Youth is New Target for Brussels&Lobbyists

Lobbyists in the European affairs arena are always on a mission; influencing policy outcomes that is their aim. However, how can you be a successful lobbyist? One approach is to engage directly with the general public. Last week, the European plastics manufacturing industry, represented by PlasticsEurope, organized a youth debate in the European parliament.rnrnThere was a buzz of excitement in the EP building; youngsters from ten different EU member states gathered to display their debating skills. Almost one thousand high school students battled for a spot in the finals. Here in Brussels, the hundred finalists were judged by an international jury. Among the jury members were David Gow, a business journalist for the Guardian, futurologist Ray Hammond and several representatives of PlasticsEurope.rnrnPlasticsEurope was pleased with the enthusiasm of the young participants. The plastics manufacturing industry challenged the debaters to take a stand in the question: “Are plastics part of the problem or the solution?”. They had the opportunity to hear from the next generation of European citizens about the future of plastics.rnrnThe winner of the debate was Žan Žveplan, a 17 year old student from Slovenia, argued “plastics are fantastic” and continued with “we gave the opposition the truth, but they can’t handle the truth”.rnrnThough, what is the essence of this event? Did PlasticsEurope succeeded in finding its new ambassadors for plastics? When asking the young debaters, they say “it is about the experience” and “this is an opportunity to develop my debating skills”. The students came mainly for the learning experience. Although, some of them mentioned that the event raised their awareness of the challenges towards plastics. Distributed by Tubemogul.