 |
Do you
speak European?
Schools from West Sussex, Somerset, Hampshire
and the Isle of Wight took part in a competition
held on Thursday 15 November 2007 |
“Europe affects
our lives and our futures in a really positive way,” enthused one
participant in the finals of the inter schools competition held in Chichester on 15
November.
Said another, “Not all is good in Europe, but it brings people
together.” |
The competition entitled Do you
speak European – What does Europe mean to you? was organised by West
Sussex County Council’s Europe Office in conjunction with the county’s Youth
Cabinet. Schools taking part were from West Sussex, Somerset, Hampshire and the Isle of
Wight.
Competitors were free to choose any medium of expression, music, dance, video, discussion
to convey their ideas. The winners were St Dunstan’s Community School from Somerset
who in a conversation between five sixth formers discussed what the EU means for young
people. Their crackling dialogue ranged from the Erasmus programme, mobile phones, cheap
airlines, and food labelling to the EU-supported Eden project.
Runners up were Farnborough College, Hampshire, whose team of three gave a most
authoritative presentation on the case for the euro. Third placed QE11 Special School from
Horsham used mime and music to convey characteristics of several member states.
The event was staged in the council chamber with European Youth Ambassador David Clarke as
master of ceremonies. The Chairman of the judges was, appropriately, Chairman
of the Council, Councillor Margaret Johnson. Other members of the panel were County
Councillor Brad Watson, Richard Ashworth MEP (South East Region), Ian Hughes, Local
Government Association, Judith Schilling of the European Commission and Makis Galiatsatos,
from the London office of the European Parliament. Presenter of the prizes was Stephen
Quigley, member of the European Movement’s National Council and the Sussex Branch.
The winning prize was a two-day visit to Brussels and a cup awarded by the European
Parliament.
A similar competition is to be rolled out across Europe under the auspices of the
Committee of the Regions, with the finals to take place in Brussels in November 2008.
Richard Ashworth MEP presented the cup donated by
the European Parliament London Office
to St Dunstan's School sixth-formers, winners of the "Do you speak
European" competition.
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