The London-Leiden Conference 2021: The Future for European Youth
Date: 3rd December 2021
Time: 10.00-16.00 (UK Time)
Venue: Online
Event Details
Following Brexit, young people in the UK and Europe will be the first European generation since the 1970s who are not able to benefit fully from free movement to and from the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the UK Government's decision not to continue participation in Erasmus+, and instead to inaugurate the Turing Scheme, means that UK students will no longer be able to spend a year abroad in European universities with the same ease as before, and vice versa for EU students in the UK. Whereas the UK has limited access to residence rights of EU citizens, the EU is preparing to welcome a new generation of European citizens with the accession process for the Balkan states, as the EU continues to struggle with the tension between the nationalistic governments in Hungary and Poland, who face resistance from the more liberal pro-European younger generations.
In the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the London-Leiden Conference, this BIICL RECONNECT event will consider the prospects for the future of youth in Europe in the next years. The first panel will focus on the current situation for UK and EU students with the end of Erasmus+ and the start of the Turing Scheme. The second panel will present examples of the educational and other communication materials developed in the frameworks of the RECONNECT project, including the info sheets for young children on EU themes developed by the Bingham Centre, and will consider the future of education in and of the EU. The final panel will consider the current tensions between young people and the governing elites in backsliding Member States, and the prospects for young people in the candidate Member States.
* BIICL is one of the 18 partner organisations participating in the RECONNECT research project on 'Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law' (www.reconnect-europe.eu). The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation programme under Grant Agreement no. 770142.
