Study Visit: FIRST STOP: THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS?

In light of the 2014 EP elections (and national elections in certain Member States), a study visit will be held in Malta to explore the country’s high voter turnout. The event is organised by The Maltese National Agency, in co-operation with the Belgian – FR, Danish, Hungarian and Swedish National Agencies, and SALTO-YOUTH Participation. A recent study has showed that ‘...76 per cent of Maltese said they had voted in elections in the last three years, compared with the EU average of 56 per cent. It also established that 76 per cent of Maltese intended to vote in the 2014 European Parliamentary elections, compared with an EU average of just 64 per cent’. As a follow-up activity to this Study Visit a Seminar will be held in April in Brussels to further explore the topic by looking at the real causes of the low electoral participation of young people in Europe and at alternative (new) forms of political participation and by trying to identify and explore different institutional and political measures that could be taken to entice young people into getting interested in elections and subsequently participate in them. The ultimate aim of the study visit is to encourage participants to cooperate on a campaign which can ultimately result in various projects under all key actions of ERASMUS+. What? This study visit is a short stay of three working days which includes presentations and on-site visits to institutions and organisations working in the field. The visits provide a forum for discussion, exchange and learning on themes of common interest and on European and national priorities. Participants will: - Visit lead institutions and organisations in Malta; - Meet representatives and persons working in the field; - Discuss and analyse strengths and weaknesses of the local approaches whilst comparing them with their respective local context; - Explore ways of cooperating and working together on campaigns and projects tackling democratic participation.