The European Parliament Information Office in Romania has initiated a project called Promoters for European Democracy.
Civic involvement is a prerequisite for democracy and thus should be encouraged from a very early age, all the more so as statistics have revealed a contradictory trend among Europe's young people. The Eurobarometer carried out in April this year showed that across the European Union, 51% of young people aged between 16 and 30 believe that participation in the European elections is the most important way for them to get involved in civic life at European level. However, electoral behaviour points to a rift between action and words. Only 27.8% of Europe's young people took part in the elections for the European Parliament held in May 2014. The aforementioned Eurobarometer also reveals that 90% of Europe's youth on average believe it is important to learn about the European Union and its institutions. As regards Romania, an encouraging 89% of the respondents agree with this.
In light of this, the European Parliament Information Office in Romania has decided to meet young people's wish to learn and get involved through a project called Promoters for European Democracy. 2016 saw the second edition of this project, whereby 30 young people, including members of youth organisations, learn how to draft and implement projects to promote the common values of European Union's citizens. The project has received the support of a number of NGOs such as the ProDemocratia Association and the Group of the European Youth for Change.
Gabriel Berzoiu is the general manager of the latter and was involved in the training of the young promoters. This is what he had to say when the project came to an end:
"During our initial discussion about the obstacles they may encounter when trying to implement their ideas, many said the money was the main problem. Later, we held a creative brainstorming session on ways to eliminate obstacles and set up local partnerships with key institutions that might help us. Many have implemented their ideas using all the available resources or those they could get hold of. I am glad the project is very inclusive. We had promoters from both rural and small urban communities and could thus reach areas where information about Europe is hard to access and where people face so many problems that European information is low on their agenda."
After the initial selection, the young participants took part in an intensive workshop where they learned about the practical ways of implementing a project, and then they were requested to actually implement the respective project in their communities. The topics for this year were May 9, Europe Day, and a European Parliament simulation. After the implementation stage, the 30 young people were invited to the head office of the European Parliament in Brussels to see for themselves how the EU legislative body actually works.
At the end of the project, the 30 participants shared their opinions with the public during a press conference. Here is Maria-Madalina Ifrim, a member of the Association for Active Development in Bacau and a student of the Ferdinand I High School in this eastern Romanian city:
"Together with our teachers and our trainers, we decided to do a simulation of a European Parliament session in the amphitheatre of our college. Three classes took part, and we all learned a lot thanks to this simulation, from the legislative system to the way directives are endorsed and to the practical application of an idea."
Three democracy promoters from the neighbouring Republic of Moldova also learned how to get involved in the life of their community. One of them is Elena Prohnitchi, from the National Anti-Corruption Student Centre in Chisinau:
"There were very important moments during this event. It was a huge thing for me to see the enthusiasm of my colleagues from the very first meeting and to see them preserve this enthusiasm up until the end. This was great motivation for me. We were told from the very beginning about the risks of implementing our projects, and I discovered other risks as well, but we learned that we can get even various ministries in Chisinau involved. This is how we managed to organise two events, in two local high schools. The first event was a workshop, and it was a little more formal, while the second one, which was held outdoors, was more popular."
Learning to work as part of a team and overcoming the reluctance to working with the authorities were the main benefits that the project Promoters for European Democracy entailed for the participants. Furthermore, they learned to overcome certain personal limitations, and are ready to share their experience with those willing to take part in the project next year. Ionut-Iulian Rotaru, from the Human Rights and Migration Centre in Bucharest, has three pieces of advice for the new democracy promoters:
"Don't be afraid to make mistakes, don't be afraid to put together large projects applicable at a EU level, and try to get out of your comfort zone, because that's when really interesting things start to happen."
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