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Young European Leadership is an international nonprofit and a nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering young leaders and future decision makers from Europe and beyond. Among its activities Young European Leadership is responsible to recruit and train the European Union delegations to the official young G20/G7 outreach programs, and participates at global conferences such as the UNFCCC/COP21 and OECD Forum. In addition Young European Leadership organizes own international conferences, e.g. the annual Young European Council for which it received the Charlemagne Youth Prize 2016 in the UK.

Legal form
Non-profit organization
Objectives

Young European Leadership (YEL) is an organisation made up of young Europeans from all walks of life who are eager to shape their future. Our members are united to work actively together for the future of our generation. We want to see the innovative ideas of our generation welcomed, heard, supported, debated and implemented.

In the future, we envision young Europeans having the power to create the world they and future generations will live in. Regardless of their gender, ability, beliefs or background, they must all have the same opportunities to pursue their ideals, to speak up and act freely and to participate in key decision-making processes. Young Europeans shall be taken seriously and their concerns met. In the future, the young Europeans of YEL seek to contribute to a better Europe. We want it to be a place where equal opportunities, inclusive decision-making, democratic legitimisation and security are realised ideals. In this Europe, young people will be able to contribute to their local, national, European and global communities.

Main Activities

YEL provides aspiring leaders with innovative forms of engagement to directly connect with experienced decision makers from all sectors. YEL has a strong track record to form delegations joining summits and other international events to give its members the opportunity to speak up and provide critical policy input. One of the responsibilities of YEL is to recruit and train the official delegations of the European Union to the annual Y7 (Y8) and Y20 Summits, the official young counterpart to the G7 and G20 Summits. Other international events include, among others, the C20 Summits, the UNFCCC where YEL holds official observer status, the European Development Days, the OECD Forum including the exclusive OECD IdeaFactory, and the World Bank / IMF Meetings. YEL prepares its delegations with specific trainings and meetings, e.g. with the Prime Minister of Belgium or the G20 Sherpas of the European Union.

YEL connects future decision makers with each other as well as senior policy makers also through its own initiatives. These events are created to facilitate leadership skills and to encourage the development of policy recommendations by young people to shape their own future. YEL’s flagship event is the Young European Council (YEC) for which YEL received the Charlemagne Youth Prize 2016 in the UK. The YEC, organized for the first time in 2014, strives to be a youth counterpart of the European Council and the Council of the European Union. The last YEC brought together over 70 delegates from all over Europe to provide actionable recommendations for European policy making. Guests to the event included European Commissioners, the Presidents of the European Committee of the Regions, MEPs, and many more.