Five cities shortlisted for European Youth Capital 2020

Five cities have been shortlisted by an independent jury for the final stages the European Youth Capital (EYC) 2020 competition. They are (alphabetically):

Amiens (France)
Chișinău (Moldova)
Klaipėda (Lithuania)
Timisoara (Romania)
Villach (Austria)

The five shortlisted cities were selected from a pool of applicants from right across Europe, and will now progress to the second round of the competition. The cities will have two months to submit an extensive programme of youth-related cultural, social and political events and activities, and outline a partnership between the municipality and the city’s young people to create, plan, and run the EYC year.

The competition for EYC 2020 was very tight, with several cities having entered past competitions for the title. Of the five shortlisted finalists, two will build on feedback received in previous applications, while the shortlisted five beat competition from three other cities, who will receive detailed feedback and an offer from the European Youth Forum to work on reapplication. They are: Ayai Napa (Cyprus), Dornbirn (Austria) and Tbilisi (Georgia).

In the next round of the competition, the shortlisted cities will submit a longer, more detailed application, which will be assessed by the high-level jury and a focus group of young people with experience in the EYCs. They will make revisions based on this feedback, submit their final applications in October, and after a final jury meeting, the winner of the EYC 2020 title will be announced at the European Youth Forum’s Council of Members in Cascais (EYC 2018) in November.

The European Youth Forum is delighted to see so many cities working to engage young people, and to develop youth policy and youth participation at the local level. As in previous years, the EYC 2020 title will encourage the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Charter on Local & Regional Participation of Young People, through innovative new ideas and projects. The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local & Regional Authorities became an endorsing partner of the EYC title in 2014.

Notes to the editors:
– The ‘European Youth Capital’ (EYC) title is awarded by the European Youth Forum to a European municipality for a period of one year, during which it is given the chance to showcase its youth-related cultural, social, political and economic life and development. The EYC title encourages municipalities to both continue and expand the implementation of youth participation projects and to develop the active participation of young people in society. Information on the past EYCs and their activities is available here.
– The EYC high-level jury includes representatives from the Committee of the Regions, The European Parliament, The Council of European Municipalities & Regions, The Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE), The Advisory Council of Youth of the Council of Europe, The European Economic & Social Committee, The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), The Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, ARUP, The International IDEA, Euractiv, and the European Youth Forum.