The European Youth Parliament
Forging Europe is without doubt a great task, ever more complex and far reaching, which will demand the active participation and creative ability of several generations. The aim of the European Youth Parliament is to associate young people with this enterprise, from the last two years of Secondary School onwards.

Structure
The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is an independent, non-profitmaking, non-political, educational organisation, founded in 1987 in Fontainebleau, France. The EYP moved to the United Kingdom in 1991 and the international head office is now in Oxford.

Since September 1992, the EYP has been part of the Fontainebleau Youth Foundation, a Charitable Trust, which was created to be the umbrella organisation for both the EYP, with its 15 national branches and the programme for universities : ECU (European Challenge for Universities). The Trust is governed by a board of trustees.

Objectives
The main objective of the EYP is to promote the European dimension in educational and to give students in the 16-22 age group the opportunity to participate in a practical, positive learning experience. The EYP aims to provide an educational project which is suited to the special needs of future Europian citizens who have to be aware of the thoughts and characteristics of the other nations, respect their differences, learn to work together, master two or three languages and understand the causes of the international conflict.

The EYP constitutes a forum in which the young people of Europe can express their own opinions, without any political connotations and without reverting to role play. Students are encouraged to take an interest in current affairs and the democratic process, practise independent thinking and take personal initiatives.

Sessions
The EYP organises 2 or 3 international 9-day sesssions a year, which are held each time in a different Europian country and involve the EU-member states as well as a minimum of 4 observer-countries, bringing 250-300 pupils/students and teachers/tutors from different nationalities.