Would you like to make a direct personal contribution to democracy in Europe? How about taking an active role in ensuring that democratic processes in European countries are carried out in a safe and fair manner? Then do not hesitate and join the AEGEE Election Observation!
AEGEE Election Observation is one of AEGEE’s most well-known initiatives. It is based on two main premises: that democracy cannot function without control of its citizens, and it cannot flourish without the right political education. The AEO organises election observation missions or referendums taking place all over Europe. Young people get to fully participate in these processes by becoming officially accredited international election observers. The Project is also in charge of observing AEGEE’s internal elections at the Agora and providing election observation training for future observers. 
Projects aiming to increase young people’s awareness of democracy and its challenges can bring immense benefits to society as a whole. It can also be very positive for AEGEE as an organisation. AEO’s Project Manager Thomas Leszke sees a number of possible benefits: “It might raise the level of political discussion in AEGEE, cause AEGEE members to initiate new projects that promote democratic values among young Europeans, improve participation in our own internal democratic procedures and renew democratic ambition in our association, both at the European and the local level”.
Election observation missions are good way to guarantee that democratic processes respect fundamental freedoms and universal values such as equality, political pluralism, transparency and accountability. The presence of international observation are indispensable in some cases, for instance in elections held in countries requiring peacekeeping force or undergoing a difficult transition.
By participating in AEO, young Europeans learn to appreciate democracy in their home countries. According to Thomas, “Usually, we only see what goes wrong, and we judge democracy very negatively on this basis. Witnessing
how much organisational effort it takes to organise democratic elections according to all principles we value makes us as observers realise how many of the things that could go wrong actually go right. Coming back to our countries, we see politics and especially elections with different eyes”.
AEO Project is not one of the only initiatives of its kind focusing on students and young people. Many other international non-profit organisations have started similar schemes. An example is Canadian CANADEM –International Civilian Response Corps. CANADEM takes part in the Multilateral Election Observation Program, whose main objective is to support developing countries’ democratic elections’ to be in alignment with national and international election standards. In Europe, the Election Observation and Democratic Support (EODS) is the capacity building project for EU observation. It is funded by the European Commission and it has three focus areas: EU election observation methodology, training and cooperation with regional organisations and networks.
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Written by Kimberly Townend, AEGEE-Valencia