Europe: How young people are fighting for a better future – only good news

Young Europeans have been taking to the streets for weeks: in Spain they organized protest camps against the housing shortage, in France they blocked schools, and in Serbia they even won an election with their “student list”. Often the focus of reporting is on the violence that accompanies some of the protests. Many of the young people demonstrate peacefully and considerately.

What they are demanding does not just affect their own generation: they want better education, more climate protection and cheaper housing. A life they can afford. These are important concerns that older people should also share and take seriously.

My colleagues José Bautista, Steffen Lüdke, René Pfister and Francesco Collini spoke to young adults from three European countries. They told them what concerns them in their homeland. The situation for career starters is getting worse and worse, says Inès Belkacem de Lomas, 20, from the Paris University of Sciences Po: "All of the fellow students I know who did a master's degree before me are looking for a job - some of them have been for a year."

For them, the French head of state Emmanuel Macron has become a symbol of an "ultra-hierarchical" politics: an "aloof president" who does not approve of democratic participation outside of the elections. France is experiencing an uprising against him, says Inès.

In Ascoli Piceno, Italy, student Giulia Conti Borbone, 17, is taking education policy to the streets. "I'm taking part because I think that the right to education is not fully guaranteed in Italy," she says. »Many schools are dilapidated. Every year we have to pay horrendous sums for school books.«

There is also violence from the other side. “I constantly see photos and videos on social media of police officers beating up demonstrators,” says Giulia. »A teacher accused me of having a distorted view of the police authorities. But our picture comes from what we see.«

The protocols show what connects the protests in Europe - and how young people still find their own voice in every country.