Reconnecting UK Youth to Europe
Raising Awareness to Foster Civic
Engagement
Institutional partner of and
supported by the European
Commission
Euclid Network
European network of civil society leaders and social entrepreneurs,
connected across borders and boundaries
Offer collaborative support to develop leaders and their ideas in order to find
solutions for society
5,000 contacts
40 countries
Mainly EU, Western Balkans
Southern Neighbourhood
@EuclidNetwork
Our work
• Three themes
These define our work and its potential value
to our members and society:
– Peer-to-peer learning
– Innovation
– Citizen empowerment and advocacy
• Three pillars
The themes translate into a narrative based
around three concepts that Euclid Network
believes best support an enabled and
engaged civil society:
– Social innovation,
– Social enterprise,
– Social investment.
@EuclidNetwork
3
Our Focus
OUTCOMES
Building a more
skilled &
innovative social
business sector
CAPACITY
BUILDING
- Leaders
- Partners
METHODS
- Knowledgesharing
- Peer-to-peer
learning
Meeting needs
on the ground
through social
business
Developing
social businessfriendly policies
MEMBER
ADVOCACY
- EU
- National level
PILOTS
- Test the ideas
- Refine methods
Bring
innovation to
life – ideas
and solutions
Build the case
- Gather Evidence
- Network views
The Network of Civil Society Leaders and Social Entrepreneurs
@EuclidNetwork
Citizens and civil society
EU – member states and
neighbourhood countries
Global economy
Our Communication
• Website – 5,000 unique page view / month
www.euclidnetwork.eu
Google Analytics, 28 Sept – 28 Oct 2014
• Newsletter – 4,500 subscribers
• Dedicated interest groups on
social innovation, civil society in research, the W e s
t Western Balkans and Turkey, gamification etc.
@EuclidNetwork
Our Communication:
Social Media
facebook.com/Euclid.Network
1,184 Likes
@EuclidNetwork
2,595 Followers
European Civil Society Leaders
EuclidNetworkTV
1,710 Members 16,101 Views
25% of our
Tweets are retweeted
Always in communication with our network
@EuclidNetwork
Reconnecting UK Youth
to Europe
The gap between citizens and the European
Institutions is growing constantly. Young people,
first time and future voters, especially have a
limited interest in EU affairs.
This low level of political engagement by citizens
seriously undermines EU democracy.
As such citizens’ views, particularly those of young
people, are likely to be under-represented in the
decision-making process.
Reconnecting UK Youth to Europe aimed specifically to mobilise young people in
the UK and engage them in the EU political sphere
@EuclidNetwork
Reconnecting UK Youth
to Europe
DURATION
Sept 2013 – April 2014
DONOR
BUDGET
£25,000
OBJECTIVES
1.
Raise awareness and understanding on how the EU has an impact on young
people’s lives
2.
Give young people the opportunity to express their opinion and connect them to
policy makers and politicians at European level
3.
Develop a research agenda on how to best educate and reach out to young
people
PARTNERS
@EuclidNetwork
Key Messages
The role of the EU
and the
opportunities
available for young
people
The views, opinions and
concerns of young
people are important
and valued
The need to vote and
engage with democracy
@EuclidNetwork
Target Audiences
• UK youth aged 16 to 25
– NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training)
– BME (Black and Minority Ethnic)
– EU youths who have recently travelled and settled
in the UK
@EuclidNetwork
Key Activities,
offline and online
Workshops
Video Competition
Martyna Napierskaa
Survey
Do you think
young people
find it
difficult to
connect with
the EU?
@EuclidNetwork
Final Event
Report
Communication Objective
Used the channels
of young people
Engaged young
people in their
environments
Made research
results interesting
Provide a bridge between young people
and policy-makers
Translated views
of young people
into hard research
@EuclidNetwork
Provided forum
for dialogue
Demonstrated
need for both
parties to actively
engage
Key Channel: Facebook
WHY?
• The channel of our audience
• Over 10 million Facebook users aged 16 - 25 in UK
• Simple platform for audience to connect, engage and share
• Supports a variety of content (text, photo, video, html etc.)
• Increases publicity through strategic sharing, liking, posting etc.
WHEN?
•
•
•
•
Advertise events and share outcomes
Promote competition and gather entries
Share information on EU institutions and politics
Inform about project opportunities and
progresses
@EuclidNetwork
RESULT
155 likes
981 views of competition entries
25,991 ‘Daily Impressions’
Challenges
Challenge
Negative contributions through open platform
Solutions
- ‘Terms and Conditions’ clearly visible
- Quality control policy in place
Challenge
Reservations of young people about uploading videos
Solutions
- Provided an example video and inspiration
- Encouraged all current and potential contributions
- Accepted written contributions to the report
@EuclidNetwork
Finance
With no allocated budget for
communication, we:
• Utilised free online channels such as
social media, websites etc.
• Sourced ‘ambassadors’ to spread
message
• Reached out to partners and
networks with Communication Kit
@EuclidNetwork
Communicating beyond
the audience
Reconnecting UK Youth to Europe
NEVER used a press release
‘Why Do Young Brits Feel Disengaged From The EU?’
‘Are Young People Sleepwalking Towards UKIP-Land?’
‘Most Young People Don't Even Know The European Elections
Are Happening In May 2014’
First International Event on
Collective Awareness
Platforms for Sustainability
and Social Innovation
@EuclidNetwork
Communication outcomes
• An understanding of the issues that are important to
young people
• A new narrative for young people, by young people, on
the future of Europe
• Informing policy at a National and European level
• Raising awareness of
the EU amongst young
people and the available
opportunities
@EuclidNetwork
Key Recommendation
Message
tailored to your
audience for
strong
engagement
@EuclidNetwork
Message
accessible to
mainstream for
wide impact
eleanor.morgan@euclidnetwork.eu
@EuclidNetwork