The European Youth Parliament's sessions are

characterised by their questionable jellyfish

games, songs about a moose drinking juice

and more caffeine than is healthy for the

individual, but first and foremost they are

opportunities for learning about active

citizenship. In accordance with the session

theme "Education and Employment

Activating Young European Citizens",

I wanted to find out how delegates have

stepped outside the beaten path of

teacher-led lectures and copying lesson

presentations at school, during their

committee work of JYRS17.

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Apart from learning to discuss political matters in English, there is also the challenge of making sense of all the specific political jargon. "I learnt a lot of vocabulary used in political terms," says Deborah Bedilu from AFET, "and understood that you really have to know how to phrase your words when dealing with foreign affairs." It is the vocabulary and choice of words that help make communication effective, and with this we can have more in-depth discussions that help our understanding of the topics.

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Comparing the learning styles at school and at the session, Yannika Rönnqvist from ECON says that committee work is more interactive: "We have to come up with things ourselves, google it, read the preparation kit and discuss our topic, and in this way the information stays in your head more than when reading about it without any interactions."   

In addition, the detailed discussions have helped delegates understand topics rarely talked about in school. Tuija Keränen from CULT has been discussing the education of non-national children. "We don't talk about those things at school," says Tuija, "and now my eyes have opened because it really is a problem as they won't be able to integrate properly." The eye-opening understanding of current events is indeed what EYP aims for: to help youngsters expand their knowledge of the society we live in.

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Merja Flink who has talked about gender stereotypes during the committee work of FEMM says, "Gender equality is an important thing and stereotypes should be talked about more, because they inflict everybody's lives." She also adds that they can cause you to hurt other's feelings by making assumptions even if you are not aware of it. Despite the more recent concerns about gender inequality, there remains a lack of more detailed conversation around the topic in everyday life; as with many other topics, it should be part of classroom discussions more often.

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The interactive discussions have also helped clear up various misunderstandings about the European Union, because while politics is still talked about in schools to a certain degree, there remain many points clouded in biased media coverage and exaggerated opinions. Deborah, Yannika, Tuija and Merja all agree that people should get a better understanding of how the EU works.  

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"It's important because generally, where the world is going right now, we tend to focus more on the things that are constantly in the news," says Deborah, "but we also have this underlining of problems that we never deal with because we're too busy with all the circus in the media. So, it's important that people know what is going on in the EU and what the actual problems are."

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Amidst all the interactive discussions about politics and human rights, delegates have learnt to look at things from new perspectives and using new vocabulary words, while also going into detail on controversial topics to find their own solutions. They have not been assigned a textbook to read from, but with the help of flipcharts, a plethora of post-it notes and constructive cooperation, they have taken a step to become more active young European citizens. The road of our future leaders and decision-makers of Europe starts with a step outside the beaten path.  

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Marylyn Rosenqvist

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