LevelUp! is a youth event that gathesr more than 1200 local activists and offer space to boost up their skills and accelerate the change in their community organised in the hemycicle of the European Parliament. Roberta METSOLA, EP President gives an opening statement to the event.

LevelUp! Accelerating Change - Welcome Speech by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Good morning, so nice to see you here. Nice to have this room so full, nice to see guests up there. Welcome to the European Parliament! It's a real pleasure for me to be able to welcome you to this Chamber. Celia, you said it is my house. It's not my house. It's your house. And please make it yours for as long as you can.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, This is the House of European Democracy. That's not just any word. It's really the House where democracy matters and there is nothing that motivates me more because this is how I started, as you are here today, in what I do. Then when I speak to young people, because yours is the generation that is proud of what we Europeans have achieved, that is honest about our failings and the occasional frustrations of our processes. But above all, you are motivated and willing to make things better, to introduce change. And your role in shaping our common future is essential.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, This is the reason why we decided that 2022 would be the European Year of Youth, a year which has and continues to empower and invest in the young people of Europe. But it is also our way of strengthening the role of young people in decision making, both on a national and European level, with more opportunities to speak directly with decision makers like we have seen in the Conference on the Future of Europe. I believe that this year has been a good example that we want to listen to you, that we want you to shape the future that you want to see in Europe, that we want to act and do things together with you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And yet I feel just as strongly about the fact that this must only be the starting point. Commitments taken and promises made need to be delivered. Let me assure you that the European Parliament, which is an institution that I have the responsibility, not only the privilege, but the responsibility to lead, has every intention of doing that. Today in this House, you are here over one thousand two hundreds of young activists from all over Europe, so many that I have been told that this room couldn't even fit you all.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, You will spend the next two days, you are spending a weekend in the European Parliament? Really? OK, fun. You will spend the next two days in workshops, learning, practising, exchanging and connecting. First thing I would like you to do is when you look around, you make sure that you are not only sitting next to people you already know, make sure you don't only sit next to people who come from your country. Are you doing that already? Yes, OK, things haven't changed much since I was there where you are.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, You are surrounded by the most motivated and engaged Europeans, a generation of change makers. To do this, you have to be ready to stand up for the values that you believe in, to take matters into your hands, to serve and to lead and to make a real impact in your communities. Level up, accelerate, change. This is what should be used to bring your activism to the next level and use this opportunity to meet as many people as you can, to boost your skills, to support others we haven't met before in improving theirs.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, This project is the highlight event of the European Year of Youth and the results of a long lasting opportunity and cooperation between this House, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Youth Forum. I spent a lot of time in the European Youth Forum a few years ago, and it is also an example of the real commitment that this House has made to young people in last several years. We have significantly expanded our youth offer, the activities and opportunities we offer to young individuals, organisers, educators, disability activists.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Perhaps you noticed when crossing the Simone Veil Esplanade, when you entered the building there on the skywalk, you could get a glimpse - if you didn't, you could spend the weekend doing that - looking at some of our youth programmes, like the European Youth Events that we organised last year. Again, we will have one in 2023, or the youth seminars. And now you can also get an overview of all the opportunities that the European Parliament offers for young people on our online youth hub.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, But today is about your own skills and your own growth because levelling up our competencies is now more important than ever in Europe. I hope that whatever you gain here in the next two days, you will take back home. You will share it with your friends and together put it into practice, because ultimately citizens are at the core of our European democracy and without your continuous engagement, its power becomes fragile. I started by saying that this is a House of democracy. Without democratic exercise, this House would not exist. In 2024 we will face our next election.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, How many of you are you going to be a candidate in that election? One? One thousand one hundred and ninety nine to go. Only one? How many would like to be a candidate in next elections? OK, bit better. We'll take your names down.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, I ran for the first time when I was twenty four. And the funny thing about my experience of this House, of this Parliament, is not the plenary sessions when we are here voting on extremely important legislation, welcoming guests from around the globe, prime ministers, heads of state -President Zelensky addressed his first parliament here. We were the first parliament on the 1st of March. My experience is doing what you're doing, in this room and the room opposite.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Whenever I pass across the little bridge where the photos of all the former presidents are and I go to my office, I think about those meetings. And really, now thinking back, we spent long, active nights arguing passionately about what Europe meant and what Europe should be. That's why I'm here today, really. And I would like you to be in this position in a few years.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, It matters that younger people are involved. I used to hate being told what to do when I was young. I used to hate being told you are the future. Please don't let people tell that. You are now, you deal with yourself now and you hold me accountable now. And my colleagues and your representatives who you vote for, you hold them accountable today.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And if you're not satisfied with what they're doing, you run yourselves. You want to compliment what they're doing, you run yourselves and then you find yourself in a situation where you have to come up with a programme where you have to show how Europe has brought in the barriers and has overcome limits for everyone, that has given a level playing field for everybody, that can still give a level playing field for everybody who live in countries who want to join the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Yesterday I was in, well until this morning at six o'clock, I was in Latvia. How many of you are from Latvia? One, two, a few more. So I was in Riga yesterday and I met a hundred young people like you and it was amazing what they asked. First of all, they asked that this Parliament should be better accessible for disability activists. Politicians should be more accessible. They asked about the money for Repower EU. They talked about how we can empower young people who don't live in metropolitan cities, they live in the countryside far away.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The difference in accessibility to opportunities, gender, marginalisation of LGBTI communities in our Europe. So much left to do, but I need your help. And my answer to those one hundred young Latvian people - at the beginning, they told me, look, in Latvia, we don't talk too much and then they just talked for a long time and it was amazing because every country I go to, I meet people like you and I say, OK, so tell me, what do you want the European Parliament to do? What do you want Europe to do? What does Europe mean for you?

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, For a lot of young people, it's about opportunity. So use this opportunity today so that you can spread and share the belief in the promise of Europe to do this. I ask you to fight for the promise of Europe and to bring the promise of Europe wherever you go. Thanks a lot.

LevelUp! Accelerating Change - Welcome Speech by Roberta METSOLA, EP President

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