through Education | 2025, Fall semester |
| University Jaume I | Diversity and Disability & Gender Inequalities | 2026, Spring semester |
| Masaryk University | How Artificial Are We? | 2026, Fall semester |