History of YEN

We – the Youth of European Nationalities – were established 1984 as an independent, international, non-governmental youth organisation (INGYO). In the year 2004 we celebrate our 20-years anniversary.

During a Congress of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) in 1963 a Youth Committee was founded. In the following year the first meeting took place. This was the basis for what would become the traditional Annual Congress, the Easter Seminar.

The first congress of the Youth Committee was held in 1965 in Flensburg, Germany and became a huge success with 25 Nationalities represented.

In the year 1969, at the 17th Congress of the FUEN in Aabenraa, Denmark, Armin Nickelsen (German minority from Denmark) was elected as the first president of the FUEN Youth Committee, YEN´s predecessor.

Since the Easter Seminar in 1977 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, the aspirations were more and more aimed at emancipation from the mother organisation FUEN. In 1984 these developments led to an alteration from the Youth Committee into a separate organisation, the Youth of European Nationalities (YEN).

The YEN works since 1984 as an independent non governmental youth organisation (INGYO), which is recognized and supported by the Council of Europe and the European Union.

The common goals of FUEN and YEN still connect both organisations. YEN is corresponding member of FUEN and holds a seat in the board of FUEN.

The YEN deals actively with the eastwards enlargement of Europe since the beginning of the nineties. The decision to open up to the “east” turned out to be effective, because the new member organisations have become bearing columns of the European minority work.

In the year 2004 the Youth of European Nationalities (YEN) is the largest union of European youth organisations representing the linguistic, cultural and national minorities of Europe.

Chronology of the YEN Easter-Congresses:
1963 Aoste (I)
1964 München (D)
1965 Flensburg (D)
1966 Quimper / Bretagne (F)
1967 Abenra (DK)
1968 Lienz (A)
1969 Knivsberg (DK)
1970 Bad Kissingen (D)
1971 Bad Kissingen (D)
1972 Ebendorf / Carinthia (A)
1973 Christianslyst (D)
1974 Gourin / Bretagne (F)
1975 Knivsberg (DK)
1976 Eisenstadt (A)
1977 Leeuwarden (NL)
1978 Aoste (I)
1979 Bretagne (F)
1980 Trieste (I)
1981 Christianslyst (D)
1982 Burg Reuland (B)
1983 Reka / Mühlbach (A)
1984 Knivsberg (DK)
1985 Lavin (CH)
1986 Hohenberg (D)
1987 X
1988 X
1989 Nordfriesland (D)
1990 Gorizia (I)
1991 Ploemeur (F)
1992 Christianslyst (D)
1993 Barcelona (E)
1994 Grou (NL)
1995 Klagenfurt / Celovec (A)
1996 Zuoz (CH)
1997 Baja (H)
1998 Stockholm (S)
1999 Bautzen / Budyšin – Lausitz/Łužica/Lusatia (D)
2000 Bozen (I)
2001 Košice / Kaschau (SK)
2002 Grou (NL)
2003 St. Jakob im Rosental/Št. Jakob v Rožu – Kärnten/Koroška/Carinthia (A)
2004 Christianlyst (D)
2005 Ritten (I)
2006 Pecs (H)