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On January 19th and 20th, the Gym II students from SSB travelled to Strasbourg to visit the European parliament and participate in the Euroscola program, a program designed to bring students from many different countries together to learn more about the European Union and how the parliament works. The students had the chance to question European parliament members about issues concerning the EU, they voted on issues as parliamentary members do, and they discussed important issues concerning young people and the future of the European Union with other students from different European countries. Below are some of our students’ observations on their experience.
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“Euroscola is good in many different ways. We got the chance to get together and discuss our ideas and actually be heard at the same time. It’s a good opportunity to get to know people from other countries and maybe learn something from each other. I have become more interested in the EU and its organization because of this project.”
Andrea Forsman
“One of the questions everyone had to vote on was if we felt like Europeans and a part of the European Union. I voted no, as a majority around me also did. This is a big problem, which the EU is aware of. The inhabitants of it have too many national feelings for their own countries to see themselves as Europeans. I knew that this was a problem in Sweden, where the election of the Euro did not get through partly because of lack of commitment to the European Union. But this is surely a problem all over Europe. Euroscola is a way of fighting against this problem.”
Sofie Jorheden
“[During the Eurogame] Questionnaires were distributed and since the questions were written in different languages, we had to find foreign students to co-operate with and this was when we first experienced their lack of knowledge in the English language. This really increased my self-confidence and made me participate more than I had expected in the group discussions.”
Lena Eklof
“My group consisted of five Spanish students, three Italians and Lena and I from SSB. We had some communication problems because the Spanish students couldn’t speak any English. One Italian student tried to speak English and even though he didn’t speak that well, we understood each other and got a special connection. We tried to communicate with the Spanish students and after a while, we found some good solutions to discuss with the other groups. Languages are important although a lot of people think that they can manage in only English. It doesn’t matter if you speak English very well when the one you’re talking to doesn’t understand. I think that European students should have the possibility to learn as many languages as possible in school. I’d love to participate in the Euroscola again. I’ve learned a lot about Europe and how the Union works, but most importantly how other people my age view their Europe.”
Johanna Norrhede
“Euroscola is an opportunity for students to live the life of representatives, to work as they do, to get a wider perspective of the life in the parliament and hopefully some of the students will represent their country in the future.” Martin Asparusov
“The group in which I participated had the difficult task of coming up with ideas which would ensure the public’s participation in European politics. My fellow students from the SSB and I suggested mandatory voting. This idea, which is already applied in Belgium, was much supported by our Finnish counterparts but did not seem to kindle any interest in the Hispanic camp. However, democracy prevailed and the Spanish and Portuguese wave of hands was heavily outnumbered and the suggestion was finally brought forth by our Italian reporter in the great hemicycle.”
Ole Christian Bondesen
“During this trip I have learned how important it is that young people are informed about the EU. It is important because in the future the EU might have a greater impact on our country and our everyday life. One other thing I realized was that it is very important to create a European spirit to prevent war and other conflicts and also to create a strong and united Europe. This is important because today this is non-existent. The Strasbourg trip was a great experience and an excellent way for young people to get more involved in the European Union.”
Kajsa Undeman
“For those descending from odd and stubborn countries such as Norway, this was considered an amazing opportunity not only to participate in debates on the EU’s political issues, but also to observe the very core of the fantastic European Union. Hopefully, a day at the parliament would give the good impression needed to make us dedicated pro-EU’s.”
Jo Vederhus
“I learned the importance of co-operation between EU countries and creating a sense of involvement, that youths actually can get involved. It is especially important to educate students in language and in “EU knowledge” so that they have a chance to feel like an important part of the EU’s future. Without communication, that is not possible.”
Madeleine Palmstierna
“Some Spaniards in the group didn’t speak any English and no one else in the group, except me, spoke any Spanish. In that way, we didn’t have any common language we could use for the discussions, which maybe was a good thing in itself, because then we experienced the real work in the parliament, where everyone speaks different languages, except that we didn’t have professional translators.”
Niklas Hansen Gustafsson
“The Portuguese gave us a paper on their values , written in very advanced English, which no one understood. But they, themselves, ignored us and only spoke to one another. The girls from Greece constantly spoke in their own language, except for one time, when one of them said that she was totally against the entire European Union. The rest of us tried to discuss the topic, but it ended up with us from SSB speaking to the Danish guys about their program at school. I believe this was a living example of the future of Europe: one big geographic area where everybody is different, and often unwilling to change the situation, which leaves us communicating with our nearest neighbors. The language barriers will grow as ten new countries are standing at the entrance to the Union, which I believe will become a problem in the future.”
Louise Oscarius
“The set up was very well organized, considering the fact that over 600 students from 10 or 11 different nations were gathered in one big room. Security, however, could have been improved. I remember having trouble finding the bathroom, so I started wondering around the building. After a few minutes, I found myself in the office area of the building. There was no one there and the area seemed deserted. After a while, I found the bathroom and went back to the main room where the other students were sitting. If I was a lunatic or some anti-EU person, I could have demolished the office area without anyone finding out how or when the incident took place. Luckily, for the EU, I am a nice and upstanding student.”
Jon Martin Hognes