Civic involvement is a prerequisite for democracy and
\nthus should be encouraged from a very early age, all the more so as statistics
\nhave revealed a contradictory trend among Europe’s young people. The
\nEurobarometer carried out in April this year showed that across the European
\nUnion, 51% of young people aged between 16 and 30 believe that participation in
\nthe European elections is the most important way for them to get involved in
\ncivic life at European level. However, electoral behaviour points to a rift
\nbetween action and words. Only 27.8% of Europe’s young people took part in the
\nelections for the European Parliament held in May 2014. The aforementioned
\nEurobarometer also reveals that 90% of Europe’s youth on average believe it is
\nimportant to learn about the European Union and its institutions. As regards
\nRomania, an encouraging 89% of the respondents agree with this. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In light of this, the European Parliament Information
\nOffice in Romania has decided to meet young people’s wish to learn and get
\ninvolved through a project called Promoters for European Democracy. 2016 saw
\nthe second edition of this project, whereby 30 young people, including members
\nof youth organisations, learn how to draft and implement projects to promote
\nthe common values of European Union’s citizens. The project has received the
\nsupport of a number of NGOs such as the ProDemocratia Association and the Group
\nof the European Youth for Change. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gabriel
\nBerzoiu is the general manager of the latter and was involved in the training
\nof the young promoters. This is what he had to say when the project came to an
\nend:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
During
\nour initial discussion about the obstacles they may encounter when trying to
\nimplement their ideas, many said the money was the main problem. Later, we held
\na creative brainstorming session on ways to eliminate obstacles and set up
\nlocal partnerships with key institutions that might help us. Many have
\nimplemented their ideas using all the available resources or those they could
\nget hold of. I am glad the project is very inclusive. We had promoters from
\nboth rural and small urban communities and could thus reach areas where
\ninformation about Europe is hard to access and where people face so many
\nproblems that European information is low on their agenda.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
After the initial selection, the young participants
\ntook part in an intensive workshop where they learned about the practical ways
\nof implementing a project, and then they were requested to actually implement
\nthe respective project in their communities. The topics for this year were May
\n9, Europe Day, and a European Parliament simulation. After the implementation
\nstage, the 30 young people were invited to the head office of the European
\nParliament in Brussels to see for themselves how the EU legislative body
\nactually works. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
At the end of the project, the 30 participants shared
\ntheir opinions with the public during a press conference. Here is
\nMaria-Madalina Ifrim, a member of the Association for Active Development in
\nBacau and a student of the Ferdinand I High School in this eastern Romanian
\ncity:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Together with our teachers and our trainers, we
\ndecided to do a simulation of a European Parliament session in the amphitheatre
\nof our college. Three classes took part, and we all learned a lot thanks to
\nthis simulation, from the legislative system to the way directives are endorsed
\nand to the practical application of an idea.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Three democracy promoters from the neighbouring
\nRepublic of Moldova also learned how to get involved in the life of their
\ncommunity. One of them is Elena Prohnitchi, from the National Anti-Corruption
\nStudent Centre in Chisinau:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
There were very important moments during this event.
\nIt was a huge thing for me to see the enthusiasm of my colleagues from the very
\nfirst meeting and to see them preserve this enthusiasm up until the end. This
\nwas great motivation for me. We were told from the very beginning about the
\nrisks of implementing our projects, and I discovered other risks as well, but
\nwe learned that we can get even various ministries in Chisinau involved. This
\nis how we managed to organise two events, in two local high schools. The first
\nevent was a workshop, and it was a little more formal, while the second one,
\nwhich was held outdoors, was more popular.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Learning to work as part of a team and overcoming the
\nreluctance to working with the authorities were the main benefits that the
\nproject Promoters for European Democracy entailed for the participants.
\nFurthermore, they learned to overcome certain personal limitations, and are
\nready to share their experience with those willing to take part in the project
\nnext year. Ionut-Iulian Rotaru, from the Human Rights and Migration Centre in
\nBucharest, has three pieces of advice for the new democracy promoters:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, don’t be afraid to
\nput together large projects applicable at a EU level, and try to get out of
\nyour comfort zone, because that’s when really interesting things start to
\nhappen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The European Parliament Information Office in Romania has initiated a project called Promoters for European Democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":142076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43580],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-142075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-promoters-for-european-democracy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n