Youth in Europe – past, present & future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Youth in Europe – past, present & future

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The 28 Member States and their citizens are the heart of the European Union (EU). The unique feature of the EU is that all these states remain sovereign and independent, but bundle some of their sovereign powers in areas where cooperation is meaningful. This partial transfer of powers to institutions, which the Member States themselves have created, means in practice that decisions on specific issues of common interest can be taken democratically at European level (http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/com/).
The EU’s goals include promoting peace, European values and the well-being of its citizens; freedom, security and the rule of law without internal borders; halting social injustice and discrimination, respect for their rich cultural and linguistic diversity. All EU Member States share the values of the EU: they seek a society in which inclusion, tolerance, the rule of law, solidarity and non-discrimination are a matter of course. These values shape our European lifestyle: human dignity, freedom, democracy, gender equality, the rule of law and human rights (https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/eu-in-brief_en).
However, EU expert Pascal Fontaine, former assistant to Jean Monnet and a professor at the Institut d’Études Politiques, discusses in the edition of his booklet “Europe in 12 Lessons”, among others. following question: What has the EU already achieved for its citizens and what is its task today? In the age of globalization, can the EU successfully compete with other major economies while preserving its social standards? What role will Europe play on the world stage in the coming years? Where will the borders of the EU go? And what does the future of the Euro look like?
(Https://publications.europa.eu/de/publication-detail/-/publication/2d85274b-0093-4e38-896a-12518d629057).
At this point, the intension of this application takes up: “How important is Europe for young people?”, “What are the expectations of young people to future Europe?”, “What demands does future Europe place on young people in the future?”.
The schools involved in the application have been forming an international school network for many years, the Committee Europe (www.committee-europe.eu). This alliance is based on the idea of bringing together pupils from as many European countries as possible, for mutual cultural exchange, to eliminate prejudices and to convey the idea of European “citizenship”. This takes place annually in workshops at three different locations on specific topics, e.g. sports, music, art, politics, economics or science. The proposed project focuses on the “European idea”, i.g. the perspectives (cultural, social, economic) that Europe has for young people between the ages of 13 and 16.
The project is divided into two phases. Between 2020 and 2021, in parallel workshops with a total of 250 students, a vision of the “idea of a united Europe” will be discussed or drawn up. In the first phase (2020), historical, cultural, social or economic differences or aspects will be clarified and perspectives will be shown. The students will develop an age-appropriate electronic questionnaire, which is carried out at all participating schools (about 5000 students) in the respective national language. In the second phase (2021) this questionnaire will be evaluated by the students at workshops and the results prepared for a presentation at the participating schools. A presentation and joint statement for the European Union will be written in English.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 179154 Eur

Project Coordinator

KGS Großefehn & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Escola Gavina Cooperativa Valenciana
• Vestergårdsskolen
• Escuela 2 Cooperativa Valenciana
• Artland-Gymnasium Quakenbrück
• Friedrichgymnasium Altenburg