Dear Members & Friends!

As the new Director of the European region of World Youth Alliance (WYA), I welcome you to this webpage.

In 2008, WYA Europe keeps growing! Along with a new generation seeking truth and freedom, WYA gathers more and more young people who seek a better understanding of the human person and wish to be active citizens at the national and international levels.

European youth’s new aspirations

Through my experiences in Europe: as an Erasmus student, working for youth media, and as an intern at the United Nations, I have discovered that a new generation of Europeans is rising. These young people are thrilled to search for the ”meaning and purpose of life” as mentioned by author and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl*, who survived the Nazi concentration camps. They share this aspiration for truth with young people all around the world and I am deeply convinced that young Europeans of the 21st century nourish a very special hunger for happiness. The great battles of the 20th century between radical ideologies, different economic systems, for sexual liberation and other revolutions, left deep traces in their consciences.

New challenges for human dignity before us

Today threats to man’s rights to live freely and in peace seem to move away from our continent. Our generation is challenged on new topics and areas: emotional and sexual maturity, professional stability and psychological pressure…
Youth is commonly considered to encompass those aged 10 to 30 years. It reflects multiple needs and realities that remind us more than ever of the need for a common set of values. Scientific progress, especially in the area of biotechnology raises complex questions on what is the essence of man and dignity.

We, young people of Europe, are the ones who have to find a balance between the rich and painful history of our peoples and the new challenges to the human person in the 21st century. As a man of 26, I feel concerned by these essential issues. I meet them in my everyday life of friend, student, worker, husband, father…That’s why I joined WYA. That’s why I signed the Charter.

The World Youth Alliance answer

In the World Youth Alliance, we have experienced that these answers need both a local and global action for 3 main reasons:
- the reflection on Man’s identity is universal
- answers should be found and adapted together for Man is diverse and complex
- the current globalization of our planet and decisions of international bodies, in which the European Union institutions are included, have a direct impact on our everyday life

For almost 9 years, we have worked with young people at the EU institutions to reflect on, and promote, a new vision for a society that respects the human person. Through our presence and action, we try to give a voice both to the valuable heritage of the 20th century and the need for a new, balanced perception of Man’s inviolable dignity.

For 2008, I invite you all to join us so we can work and act together to affirm our beliefs!

François Jacob

* Viktor Frankl, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’