Top together.eu change-maker story:
MADRID – Elena

I was a medical student when I first started to pay attention to the concept of the ‘European Union’. I saw a small (almost illegible) plaque in a hospital that read, ‘co-founded by the European Union’. I was shocked by how little knowledge I had of the EU. I became slightly worried that if I, a university student with top grades, did not know about the institutions and how the decisions taken in Parliament affected my daily life, a less privileged citizen (with no access to university) would probably know even less. Unfortunately, I was not wrong.


My growing interest in political communication and EU affairs led me to become a volunteer for Parliament in the #thistimeiamvoting and #together.eu campaign.

In order to raise awareness of the 2019 European elections, I gave public presentations of the campaign to the media and universities, set up awareness campaigns on the streets of the Canary Islands, and coordinated and supported other volunteers’ projects.

I joined as a volunteer in November 2018 and I have been an advocate for youth participation in politics ever since.

This campaign was an excellent opportunity to be proactive, so I helped to set up Equipo Europa and, with a peer, I co-founded the non-profit youth association Juventud Europea de Canarias.

I was honoured that the #70schuman campaign, to which I contributed by coordinating and hosting several events, was granted patronage of the European Parliament by former President David Sassoli.

Following Parliament’s European elections 2024 communication strategy, I am still trying to inform as many citizens as possible about this democratic process and engage them in it. I truly try to make the people around me understand the importance of voting and I firmly support #UseYourVote at the upcoming elections, not only to influence the EU’s future, but also to reinforce and safeguard democracy itself.