We’re proud to announce that the multi-year innitiative YOUth Art Festival taking place in the city of Câmpina, has been awarded with the distinction of the Romanian Charlemagne Youth Prize Award in 2025. The YOUth Art Festival is part of a multi-year innitiative in collaboration with the mayor's office in the city of Câmpina.
Why does the YOUth Art Festival mattter?
Since 2021 when the protocol of collaboration was signed with Câmpina’s Mayor Office, we led 3 editions of the International YOUth Art Festival, developed many international activities, making young people feel more European, as well as rejuvenated local democracy and youth involvement. This initiative was based on the needs of the youth of Câmpina that were reported through both our consultative processes and our grass-roots initiatives (e.g. “Tinerii Merită”). The festival was developed to promote creativity and encourage the volunteers to share their skills with the local community.
In total, over the past 4 years, we have invested approximately 100.000k euros in the community of Câmpina (both in local activities and subventions for mobilities), we have brought into the city 50+ volunteers from 12 countries who implemented 3 Editions of the Festival. Beyond this, we led 3 local Public Consultations and co-created with the local youth and local authorities 1 Local Youth Strategy;
The Festival has also been deeply involved in promoting European values, such as democracy through collaborative processes involving local authorities and local youth (the Local Youth Strategy and the City-Vision Design), rule of law through the promotional activities during the European Week of Youth, equality through the Intercultural Picnic on the International Day of Youth, human dignity through “Tinerii Merită”, human rights through the promotional activities in high-schools, and freedom through the dedicated EU stands over the days of the festival. To promote European values, and EU democracy, beyond the festival we:
- Organized the Picnic on the International Day of Youth;
- Led promotional activities during theEuropean Youth Week;
- Got our volunteers to implement Youth Deserve (“Tinerii Merită”) in the city of Câmpina;
- Led workshops on podcasts to the youth workers in Câmpina as a methodology for promoting EU democracy;
- Organized STEM workshops with the young people of Câmpina.
The festival has appeared in local newspapers (including România Pozitivă , CâmpinaTV, Oglinda de Azi, the October issue of the Climatic Pact, and Ziarul Incomod), the volunteers have promoted the festival over the local public radio (Sun City Radio Câmpina). Beyond that, the volunteers have also started a TikTok account promoting the festival, and other organizations (such as Reper21) have made documentaries about the activities in the festival.
The Charlemagne Youth Award 2025
The Prize is an award run jointly by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen that highlights projects by young people to strengthen democracy and support active participation.
The Prize has been supporting inspiring youth-led projects from all over the EU. Every year national and European juries select 27 national projects from every Member State and 3 European laureates who are invited to the award ceremony in Aachen. This year a GEYC representation has taken part in a series of events during the Charlemagne week in Aachen, namely:- Charlemagne Youth Award ceremony;
- the Karlspreis Europa Forum;
- the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen where Ursula von der Leyen was awarded.
What's next?
After the the end of the protocol of collaboration with the mayor's office in Câmpina and the success of the initiative in the city, we are aiming to replicate the same process in other cities around Romania. We will aim to bring both high-leverage impact in the local community as well as multiple small but frequent engagements over multiple years will breathe back life into multiple communities in Romania.