Youth and Europe Programme

Awareness-raising days about the European Affairs

Since 2002, EGMONT - Royal Institute for International Relations organises an awareness-raising programme about the European integration for 17-19 years old pupils (last year of secondary school). This entirely free-of-charge programme has been initiated by the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and welcomes students coming from whole Belgium.

Vision and aims

The European Union is often perceived among the youth as an unpleasing and complicated issue, without any link with their daily life. An ignorance of European realities is caused by a negative image of the EU (high costs, bureaucracy, heavy burdens of the widening, etc). In addition, facing a world considered to be increasingly complex, the citizen's expectations with respect to the EU are growing ever more, whether it is on social, economic, environmental or security matters.

Starting from this paradoxical report, it has been decided to organize so called "awareness-raising days" for the young citizens. The objective is to stimulate their interest for Europe and to provide them the tools so that, tomorrow, they can fully take part in the democratic life within the Union. In order to break the numerous a priori and to meet this need for objective information, EGMONT insists on the concrete achievements of the EU as well as on the benefits of European integration in simply and easy-understanding words.

At the Egmont Palace

These half-day sessions consist of two parts:

• a historical introduction of the EU with audiovisual display.
• a debate with a European MP or a Belgian senior official specialised in European affairs.

Programme in the Egmont Palace

A unique programme in Belgium

More than 40.000 students in the last 5 years have followed the course and have taken part in the debate. The number of participants is constantly increasing. At the end of the current school year, EGMONT will have accommodated more than 10.000 students, which corresponds to nearly 10 % of the school population of this age in Belgium.

Partners and support

• Support: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Is your school interested in attending these sessions?

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