JEF International Seminar Athens, Greece| 14-19 April 2013

Co-organised by JEF-Europe and JEF-Greece, the international
seminar “EuroMed Vibes: Back to the roots of Democracy” will
take place in Athens, from 14 to 19 April 2013
As the Arab Spring has moved across the Middle East and North Africa, grassroots calls for democratic
reform have opened avenues for increased political participation by traditionally marginalized groups.
Young people, often at the vanguard of the reform movements, have seized platforms to present their
visions for the future of their countries. But in many instances they face barriers to achieving decisionand
policy-making roles, particularly within traditional political institutions.

About the seminar
In view of better understanding the underlying causes of the Arab Spring and how to continue the
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the future, we will look back at the Greek roots of the concept
of democracy: demos (people) and kratos (rule). We aim to draw parallels to the significant role
young people in particular played in the recent movements for change and what challenges lie ahead
for sustained political engagement.
The seminar will try to find out how undemocratic societies can grow and develop into full-fledged
democracies with respect to human rights and the rule of law. In this respect the problematic
situation in Belarus and the continuous obligation of Council of Europe member states to abide by
their commitments (recently Hungary) deserve additional attention as well and can be used as casestudies.

How will we work
The working methodology is based on a combination of non-formal and formal education methods
and on a strong interaction with democratic and civil society representatives.
In order to ensure smooth functioning of the activities the team of trainers will meet on several
occasions before the seminar to plan the implementation of the programme. Efforts will be made to
find speakers with different professional, political and geographical backgrounds. The trainers,
facilitators and participants will be selected in order to constitute a representative and gender
balanced group of young people from all over the European continent with inclusion of several
participants from the Euro-Mediterranean region.

To apply please follow the link HERE
Practical information:
Deadline for applications: 10 February 2013.
Participation fee: 120 EUR for JEF members and 150 EUR for non-JEF members.
Travel reimbursement: 70% of travel costs (maximum reimbursement = 170 EUR)
JEF Europe and JEF Greece will assist in visas in case needed.
For any questions please contact us:
JEF seminars | European Secretariat
Square de Meeûs 25
B-1000 Bruxelles
Phone: +32 2 5120053
E-mail: seminar@jef.eu | www.jef.eu