The 2015 edition of our Secondary Schools Writing Competition gathered students from 12 schools from Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Scotland and Slovakia.
In addition to a quiz that tested their knowledge of the EU, the students had to write an essay on one of the following topics:
- Today 1.2 billion people worldwide still live in extreme poverty with an income of less than EUR1.25 per day and 870 million people, nearly 15% of the global population, are hungry. As a member of a Committee of the Regions, what actions would you propose the European Union should undertake in order to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in local communities within developing countries?
- The European Union needs to improve the connectivity and communication between the EU Institutions and citizens. What suggestions would you have in making these improvements and how would you implement these in practice?
25 students with the best results in both stages, 12 teachers/parents and 8 journalists participated in a three-day study trip to Brussels between the 7th and 9th of July 2015. They met with the Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, Markku Markkula, President of the CoR, as well as members of the EA group in the Committee of the Regions to whom they presented their schools and regions. As part of their trip, the students also visited the European Parliament’s Parlamentarium and enjoyed a bus tour of Brussels.
Participating schools:
- Sillamäe Gümnaasium (Sillamäe, Estonia)
- Tabasalu Ühisgümnaasium (Tabasalu, Estonia)
- St Joseph’s Cbs (Nenagh, Ireland)
- Mohill Community College (Mohill, Ireland)
- Liceo Linguistico di Courmayeur (Courmayeur, Italy)
- Pagėgiai Algimantas Mackus gymnasium (Pagėgiai, Lithuania)
- Paistrys Juozas Zikaras gymnasium (Paistrys, Lithuania)
- Gimnazjum nr 5 (Gdynia, Poland)
- Zespół Szkół nr 1 (Opole Lubelskie, Poland)
- Colegiul Naţional „Constantin Carabella” (Târgovişte, Romania)
- Barrhead High School (Barrhead, Scotland)
- Stredná odborná škola pedagogická (Levoča, Slovakia)