From 31 May to 2 June 2023, Eurodesk Brussels Link held the Eurodesk Multipliers’ Seminar 2023. The event took place in Brussels, Belgium, and it was the occasion for almost 50 multipliers representing 19 countries to meet and network. Concurrently with the multipliers’ seminar, Eurodesk Brussels Link held the ceremony of the Eurodesk Awards 2023. The final results and the honourable mentions were announced as representatives of the winning organisations collected their prizes.
On the first day, Lorena Baric, Eurodesk President, welcomed the participants with a short video message before Audrey Frith, Eurodesk Director, opened the event with an introductory presentation about the priorities of the Eurodesk network. After the presentation, some members of Eurodesk Brussels Link and the multipliers alternated on stage. Grazia Cannarsa from the EBL team presented the Eurodesk information management tools to which multipliers have access, such as the Eurodesk Opportunity Finder. Sara Garcia Ruiz presented the 2023 Time to Move campaign and Karolina Kosowska focused on the testing of the new Time to Move campaign game. The multipliers were involved in common activities such as the creation of their own games during the game factory session. The aim was to allow them to network and share personal experiences but also to get general feedback on the workflow of the Eurodesk community and its tools. Lina Vuletić presented the treasure hunt organised all over Croatia by the multipliers, empowering young people and gaining media attention.
During the second day, participants attended seminars and workshops held by the EBL members. The themes varied greatly to meet the needs of everyone: in the first round, the participants could choose among a workshop on how to build a communication strategy with Stefanos Agathokleous, Ines Touche, and Adam Lambe and a workshop on group facilitation and how to interact with young people, held by Karolina Kosowska. In the second part of the morning, three sessions took place; Gheorghe Kraszuk gave some tips on how NGOs and non-profit organisations can obtain benefits and financial support, Sara Garcia Ruiz delivered a practical session on graphic design, and Karolina Kosowska facilitated a workshop on stress management and wellbeing.
In the evening, the awaited ceremony of the Eurodesk Awards 2023 took place. Rosa D’Amato (Member of the European Parliament), Karen Vandeweghe (Member of the European Commission), Nikolina Đurić (Erasmus Student Network), and Ismael Páez Civico (European Youth Forum) represented the jury led by Lorena Baric (Eurodesk President). The members representing the four winning organisations who collected the prizes were Chiara Gatta and Sara Vidoz (Youth Information Centre - Eurodesk of the Municipality of Gorizia - Italy), Carmen María Ramos Espejo and Juan Ramos Espejo (Las Niñas del Tul Association - Spain), Lina Vuletić (Info Zone - Croatia) and Francisco Xosé Sequeiro Allegue (Xeracion - Spain), who respectively won their prize for Empowering young people, Adapting to changing realities, Thinking out of the box and Eurodesk Network.
The multipliers’ seminar was a successful event. The event was crucial to stress the importance of some of the campaigns directed by Eurodesk, especially the one of the European Elections 2024 that will soon be launched. The participants felt inspired by the various sessions and went back home with new ideas for their organisations, expressing their desire to apply for the Eurodesk Awards in the future. The sessions promoted by Eurodesk Brussels Link were crucial to enhance the cooperation among multipliers and their organisations. Moreover, every participant was happy to have had the opportunity to share the cultural heritage of their country, and the general feeling was one of enthusiasm thanks to the dense exchange of knowledge that took place.
These were some of the comments submitted by the multipliers:
“I am leaving today completely inspired. I have new ideas for projects and am motivated to work hard in my field to make changes and spread the world on European opportunities.”
“I am definitely taking away the amazing good practices and projects from my colleagues and their associations. I am truly impressed by everything that has been done across Europe and I really think that more and more young people will feel the courage and the support they need in order to achieve great things. I am also taking away the information I learned during the seminar. I wrote down everything that interested me about the topics related to the EU projects, the elections and the facilities offered by the ed network. I can't wait to dive deep into them when I get back home.”
“I have felt very very happy and empowered throughout these 3 days. Right now I am a bit tired, I admit, but it is worth it. I go back home with a lot of knowledge and positive energy to continue working with youth.”
Eurodesk Brussels Link thanks the multipliers for attending the event and is looking forward to hearing about the innovative projects and engaging activities that the multipliers will create throughout the year.
