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Reports and Studies

Just go for it!

30/06/2016
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This booklet is one of the results of an EC funded project aimed at “Empowering the integration of younger workers in the European Metal, Manufacturing,
Transport, Food, Services, Construction and Wood industries” which was implemented by the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW)
in cooperation with the other Industry Federations – the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), industriAll European Trade Union and UNI Europa.

The title JUST GO FOR IT ! was chosen by the participants of the European Youth Conference, which was organized in Croatia in May 2015. During the Conference, around 150 young trade unionists from all over Europe and all economic sectors gathered to share experiences and discuss challenges on the inclusion of young people into trade unions. Following the discussions, recommendations to improve the situation were put together. These are listed at the end of this booklet, the gist being that young people need to be the driving force of the change, take the lead… they have to JUST GO FOR IT !

This booklet also provides an overview of good examples coming from different unions in different parts of Europe on how to integrate young people. The examples were collected through questionnaires and interviews carried out among young unionists and workers of the affiliated organizations of the 6 Industry Federations, but also from the examples shared during the Conference. Even if situations vary from country to country, there are common trends and experiences that can be compared and applied to different realities. This collection of examples can be inspirational, provide ideas or simply push people to connect and share initiatives all over Europe. Contributors and Conference participants agreed that “in a world which is increasingly interconnected, exchange, networks and contacts are the best way to get things moving, both at National and at European level”.