Most young Europeans support the European Unionand is aware of the membership of benefits. However, they do not always agree with its way of working. They want to influence her future and engage in the process of shaping her more and more. This is shown by examples from the school-ambassador educational programme of the European Parliament. Throughout the EU, 2 000 schools and 35 000 students participate in national or global initiatives. Reaching young people with in-depth cognition of the common values and initiatives of the EU institutions can be an crucial component in the fight against Eurosceptic movements in the associate States.
– The School-Ambassador of the European Parliament is simply a programme that has been operating for many years. It is 1 of the flagship programmes of the European Parliament aimed at bringing young people closer together, establishing dialogue, engaging them in what is happening in Parliament, informing them about European policies, and giving them a voice so that they can share their views, what they think, what they have plans, projects they want Parliament to take into account – explains Paulina Boveington-Fauran, manager of Resources at the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Communication, in an interview with Newseria Agency.
The European Parliament Ambassador School (EPAS) programme was designed to advance students' cognition of issues related to European parliamentary democracy, the function of the EP and European values. The network of Ambassador Schools covers about 2,000 certified facilities, 5,000 teachers and nearly 35 000 students from across the European Union.
– There are countries where more than 1/3 of schools participate in the program. We have very committed teachers who work to guarantee that thecurriculum of schools and countries is in line with our programme. In this way, we can enter schools and advance those values that we most care about, that is, bring young people closer to democracy, European and Community values – emphasizes Paulina Boveington-Fauran.
Schools participating in the EPAS elect teachers and students who become elder and junior ambassadors and implement the program. Pedagogies in lessons on European parliamentary democracy can benefit from teaching materials provided by the EP, including exercises, information or feature games. As part of the implementation of the EPAS, teachers and students prepare, inter alia, Europe Day and content celebrations for social networking sites or run EU information centres.
– all education is good, as long as it is honest and speaks of reality. The European Union, the European Parliament, the Commission is very keen to talk about the European institutions, what is happening in them and how crucial this is for Europeans. At the minute 80% of the government proposed by the European Union straight affects the lives of Poles and Poles. This is so essential and a fundamental question of how this education takes place – Says Anna Zalewski, associate of the European Parliament of Law and Justice.
The school-ambassador network is part of a larger community that works with the European Parliament mostly through the Together.eu platform. This is an EP initiative that has been created to affect as many people as possible in democratic life in Europe.
– The interest in the program is huge. At first I thought that this was mainly about teachers who wanted to introduce elements of the European discussion about Europe into their schools. With watching this program and watching schools and young people, I can see that they are the main component of this programme, they are the ones who are to keep us warm for further work, for discussion – emphasises Paulina Boveington-Fauran.
Last year's Eurobarometer, a survey by young Europeans, shows that 3 out of 5 respondents mostly advocate the EU, although their views on assessing the current way it works are divided. Many of them see the benefits their generation derives from membership. 1 in 5 young respondents is alternatively skeptical of the Union, but could change their head if the way the institutions operate changed. Only 6% argue the thought of the European Union as a whole. More than 40% of young people see the European Parliament positively, while the negative image is 16%.
– If individual tells them what the European Parliament looks like in an interesting way, they will be curious in it, they will want to come there. The school is designed to supply all knowledge. There is simply a lot about how we belong to the European Union in the programming framework. In addition, there are quite a few grants, projects that further grow this knowledge – this is Anna Zalewski.
Voting in local, national or European elections is the most common form of political and civilian participation among young people in the Union, with 39 percent of them indicating that they are doing so. Those who, in the last elections to the EP in 2024, did not go to the polls indicated, among others, insufficient information to make a choice (16%), the deficiency of a suitable candidate or political organization to represent their views (15%), and general distrust or discontent with politicians and policies (15%).
– From the word of office, attendance in the elections to the European Parliament is improving, but indeed the lowest, for all elections held in Poland. It is crucial for Poles, including young people, to realise that what is happening in the European Union affects their regular lives, their money, their dwellings, or, in fact, their deficiency of them, energy prices, what school they are operating in, what opportunities they will have in the future – lists Anna Zalewski.
– The awareness that there are specified rules leads, in turn, to the fact that, erstwhile all 5 years, we are consciously voting in the elections to the European Parliament, so that the Members and Members who prepare these provisions prepare, choose well and consciously – says Witold Naturski, Head of the European Parliament Office in Poland. – Raising cognition is surely a tool against misinformation. A well - informed man, who knows reliable sources, who can usage them, is little prone to disinformation from any side.
This is peculiarly crucial in the context of the ever-increasing trend in Euroscepticism in the associate States.
– We all see what is happening in Europe erstwhile we watch the elections in individual countries. We are afraid about the emergence in the popularity of extreme, right-wing parties, which is simply a threat to democracy, and I will not mention another element, specified as the war behind our east border, which is simply a immense threat. Here we want to talk about the future of these young people, who will gotta grow up in Europe and will gotta build them up like this – emphasises Paulina Boveington-Fauran.
Knowledge and education is simply a weapon in the fight against propaganda in the context of a flood of information from social platforms specified as TikTok.
– utmost transmissions are very attractive on TikTok and in 10–15 seconds you can truly do it in a very good way. Mainstream parties do not always manage to do the same, so there is most likely quite a few work to be done on our side. In this programme, we want to scope out with more in-depth knowledge, discuss facts, transfer knowledge, and so hopefully guarantee that democracy is becoming stronger in Europe – considers the manager for Resources at the Directorate-General for Communication of the European Parliament.
Thanks to the EPAS network, schools can participate in many events organised by the European Parliament, its contact offices and its organization partners. They besides have the chance to establish contacts with European, national and local actors as well as civilian society organisations. On 15 and 18 October this year in Warsaw, the EPAS conference was held, attended by 180 students from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and large Britain.
– The fascinating thing is that in Latvia, young people truly get active in the program, want to participate in it and look for fresh ideas – besides to find out how they can encourage others to act and share their ideas. Education in this area is crucial due to the fact that democracy can no longer be considered obvious. We all share the same values in the European Union. Our approaches may be different, but we're all in this together, we share the same future and it's crucial that young people can participate in the creation of the future. – says Anne Mette Vestergaard, Head of the European Parliament Office in Latvia.
– This is the 10th school year of the implementation of the EMAS programme in Lithuania. We already have 100 participating schools, a 4th of advanced schools in our country. We offer a variety of activities for teachers and students. We have seminars for teachers who are more than just lectures. We invitation teachers to the Democracy Festival, to the Documentary movie Festival, where we watch films and conduct debates on human rights, sex equality and another issues “Daiva Jakaitė, Head of the European Parliament Office in Lithuania, says. – We besides organize events to which we invitation students and supply them with very diverse information about the European Parliament and the European Union. Plus, quizzes, music competitions, roller skate competitions. These are actions aimed at young people to scope them with our message through different media.
– In Poland there is more interest than we can meet. At the moment, we have enlarged the number of schools from 50 to 85, while the plans are further – we want them in Poland 115 in the European Parliament's School-Ambassador programme – says Witold Naturski.
