Novussanguis Launch
Paris May 14th
European Director of Operations and a French comittee member attended a Novussanguis conference in Paris on May 14. The aim of the conference was to launch the Novussanguis consortium, an international research consortium on cord blood and adult stem cells for therapeutic aims. The founders of the consortium, Professor Colin McGuckin and Foundation Jérôme Lejeune, hope to meet the expectation of many patients who could benefit from treatment with adult and cord blood stem cells and wish the consortium advance the development of the responsible regenerative medicine. The initiative is welcomed as a promising step towards support and promotion of research that respects the dignity of each human being.
'Giving Europe a soul'*
Training Seminar on Policy and Ethics
Brussels, May 8th - 11th
From May 8th till 11th WYA Europe hosted a group of youth from eight European countries, with a majority coming from the EU presiding state – Slovenia. A four-day training seminar focused on the recently debated EU policy & ethics questions, relevant to concerns about the respect for human dignity in Europe. Participants, active advocates for human dignity at grassroots levels, enjoyed a session of workshops and lectures as well as a fieldtrip round the Belgian capital and a picnic in the flowery Cinquantenaire Park. Read more.
Photo gallery
Download the press release in English or in French.
Programme of the event is available here.
* Inspired by Robert Schuman: "Europe requires a soul, the conscience of its historic affinities and its present and future responsibilities, a political will serving the same human ideal", from 'For Europe', 1950.
Dignity, Freedom, Solidarity - how ideas shape policy?
Workshop for Dutch - Russian Youth Group
Brussels, February 27th
On Wednesday, February 27th, WYA Europe had the pleasure to host a Dutch-Russian youth group on a three-hour workshop, which took place in the WYA Intern Apartment. Our guests arrived straight from their conference in the Netherlands to get a short but intense breath of Brussels.
Meeting involved introduction and presentations of our work at the heart of Europe and the EU institutions. After lunch we reflected on the understanding of concepts such as: dignity, freedom and solidarity rooting the debate in the WYA Charter and Declarations. Afterwards we moved on to research on recent legal documents such as: "Draft Report on the Demographic Future of Europe" from the EP Committee on Employment and Social Affairs or "Draft Report on Gender Equality and Woman's Empowerment in Development Cooperation" from the DEVE EP Committee, as well as the Youth Proposals from the Cairo+5 Conference (a part of the Track A training). Our aim was to analyze how the discussed ideas can shape policy as well as mirror themselves in our daily lives.
November Follow-up Seminars
Brussels, November 2007
Following the success of the November conference on "New Atheism," World Youth Alliance, Forum Brussels and Hanns Seidel Stiftung wish to deepen the debate on this current cultural issue and organize a serious of follow up seminars. The two coming seminars will be held on Nov 21st and 28th on the following topics: Man's Search for Meaning, and Man – A Spiritual Being. The discussions will be introduced by invited Members of the European Parliament and the themes are inspired by the authors of the WYA Track A training materials (Viktor Frankl, Joseph Pieper).
Read more
New Atheism and Western Civilization
Brussels, 7th November 2007
On Nov 7th, WYA Europe, together with Forum Brussels and Hans Seidel Stiftung, hosted a debate on the phenomenon of the “New Atheism” and its effects on Western Civilization. The introductory speech was given by Dr. Ingo Friedrich, Member of the European Parliament, who exemplified how different thought streams can mirror in political decisions at the EU level. Dr. John Carson Lennox from Oxford University, the main speaker, mathematician, scientist and philosopher, raised various issues connected with the growing popularity of the atheism and its presence in culture and social thought. His speech will soon be available online.
The seminar was preceded with a short lecture by Dr. Lennox on “Courageus Leadership”, which was of special interest to the WYA Europe staff and interns. What we have learnt from his speech is that the key to successful leadership are values and moral integrity of the leader.
You can find the programme details
here. Please find the report and pictures
here!
Regional Committee Meeting and Training Session
2nd - 6th November 2007
From November 2nd to 6th, Brussels hosted members of the World Youth Alliance Europe regional committee from Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. Young people met to share their WYA stories and experience of their work at the national level. They discussed the mission of WYA rooting it in their various backgrounds as well as debated on the ideas for the development of the European Region. On November 5th, participants visited the European Parliament, where after the training session, they had an opportunity to attand the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Members enjoyed a few cultural events (film night and a chello concert). They had the opportunity to taste Belgium specialities and visit the magic Grand Place by night. Looking forward to the future fruitful cooperation, WYA staff wish to thank all members for their presence and volunteer engagement for the promotion of human dignity with WYA in Europe!
See the photo gallery.
Read more.
"Eyes Wide Open" Perspectives on Body and Behaviour in Global Health Policy
First Conference in the new Interns' Apartment
Brussels, 27th June 2007
On Wednesday 27th June, the team of World Youth Alliance Europe invited members and friends to attend a conference at their new interns' apartment in the centre of Brussels. The discussion, entitled "Eyes Wide Open", was based around the theme of perception of body and behaviour in global health policy and the three speeches gave an insight into the complex problems:
Allison Herling
: HIV/AIDS & Behaviour Change: Integral responses to curbing the Global HIV Pandemic
Clare James:
Hybrids, Tissue Trafficking and the Commercialisation of the Human Body
Susannah Petrie:
Human Trafficking – a Violation of the Body
The talks, followed by wine and canapés, were attended by Members of the European Parliament and evoked some heated discussions among members of the audience about the controversial issues raised.
Read the Report on "Eyes Wide Open" Conference
View the photo gallery
WYA Spring Workshops
Sluvenia, Ljubljana 18th - 22nd May 2007
Our recent workshops and events in Slovenia attracted new members, media attention and many new friends of WYA! The five-day visit of WYA Europe staff was a chance for WYA members from Slovenia, Bosnia and Croatia to develop their understanding of issues related to dignity and to develop projects which could impact key cultural debates on a national and European level. The training weekend, workshops and University lectures provided young Slovenians with a valuable forum for exchanging ideas and experiences. Participants were encouraged to work together to articulate a core message for the media. Feeling empowered by the training and common activities, many young people decided to take an active role within WYA, taking the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences with local youth groups and media. On Sunday afternoon the group visited Postojna to participate in the Slovenian Family Festival - this was an opportunity to raise awareness about WYA projects and plans, to sign up new members and to meet special guests.
