Long before we first met, each of us has observed how important it is for young people to raise their voices and make themselves heard. We have also witnessed time and again how difficult this seems to be for too many of us: Difficult situations at work or with families, a dire economic environment or a feeling of not deserving good keep us from becoming who we want to become. Each of us has experienced setbacks and challenges, both in personal relationships as well as in professional settings: loss of jobs, betrayed trust, uncertainty about the future, or health problems. We know everybody has gone through something: Challenges are perfectly normal and finding strength to overcome them is a part of life.

European youth is hit by a whole series of challenges these days. From our travels and first-hand encounters we can say that this is true. Large scale unemployment, raising levels of xenophobia, tensions between countries who were once friendly neighbors, and a resurge of nationalism. Either something will be done to fix all of this, or our continent will break apart under the stress. Obviously, nobody in their right mind wants the latter. But what needs to be done? What our continent needs most is fresh inspiration, new ideas, and creative ways of tackling difficulties. Or, to put it differently: our continent needs us, Europe’s youth. Our generation has all of the skills and tools necessary to pull Europe and ourselves out of this mess and begin a new era of life as Europeans.

But so far we have been waiting in the second row, maybe for somebody else to make the first move, maybe unsure of ourselves and our abilities to be part of progress. This is a paradox: Never in history has there been a generation that was so highly educated, so well connected with one another, so creative and dynamic, yet doesn’t use these skills. Our generation doesn’t take matters into their hands. Too often we have been told that our generation simply does not care for others or greater causes, that we are in fact apathetic and love to isolate ourselves. Our group doesn’t agree. We believe the true problem to be a lack of self-confidence and shared vision for our future.

That’s why we wrote our book. Through our own experiences, we identified a pattern that is designed to hold us back from achieving our best. In our text, we share a series of methods and thoughts, personal stories, and ideas that can help us and you to step out of this pattern and become true change-makers. Our text applies to everybody, who feels held back by something in life and who wants to be part of creating a bright and promising future for Europe.

For us, this book began with a journey. In the process of writing, the essay became a journey of its own. We invite you to join us on this journey and find out what the future holds.

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+++ Book Launch Press Release (English): Who-If-Not-Us-Press Release English, Nov 2015

+++ Book Launch Press Release (German): Who-If-Not-Us-PressRelease-11-2015-deutsch