Can Europe make it?, the European debate on openDemocracy, a leading, independent online platform for debate and analysis based in London, is looking for young Europeans to write an informal blog leading up to the 2014 European election. Candidates should ideally be between the ages of 18 to 25, living in a European country and/or with an interest in European issues, and able to write in English.

In the run-up to the European elections next year, we are trying to find young people in a range of European countries who are willing to share their experience of what it is like to live in various corners of Europe today. Questions we are interested in include if you consider yourself political, if you have any thoughts on politicians who are meant to represent you, whether you feel yourself to be part of a transnational group or if you are more inclined towards a national destiny. We'd also love to know if you have ever thought of emigrating – and if you know people who have gone elsewhere in Europe to live and work? How would you compare your experiences? Which other parts of Europe interest you, which ones do you feel solidarity for? We are also interested in more particular experiences - for example, if you are a Turkish person in Germany, how do you perceive German attitudes towards you?

We are looking for young columnists who can talk about the opportunities for young people in Europe today, what they think about Europe and the European Union, and what they feel any future Europe should be like. We are interested in politics, football, society, the arts, friendship and romance, alternative lifestyles – campaigning and thinking and discussing with others - anything of interest to you which can tell us more about your own life experiences in a European context.

We expect our young bloggers to write a 500-1000 words column regularly, twice a month, till the election is held in May. The writing style should be casual – and could occasionally be replaced by either audio, photo or video interventions.

We feel this is an exciting opportunity for young European bloggers to gain both experience in writing (you'll be working with a team of professional editors) and the public exposure that comes with getting published on a respected and widely read website. Bloggers will be encouraged to build their own followship on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

If you think this would be of interest to you, or anyone you know, please get in touch at europe (at) opendemocracy.net