Written for the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, University of Nicosia. Press here to access the special issue.

We have all heard of the term Generation Y, the demographic cohort born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. Generation Y is better educated than any that preceded it, grew up with the internet and travelled abroad. Our ambitions are set very high. We also grew up with the European Union as a perfectly normal part of our lives and accustomed to peace. The fall of the Iron Curtain is at best a childhood memory. Young Europeans today enjoy greater freedoms than ever before,

It is factual that our generation in Europe has experienced a long-standing period of crisis, without having had a say in the creation of the system that caused it. On average, we are faced with unprecedented youth unemployment, we are the ones who suffered most from social, ecological and political decisions taken by our elders - and ensuing developments have indeed adversely affected young people's perception about politics. Young people are worried about the future and are