Europe is full of initiatives and ideas to work together on what needs to be improved and can be done differently. During the Maastricht Europe Days, we brought more than 50 organizations together at Workplace Europe on 6 December. THE place to meet and share experiences. To learn from each other and to find solutions for collaborations that make Europe a better place.
Europe is about you
“There is no better place to talk about Europe than in Maastricht, the place of birth of the European Union.” With these words, Theo Bovens, Governor of the Province of Limburg, opened Workplace Europe. “It is important that we show that Europe is about citizens. Workplace Europe is the way to get into conversation with each other. An excellent place where supporters and opponents of the European Union can think about what Europe stands for and what is important. Especially because there are so many different perspectives on Europe.”
Diversity connects
How can we strengthen Euregional cooperation? This question was leading during Workplace Europe. A question on which more than 70 employees and volunteers from various local and international organizations, NGOs and civil movements shared opinions and initiatives to start working on. For example, the organization of a job market for young people was introduced. Moreover, a discussion about which language can best be spoken to make good cooperation possible was opened. Answers to questions whether all citizens of the European Union should have the right to vote and how we can bring young and older people closer together were sought.
Ideas and opinions are there to collaborate
Participants came together in different rounds to investigate opportunities for collaboration, discuss a project design, or enter into a discussion with each other. Of course, not everyone always agreed with each other which particularly gave many interesting insights. We worked together in an energetic and efficient way to achieve results that nobody would have predicted beforehand. And that is exactly what Workplace Europe is all about: working together on cross-border initiatives and new ideas that make Europe the beautiful place to live, work and live.
