Abstract

“When I turn 18, I’ll be able to vote for whoever I want to be the mayor of my town. Will I vote in the European Parliament elections? Well, I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. What are these elections for?” These phrases could have been said by many people of my generation.

The European Union is complex, it feels distant, and we don’t have it very present in our daily lives. But that doesn’t mean we should turn our backs on it. My project focuses on young people and how to help them get to know and take more interest in what happens in Brussels.

In the theoretical part, I explain the history of the European Union, its institutions, and I complement it with a list of all the initiatives the EU promotes for young people. The practical part of the project is finally materialized in the creation of a small booklet containing 33 activities designed to promote knowledge of the European Union among students of different ages.

The idea of creating the booklet arose after, in the first part of the practical section of the project —a survey of nearly 300 people with basic questions about the Union and an analysis of participation in the European Parliament elections— I observed the growing lack of knowledge and interest in what happens in the EU.

Finally, the appendices include ten interviews with politicians, journalists, EU staff, and others, which helped me to complement my research.