youth
Paris: living cheaply in an expensive city
The crisis is an opportunity of redeeming a more democratic economy, capable not only of satisfying the individual, but especially the community. Young people in Paris are finding solutions based on reciprocity and co-operation
youth, labour, economical crisis, labour market, economy, financial crisis, cities
UK to Poland via France: hitch-hiking Europe
You could stay in a hotel in Egypt for a week. Or you can spread the same amount of money over a month and a half for a trip of an alternative kind: hitchhiking Europe. Here’s one way to do it, which included 30 drivers, volunteer work and new friends
youth, money, backpacking, languedoc, jazz, hitch-hiking, car
Brussels: young, gifted and going nowhere fast
They’re over-qualified, multilingual and come from every corner of the European Union. They moved to the Belgian capital to find an internship or job. A short report from the heart of this bustling microcosm
youth, labour, economical crisis, belgium, labour market, languages, european institutions
Fancy a degree from the university of Disney?
How about a stroll down Disney Boulevard, shopping in Disney outlet malls and finishing off with a cappuccino on Disney Square? Hell, you can even get your tonsils out in Disney hospital. The Magic Kingdom is building an empire of kitsch just 30 minutes from Paris, and for thousands of jobless Europeans it smells like opportunity
youth, money, labour market, disney, business man, paris, society
Marc Guerrero: Catalan MEP on Spain, unemployment and van Rompuy
Youth unemployment has become one of the biggest challenges facing the EU. In Spain the figure has reached 43% amongst those aged 15-26. We discuss this problem and the new era that Europe faces with the youngest ever leader of the European liberal democrats (ELDR)
youth, josé luis rodríguez zapatero, politics, liberls, internships, european parliament, internships
Flare network, mapping Europe's mafia connections
Founded at the European parliament in June 2008, the anti-organised crime network want to rejig European laws and describe how EU money regenerates mafia-seized property. Interview with communications officer Roxana Smil
youth, italy, corruption, gang, europe, organized crime, saviano roberto
Meet the Erasmus elite: bright stars in a global recession?
What do a loud-mouthed English ladette, a svelte Ukrainian vamp, a dashing Polish casanova and a bagpipe-playing Frenchman all have in common? Bar-stool jokes aside, they're all members of YRN - the association of European regions' youth network. About 150 people meet annually to discuss how to use Europe to hoist them out of the economic doldrums. cafebabel.com caught up with them in Paris this December
youth, regions, travel, paris, eurogeneration, economic crisis, society
The Italian malaise: 'a country for old folks, run by old folks'
The 27 stories in Italian journalist Sergio Nava's 'Brain Drain' (2009) share one common thread: every single interviewee decided to leave Italy. In the book-cum-blog, the 34-year-old tries to find the origins of an injustice now afflicting young Italians, and speaks of the angst of a generation who have felt forced to export their talent abroad - and successfully at that. Interview
youth, italy, labour, future of europe, expatriation, labour market, brain drain
EU presidency: the trouble with Spain...
He's EU president, he's Mr. Bean. Just a few days into the six month rotating presidency of the EU, hackers attacked the Spanish prime minister's image. And Zapatero has already had to take a step back after harsh criticism on his proposed sanctions against EU states with deficient economic policies.That's rich, coming from a country where a generation of people earning 1000 euros a month has coined the term 'mileuristas'! No wonder Iberian cleverclogs are part of the brain drain towards other EU countries...
- Spain’s ‘Silicon Valley’ in Malaga
- Young Spaniards escape crisis by moving around in Europe
- Spain's damaged and wasteful economy, where people work little
- Spanish EU presidency: Zapatero's pious economic hopes
- The 1, 000 Euros a month club
- Migrants keep coming to Seville, Spain and the rest of Europe
The 'M' word: breaking the Bulgarian complex
In January 2009, Sofia’s then-mayor and current PM banned anti-government protests after citizen disillusion with the country’s corruption; Bulgaria is officially the poorest EU state, according to Transparency International. One year on, the remnants of a ‘protest culture’ lie in the urban, cultural and mediatic fragmentation of a society rooted in tradition, the past - and the mafia, to an extent
youth, protest, eu crisis on the ground, corruption, urban space, best of cafebabel.com, communism
What crisis? Scouring for entrepreneurs in Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s GDP growth slowed, but nowhere close to the levels noted west of Sofia. The new coalition government has inherited nearly empty treasury coffers from the previous 'corrupt' administration. In the European Year of Innovation 2009, funding for start-ups was cut. Yet stories of determination prevail. Part three in a five part 'EU crisis on the ground' city series
youth, money, labour, economical crisis, bulgaria, start-up company, financial crisis
‘Many people in Bulgaria are left-wing - but don’t dare to say it’
With only 18% of the vote in the last legislative elections in September 2009, the Bulgarian socialist party (BSP) is nowadays a rather sluggish opposition. Its leaders, nostalgic former communists, are joined on the left of the political spectrum by youngsters with ideas and dreams. Part two in a five part 'EU crisis on the ground' city series
youth, best of cafebabel.com, politics, communism, bulgaria, left-wing, extremism
Sofia's directors and playwrights boom despite barebone budgets
In Bulgaria there are no cultural policy programmes and the crisis has consumed the ministry coffers. Filmmakers like Kamen Kalev, playwrights and other creative minds demand government transparency and methods to support their enterprising spirit. Part one of a five part 'EU crisis on the ground' city series
youth, cinema, contemporary art, economical crisis, balkans, best of cafebabel.com, culture
Slash your bonus wrists: what bankers want for christmas
Quite a remarkable christmas list found its way into my hands recently in France. 'Basically, Father Christmas, I just don’t know what more I can do to get decent payment for my hard work and the hard work of my brothers and sisters. That’s why I’m counting on you to change things.' At first glance, who would you assume these people were? Unemployed young people hit by the recession? Generation precarity? Underpaid interns?
youth, money, bank, labour, economical crisis, christmas, labour market
Startups, ethics and the crisis: focus on young people in Turin
After the crisis months of unemployment, training and scholarship schemes, some Italian youngsters decide to swap 'instability' for life as an entrepreneur. Examples from the industrial city of Turin
youth, italy, economical crisis, eu crisis on the ground, work, unemployment, turin
Metro-run university of Paris 14 challenges French ‘anti-egalitarian’ education system
The newly formed university is a mobilisation of students, teachers and researchers who aim to liberate education from the over-arching confines of the ‘institution’. Participants Emile Gayoso and Quentin Lade on neo-liberalism, the Bologna process and giving classes on public transport
youth, university, transport, teaching, local autonomy, independence, paris
The Wankin' Noodles, four boys from Rennes who sing about girls
Romain, Regis, Jean-Sylvain and Guillame went from being graphic design, cinema, information technology and literature students, to being backed by big names as France's latest post-teenage kicks band. Quick catch up with the twelve-eyed foursome at the Transmusicales festival in their hometown
youth, bands, rennes, men and women, culture, music, interview
