What is Euroscola?

The European Union has a significant effect on the lives of all Europeans.  Young people in particular, confronted for example with difficult choices about careers, need information on how the European Union and its institutions will affect their future.

It was to reach out to these young people that the European Parliament launched the EUROSCOLA programme.  The aim of the programme is to bring together secondary school students from the 27 European Union countries and enable them to gain an insight into the workings of the European Parliament while learning about the lives, views and expectations of young people from other EU countries.

The European Parliament, Strasbourg

A group of about 600 students from all over the European Union is invited to spend a day in Strasbourg discussing together the effects that European integration will have on their future.  They do this in multilingual working groups, each of which comprises about 100 members.  The working party chooses a spokesperson to present the conclusions of its discussions to the participants assembled in 'plenary sitting' in the Chamber of the European Parliament at the end of the afternoon.  The participants then vote on these conclusions.  The majority of Euroscola days are for students aged 16-18 but a few days each year are set aside for the younger, 14-16 age group.

As working groups consist of students from several member states it is essential that participants have at least a basic knowledge of one of the other European Union languages.  The day is generally more successful when the students have prepared for the meeting and considered some of the themes in advance. At the end of the day, each participant receives a certificate of attendance signed by the President of the European Parliament.

The DOE Photo competition will provide one school the chance to take part in an environmental debate at the European Parliament but there are other opportunities for schools to get involved. For further details, teachers should contact:

Pamela Powers

UK Office of the European Parliament,

2 Queen Anne's Gate,

London SW1H 9AA.  

Telephone 020 7227 4300,

Fax 020 7227 4302.

E-mail: pamela.powers@europarl.europa.eu

Euroscola 2006