Why should I care? The reality behind youth - Paris, France

29.05.2008
Youth involvement in society - DAMU event in Paris

For the first time since the production of "Why should I care?" in 2005 a member of the DAMU network, Matthias Scheffelmeier, was present in France to facilitate a discussion around the topic of the importance of youth involvement in society. Organised by the Swiss Pavillon Association the event took place at the cité de la université in the south of Paris. 40 people followed the invitation and gathered at the Fondation Suisse. After a short introduction and the screening of the 30 minute movie people had the chance to discuss the idea of inspiring youth to become more active in society and connecting them to organisations and existing projects and activities that help them doing so. The 2 hour discussion brought up a range of interesting points and helped the participants understand the complexitiy of youth involvement and youth empowerment in general. Even though the discussion didn't pursue the goal of coming to one particular conclusion one can say that if there is something that everyone agreed on its probably the fact, that the involvement of youth in society is of universal importance. It is not limited to Kenya (where the movie "why should I care?" was shot) or any other country, but needs to be addressed throughout the world.

We owe a big "Merci" to Ayfer Cengiz and Melanie Gerber for the organisation of the event and want to thank everyone for coming and a great discussion.
If you have any questions please write to Matthias at mscheffelmeier@hotmail.com
Thank you Paris!

Some impressions