« Antidemocratic and xenophobic forces of Europe have always been attracted by the European unity dream, the mystic of the imperial Rome»
(FB - 1998)
" Being a citizen is a voluntary act "
(FB - 2009)
"Thinking about the future only makes sense if it is aimed at improving one’s thinking about the present and about the trends at work"
(FB - 1998)
"The European project is not a dream, but a hope. It is rooted in rationality, which is not the case with dreams. We Europeans have seen our dreams end in nightmares too often not to be suspicious."
(FB - 2005)
"The strength of a network is judged at the information level of the weakest link, or more precisely the link furthest from the centre of the network."
(FB - 2004)
"Europe's destiny is escaping the two "Greats" and it will come knocking on the door of the Europeans."
(FB - 1989)
"The history of Europe is a bit like a multifaceted diamond. Everyone sees the same diamond... but no one sees exactly the same facets."
(FB - E-storia project, 2004)
"Let us dare the future as the founding fathers of Europe did"
(FB - "From EU to Euroland", 2001)
"The European citizenship can not be decreed. The European citizen can only be born..."
(FB - 1992)
"Every state is a minority in the EU. In any case, let’s not forget that if all our states went into building the EU it is because they all felt too small to face alone both their future and the rest of the world."
(FB - 2003)
"From a single (EU) Currency to a single (EU) Citizenship. The euro is only an instrument."
(FB - 1997)
"An empire is always providing platforms where conflicts and wars prolife­rate... an empire needs enemies, whilst a Community requires partners."
(FB - 1992)
"Europe’s history has taught us that dreams and nightmares are the two faces of the same coin"
(FB - “Europe is Peace” 2006)
"Everybody wants to have a successful enlargement whereas it is a successful enlarged EU which is important."
(FB - 2002)
"It is clear that the existing national political parties can not serve two masters: national and European."
(FB - IDE, 1989)
"It takes teamwork to make Europe move forward."
(FB - 2005)
"There is nothing like one European. The European is a team of Europeans... the only way we can imagine a European, it is a team of people from different countries, not a single man or woman."
(FB - Enschede (NL) 2012)
"On the horizon with a heaven of freedom and a land of responsibility, this is perhaps the soul of Europe."
(FB - 1992)
"The future challenge for the European project is not about Europe anymore, it is about the Europeans."
(FB - 2005)
"The more Brussels speaks English, the less Brussels understands the Europeans"
(FB - 2004)
"Occupy the Future of Europe!"
("What do YOU want as a future for AEGEE?" Franck Biancheri at the 2012 Agora in Enschede)
"To combine new technologies and democratic principles to succeed in the entry of European integration in the 21st century or e-democracy at the service of Euro-democracy"
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"In the years 00 of the 21st century, democratization can only take place in the perspective of the democratic election of a European executive that remains to be invented."
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"We must build the European Community, otherwise Europe will soon be culturally Americanised, politically Finlandised and technologically Japanised"
EGEE I, 1984

FB Award: Education for the present, Democracy for the future, Aegee-Budapest, April 2017. Final bookletFB Award: Education for the present, Democracy for the future, Aegee-Budapest, avril 2017. Rapport final

We are pleased to publish below the report of the conference “Education for the present, Democracy for the future“, which was organized from 21st to 23rd April by the antenna Aegee-Budapest, winner of the Franck Biancheri Award 2017, in collaboration with Aegee-Europe’s Civic Education working group, and attended by Marie-Hélène Caillol, AAFB President, Marianne Ranke-Cormier and Régis Jamin, AAFB Vice-Presidents.

This very dense report, rich in ideas, remains faithful to the excellence of the work that took place in Budapest. We are proud to have contributed on the one hand to the organization of this event and on the other hand to the production of content for this document on a subject so important and so dear to Franck Biancheri: citizenship and European democracy.

The words bequeathed by Franck during his last intervention in 2012 at the Agora of Enschede have served as the guideline for the organizers of this event:

… as winner of the Franck Biancheri Award, the conference was an opportunity to commemorate AEGEE’s founder and continue his legacy. We also celebrated the AEGEE Day (the birthday of our association). For the last 32 years, AEGEE has been educating and empowering young people to be active citizens and to take a stand for what they believe in. This conference aimed at transmitting Franck’s legacy in his last speech at Agora Enschede five years ago, “Occupy the future”.

The future is now, and in our hands. Therefore, we, young people, need to act and decide how this future will look like. (María Ballesteros Melero du groupe de travail Civic Education)

Throughout the two days, more than 70 students from Aegee-Europe will have contributed to different workshops to define the concepts of:

  • European civic education and its objectives: reforming European democracy requires better-educated citizens with a European dimension. It was also the title of a workshop led by our president Marie-Hélène Caillol “UPGRADING DEMOCRACY REQUIRES A CITIZEN UPGRADE TOO. RATIONALIZING THE FUTURE. REACHING THE TRANSNATIONAL LEVEL“;
  • European democracy, perspectives, political (Eurozone parliament/trans-European elections …), economic (tax policy/euro …), education (civic education …), civil society (networks, media …), and tools, including the prospect of a trans-European elections on the basis of Franck Biancheri’s first ever experience, EU-Student-Vote, which Régis Jamin, Vice-President of the AAFB, presented in the frame of the E-DEMOCRACY” workshop within the framework of the democracy for the future.

Aegee’s members play an important and legitimate role, based on the history of the association founded by Franck Biancheri, the very route of its founder in his struggle for European democratization, which the Aegees have been discovering little by little since we launched the Franck Biancheri Award in 2014, and the 32 years of experimentation in European citizenship, whether in working groups, summer universities or simply parties organized by the students of Aegee …

It is therefore with great emotion and pride that we especially thank the members of the Aegee-Budapest and the Civic Education working group teams, as well as the AEGEE-Europe CD, for honoring the memory of Franck Biancheri and contributing to its transmission. They can be proud to have been the bearers of this fourth edition of the Franck Biancheri Award for this year 2017! (and it’s not finished…)

Read the final report: EDDE_FinalBooklet

aegee-budapest photo generale

Nous avons le plaisir de publier ci-dessous le rapport de la conférence “Education for the present, Democracy for the future” qui avait été organisée du 21 au 23 avril dernier par l’antenne Aegee-Budapest, lauréate du Prix Franck Biancheri 2017, en collaboration avec le groupe de travail Civic Education d’Aegee-Europe, et à laquelle avaient participé Marie-Hélène Caillol, présidente AAFB, Marianne Ranke-Cormier et Régis Jamin, vice-présidents de l’AAFB.

Ce rapport très dense et riche en idées reste fidèle à l’excellence des travaux qui se sont tenus à Budapest. Nous sommes fiers d’avoir contribué d’une part à l’organisation de cet événement et d’autre part à la production de contenu pour ce document sur un sujet aussi important et si cher à Franck Biancheri: citoyenneté et démocratie européenne.

Ce sont les mots légués par Franck au cours de sa dernière intervention en 2012 devant l’Agora d’Enschede qui ont servi de fil conducteur aux organisateurs de cet événement:

… en tant que lauréat du prix Franck Biancheri, la conférence a été l’occasion de commémorer le fondateur d’Aegee et de continuer son héritage. Nous avons également célébré l’anniversaire de notre association. Au cours des 32 dernières années, Aegee a éduqué et permis aux jeunes à être des citoyens actifs et à prendre position pour ce qu’ils croient. Cette conférence visait à transmettre l’héritage de Franck lors de son dernier discours à l’Agora de Enschede il y a cinq ans: “Occupy the future”. Le futur c’est maintenant et il est entre nos mains.

C’est pourquoi nous devons, nous, les jeunes aujourd’hui, agir et décider quel futur nous voulons. (María Ballesteros Melero du groupe de travail Civic Education)

Tout au long des 2 journées, plus de 70 étudiants d’Aegee-Europe auront contribué au sein de différents ateliers à définir les concepts:

  • d’éducation civique européenne et ses objectifs: réformer la démocratie européenne suppose des citoyens mieux éduqués à la dimension européenne. C’était d’ailleurs l’intitulé d’un atelier de travail conduit par notre présidente Marie-Hélène Caillol “UPGRADING DEMOCRACY REQUIRES A CITIZEN UPGRADE TOO. RATIONALIZING THE FUTURE. REACHING THE TRANSNATIONAL LEVEL“;
  • de démocratie européenne, ses perspectives en matière politique (parlement de l’eurozone/élections transeuropéennes…), économique (politique fiscale/euro…), éducative (éducation civique…), société civile (réseaux, médias…)… et les outils, dont la perspective d’une élection en ligne trans-européenne, basée sur la toute première expérience réalisée par Franck Biancheri en 2001, EU-Student-Vote, que Régis Jamin, Vice-président de l’AAFB, a présentée au cours d’un atelier “E-DEMOCRACY” dans le cadre de la thématique de la démocratie du futur.

Les membres d’Aegee tiennent un rôle important et légitime qui repose sur l’histoire de l’association fondée par Franck Biancheri, le parcours même de son fondateur dans son combat pour la démocratisation européenne, que les Aegees découvrent petit à petit depuis que nous avons lancé le Franck Biancheri Award en 2014, et les 32 années d’expérimentation à la citoyenneté européenne, que ce soit au sein des groupes de travail, des universités d’été ou tout simplement des fêtes organisées par les étudiants d’Aegee…

C’est donc avec avec émotion et fierté que nous remercions tout particulièrement les membres des équipes de Aegee-Budapest et du groupe de travail Civic Education, tout comme du CD AEGEE-Europe, d’avoir ainsi honoré la mémoire de Franck Biancheri et contribué à sa transmission. Ils peuvent être fiers d’avoir été les porteurs de cette quatrième édition du Prix Franck Biancheri pour cette année 2017! (et ce n’est pas fini…)

Lire le rapport final: EDDE_FinalBooklet (anglais)


aegee-budapest photo generale