Transeuropa Network goes to London!

This past weekend the Transeuropa Network met in London for a truly inspiring and productive meeting. European Alternatives would like to thank all the members – new as well as old – who came from throughout Europe to participate to the meeting, and helped constitute a common ground for further development of the Transeuropa Network.

Whilst the Network was celebrating its one-year birthday, participants shared the successes of each city group which have been achieved due to the hard work and dedication of members.  However, this comes as no surprise considering the enthusiasm displayed by all the ‘new’ as well as ‘old’ faces at the meeting.

The meeting kick-started with an introduction by Alessandro Valera, who took us through various ice-breaking games, among which, the ‘Human Chain Game’ which indeed did live up to its objective of breaking down any potential trans-European barriers.

The meeting also coincided with a citizens’ consultation on ‘Legality and the Struggle Against Organised Crime’ which was introduced by Kennedy Talbot and Giulio Rubino, two experts on the matter, and followed by stimulating debate.

The participants engaged in silent brainstorming, on the three thematics the network will elaborate throughout the year ( Economic Crisis  | Migration | Alternative modes of Democratic Participation).

Sunday’s ‘you make me feel so…’ lunch was supposed to be a sort of European pot-luck, with participants bringing food which best represents the spirit of their own city. This lunch ended up reflecting the Italian roots of EA manifested by 20 pizzas brought to the door. However, some dedicated participants did bring delicious pastries from their countries, which was indeed appreciated by the rest of the crew!

The notion of the Transeuropa Festival particularly attracted much attention and stimulated enthusiasm, so for the planning of next year’s festival we are looking forward to welcoming the inputs of so many new passionate Europeans.

Here are some comments of the participants from the weekend:

“We think that you’re carrying out really a good job  and we’re happy to share with you this European adventure. It’s great to have a space where one can exchange ideas, opinions and projects. … We came back from London with great energy!!!” (New Member from Barcelona)

“Thank you again for this great TN-Meeting, I had such an inspiring and wonderful weekend in London!” (Berlin member)