Fundació Catalunya Europa

WORLD EDUCATION DAY

On the occasion of World Education Day, celebrated this year under the theme 'Learning for a lasting peace' the Catalunya Europa Foundation and the European Commission Representation in Barcelona have presented a new edition of the awards and activities aimed at supporting the active involvement of young people in European democracy. The event took place in the Europe Classroom, the European Commission and the European Parliament Representation in the city.

Within the framework of the European elections to be held on June 9, Dolors Camats, director of the Catalunya Europa Foundation, said: "The next European elections do not respond to 'Europe yes' or 'Europe no', as on other occasions, but to what Europe we are going towards, whether we move forward or back". Camats also recalled that 70% of young people positively value being part of the EU, but, instead, they are among the collectives that participate least. He also highlighted as "with more knowledge about European politics and more awareness and democratic values, civic and electoral participation, also grows". It has therefore called for the participation of young people, especially those who will be able to vote for the first time and in countries such as Austria, Greece, Malta, Germany and Belgium, from the age of sixteen. "With the awards we want to encourage awareness and knowledge about Europe and European policies among young people. Let us make this call for them to be a real deterrent against right-wing extremist forces and help stop hate messages, xenophobia and exclusion," said Camats.

Els premis, organitzats per La Fundació Catalunya Europa des del 2021, they seek to promote that connection promovent l'estudi i interès cap a la Unió Europea i les seves polítiques als més joves i als centres educatius, through rewarding artistic activitats of photography, vídeo o altres llenguatges creatius, que presentin la idea d’Europa per part d’alumnes de secundària; de premiar els millors treballs de recerca de batxillerat sobre aquests temes o de reconèixer els treballs acadèmics universitaris de grau, màster o recerca, que tractin temes històrics o la vigència del pensament i obra de Pasqual Maragall.

The awards, organized by La Fundació Catalunya Europa since 2021, seek to promote this knowledge by promoting the study and interest towards the European Union and its policies to the youngest and educational centers, through the award of artistic photography activities, video or other creative languages, presenting the idea of Europe by secondary school students; awarding the best baccalaureate research work on these topics; or recognising undergraduate, master’s or research academic work, that deal with historical issues or the validity of the thought and work of Pasqual Maragall.

The young students will be able to present their work -both in Catalan, Spanish or English- before April 8, 2024, without limit of candidacies by school or students, in the following categories:

Award “Què és per a tu Europa?”, with the support of the Abacus Cooperative and the collaboration of the Department of Education of the Government of Catalonia, aims to bring ESO students and students closer to Europe through a creative and innovative activity that can be carried out in different artistic formats and expressions.
Award “Europa Jove”, organized jointly with the European Commission and with the collaboration of the Department of Education, is the first prize that distinguishes work of baccalaureate students on European topics with the aim of promoting knowledge, research and young people’s interest in the reality of the European Union.
Research Award “Llegat Pasqual Maragall”, organized in collaboration with the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya, which seeks to promote the thought and work of Pasqual Maragall.

The event ended with the intervention of Laura Rahola, Head of Communication of the European Commission Representation in Barcelona, to present the activities that they promote from the Commission to strengthen the knowledge of the European Union in schools and to fight disinformation. " As an institution and as a society, we have a duty to work to connect the realities of young people with European politics and build more European citizens," she said.

The Catalunya Europa Foundation and the European Commission are thus strengthening their commitment to promoting European awareness and the idea of bringing Europe closer to young people.