Under its umbrella it currently unites more than 100 member organisations from 35 European countries. FUEN works for the preservation and promotion of the identity, language, culture, rights and traditions of the European minorities. FUEN is the voice of the minorities at the international organisations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the OSCE.
But YEN and FUEN have a long history together. During FUEN meeting in Aosta in 1963 the first Youth Committee was set up. Later in 1984 the Youth Committee of FUEN was dissolved and the “Youth of European Nationalities” (YEN) was founded as an independent organisation on the Knivsberg in Northern Schleswig / Denmark.
The common goals of FUEN and YEN still connect both organisations. Moreover, both organizations have been partners in different EU projects. For example, from January 2009 till December 2011 we cooperated within the Network for multilingualism and linguistic diversity in Europe (RML2future), funded by the European Commission. Also, in the follow-up project under the direction of FUEN – www.language-diversity.eu – YEN was a strong partner.
In 2013 FUEN has launched the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative to promote minority rights, and linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe, for which YEN has been a steady partner in raising awareness and collecting signatures.
FUEN is the organiser of the EUROPEADA – the Football Tournament of the autochthonous, national minorities in Europe taking place every four years. As an organisation that represents a variety of minorities YEN cannot participate with a team of its own, but has been present at this event with a variety of activities.
