Annual Report 2009 - European Youth Parliament

Voices on the European Youth Parliament
In addition to the structured evaluations of our work (see pages on the International Sessions), we also listen to
the voices of participants, active alumni and teachers at the EYP. You can find a selection of comments on this
page. Read what they have to say on their involvement in the EYP:
Justin Krahé, Delegate at the International Session in Helsinki
The 62nd International Session of the European Youth Parliament in Helsinki
was an extremely interesting experience for me. In my committee alone, I worked
with delegates from 15 other countries, while close to 30 countries were represented
at the session as a whole. It was exciting and challenging to find a consensus
coming from these completely different backgrounds, for our topic, which dealt
with the digital divide and internet access, everyone had different stories to tell
from their country. For example, I learned that in Cyprus almost every village has
some form of internet café while in Poland you might have greater difficulties
finding one.
The organisation of the session was excellent, and the two extremely well chosen
venues, one in the picturesque Finnish woods and the other in the throbbing metropolis
of Helsinki contributed to the session as a whole and offered the delegates
plenty of opportunities to get to know each other outside their committees.
Ance Kaleja, President of the International Session in Leuven/Brussels
Under a very symbolic session theme – „Democracy – a work in progress” the
61st International Session of the European Youth Parliament took place in Belgium
– the heart of Europe. Here the youth of Europe had the chance to experience,
practice and debate democracy and its progress.
The participants engaged with global issues by discussing, for instance, the scope
of human rights or the access to education and employment in times of economic
crisis in order to defend their findings in the European Parliament itself.
I hope the session served as inspiration for the participants, underlining the importance
of their involvement, and encouraged them to trust and believe that young
people can make a difference. It is not just empty words to say that the youth are
the future of Europe and the creativity of their findings, the sleepless nights and
heated debates in the European Parliament without doubt proved that Europe is
in safe hands.
Katia Solomides, Teacher at the International Session in Stockholm
The International Session in Stockholm last year was an extraordinarily pleasant
and unforgettable experience for both me and my students. We teachers were
given the chance to meet most interesting colleagues from all over Europe and
discuss our professional and life experiences as if we had known each other for
years. It was an amazing experience of unity in diversity in a variety of contexts
from attending lectures and workshops to a friendly dancing evening at colleague’s
home in Stockholm.
Our pupils were offered a unique opportunity to meet peers from the best schools
in Europe and exchange ideas on current matters of European politics that
concern them. All of us, pupils and teachers, went away with a firm belief in the
mission and noble objectives of EYP.
European Youth Parliament - Annual Report 2009 - www.eypej.org
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