ALL TOGETHER FOR THE EU!~GASPARD ELENGESA-LEKELE N’SELE
Gaspard serves as the Logistics Officer of #DiasporaVote! for the EP Campaign since Summer 2023. However, Gaspard’s involvement with #DiasporaVote! dates back to 2021, starting with participation in the #WorkWithYourMEP program. During this period, Gaspard had the opportunity to collaborate with young Europeans from across the continent on formulating political proposals across various domains, all under the guidance of a MEP.
Joining #DiasporaVote! represents, above all, a choice rooted in convictions and values. Gaspard firmly believes that there is an opportunity to enhance the current state of our democracy and society, and that our actions hold the potential to positively impact this trajectory.
On the 4th and 5th October my colleague, Letizia, and I participated in the Together for Europe Event organized by the European Parliament.
This Event was the occasion to stimulate the synergy between European youth organizations in view of the upcoming elections by bringing a lot of different organizations all focused on young people be it on national or European level. The goal of this Event was to create a pan-European network working all together to bring young people to the voting booth.
During these two days we talked a lot about the issues we had in our respective fields, the lacunae we wanted to push forward and sensibilize on, but we also talked about the good things in the EU. The potential that we had and the things we’ve already done. We know that the EU can be useful and benefits people and that’s precisely why we are working hard to make it reach its full potential.
The participation of young Europeans, especially those from disadvantaged communities, is fundamental in the well-being of our democracy. Sadly, these are often the sections of society that do not participate in the votes and are not represented in the conventional decision-making sphere either. It can be the result of a lot of different factors that depend on the communities we are focusing on, but this is both a result and a cause of the marginalization of those people.
That issue was the core of this event and is the core of our struggle. We can’t reduce political activity and democratic process solely to voting but it is one of the ways we can change things. Therefore, it must be taken over by marginalized and disadvantaged communities. We are looking forward to building a strong network between all the European organizations that aim to resolve these issues.
