think europe

This blog has moved

2011-12-09T14:23:00.002+01:00

Due to aesthetic and technical considerations we have moved this blog to wordpress. the new URl: http://thinkeu21.wordpress.com

Wir ziehen mit unserem Blog zu Wordpress um. Gründe sind ästhetischer und technischer natur. Die neue Adresse lautet: h ttp://thinkeu21.wordpress.com

"think europe"-Projekt als Good Practice durch BpB ausgezeichnet!

2011-12-06T14:33:00.001+01:00

Good Practise -
Beispielhafte Bildungsarbeit
Europäische Jugendbildung "think europe"

Die europäische Jugendbildung "think europe" im Europa-Haus Marienberg ist vor rund 12 Monaten intensiv und nachhaltig in die Implementierung der Social Media in die außerschulische europäische Jugendbildung gestartet. Im Rahmen einer Sonderförderung zum Themenkomplex "Social Media" durch die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (BpB), konnte das Team um Karsten Lucke und Anselm Sellen, ein Initiativprojekt im Herbst/Winter 2010 auf die Beine stellen.

Das Projekt war eine multinationale Jugendbegegnung, die sich eine Woche intensiv mit der aktiven Nutzung von Social Media in der Bildungsarbeit auseinandergesetzt hat. Dabei wurde der Ansatz verfolgt, viel selbst auszuprobieren und nicht nur theoretisch über verschiedene Tools zu sprechen. Hierbei wurden sehr viele Grundlagenerfahrungen gemacht, die Erfolge, aber auch Mißerfolge beinhalteten. Von diesem Punkt aus wurde die aktive Nutzung der Social Media in der Jugendbildung hin zu einer vernetzten digitalen Lernkultur weiterentwickelt. Auch heute noch werden immer weitere Details ausgearbeitet und fortgeschrieben.

Das erste Projekt hatte damals nicht nur das große Glück, mittels der Sonderförderung der BpB realisiert werden zu können, sondern ist nun auch als "Good Practice - Beispielhafte Bildungsarbeit" durch die Bundeszentrale ausgezeichnet und gewürdigt worden. Für das kleine Team der europäischen Jugendbildung ist dies Anerkennung und Motivation gleichermaßen.

Das ausführliche Programm der Good Practise-Veranstaltung sowie den detaillierten Bericht finden Sie auf der Homepage der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung unter dem Reiter "Partner" in der Rubrik "Beispiele guter Praxis aus der Trägerarbeit" versehen mit dem Titel "Europäisches Social-Networking - (a)live und digital".

Beide Dokumente (Programm und Bericht) stehen Ihnen auch separat als PDFs hier zur Verfügung:
"Bericht & Programm - Good Practice Auszeichnung durch BPB".

Das Europa-Haus Marienberg wird diese Bildungsinhalte weiter ausbauen, so dass junge Menschen eine ansprechende, interessante und nachhaltige Möglichkeit haben, sich via digitalen Methoden inhaltlich weiterzubilden. Die Konzeption für Multiplikatoren/innen (Lehrer/innen) hat einen ersten Testlauf sehr erfolgreich absolviert und soll noch 2012 institutionalisiert und angeboten werden. Sprechen Sie uns gerne bereits heute darauf an!

Ein Medienexperiment - Das nächste Online-Redakteursseminar im Mai 2012

2011-12-01T17:24:00.005+01:00

SHOUT IT OUT LOUD! Wir laden (Online-) Redakteure herzlich zu unserem nächsten internationalen Redakteursseminar ein. In dem Zeitraum vom 30.04 – 05.05.2012 werden wir zusammen ein Medienexperiment aus dem virtuellen Boden stampfen, dass weltweit Verbreitung finden wird.

Die internationalen Teilnehmer/innen erarbeiten während des Seminars eine gemeinsame Online-Aktion zu verschiedensten Themen. Während der Seminartage wird sich diese Aktion im Internet verbreiten. Die Teilnehmer/innen arbeiten vor Ort in Teams zusammen, um das Projekt zu aufzubauen, zu steuern und zu beobachten. Sie nutzen ihre persönlichen Vernetzungen, um Impulse an Freunde und Freundesfreunde weiterzugeben. Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Google+, Flickr und Blogger sind nur einige der Arbeitsmittel für dieses europäische Medienexperiment. Auf einer eigenen Webseite wird das Projekt dokumentiert. Hier wird die Verbreitung innerhalb Europas – oder darüber hinaus - auf einer Karte sichtbar gemacht. Referenzen auf anderen Plattformen werden hier dargestellt und untereinander vernetzt. Die Jugend Europas hat etwas zu sagen und alle sollen es hören!

Eingeladen sind ca. 100 Jugendliche ab 15 Jahren aus Polen, Tschechien, Slowenien, Ungarn, Frankreich und Deutschland. Die Kosten für das Seminar-Komplettpaket betragen 102,00 € pro Teilnehmer/in (Unterkunft, Vollpension und Seminarprogramm). Fahrtkosten werden Anteilig erstattet (die genauen Angaben können Sie dem Programm entnehmen). Programm und Anmeldeschein haben wir auch Online hinterlegt. Die Dokumente finden Sie HIER.

Wir würden uns freuen, Ihre Redaktion oder interessierte Schüler/innen Ihrer Schule zu dem Projekt begrüßen zu dürfen. Anmeldeschluss ist der 29.02.2012. Für Rückfragen stehen wir Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung (02661-640 444 oder per Mail / Twitter / Facebook etc.)

Early GPS-Christmas for think europe!

2011-12-01T17:15:00.000+01:00

Christmas has already started for "think europe". The Ministry of Education, Science, Training and Culture of Rhineland-Palatinate sponsored us with 20 brand new eTrex 10 GPS units. Thank you so much! This is going to rock education in even more ways!
We are planning to include them as soon as possible. We are right now developing new qraching, deaddrop and educaching routes with different gadgets and creative tasks. A week from now the German-Netherland seminar will profit from that already - at least that is the plan in case we have the weather on our side. If you guys have any more additional ideas of how we can put these babys to work - tell us. We are happy and grateful for every idea.
Also: These GPS units are available for other organisations to borrow them. So if you are interested just talk to us and we'll mail as many as you need (provided you do not need more than 20 ;-))

2011-11-10T13:13:00.000+01:00

This popplet was a "live-recording" of a session on European history during a EU-Seminar. This slide is a grafic documentation of what the students came up with.

Europa: Vertiefung & Integration

View more presentations from Europa-Haus Marienberg.

Berichterstattung über Europajugendbegegnung zu EU-Erweiterung und Social Media

2011-11-09T12:55:00.002+01:00

Die europäische Jugendbegegnung von @thinkeurope "EuropeXL" zu den zentralen Themen "EU-Erweiterung" und "Social Media" haben auch außerhalb des Seminars großen Zuspruch gefunden. Das im Seminar entstandene Blog

http://europexl.wordpress.com hat große Zugriffszahlen und auch die Presse und Partner berichten über das Projekt.

Schaut auf den Blog und hier noch eine Berichterstattung aus der weiten Welt der Presse sowie eine Dokumentation auf der Homepage vom ijab:

Zum Lesen bitte hier klicken!

Zum Lesen bitte hier klicken!

Der Netzofant kommt!

2011-11-03T17:10:00.001+01:00

Unser Blick über den eigenen Bildungstellerrand geht heute nach Köln und richtet sich auf das "Netzofant" Projekt.

Der Netzofant möchte Kindern im Grundschulalter, ihren Eltern und Lehrern Wissen rund um das Thema „Umgang und Sicherheit im Internet“ vermitteln. Zu diesem Zweck der Netzofant ins Leben gerufen. Der Netzofant ist ein soziales Projekt und wurde von einem Team der Firmen neolog consulting und result gmbh ins Leben gerufen. Als Kölner Unternehmen unterstützr der Netzofant vorrangig Schulen im Raum Nordrhein-Westfalen. Das Ziel: Medienerziehung soll ein fester Bestandteil in den Lehrplänen der Grundschulen werden.

Wann geht es los?

Der Netzofant startet Mitte November an der Gemeinschaftsgrundschule Kürten-Olpe. Dort wird der Netzofant mit einer dritten Klasse in zehn Doppelstunden die wichtigsten Regeln im Umgang mit dem Internet erarbeiten. Vorab gibt es noch einen Informationsabend für die Eltern. Doch damit nicht genug: Damit der Besuch an der Gemeinschaftsgrundschule keine Eintagsfliege bleibt, will weitere Schulen für das Gesamtprojekt begeistern und auch dort vorbeischauen.

European Youth gathering #europeanvoid - A day without Europe

2011-10-25T14:01:00.000+02:00

Right now almost 60 young Europeans from seven countries (Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, Spain and Germany) are realizing a European youth gathering at the Europe House Marienberg. The main topic is "European void - A day without Europe".

The participants do a lot of intercultural learning and tackle the European Union. They ask (via theatre plays) what reality would be without the EU. Thus discussing the benefits and advantages as well as disadvantages of our Europe. They also question local citizens of Bad Marienberg about Europe to get an impression what they think and what is problematic for them. In the next days the ywill meet officials from the European Commission, wtach the House of History and have teh kick-off to the great European workshops.

You can follow, alsmost live, what is happening at this gathering via http://europeanvoid.wordpress.com
You can also follow the hashtag #europeanvoid on Twitter to stay informed.

All reslults, impressions, photos, videaos and even the daily evaluation are available online. Feel free to join the discussion and comment on the blog or specific posts.

Europäisches Jugendprojekt gestaltet Blog zur EU-Erweiterung

2011-09-29T09:52:00.002+02:00

Nun sind die ersten Tage vergangen nachdem rund 60 junge Europäer/innen aus fünf Ländern wieder aus dem Europa-Haus Marienberg abgereist sind. Die Jugendlichen aus Frankreich, Polen, der Tschechischen Republik, der Slowakei und Deutschland trafen sich für eine Woche, um gemeinsam interkulturell und europäisch zu lernen. Der inhaltliche Schwerpunkt war der große Themenkomplex der EU-Erweiterung. Besonders wichtig war die methodische Herangehensweise, denn neben dem persönlichen Kontakt, war es erklärtes Ziel ein Blog am Seminarende zu haben, der das gesamte Projekt dokumentiert, um auch andere Menschen an dieser Bildungsveranstaltung partizipieren zu lassen.

Grundlage des Projektes war das politische Netzwerk zwischen den Regionen Rheinland-Pfalz, Oppeln, Mittelböhmen und Burgund, bekannt als 4er Netzwerk der Regionalpartner sowie der Region Tatry aus der Slowakei. Das Projekt konnte mit Unterstützung der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung wie auch dem Bildungsministerium aus Rheinland-Pfalz realisiert werden.

Expertengespräche, interkulturelles Lernen, Exkursion, internationale Workshops, Geocaching mit deaddrops, Sprachanimationen, digitale Bildung, Energizer uncd vieles mehr stand auf dem Programm, das in großen Zügen durch die jungen Menschen selbst gestaltet und umgesetzt wurde.

Wer sich ein umfassenderes Bild machen möchte, kann alles auf dem Blog sehen, den die Seminargruppe erstellt hat: http://europexl.wordpress.com

Viel Spaß beim Lesen und Stöbern!

Streetart Project during the "Blog On" seminar

2011-09-23T14:14:00.000+02:00

Commissioner Stefan Füle sent a video message to our seminar!

2011-09-23T10:38:00.001+02:00

To our "Blog On" online Project (funded by the federal agency for civic education) Stefan Füle - EU Commissioner for Enlargement) sent a video messag to encourage the seminars efforts and our eParticipation strategies in and via the social web.

To the seminar and its results we have dedicated a whole blog - click here to visit the blog!

Blog-Projekt mit europäischem Jugendseminar

2011-09-20T08:39:00.000+02:00

Zur Zeit treffen sich im Europa-Haus Marienberg 60 Jugendliche aus fünf europäischen Staaten (Frankreich, Slowakei, Tschechien, Polen und Deutschland), um gemeinsam über europäische Themen nachzudenken und Online-Partizipationsstrategien zu entwickeln.Für die meisten Jugendlichen ist dieses Proejkt die erste tiefere Auseinandersetzung mit dem Social Web und der Europäischen Union.

Das Projekt will erreichen...

dass sich die inhaltliche Arbeit der Teilnehmer/innen direkt im Internet abbildet und von Innen und Außen kommentiert werden kann.
dass die Vernetzung von Inhalten dazu führen soll, neue Blickwinkel auf Thematiken zu entdecken.
dass sich die eigene Arbeit der Kritik aus dem weltweiten Netz stellen muss.
dass sich das Seminar zu einer aktiven Community entwickeln soll.
dass das Seminar in der Öffentlichkeit transparent präsentiert und dokumentiert werden soll.

Die Kommunikation des Seminars findet über folgenden Blog statt:

http://europexl.wordpress.com

Hier ein paar erste Eindrücke vom Deaddrop Caching gestern:

Europa-Haus Marienberg aktiv im deutsch-polnischen Austausch - jetzt mit Nominierung!

2011-09-08T14:30:00.000+02:00

In diesem Jahr feiert das Deutsch-Polnische Jugendwerk sein 20jähriges Bestehen. Im Rahmen der Feierlichkeiten wurde auch das Projekt "Guter Nachbar" initiiert.

Die Auszeichnung "Guter Nachbar" wurde im Herbst 2010 anlässlich des 20-jährigen Bestehens des Deutsch-Polnischen Jugendwerks im folgenden Jahr ausgeschrieben. Bis Ende Januar 2011 wurden mehr als 700 engagierte Personen und Partnerschaften im deutsch-polnischen Jugendaustausch für die Auszeichnung vorgeschlagen.

Zu den Nominierten gehört auch ein deutsch-polnischer Austausch, der unter aktiver Mithilfe und Unterstützung durch die europäische Jugendbildung "think europe" des Europa-Hauses Marienberg initiiert und realisiert werden konnte. Die beiden Gruppen vom Göttenbach-Gymnasium Idar-Oberstein und dem

Gimnazjum nr 16 im Króla Stefana Batorego w Krakowie erlebete eine lebendige und aktive deutsch-polnische Jugendbegegung im Dezember 2010 im Europa-Haus Marienberg.

Für den Dezember 2011 bzw. das Frühjahr 2012 gibt es Planungen für einen Gegenbesuch der deutsche Gruppe in Krakau. Karsten Lucke, Studienleiter des EHM, soll auch dieses Projekt wieder betreuen und die deutsche Delegation nach Krakau begeleiten.

Das Europa-Haus Marienberg setzt sein erfolgreiches Engagement im Bereich der deutsch-polnischen Jugendbildung fort. Auch im nächsten Jahr wird wieder mit vielen vertrauten und auch neuen Partnern ein aktiver Beitrag im deutsch-polnischen Austausch geleistet. Dazu zählen neben der lebendigen Begegnung zwischen Polen und Deutschen vor allen Dingen der Aspekt des interkulturellen Lernens sowie der Sensibilisierung für die europäische Dimension. Deutsch-polnische Themen stehen ohnehin im methodenreichen Fokus der Arbeit.

Sehen Sie die Urkunde über die Nominierung zum "Guten Nachbarn" durch das DPJW hier:

Impulse youth gathering 2012 ”Social e://UROPE: Digital transformation of European Citizenship”

2011-09-06T14:14:00.000+02:00

After we have been asked frequently over the last few weeks: We have now set up the new Impulse Programme for next years international youth gathering (17th - 23rd of June 2012): Title and Topic:

”Social e://UROPE: Digital transformation of European Citizenship”

Find the Programme and the registration form here

Voices from this year: 1 / 2 / 3

Further Programme information:

The emergence of Web 2.0 has driven the excitement about web-based applications that are characterized by interactivity, collaboration and information sharing. Moreover, these applications enable Internet users to produce and publish so-called user-generated content with great ease. Users have become producers‘, which means that they simultaneously consume and produce information. Web 2.0 platforms which facilitate the production and dissemination of information have been growing tremendously over the past few years. They allow for the involvement in participatory cultures to share individual expressions or creations. Furthermore, people with similar interests and goals are enabled to connect with each other on blogs, social networking sites, video- photo- and music aggregators, social bookmarking sites and collaborative platforms, such as wikis.

The Web 2.0 ideology is characterized by certain promises, such as increased democracy, openness, the end of hierarchies, the power of many, free services, the rise of the professional amateur, and a rich and convenient user experience. Several concepts are often used by enthusiasts to promote these ideas, including folksonomy, wisdom of the crowds, crowdsourcing, remix culture, and produsage-based journalism.

However, instead of merely highlighting positive implications, this youth gathering is concerned with critically engaging the cultural, economic and political dimensions of the Web 2.0. The realm of social media is an emergent political field that is here to stay, given the continuous development and expansion of social media platforms. This has enormous implications for the millions of individuals who use social network sites. Although social media enable users to interact in new, enjoyable and useful ways, they are also criticized for their privacy issues, constraints of their software, and the exploitation of user generated content. Together with young Europeans we are going to learn from and with each other how to make our voices heard within a Europe of diversity. The challenges European citizens are facing right now are manifold. High unemployment rates among the young generations, a financial crisis that has not yet reached its peak, the implications of globalization on Europe, migration, racism etc. – the list could be continued endlessly.

The transformation of European society is imminent and we want to be part of that process. Together we will start shaping European citizenship and European identity. It is up to us to develop not only the ideas to overcome European obstacles, it is also important to know how to amplify the voices to get the messages across. Therefore we will document all our different ideas and approaches on a seminar-blog that will gain attention and spread our achievements. We will explore various ways to multiply the idea of European citizenship and join public discourse. In the long-range we aim at providing all participants with a deeper knowledge about social communication and participation strategies – a mixture of a deepening European awareness and a Blog ( plus an API toolbox) to spread the message sustainably are the two main objectives of this seminar.

Wir suchen neue Teamer für die europäische Jugendbildung! Bewirb Dich!

2011-08-15T14:45:00.005+02:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

Oberstufen-Sonderprojekt "Iran" 2011

2011-08-10T12:03:00.004+02:00

Projektbeschreibung

Der Iran ist einer der herausragenden Konflikherde der internationalen Politik im 21. Jahrhundert. Seit dem Sturz des Schahs 1979 hat der Iran elementare politische und sozio-kulturelle Prozesse durchlaufen. Am Beispiel des Iran manifestiert sich das Dilemma einer ganzen Region. Die Situation des Iran präsentiert sich heute derart vielschichtig, dass es unumgänglich ist, sich intensiv mit diesen Themenspektren auseinanderzusetzen, um einen qualifizierten und aktiven Einstieg in die Debatte zu ermöglichen.

Mit dem Oberstufen-Sonderprojekt wird Schüler/innen die einmalige Möglichkeit geboten, sich fünf Tage mit der multidimensionalen Problemstruktur des Konfliktherdes Iran zu beschäftigen. Zusammen mit der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung hat das Europa-Haus Marienberg ein Programm entwickelt, das die verschiedenen Facetten thematisiert und mit Hilfe moderner außerschulischer Methodik erfahrbar macht.

Für weitere Informationen den QR-Code nutzen oder direkt über den Link zum Programm und zum Anmeldeformular.

New think europe Flyer

2011-08-05T11:09:00.001+02:00

While everybody else is on vacation we have put some effort into creating the new think europe Flyer, i.e. we have put the media design company "Kleinlaut"to work. And once again they have done a very nice job, which we are now publishing. Follow-up Project will be a think europe Trailer video, which will hopefully be released at the beginning of 2012. You will learn about it as soon as we have it ready.

2011-07-27T10:17:00.000+02:00

"Für Mittwoch, den 27.7.2011 ab 16.00 Uhr laden wir auf pb21.de zum nächsten Webtalk. Es wird um die praktische Arbeit mit dem Internet im Rahmen von Seminaren und Workshops gehen. Die Frage lautet: “Inwieweit lassen wir Teilnehmende in der Bildungsarbeit selber (schlechte) Erfahrungen online machen – und wo liegen die Grenzen?”

Zum Erfahrungsaustausch werden dabei sein:

Michaela Rüffert, Gemeindeverwaltung Ginsburg-Gustavsburg
Anselm Sellen, Europa-Haus Marienberg
Guido Brombach, DGB Bildungswerk
Jöran Muuß-Merholz, pb21.de (Moderation)
und hoffentlich auch Sie?

Wie immer gilt: Sie brauchen weder Vorkenntnisse noch spezielle Software oder Hardware. Sie sehen die Sprecher via Video. Aber die weiteren Teilnehmenden benötigen keine Kamera, sondern können sich auf Wunsch via Textchat einbringen.

Sie können uns Fragen für den Webtalk oder eigene Meinungen und Erfahrungen auch vorab über die Kommentarfunktion senden."

Das Doku-Video zum "Deaddrop Caching" im Mai 2011

2011-07-18T13:14:00.009+02:00

Digitale Schnitzeljagd und Flashmob from .mbr on Vimeo.

Am 4. Mai 2011 hatte das Institut für Kunst & Kunsttheorie Besuch von 80 Schülerzeitungsredakteuren aus ganz Europa. Die 15 bis 17-jährigen Gäste waren Teilnehmer des Internationalen Seminars im Europahaus Marienberg. Der Exkursionstag im Rahmen dieses Seminars führte, das hatten Anselm Sellen (Europahaus) und Prof. Torsten Meyer (Uni Köln) so verabredet (herzlichen Dank nochmal an @jmm_hamburg für die Verkupplung!), nach Köln. Dort hatten knapp 20 Studierende im Rahmen des Seminars social media und participatory cultures in der Kunstpädagogik eine Schnitzeljagd ganz besonderer Art vorbereitet. Die Studierenden versteckten ein paar USB-Sticks in den Mauern der Kölner City und schufen so eine Reihe von DeadDrops als Teil des weltweit wirkenden Projekts des Berliner Medienkünstlers Aram Barthol. Diese “Toten Briefkästen” enthielten digitale Informationen über die Route und kleine Aufgaben, die auf dem Weg durch die Stadt zu erledigen waren. Die digitale Schnitzeljagd endete schließlich in einem Flashmob auf der Domplatte.

Links:
http://mbr.uni-koeln.de/kunst/2011/06/14/digitale-schnitzeljagd-2/

http://amsellen.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/deaddrop-caching-in-cologne-watch-a-peer-to-peer-file-sharing-network-go-offline/

Some more photos of the Prizewinner gathering...

2011-07-06T16:09:00.000+02:00

And did you find yourself...

European Faces - European Prizewinner Gathering

2011-07-06T14:57:00.000+02:00

Prizewinner 2011 - European faces... they were at the Europe House Marienberg for this years European Youth Gathering due to their winning work at the European competition "Europe at School". Watch the other post here for more impressions...

Talking Heads - Young Participants about a thinkeurope Seminar

2011-07-05T09:40:00.001+02:00

At the end of exhausting non-stop seminar weeks we will finally have the time to review some video-footage and seminar results. We have started talking-heads sessions for evaluation purposes. Every know and then you will find thinkeurope partcipants on our blog and youtube channel sharing their impressions about experiences made here in seminars in the Europa-Haus. These talking-heads refer to an event that took place in May and was kindly funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung - bpb)

Untitled from Europa-Haus Marienberg on Vimeo.

EYG 2011 just started...

2011-06-26T17:46:00.001+02:00

Just two minutes ago I picked up the participants for this years prizewinner gathering of the European competition "Europe at school". For one week fourteen young Europeans from five countries will experience Europe from different perspectives. They are all national prizewinners and this gathering is their price. We will multiply some impressions during the week. I stop now 'cause blogging on my smartphone during the bus ride is pretty annoying. Read, watch and listen to more in the coming days.

Europäisches Bildungsprojekt - Partizipation der Online-Community

2011-06-22T15:45:00.000+02:00

Das sind wir 'mal gespannt. Das Team der europäischen Jugendbildung "think europe" des Europea-Hauses Marienberg hat eine Projektkonzeption aus einem multinationalen europäischen Jugendtreffen heraus weiterentwickelt und zu Papier gebracht.

Es handelt sich um ein lokal zu installierendes Europäisches Bildungsprojekt, das im Wesentlichen die Erstellung und Implementierung eines europäischen Bildungspfades in Bad Marienberg (Arbeitstitel: "Europaspuren Bad Marienberg") als europäisches Lerntool zum Ziel hat. Alle Details über den unten stehenden Link einzusehen.

Wir werden jetzt nicht den herkömmlichen Weg gehen und die einzelen Projektschritte angehen, in der Hoffnung, dass wir das Projket am Ende tatsächlich realisieren können. Im späteren Verlauf des Projektes sollen die Bürgerinnen und Bürger vor Ort eingebunden werden.
Um die Qualität des Projektes zu steigern, unsere Fehler zu korrigieren und Eure guten Ideen einzubauen, stellen wir dieses Projekt der Online-Community hiermit zur Diskussion und kritischen Reflexion vor.

Wir hoffen, dass uns viele Kommentare und Hinweise, Verbesserungsvorschläge und Weiterentwicklungen erreichen werden. Das Grundlagenpapier ist auf GE.TT unter folgendem Link hinterlegt:

PDF zum Bildungsprojekt "Europaspuren"

Jegliche Einmischung ist nicht nur erlaubt, sondern ausdrücklich erwünscht. Wer nicht hier direkt kommentieren möchte, kann ihre/seine Anmerkungen auf verschiedenen Kanälen weiterleiten:

Karsten Lucke
Europa-Haus Marienberg
Karsten Lucke
Europastr. 1
56470 Bad Marienberg

Twitter: @karstenlucke
Facebook: karsten.lucke
E-Mail: lucke@europa-haus-marienberg.de

Europaseminar mit jungen Menschen - Soundcloud Evaluation

2011-06-17T16:24:00.000+02:00

Das große Sommerloch naht, dennoch konnten sich siebzehn junge Menschen dafür begeistern für vier Tage direkt nach Pfingsten ins Europa-Haus Marienberg zu kommen, um sich über Europa zu unterhalten und europäische Grundlagen anzueignen. Am letzte Tag haben wir neben anderen Auswertungstools auch einen Audiobeitrag via Soundcloud erstellt, so dass alle nun hören können, welche Erfahrungen die jungen Menschen in diesem Europaseminar gemacht haben.

Das Seminar "Europe: Up and Coming – Junge Menschen auf dem Weg nach Europa" vom 14. bis 17. Juni 2011 fand mit Unterstützung der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung statt.

Soundcloud: Einführung in das Programm durch Karsten Lucke, Studienleiter im Europa-Haus Marienberg:

Und hier nur die Audioauswertung der Teilnehmer/innen. Die Teilnehmer/innen haben sich in Kleingruppen vorab mit dem Erfolg oder Nicht-Erfolg des Seminars auseinandergesetzt. Anschließend hat ein Sprecher/eine Sprecherin der jeweiligen Gruppe, die Auswertung via Soundcloud eingesprochen:

Edupad: Collaborative documentation for EU-Simulation.

2011-06-09T08:13:00.007+02:00

Yesterday we have played the EU-Simulation game Building Europe. The Simulation was the highlight of this weeks European Seminar supported by the federal agency for civic education. Two Countries (Serbia and Turkey) tried to become members of the European Union. They had to convince the EU member states and the European Parliament about their memberships advantages. The discussion was heated and the different roles were very well prepared. To keep track of the discussion and the intermediate results the commission decided to open an edupad for documentation purposes. For the benefit of those who couldn't be here to play with us, we have decided to put the according edupad online. Here you can very well follow up the different discussion stages. Thanks to Lea and the EU Commission for keeping track with the help of this collaborative writing tool.

Here is the link that will lead you to the EU-Simulation edupad:

http://edupad.ch/euplanspiel

Soundcloud - Auswertungen und Impressionen - EU-Seminar Ende Mai 2011

2011-06-01T16:10:00.001+02:00

EU-Seminar "Europa: Luftschloss oder Zukunftsmodell? Junge Menschen im europäischen Dialog" mit Jugendlichen aus Rheinland-Pfalz. Hier Eindrücke, Auswertungen und Einschätzungen unmittelbar nach Seminarende. Das Seminar wurde gefördert durch die Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Genießt die Stimmen junger Deutscher, die sich drei Tage mit Europa auseinandergesetzt haben. Danke für die gute Mitarbeit, das Engagement und das Ihr das Seminar so lebendig gemacht habt. Los geht's!

XV Impulse Voices - Feedback and participant blog

2011-05-30T15:00:00.004+02:00

Fulbert has been to european gatherings three times before he decided to come as teamer to experience such a gathering from a different perspective. We asked Fulbert to share his impressions and experiences from last weeks european gathering. Here is what the infamous Fulbert thinks:

„Count to four”

People may ask me why I come here every year. But the answer is simple – because of the atmosphere. Europa-Haus Marienberg has given me an unusual opportunity to meet fantastic people from the European Union. It shouldn’t shock that I use this option over and over :]. Fortunately, we have never been left just for ourselves. EU workshops have always forced us to work internationally. As a result, no matter how much someone resists getting to know new people, he will not avoid it. However, the best integration starts when the sun goes down, stars fill the sky and Wäller Stübchen opens. Then, English conversations seem not to end until early hours in the morning. But sticking to the rule “work hard, play hard” we should also remember not to “Die Hard” the following day.

By Fulbert, teamer, PL

Kristin was also part of the gathering and she has commented on her own blog (www.laveur.blogspot.com). Excerpts from her blog we have copied and pasted for your benefit only:

Morgen werde ich mit Jana 8 Tage lang auf ein Seminar fahren. Thema des Seminars ist " Think Europe". Dort werden 10 Deutsche mit jeweils 10 Jugendlichen aus Tschechien, Polen, Slowakei und Ungarn zusammentreffen.
Ich weiß nicht ob ich in dieser Woche dazu kommen werde, viel zu posten, deswegen werde ich einige Posts schon vorschreiben und einfach hochladen :)
Wenn ich wieder zu Hause bin, werde ich auch natürlich berichten, wie mir das Seminar gefallen hat !

Seminar- First impressions

Das Seminar ist wirklich sehr sehr toll, wir sprechen die meiste Zeit nur Englisch und es klappt wirklich immer besser ! Außerdem habe ich viele neue Leute auch aus anderen Ländern kennengelernt. Und es gibt jeden Mittag ein 3 Gänge Menü ! Ist das nicht klasse? :D

In den Pausen dürfen wir auch in den Computerraum, also werde ich doch posten können.
Ich werde dann auch bald die ersten Bilder & Videos hochladen, denke ich.

So, ich bin wieder zu Hause !
Schade eigentlich, denn diese Woche war einfach genial. Ich würde am liebsten für immer dort bleiben.
Damit ich nicht viele kleine Posts mache, lade ich jetzt einfach alles in einem Post hoch. In den nächsten Tagen wird noch der Film von unseren Workshop folgen.
Also fange ich mal an ! :)

Das war jetzt mal ein grober Überblick über die Woche. Es ist einfach unvergesslich, man lernt so viele neue Leute kennen !! Außerdem merkt man nach einer Zeit gar nicht mehr, dass man nur noch Englisch redet, gegen Ende haben wir sogar unter uns Deutschen in Englisch kommuniziert.
Dieses Seminar ist wirklich sehr empfehlenswert und ich werde nächstes Jahr auf jeden Fall wieder mitmachen! :)

The XV Impulse Evaluation via Spreadsheet

2011-05-28T11:52:00.000+02:00

The international Youth Gathering XV Impulse is coming to an end and we would like to share with you the thoughts and opinion of the particpants. To evaluate this week we chose google spreadsheets. Every participant received one Email a day. Included in that Mail was a "spreadsheet" - a survey with some questions to answer by ticking. It was possible to add comments as well. Find the whole evaluation here:

Spreadsheet evaluation of XV Impulse

P.S. the link, i.e. the page it refers to updates automatically... so new results and opinions are included. Thank you for taking part in the evaluation!

Young Germany - Your career, education and lifestyle guide: Brandnew cooperation between Young Germany and think europe

2011-05-27T10:34:00.000+02:00

This week @thinkeurope is welcoming the folks over at Young Germany to our partners and cooperations section. What is Young Germany and what do they do? They’re here to tell you in their own words. Check back @thinkeurope for more Young Germany.

"Keep up with YOUNG GERMANY and don't miss the latest news about innovation nation Deutschland. Meet high potentials from all over the world and be a part of our platform that provides career services, information and insider tips for your life in Germany. We give support."

Young Germany on Facebook / Young Germany on Twitter

Some new voices from the XV Impulses - European youth gathering

2011-05-24T19:09:00.000+02:00

Hi,

today we had a group of five (one from every country) and they gathered just before dinner to give some personal impression from today. Just hear what they have to say...

Soundcloud evaluation - five European voices about the first day at the European youth gathering!!!

2011-05-23T18:49:00.001+02:00

Hi,

this is the multinational youth gathering "Impulse". We are just at the beginning - first day. Here you have five impression from all the countries which are here at the moment - hear what five young Europeans have experienced today and how they feel!

A Voice from the Czech Republic

A young lady from Slovakia

Hungary is speaking...listen

Our friend from Poland - what has he to say???

Last but not least - a German impression!

We hope you enjoyed the very first impressions from the gathering. We try to update you every evening with more comments and impressions!

European greetings

2011-05-23T16:35:00.000+02:00

No content just very warm European greetings from the multinational youth gathering on volunteering in the Europe House Marienberg - we had a great time together, see you next year!

Snail-Modus the European Youth Gathering #xvimpulse from a snail-point-of-view

2011-05-23T14:22:00.001+02:00

After the morning-crowdbreaking-session we discovered a snail, that told us that she had witnessed everything with great interest. So we hokked the snail up to our computer (since we have state-of-the-art technique, we happen to have a usb-snail-adapter). We downloaded very nice pictures from that snail brain (they came with a nice snail-soundtrack too). See for yourself!

"Brussels, we have a problem!"

2011-05-22T11:52:00.002+02:00

International youth seminar in Europa-Haus Marienberg starts tomorrow! Teenagers from five countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Poland) gather for the next time to discuss the future of the European Union. Target of this gathering is to interest young Europeans in opportunities given by the EU, but also to point out important problems occurring within its borders. A whole week of projects and mental work awaits. Doing so, we should not forget about one major aspect, which the European Union is based on - integration. With the help of it, any problem can be solved! So don't worry Brussels - we're on our way!

by Fulbert Fulko, Teamer, Poland

DeadDrop Caching in Cologne - watch a Peer-to-Peer filesharing network go offline

2011-05-18T10:48:00.002+02:00

On the 4th of May students of the University of Cologne organized a digital scavanger hunt for 80 young online-editors from 4 European countries (Slovenia, Hungary, Czech and Germany). The scavanger hunt was a project realized for the Europe House Marienberg, i.e. @thinkeurope exclusively. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Torsten Meyer the event started in the morning and climaxed in a flashmob in front of the Cologne Cathedral The DeadDrops, which were bricked in at different crucial places of Cologne contained history related tasks. The event was insoired by Aram Bartholls Artproject "DeadDrop". We loved the event and the many different effects it had.
Due to the limited technical abilities of blogger (it seems blogger is not able to incorporate PDF files adequatley) I have put examples and visuals of the event on a different blog: Click here to enter the scavanger hunt!

Impressions - letter box - evaluation

2011-05-14T14:55:00.000+02:00

Multinational youth gathering on Volunteering - some impressions & comments: Midterm evaluation from the Polish group (found in the letter box)

Senior citizens visit the Europe House for Volunteering project

2011-05-11T21:02:00.001+02:00

Today 35 senior citizens from Bad Marienberg did visit the multinational youth project about volunteering at the Europe House Marienberg. Some of them over 90 years old! The youngster prepared different workshops: music, dancing, talk round, gaming, language course, PC course & a walk. After coffee & cake we had a nice welcome by a multinational group followed by a very interesting speech of an older lady about Bad Marienberg from the 13th century till today. The rest of the afternoon was reserved for the workshops. We did end with singing all together & the youngster gave gifts to the seniors - the group picture from the beginning of the afternoon with a personal message. More information will follow soon. It was an fantastic project!

europeers at the Europe House Marienberg - multinational youth gathering

2011-05-11T12:13:00.001+02:00

think europe is realising a multinational youth gathering right now with the support of the EU youth programme YOUTH IN ACTION. The gathering deals with the European Year of Volunteering.

Just yesterday three europeers took part in the gathering. They supported small international workshops. The youngsters dealt with the different situations of volunteering in the five nations which take part at the gathering (Turkey, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland & Germany). They also discoverd opportunities to be active for developing countries, what the European Year of Volunteering actually is and everything connected to the European Voluntary Service.

During the presentation-session the europeers participated in the discussion, commented on the performances and raised interesting questions.

Afterwards the europeers presented the EVS from their perspective, and talked about the experiences they gained abroad. They also briefly presented the programme "europeers" itself.

Two of them stayed for the European country market in the evening with lots of music, dancing, food and fun!

It was great having had them with us. They enriched the discussion and presented volunteering peer-to-peer. It was active and not so theoretical. Hope to see you again here at the Europe House Marienberg in future projects.

If you are interested in "europeers" or you would like to find out more information about the EVS visit their homepage

europeers Homepage - click here

DeadDrop Caching in Cologne

2011-05-10T15:31:00.001+02:00

These are some visuals of the Deaddrop Caching which the University of Cologne (Prof. Meyer and his students) did for last weeks international (online-) Editors seminar. More information about this event will follow next week. The tasks, the fun, the idea, the preparation - everything will be here soon. So far all we have to say: It was a great day and an awesome experience. Click here for more information

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Competition: Design a 2-€uro coin - 10 years €uro cash

2011-05-06T12:46:00.000+02:00

This goes to all the young citizens in €urope,

On April 29th the EU launched a competition because in January 2012 we will have ten years of €uro cash. Today 17 countries with over 330 million Europeans are using the €uro.

In this competition Europe is aksing you to design a 2-€uro coin for the celebration of the 10th anniversary.

You can find all the information on the corresponding website of the competition:

http://www.eurocoin-competition.eu/

Have fun & good luck!!!

„We are Europeans“ at the Europe House Marienberg Sensitization for EU enlargement to the SEE countries

2011-05-06T10:35:00.002+02:00

After months of preparation, on May 02^nd the Europebus with six representatives from different Balkan states finally arrived at the Europe House Marienberg. We welcomed young citizens from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia. The six started just before Easter from Warsaw to discover Europe, to bring Western Balkan culture to the EU and to discuss future enlargement of the European Union to the SEE (South Eastern European) countries. “We are Europeans” is that project called. The lead partner is the Robert-Schuman-Foundation in Warsaw. They came up with the idea and organised the whole project together with the local partner throughout Europe. Also included in the whole project management is the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation. “We are Europeans” is supported by the EU via the PRINCE programme.

Two busses with six representatives set out to discover Europe – one northern and one southern tour. The tour through the north of Europe started in Poland went through Germany and then drove along the Netherlands, Belgium and France to go back through Germany ending in Warsaw again. The last station before they went back to the final conference in Poland “We are Europeans” did stop in Bad Marienberg to visit the Europe House and have a colourful programme.

The day the citizens from the Balkan stayed here was separated into three parts. During the morning we discovered the local area showing rural Germany to the participants. We did visit the Abbey Marienstatt, a local traditional pottery shop and a pharmacy garden including a barefootwalk with the local Kneipp association.

After the lunch break we had a very good discussion forum about future enlargement to the Western Balkan. Young German citizens from schools and universities showed up as well as some teachers and representatives of local political parties. The MEP Norbert Neuser attended also – he just rushed from Brussels to Bad Marienberg to take part. It was a very vivid discussion. We crossed many topics and had also an active intercultural dialogue.

The day ended with an European Country Market conducted by an international editors seminar which took part the same time in the Europe House Marienberg: music, food, dancing, presentations,…

Western Balkan citizens long for being part of the EU. But it is not so easy. You can’t say all the countries of the Western Balkan have the same attitude. As Serbia is getting more European every day you’ll find more and more critical voices in Croatia even when Croatia is the country which is most likely the candidate to become the next member of the EU in 2012 or 2013. Brain drain is also a phenomenon which concerns the citizens of the SEE countries. They need the high qualified people to rebuild their own country instead of loosing them to the current EU members. A lot of things have been discussed and as always it is not just black and white. The discussion about the future enlargement is very complicated and multidimensional. “We are Europeans” is a project that helps to have a qualitative discussion about this issue covering many different aspects without being single-sided.

Hopefully this discussion will continue when they are all back in their home countries. Give us some feed back from time to time how things are progressing in that debate in the SEE countries. The Europe House will stick to the topic of future enlargement. Already in September we will have a multinational youth gathering which will deal exactly with this topic. As we will multiply a lot of the experiences via Social Media it could be a good opportunity for you to be engaged as well. Feel free to contact us!

Click to enlarge

These: Privatsphären-Einstellungen: Facebooker verstehen mehr von Privacy als Offliner!

2011-05-04T21:41:00.004+02:00

Ab morgen wird sich das internationale Online-Redakteursseminar des Europa-Haus Marienberg intensiv mit dieser These beschäftigen (80 TN im Alter von 15-20 Jahren aus 4 Nationen (Czech, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany)).

A group of media experts is discussing a provocative privacy-thesis on facebook. A lot of theoretical thoughts and personal opinions have been exchanged. The discussions lacks one thing: YOU - young people who have facebook accounts and share life via this plattform. We would like you to enrich the ongoing discourse and shed some light onto and into the matter (add empiric validity to the discussion. To do so, we would like you to read the following thesis (available in English and German)) carefully and share your opinion.

German
Wer viel in der Welt herumreist, der versteht auch mehr über seine Heimat. Denn das Eigene, das Vertraute, kann man besser erkennen, wenn man einen Schritt zurücktritt, um den Standpunkt überhaupt betrachten zu können. Und wer das Eigene mit dem Anderen vergleicht, lernt nicht nur über das Andere, sondern auch über das Eigene.
Wenn jemand sich mit dein Privatsphäreneinstellungen bei Facebook auseinandersetzt, dann weiß er danach nicht nur mehr über Facebook, sondern auch über das eigene soziale Umfeld und vielleicht allgemein über soziales Miteinander. Denn bei Facebook muss ich explizit machen, was ich sonst nur mehr oder weniger intuitiv entscheide (oder durch Nicht-Entscheidung entscheide): Wer gehört zu meinem engsten Bekanntenkreis? Worüber definiere ich überhaupt "engster Bekanntenkreis"? Welche Rolle spielt die Person Y in meinem Leben? In welchem Verhältnis stehe ich zu X? Was möchte ich für mich behalten, was möchte ich teilen - und mit wem?
Also setze ich mich bei Facebook aktiv mit nicht nur mit meinen technischen, sondern allgemeinen "Privatsphären-Einstellungen" auseinander als jemand, der sich "nur offline" und mehr oder weniger intuitiv damit auseinandersetzt. (@jmm_hamburg)

English
Thesis: Due to the many (in-)consistencies between virtuality and Offline-reality Facebook improves privacy-guarding skills. Facebookers know more about privacy, since they are confronted with several questions concerning the matter: Decisions on "Who do I want to be friends with", "who is allowed to look at my pictures", Who am I granting access to private data" have to be made frequently. Thus, Facebook-natives know how to deal with issues surrounding the matter of (personal) dataprotection.

We are Europeans...in the Europe House Marienberg

2011-05-03T19:36:00.000+02:00

We are Europeans - some first impressions

International Online Editors Seminar starts today!

2011-05-02T08:44:00.002+02:00

Source: http://ow.ly/4KX9c

Beginning today: 80 young (online-) editors meet for an international gathering to exchange thought and learn about different writing strategies (collaborative, style etc.). We are positive that many good ideas and discourses will be brought to the force over the next week. On this blog we will keep you updated and you can stay in touch with us. You are ivited to "join the seminar" virtually and give feedbach and impulses from the outside. We are looking forward also to a great excursion on wednesday that will take us to Cologne. In Cologne a group of art and media students from the university will take us on a deaddrop-caching tour through the city (I am not at liberty to tell you more, but we will certainly upload impressions onto facebook... we are also thinking about a live stream session). Anyway, a lot of creative content will come from that event, which will be displayed online as well!

Excerpt from the project description:
Das soll der Ansatz dieser europäischen Jugendbegegnung sein: Wir wollen Europa ein Stück weit miteinander bauen und kreieren, aktive Völkerverständigung betreiben, interkulturell Lernen und uns politisch weiterbilden. Wir wollen die Techniken des Web 2.0 nutzen, um unsere Gedanken zur Entwicklung Europas festzuhalten und weiterzugeben: Die Multiplikation unserer Vorstellungen über Landesgrenzen hinaus.
Die heranwachsenden Generationen sind schon vor einiger Zeit zu „Digital Natives“ geadelt worden. Wir wollen zusammen mit den internationalen Teilnehmer/innen versuchen, diesem hohen Anspruch, der sich hinter diesem Titel verbirgt, gerecht zu werden. Dazu brauchen wir den direkten Austausch. Wir wollen aber eben ganz bewusst eine Verbindung mit den Elementen des Web 2.0 herstellen, um die Nachhaltigkeit der europäischen Jugendbildung im außerschulischen Bereich zu fördern und auszubauen. Der Multiplikationseffekt über die Begegnungsgrenzen hinaus ist dabei ebenso wichtig wie die anschließende Dauerhaftigkeit der Kommunikation.

Dipity: The European Integration Process

2011-04-20T14:13:00.002+02:00

Finally we have managed to put together an EU-Integration-Dipity. Hopefully for your benefit, certainly for ours (Seminar purposes)!!! With a lot of video footage to illustrate and emphasize the dynamics of the EU. If we - god forbis - forgot important events within the timeline; feel free to tell us. Also, since this Post will drop down further with every additional post (and there are a lot more to come), we have also embedded this timeline permanently at the bottom of this blog.

Europäische Geschichte (Integration, Erweiterung, Vertiefung) on Dipity.

Picturing the Intergenerational Dialogue within Europe

2011-04-20T09:45:00.003+02:00

The youth committee of EUNET is looking for European partners to start a Photo project. The project will start this year and is dedicated to raise awareness for the European year of "Active Ageing". The Photo Contest is the Youth Committees first step to support intergenerational dialogue. The main objectives of the contest are:

Project idea
The project aims to create a photo exhibition expressing what the intergenerational dialogue looks like in European countries. This exhibition is thought to be presented for the first time at the General Assembly of EUNET in Metz October 2011. In the following months the exhibition will be hosted by the partner organizations that would like to use it. The Exhibition will consist of a portfolio of photos and descriptive texts. The exhibition will in addition be available on the internet.

What is expected from the partners of this project?
Until the 29th of April the youth committee would like to know which member organizations would like to participate in this photo exhibition project. The deadline for handing in the three pictures and descriptive texts is the 10th of September. The pictures should be loosley connected to issues surrounding the issues of intergenerational dialogue. The descriptive texts should provide a short history of the "pictures histories" and the thoughts behind them, as well as information about the demographic situation of the country in which the pictures were taken.

Interested? What now?
If you are interested: Jjust apply via the following Email adress exhibitioneunet@gmail.com

For further information have look at the EUNET webpage: http://ow.ly/4DXDG

Click on the following images to see the official calls for proposal (available in English and German)

German

English

Last weeks Evaluation (Spring Gathering 2011)

2011-04-19T13:59:00.018+02:00

The internationale Spring Gathering has spoken... here are some representative participant voices! I want to stress: THEY ARE REPRESENTATIVE! We have not chosen just the ones that were in our favour. Actually the whole seminar was received with standing ovations!

Voices from spring gathering

View more documents from Europa-Haus Marienberg

Energizer - think europe in the morning...

2011-04-14T17:06:00.002+02:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

German-Hungarian Faces - no comment - just enjoy

2011-04-12T17:29:00.000+02:00

German-Hungarian Faces - Young Europeans together

Impressionen Social Media - think europe

2011-04-11T19:18:00.002+02:00

Impressionen Social Media - think europe
Ein kleiner Einblick in die Welt der Social Media im Europa-Haus Marienberg. Think europe in action... Viel Spaß auf der #rp11

Impressions from the international Spring Gathering

2011-04-06T17:03:00.003+02:00

Collaborative Feedbacking (Etherpad Session) with Justyna, Philina and Zuzanna from Poland

2011-04-06T15:01:00.005+02:00

The following text might be a little confusing... still, it is a good start and a fun dialogue to read. Thus, we have created an absurd text that is absolutley sound and coherent without being chronological. A new text genre has been born For those of you who like to follow the "birth" of the text: Click here (after you have been directed to the pad "click" on "Time Slider" and you will be provided with a real time revision of the text genesis).

Welcome to the Europe House collaborative writing session. Featuring Zuzanna, Philina and Justyna:

Here we go.

So what was your day like so far?

For now, this day was the awesomest of them all!
Why what was special about the day?
Everything, the best part of it was spending time with my cool european friends.
What's the matter with you Zuzanna... Are you feeling well?
Do you think your projects will turn out good?

Well, I think yes, because we all have lots of new ideas every single minutes sooo, yes, they all will definately turn out good!
And by the way: How is the atmosphere in the seminar
people are very nice and friendly. everybody feels great and have fun with each other. And of course, our presentations are very nice and helpful.
atmosphere is amazing! people here are very comunicative and friendly (AND THEY LOVE POLISH TABAKA! ). You can easy make friends :) What is Tanbas Tabaka / Oh now, I get it... Tabaccoo? Yep, somethins like that. And Bad Marienberg is also cool because we can buy it here! Nice... so you got forbidden things on your trip through the beautiful Westerwald... Is that good news? yes, this is really good news :)
Would you say that you have learned something so far? And if so... what have you learned?
Of course,I have learnt some german words , for example names of countries, food and I have learnet more about EU (Like what? Tell me some of these words)
Yes, I've learnt lots of new thins about EU, how is it working and who is working there.
You don not have to say this, if it is not true - we are ready to take the blame and carry the guilt ;-)
well, I'm not into political stuff but really, now I know how is it like even, if it was soooo boring. But we did it with people from different countries so I liked it (So if you can share boring stuff it turns out to be less boring?. yes, because if I do boring things with not boring people it all is the coolest for me! So that means that we have to find some less boring politicians to have more fun with politics and ´become interested in issues
I think that yesterday was the most boring day (Boring aha!), because we were doing projects for the long time and we didn't even check it. Yes, we did. I remember it.. Me tooo! We checked in the big group - maybe you were asleep ;-)! Karsten did that "Schaubild" as a reference for our results! (Working on the EU?) Where is Philina by the way? Here!
So let me ask you another question: Where would you like to go: Cologne or Düsseldorf?
I have never been in Cologne or Düsseldorf, so I don't know, but no matter where we'II go, it will be fun.
COLOGNE! I love that place, the Kölner Dom, and the shopping street ald the chocolate museum! this city reminds me every time I'm there that Germany is very very very beautiful country! :D (It looks a lot like Poland...???) Cologne? Well, I don't think so, maybe a little bit like a Cracow, but Cologne is Cologne and Cracow is Cracow and no one is gonna change it! Very wise words!:)
I don't know.. Can we go to both?(to where?) I don't think we have time to see both cities... so it's either... or!
Ok. So.. if Justina wants to go to Cologne (She likes Cologne though!) I think we can go there! ;)(then we have to take her?)Yesss ;P
So, you were guinea pigs in this writing session... how did you like this way of collaborative writing? TELL ME!
I like ike it a lot! It's always something different than normal writting on computer :)
I think it's good way of comunication.. but everybody see your mistake ( we don't care about our mistakes :D) / No we don't! It is not about being perfect it is about working and writing together! GENAU! :)
So thanks for sharing! Let's go and see what the polish group has provided!
It will be the best lesson!

Participant Post: After The First Day(s) of the European Spring Gathering 2011

2011-04-05T17:05:00.004+02:00

Agnezka (Czech)

Agnezka: Are young people interested in the European Union? Do they care about it, and do they even know anything about it? And are they having fun?

I find myself sitting in a strange looking building, half a villa, half a modern meeting hall. I’m trying to formulate my feelings into some meaningful sentences, but I’ve failed so far. All I could say is wow. Awesome. It’s been only two days, but even though they were pretty exhausting, they were definitely worth it. We arrived at Sunday the 3^rd. There was not much happening that day, maybe except the fine dinner and some chat with other students later. We ended our day with smiles on our faces. But the second day was different. Monday was just filled with games of various forms. Do you know that there were eight different races in the city of Atlantis? So the first two days has been more like some kind of an experiment – let’s put all those people into one room and let them play some crazy games! How will they react? I dare to think, that we reacted perfectly. We cooperated, even though we didn’t really know each other – maybe except the ones who are from our country. Now I can almost hear you asking: And what exactly do games and the EU have in common? Well, ladies and gentlemen, more than you think. Through games we learn how to react both in group and alone. We learn how to react quickly, properly and wisely. And kindly. Definitely kindly. Isn’t that the main point of this all. And what about the third day? Well, today we fulfilled the main point of our stay here, in Bad Marienberg – to learn something more about the European Union. Not only that everyone really had to pay attention to all the facts and work with others in order to let a new ‘imaginary’ law pass in our ‘imaginary’ European parliament, but we also got to know something about the history of the Union. The summary is that I’m looking forward to the oncoming days and next year, more people to meet, more fun to have and more information to learn. And I’m definitely not the only one.

Lena: I never thought that we could have so much fun here. My first day was really amazing. In the beginning of the Seminar we played a lot of funny games to get to know each other. And it worked. I was surprised how good the English knowledge of the other nations are. And of course, I have to mention our leaders, Karsten, Anselm and Antje. They’re doing a fabulous job!

In the afternoon we prepared our Country Market. We brought sausages and saltprezels, and of course beer and wine from our region as a speciality of Germany. I think the Country market was a great experience, because it was very interesting to learn something about the other cultures, and to develop the differences between our own culture and the other nations. All countries brought their homemade food and it was great to see some traditional dance or hear traditional music.

With the beginning of the night we all had a lot of fun. We met the others in the ,,Waller Stübchen’’ and we celebrated the begin of this hopefully great week. I think the rest of the week will be a unforgettable one and we can collect new experiences and of course, get to know a lot of new friends.

Magda: My first day was pretty cool. I was really surprised how nice and openminded all the guys from the different countries were. The ‘Stupid Games’, how Karsten called them, were most of the time very funny, we got to know eachother better and had lots of fun. In the evening we had the ‘Country Market’, which was brilliant! All the different countries brought some nice things, like beer, cheese, sausages and other specialties. Also the presentations have been amazing. We had the chance to get to know the different cultures and it was kind of impressing. But I have to say, it was sad to see, that our delegation, Germany, couldn’t present our own culture as well as the other nations. We just don’t have any knowledge about traditional dance or stuff like that. The first night was very funny. We’ve been in the ‘Wäller Stübchen’ and had fun with the other guys from Poland, Hungary and so on. All in all the first day was really amazing and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to be here.

German-Canadian Seminar - a quick summary!

2011-04-03T19:55:00.002+02:00

The German-Canadian Seminar... a week that flew by! Great people and intense atmosphere. Thank you for being here... get back home safely. One of the first seminars ever that very deliberatley chose not to be published online - I guess that can also be a result of an in-depths view on social media and political participation. I have promised to burn DVDs containing the movies and motion footage of the week... I will do so (send me a reminder if you don't have them in two weeks time)!

Also I have been asked frequently, how to get back to the Prezi Presentations that were made via our house account. All of the German-Candian prezis I have put on "public & allow to copy", that way you can access them by clicking on the following prezi topics (Some of these Prezis reflect and document6 the "Culture Contrast" Approach and are therefore not flawless (and were never supposed to be perfect), since they were created to trigger discussion among the nations.
Genetic Engineering, German political system, poltical system Canada, Social Media, Thoughts on the exchange program (participant interviews).
Amazing results! Thank you very much and keep up the good work!

Visual Impressions!

Social Media (written by Amy, Samira and Diana)

2011-03-31T13:59:00.004+02:00

This Blogpost was part of one of our workshopsessions during the German-Canadian seminar. It served as basis for a whole presentation on that issue. So this post is well reflecting the contents of that presentation - in a nutshell! Thanks for working hard on that.

Social Media

So we all know what social media is right? Incase the odd one doesn’t, social media is basically media for social interaction; to turn communication into interactive dialogue.

Just by typing in a school name, I can find out where you go, who you’re friends with, and what you look like. Social media used to be new. Surprising right? For example, facebook first began in 2004. Twitter started two years later in 2006. More than five hundred million are active users of facebook. These days, plenty of celebrities have joined twitter as well as their fans, therefore promoting the social network.

Social media is also used for bringing information to the public and or community. In Lybia all demonstrations were filmed and put on social networking sights, showing the audience what’s going on across the world: Check out visibletweets for an example.

Celebrities like Miley Cyrus use social media for charity. Miley created a website called “get ur good on”, which brings a lot of attention to events such as youth service day, and being a good volunteer and helper. Things such as websites, youtube videos, and even tweets can help spread the news about any topic or discussion going on in the world. Everyone these days have either facebook or twitter, I don’t know many who people who still use MSN because of these newly found exciting sites.

GOOD

· Communication

· Keeping in touch

· Check out photos

· Everyone in some way or another is using it

· Worldly news

· Interacting with “long lost” family

· Allows you to phone others in a way, without paying a huge phone bill. You don’t need to pay for a phone plan considering you can just text with having a similar meaning.

· You can do homework per say over the internet while using facebook, without actually having to be with them.

BAD

· Creepers

· Access to private information

· Sexts

· Dangerous

· Cyber bullying

· Loosing personal skills

· Stalkers

· Too young

· Nine year olds have cell phones

By Samira&Amy&Diana :)

EU seminar - groups presenting European institutions

2011-03-31T12:33:00.000+02:00

Presentation groups

A nice inside view into the EU institutions...theses guys did a very good job and made the EU very clear to everybody...well done...

Participant Blog post

2011-03-30T13:55:00.004+02:00

In order to document what we are doing right now and what we are up to over the next two days... we have invited Alyssa (Can), Amy (Can) and Hannah (Ger) to share their opinion here on this blog. What follows is their unfiltered uncensored account of what has happened so far and things things to come.

Amy, Alyssa

Amy: Guten Tag! I barely speak any German, so coming here without knowing much was a little nerveraking. My first thoughts on the seminar were, yaayy.. more school and having to be around people who have no idea what im saying! Turns out, it has been a great experience. Everyone is so nice and easy to talk to. Anselm is also very kind and fun to have as a teacher I guess. This little get-away is somewhat like school, but so much better. You're with your friends the entire time and you're getting to know people in ways you wouldn't be able to anywhere else. I definitely recommend this awesome place to anyone looking for some fun and knoweledge. Especially those ice breaker games ;)
Thanks Europa haus Marienberg :)

Alyssa: Well I have to say, this has been an amazing experience and I would not change anything about it. I think it is an educated yet eventfull seminar and I know I will have any memories that will last a life time. Also, because of this Europa seminar I have met some very kind and amazing people that I hope I will stay aqauinted with. I will definitely speak highly and recommend this seminar to other youth so that they will have the chance to learn about their/other cultures and society. This has been an awsome opportunity. Thanks to everyone at Europa Haus!!!

Hannah

Hannah: So far the most of us had a lot of fun and the ice breaking was kind of weird but still funny. The German and the Canadian students get along with each other very well, most of time – the communication works! Right now we have to work on our presentations, because we should be done by 4 ‘o clock. We aren’t really sure how the Canadian System is doing right now. What exactly happened last week in Canada? Apart from that, our group is very good and the toppic is difficult but Interesting.

Last weeks Pictures and Videos are online!

2011-03-28T12:31:00.003+02:00

We promised you that video footage and pictures from last weeks German-Polisch Youth Gathering would be online soon. As you can see, we have kept our word! On our facebook page you will find the according photo album!Go nuts tagging and commenting.
Videos from the seminar you will find on our Youtube channel (click the button located in the right column). One more thing: If you are not happy with being online and thus visually available to the whole world. Let us know immediatley - we are ready to delete stuff (as agreed beforehand)!

Prezi on Preimplantation Diagnostics (PID) German-Polish Youth Gathering 2011

2011-03-26T11:42:00.005+01:00

Very detailed and sophisticated presentation on the much disputed issue of embryo sreening. Too bad you could not participate in the disussion that followed. Very in-depth, heated and consistent discussion on the Pros and Cons of the Preimplantation diagnostics (even though we were running out of time). Thank you guys very much for your work and efforts! Keep up the good work and if you feel like continuing the discussion on our blog - Feel free to do so!!!

Gentechnik on Prezi

German-Polish Seminar just started!

2011-03-22T10:33:00.005+01:00

From the 21st till the 26th of March the Europe House Marienberg hosts a German-Polish Youth Gathering.Yesterday we were busy breaking the ice... and it worked out very well - Melting POT! Today we will be occupied with the issues surrounding the term "globalisation". Who is involved in global playing? / political institutions? NGOs? How is our daily life interconnected and in how far does it depend on developments outside our nationale boarders? Fukushima, Lybia, In- and Export, Terror... are major issues. We have had great discussions and brainstorming sessions so far. Results coming from this seminar will be published here over the next few days.

Icebreaking (German-Polish Youth Gathering)

Smart Dictators - One of the main reasons for the implementation of Social Media in Political Education!

2011-03-14T09:00:00.005+01:00

This is why we are so concerned about political (non-formal) education and the implementation of social media. The article was published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Kluge Diktatoren) this weekend and it very well illustrates why we should increase our efforts to implement and explain social media in the field of political education. The author of this article is Evgeny Morozov (author of the book "The Net Delusion" - one of the most cited works when it comes to Internet and Democracy). The Article deals with the question why not Internet-censorship but containment constitutes a true danger for democracy.

To read the full article you can either click on the picture itself and enlarge it to original scale or you click on the following link and downlaod the PDF file from our ge.tt account.

http://www.ge.tt/#2pXjwph

Young-editors newspaper is online!

2011-03-11T14:54:00.003+01:00

They had only one day for writing these articles. The outcome is astonishing (Over 60 articles, interactive quizzes, poems, jokes, pictures etc.) 60 kids from different primary schools, each and every one of them is part of a school-editorial-team. We have touched upon many issues ranging from obsession to addiction and the implementation of all this in the social media, i.e. an online-newspaper with many interactive elements.
Thank you for being here and thanks again for inspring ideas and your great Energy (the accompanying teachers should feel equally adressed by this expression of gratitude). We are looking forward to having you again some time next year.

Take a look at the finsihed online-newspaper here:

www.seminarzeitung.de

Or click on the according link in the left column of this blog.

young editors update!

2011-03-11T08:52:00.001+01:00

Think Europe online editors - Digital Writing Day! As promised! After a brief reviewing and expert session we are going online today.

First impressions from the young online-editors seminar

2011-03-10T08:55:00.003+01:00

Young online-editors think europe

Young online-editors seminar starts today

2011-03-09T09:03:00.000+01:00

From March 9th - 11th young editors gather here at the Europe House to think about obsessions and addiction. 60 kids from all over Rhineland-Platinate around the ages 9-12 will attend the seminar and come up with - most certainly - creative and in-depths ideas on the topic. The children come from different schools (Primary and Special) The seminar will be supported by experts from many fields (e.g. a journalist from Frankfurt, an addiction counsellor, teachers from special schools).
By the end of the week we will have produced another great online-newspaper, which we are going to publish and make available for you. That way you can check out what we are up to over the next few days. We will also put pictures online... that way you will be fed constant "live" impressions from the seminar room and the surroundings.Interviews and video footage will surely follow! Stay tuned... for more.

Libya: EU sanctions against Kadhafi enacted

2011-03-08T09:27:00.000+01:00

We have previously informed you about the planned EU sanctions against Moamer Kadhafi - Here is the update on that!

03 March 2011, 17:22 CET

BRUSSELS, European Union sanctions against Libya's Moamer Kadhafi, his family, and leaders of his beleaguered regime accused of brutalising civilians, came into force on Thursday. A list of the 26 Libyans targeted by the 27-nation bloc published in the daily EU Official Journal signals the immediate enforcement of an asset freeze and visa ban agreed Monday. Aside from Kadhafi, the measures apply to his seven sons and his daughter, along with his wife Safia al-Barassi. Kadhafi's brother-in-law Abu Shaariya, deputy head of Libya's external security, as well as two of his cousins, Ahmed Kadhaf al-Dam and Sayyid Kadhaf al-Dam, suspected of "terrorist activities", arms dealing and involvement in assassination bids against dissidents living abroad, are on the list. The list gives names, dates and places of birth as well as job descriptions and reasons for being targeted by the sanctions, as well as passport numbers in a few cases. Also targeted are armed forces chief Colonel Massud Abdulhafez, anti-terrorist chief Abdussalam Mohammed Abdussalam, military intelligence director Colonel Abdullah al-Senussi and his deputy, Al-Barrani Ashkal, as well as the head of Libya's revolutionary committees, Omar Ashkal. Kadhafi's personal security chief Abdulqader Yussef Dibri, and Defence Minister General Abu Bakr Yunis Jaber are also on the list. The EU sanctions, which were adopted with unusual speed and rare cohesion, also called for an embargo on arms sales to Libya, in line with a UN resolution adopted last weekend. But toughening up the UN measures, the EU added names to the UN list and also slapped an embargo on sales to Libya of equipment which might be used for internal repression.
The bloc is currently eyeing added sanctions to hit Libyan companies.

And also: This is Reuters latest News on the current developments in Lybia and the actions the EU is considering, i.e. Taking at the moment.

BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Union dispatched a fact-finding mission to Tripoli on Sunday charged with reporting back on humanitarian and evacuation needs there to an EU crisis summit on Libya this week, an EU statement said. The team, headed by the head of EU crisis management, Agostino Miozzo, left for the Libyan capital from Rome on an aircraft provided by the Italian government.
"Its aim will be to assess humanitarian and evacuation efforts on the ground in Libya to make an appraisal of what may be needed in terms of additional support," the statement said. It said it was the first such international mission to the country since the recent violence erupted there. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has called a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the EU response to the crisis in Libya ahead of a summit of European leaders that will focus on Libya on Friday. "I have decided to dispatch this high level mission to provide me with first-hand, real-time information to feed into the discussions leading up to Friday's extraordinary European Council when I will update Heads of State and Government on the situation," Ashton said in the statement. An EU diplomat stressed that the aim of the mission was to gather facts, not to negotiate with the Libyan authorities. "We have people on the borders, but nobody on the ground in Libya to find out what's going on," the diplomat said. "We are not there to negotiate, but to listen, and find out what's going on the ground." Intense automatic gunfire erupted in Tripoli on Sunday, the first such outbreak in Muammar Gaddafi's main stronghold in a two-week-old insurrection against his 41-year-old rule. Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim denied any fighting was under way in the capital, saying the gunfire was to mark the army's recapture of several cities from rebel forces.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Michael Roddy)

Networking Europe - gathering of our European roof organisation

2011-03-08T09:24:00.001+01:00

We are part of a European-wide network of NGOs which deal with European issues and promote the European idea without forgetting to be critical in their judgements. The "European Network for Education and Training - EUNET" consists of over 60 member institutions in almost 20 European countries - not only EU member states. This is a phantastic basis for multinational cooperation and joint projects about the European Union. The board of EUNET will gather today and tomorrow at the international education centre "Gimborn" not far away from Cologne. These meetings will be followed by joint sessions with our four committees of EUNET. These committees deal with various topics like methodology, development of the network, youth in our network and migration. It is a lively and active platform for our member institutions to work on. We're looking forward to a great output and a positive development for the future. This is an open network welcoming new organisations which feel themselves committed to European education. If you're interested feel free to contact us any time!

Libya: EU imposes arms embargo and targeted sanctions

2011-03-02T13:36:00.001+01:00

The Council of the European Union adopted today a decision implementing the UN Security Council Resolution on Libya of 26 February (UNSCR 1970/2011) and imposing additional restrictive measures against those responsible for the violent crackdown on the civilian population.

In line with Saturday's decision by the UNSC, the Council banned the supply to Libya of arms, ammunition and related material. In addition to the UN measures, the Council also prohibited trade with Libya in equipment which might be used for internal repression. The Council enacted the following UN measures:

a visa ban on 16 persons, including Muammar Qadhafi, parts of his family closelyassociated with the regime and other persons responsible for the violent crackdown on the civilian population since 15 February;
a freeze of the assets of Muammar Qadhafi and five members of his family. The Council also adopted as autonomous measures a visa ban on an additional 10 individuals and an asset freeze on a further 20 individuals responsible for the violent crackdown on the civilian population.

On 23 February, the European Union expressed its grave concern about the situation unfolding in Libya. It strongly condemned the violence and use of force against civilians and deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators which has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. It called for an immediate end to the use of force and for steps to address the legitimate demands of the population, including through national dialogue. The decision taken today will be kept under review. It will be published in the Official
Journal in the coming days.

Find the whole text here!

“Praxis der politischen Bildung & Web 2.0″ mit Anselm Sellen, Europa-Haus Marienberg am 23.2.2011

2011-02-28T12:37:00.000+01:00

Der Inhalt: Praxis der politischen Bildung

„think europe“ steht stellvertretend für die internationale Bildungsarbeit im Europa-Haus Marienberg. Ziel ist es Jugendliche aus der ganzen Welt zusammen zu bringen, zu vernetzen und gemeinsam mit ihnen ein Bewusstsein und Strategien für politische Partizipation zu entwickeln. Dienste des Web 2.0 wie Facebook, Twitter, YouTube sind dabei wichtige Werkzeuge vor, während und nach der Seminararbeit. Wie genau kann das aussehen? Was sind die Voraussetzungen? Welche Erfahrungen macht man als Erwachsenenbildner mit dem Web 2.0? Und vor allem: Was bringt das alles für die politische Bildung? Das sind die Leitfragen für den #pb21-Webvortrag mit Anselm Sellen.

#pb21-Webvortrag mit Anselm Sellen - Web 2.0 und Social Media in der Praxis der politischen Bildung from pb21 on Vimeo.

think europe - photo action event

2011-02-24T12:30:00.005+01:00

Dear Everybody,

We invite all participants who have attended a seminar, training or youth gathering in the Europe House Marienberg to take part in a Europe-wide photo action event! If you haven't been to the Europe House before (shame on you - you missed a great experience) you are still more than welcome to take part in the photo action event as well!!!

By now, all of you should know our logo which represents everything we do in our European Youth Education "think europe". If not (shame on you again) & have a look here - this is it...

Our idea is to collect photos from all over Europe with you - our participants and Followers - imitating the person in our Logo. That should be combined with the logo itself (somehow) and an interesting background representing you local community or a famous place in Europe.

To be precise, here introductions step by step:

Think about a method to include our logo in the picture (printout, with a beamer, etc.)
Find a nice place somewhere in your local area / or a famous European site nearby / or choose some famous site you visit during your vacation (Eifel tower, London bridge, top of a mountain, etc.)
Pose as our figure is posing and shoot a picture (don't forget to include the logo)
If it's not possible to include the logo - forget about it and just do step 2 and 3!!!

You can send as many pictures as you want. We'll collect everything to include them appealingly in our Social Media. Later on we will create a great media show from all photos handed in.
The goal is of course to collect as many interesting sites as possible from all over Europe!

It would be great if you could also give us some detailed information about your photo:

Who is in the picture?
What is the story of the photo?
Where was the photo taken?
When have you been in the Europe House?

It's great fun! Anselm and I will come up with our own pictures very soon.

Feel free to contact us for questions. You can send the photos via E-Mail directly to the Europe House, just check the webpage for the e-mail-addresses. http://www.europa-haus-marienberg.de/
So, let's get started...

The EEAS (European External Action Service) and Libya

2011-02-20T14:30:00.010+01:00

Source

Lady Catherine Ashton is head of the EEAS - the new founded European External Action Service - which was established when the Lisbon Treaty came in force. With the Maghreb Countries rising up against dictatorships and struggling for democratic rights... the EEAS will have to come up with sustainable strategies and supporting meassures for the Arab world. Let's recap what strategies the EU followed so far:

In an official document from 2004 the Eropean Parliament states:
"The EU has currently no formal relations with Libya, and the Commission has no Delegation in Tripoli. Nine EU Member States have embassies in Tripoli, and increased focus is being given to Libya following the lifting of the UN sanctions.On the basis of a consensus among the 27 Euro-Med partners reached on the occasion of the third Euro-Med Conference of Foreign Ministers in April 1999 in Stuttgart, Libya can become a full partner of the Barcelona Process if she accepts the full Barcelona acquis.


At the EU-African Summit

At present, Libya is a passive observer in the Barcelona Process, and is present as such at the Foreign Affairs Ministerial meetings, at high level political dialogue meetings, and at the Euro-Med committee. Libya has also attended, as observer, two high level sectoral Euro-Med meetings on energy in 2003. As indicated in the Communication on Wider Europe, in a context of enlargement, the EU should give consideration to how it could incorporate Libya into the neighbourhood policy. In order to send a coherent message, further engagement with Libya needs to be pursued within a conditional framework and a clear understanding of the country’s interest in making progress towards cooperation based on respect for shared values. However, the EU is considering engaging with Libya in selected areas of interest within a defined bilateral strategy, based on a realistic, conditional, and progressive approach, not to be considered as an “a la carte” offer of Barcelona. The long term objectives of EU policy towards Libya must remain Libya’s full accession to the Barcelona Process, accepting all its acquis. Such an approach should make it possible to address issues of interest, while helping Libya join the Barcelona Process and reintegrate fully into the international community." [Read the full text here]

The EEAS strategy paper for the timeperiod 2011-2013 notes:
Press freedom has improved. However, freedom of association and freedom of expression remain restricted and there are still numerous reported abuses of human rights. Recently, many Islamic prisoners were freed and the government has taken steps to grant compensation to victims of the 1996 repression at the Abou Salim jail as well as to destroy this prison, a symbol of internal repression. The Leader of the Revolution, Muammar al-Gaddafi, still retains strong influence."[Read the whole EEAS Strategy Paper on Libya here].

Catherine Ashton and the EEAS are facing a great challenge. The role of the EU in matters of foreign affairs is going to be (re-)defined, especially by the actions the EEAS is going to take now that many Arab countries are heading for change - change that will need careful and deliberate support. Now, with the Maghreb Countries unsettlement, the past strategies will have to be reconsidered and modified - the EEAS will have to prove its ascribed raison d'être.

Dreaming broadband...

2011-02-15T21:39:00.001+01:00

This is a speech held by Neelie Kroes just a few days back at the "Fibre to home conforence" - I never knew there was such a thing. But hey, at least Neelie does... and indeed she should since she is one of the many vice persidents of the European Commission and responsible for issues connected to any digital agenda. I am happy to see that the European Commission is turning to the most pressing European issues: "broadband" for everybody, now that certainly beats foreign affairs and diplomacy efforts in and around the Maghreb countries.

Let's hear what Neelie Kroes has to say:

Milan, 10 February 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is great to be here with you looking at our digital future. I hope to find new 'digital buddies' today, and that we will be able to implement the Digital Agenda and build a better future for Europe together.

At the heart of the Digital Agenda is ensuring that Europeans can get all the advantages and benefits that come from access to superfast broadband. Succeeding in this ambition is central to our economic future.

Maximising broadband access obviously takes a mix of players and a mix of technologies, and the role of fibre is central. You are not our only consideration, but you are absolutely key. It not possible to maximise access while failing on fibre. That is how seriously we take your issues.

While the EU broadband market is moving towards higher speeds because of fibre and cable, time is against us. The current rate of new connections – now down to 25,000 a day – is simply not enough to meet our 2020 targets. So we have to intensify our efforts and get higher investments on the ground. Read the whole speech here.

I must say that these lines sound very convincing. This is yet another example of how the European Union "connects" to our everyday life. By 2020 I will 37 years old and I'll be online faster than I have dreamed to be. I apologize for my sarcasm at the beginning of this log.Neelie Kroes will provide the basic tool that guarantees for a lot of education oppurtunities. Lets hope, that by 2020 there are enough people who are actually capable of using these oppurtnities wisely (we will keep trying to contribute!).

Subscribe now - think europe RSS available

2011-02-14T12:50:00.003+01:00

A good start into the week. For all of you who are too lazy to actively visiton our blog or who have to much internet traffic throughout the day: You can now be updated via RSS feed. Just click on the "subscribe Button" on the top left and you will be informed about all our our news and updates automatically.

Here you have the address for your feedreader. Copy and Paste will update you miraculously:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/thinkeurope

Enjoy it!

Social Media und die Gesellschaft der Europäischen Akademien

2011-02-09T11:37:00.004+01:00

Lange haben wir geplant und uns Gedanken gemacht: An diesem Freitag ist es endlich soweit: Die Gesellschaft der Europäischen Akademien wird es jetzt tun: Politische Bildung und Social Media - wir werden in ungeahnte Welten vordringen und neue Bildungsuniversen entdecken. Das Team des Europa-Haus Marienberg hat für diese Tagung die Federführung übernommen und wird mit lauter guten Beispielen aus der jüngeren Vergangenheit (Best Practice and Worst Case Szenarien) vorangehen.

Während der 2 tägigen Veranstaltung werden wir uns mit verschiedenen Thesen zum digitalen Lernen und digitaler Methodik auseinandersetzen. Als Experte auf diesem Gebiet wird uns Jöran Muuß-Merholz zur Verfügung stehen:

Jöran Muuß-Merholz ist Diplom-Pädagoge und arbeitet mit seiner kleinen Agentur J&K – Jöran und Konsorten an den Schnittstellen der Bereiche Bildung / Lernen, Medien / Kommunikation und Organisation / Management. Einen Schwerpunkt bilden die Auswirkungen der digitalen Gesellschaft auf Lernen und Bildung.
Von 2004 bis 2006 leitete er das Büro Hamburg der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung. Anschließend war er bis Ende 2008 Gründer und Geschäftsführer des Archivs der Zukunft, einem Netzwerk von reformfreudigen Pädagogen und deren guter Gesellschaft. In der politischen Bildung arbeitet er seit 10 Jahren für verschiedene Auftraggeber: http://www.joeran.de

Und das Beste an der Veranstaltung ist: All diejenigen unter euch, die jemals an unseren Seminaren teilnhemen sollten, werden in den Genuss ausgefuchster Methodik kommen und auf dieser Grundlage interaktive Partizipationsstrategien entwickeln können. Wir halten Euch auf dem laufenden!

"EU diplomacy on Egypt: Business as usual"

2011-02-08T14:17:00.001+01:00

This article I found on Kosmopolito's Blog just a few minutes ago. It contains intersting details on European diplomacy efforts in Egypt... nice insights and arguments supported and confirmed by Official European documents.

[...] As the story in Egypt unfolds it is interesting (and depressing as usual) to watch EU diplomacy in practice. Especially with all the talk about the “one voice in the world” and the reforms of the Lisbon Treaty (EEAS etc.). Well, “quiet diplomacy” in action, I suppose!
So, what happened in the EU institutions so far? High Rep Catherine Ashton gave a statement on Egypt on Thursday (pdf) and on Friday evening (pdf). On Saturday European Council President Van Rompuy also issued a statement (pdf). All statements seemed very moderate and basically called all parties to refrain from violence. However almost none of this made it into the mainstream media. Having watched the excellent Al Jazeera live stream during the last days I think it is safe to say to most people following the event did not heard of these statements...

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/ifWxk2

Hungary assumes EU presidency - What do you "thinkeurope" about that?

2011-02-07T09:28:00.003+01:00

HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY - A New Year means a new country at the head of the EU and the start of 2011 saw Hungary take charge of the bloc’s rotating presidency.
The takeover was greeted with a spectacular music and light show. Europe’s debt crisis, treaty change, the budget and the Roma migrant question are all expected to top the agenda in the coming months and Hungary has been keen to display it has what it takes. Earlier, Hungarian President Pal Schmitt addressed the nation.
But, not everyone is happy. Moves by Budapest to tighten controls on the media and seize private pension assets have angered several EU partners.
The UK, Germany and Luxembourg have all issued unusual public rebukes, with Luxembourg’s foreign minister openly questioning whether Hungary was ‘‘worthy of leading the bloc.” They have called on it to review the new media law. For the moment, however, Hungary’s government remains defiant.
What do you think about Hungarys presidency? How is it perceived in your home country? What do you expect? Comment and add your ideas to our blog - join the discourse!

YEP - Young European Professionals...building Europe

2011-02-04T11:33:00.000+01:00

The Federal Agency for Civic Education in cooperation with the Representation of the European Commission in Germany (Regional Representation in Bonn) have announced another round of "Young European Professionals". YEPs are younger European citizens between 16 and 23 who are trained in European issues to communicate the European Union to peers of the same age. You can ask YEPs to come to your school, sports club or whatsoever to have a special event about the EU.
Now you have the opportunity to become one of those YEPs. The application is published and you'll find all necessary information on

Application for future YEPs!!!

It's a great opportunity for you to be engaged and active in the field of European education. Train yourself and let others benefit from your experience. Build Europe by yourself!!!

Committee of Regions / Economic and Social Committee

2011-02-04T10:07:00.001+01:00

Produced by young participants during our first seminar this year. Talking visuals: Very nicely executed! Great job!

Committee of Regions / Economic and Social Committee

View more presentations from Europa-Haus Marienberg.

Thinkeurope TOP slideshares of our Seminars

2011-02-03T15:47:00.004+01:00

On the bottom of our thinkeurope Blog you will permanently find the latest and best presentations produced in our seminars. Students from all over Europe come here to work on topics and issues of their interest - some of them produce podcasts, plays, movies etc. Some also choose a rather classic method to pass on and elicit information: Prezi, PPT and slideshare presentations. In the next few moths we will start publishing some of these presentations on our blog (via slideshare all the other presentations will be vsisble as well).

Greater contents waits for you on slideshare. Some of our seminar presentations deal with European issues entirely - explaining European history and institutions - others will deal with cultural topics (ranging from music, to social media projects, copyright issues, hacking, etc.)

Apart from the few examples on the bottom of our blog we will update this blog with new presentations on a regular basis - that way you will stay informed about progress and quality that is inherent to Europe and its citizens!

Weiterbildungsportal RLP...just for the Germans?

2011-01-27T09:14:00.000+01:00

Das Bildungsministerium in Rheinland-Pfalz hat das "Weiterbildungsportal RLP" gestartet. Auf der Plattform lassen sich diverse Weiterbildungsangebote und Trainings finden. Die Themenbereiche sind breit gestreut. Auch das Europa-Haus Marienberg ist dort mit Aktivitäten präsent. Natürlich finden sich dort auch Seminare und Jugendbegegnungen von "think europe" wieder. Vielleicht eher ein Einstieg für deutsche Interessenten, aber durchaus auch etwas für internationale Kollegen/innen, die auf der Suche nach einer geeigneten Fortbildung sind. Viel Spaß beim stöbern, einfach hier klicken...

Weiterbildungsportal RLP

Youth Democracy Award

2011-01-26T16:37:00.000+01:00

"The Youth Democracy Award is awarded for the third time. By awarding a project, that advocates Democracy or Democratizing in Europe in an outstanding way, it aims to appreciate and acknowledge the commitment of/to young people. End of February, the Jury consisting of young people, is going to choose the winner. The awards assembly is going to take place in Mai in Bonn, in cooperation with the International Democracy Award, Bonn. The Jury consists of young people at the age between 16 and 26 years, who are politically active and engaged in different branches."

This is an excerpt from the official announcement of the Youth Democracy Award. Remember back to October/November 2010 when we gathered all back here in the Europe House for our international Web 2.0 seminar connecting Social Media and democratic participation. Our event fits pretty well the requirements the Award is looking for. Thus we handed in our project and now we're taking part in this competiton. Of course we are follwing the Olympic creed

"The most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight;the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well."

So, push your thumps. We did work alreday very hard and it was a fantastic project...maybe we can win even more ;-)

If you are interested you can find more information here:

Youth Democracy Award - Federal Agency for Civic Education

Speakers Corner "think europe" - Youtube we are coming...

2011-01-19T09:59:00.000+01:00

As promised...we are getting ready to include video blogging for you. We know it is already absolute fantastic to read all the news around the Europe House Marienberg and the seminars & gatherings within the European youth education "think europe"...but...many people asked us to see us again. That's why we start now with more video messages for you.

There is now available the official channel of "think europe" at Youtube just click the following link:

Youtube channel of "think europe"

We will provide from time to time videos for you, update you on news around our work and include videos from different seminars.

Enjoy it and come forward with you own material. See you soon!

2011 has started...

2011-01-18T10:39:00.000+01:00

Seminars are rolling in and we are prepared for the coming events. Last week the seminar season started with European youth seminars with German partcipants from Rhineland-Palatinate.Very good events and we are sure others will follow in the same spirit. Please forward any comments, wishes and ideas for the coming gatherings so we can include them into the programme. We're also planning to post some video messages here very soon...so you can see us again LIVE...what a service....all the best from the Europe House and a pleasant year 2011!!!

We are Europeans – huge European opportunity for young citizens from countries in South-Eastern Europe in 2011

2010-12-15T09:34:00.000+01:00

The main strategic aim of the project initiated by Polska Fundacja im. Roberta Schumana is to familiarize citizens of the European Union with the contemporary reality of candidate and potential candidate countries in South-Eastern Europe (SEE), thereby illustrating their potential as possible future member states.

During a 17-day long, two-route bus tour (EuropeTour) starting and ending in Warsaw one representative each of the six participating SEE countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) together with a tour guide and photographer will meet face to face with citizens of Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. They take part in common activities of representational, intercultural and informal kind (e.g. debates, conferences, local community meetings, sports activities and performances)…

…and the Europe House Marienberg is one stop on this tour!!!!

If you are from one of the SEE countries you are more than welcome to apply as participant for this fantastic European project. Call for participation on our
website
http://www.europa-haus-marienberg.eu/

Alongside with approx. 100 NGO representatives, politicians, experts and journalists our participants will subsequently be part of a one-day international conference on EU enlargement in Warsaw summing up the results of the project. This series of international street events will be concluded by the participants presenting the project during the Schuman Parade and its European Village on 7 May 2011.

More general information at http://schuman.pl/programy-fundacji-schumana/we-are-europeans

A wonderful European year to come in Bad Marienberg…

2010-12-14T10:33:00.001+01:00

Next year will be another exciting year in the Europe House Marienberg. We are already deep in the planning’s for 2011 and a lot of European projects are under way. As you might expect there will be especially in the first half of the year many projects with German youngsters who will attend European seminars to get acquainted with the European Union: presentations, discussions, simulation games, talk with experts, workshops and many more things will be available to discover the European reality.

Besides this area of work we will continue with our international work. No matter if a German-Polish or a German Hungarian seminar bi-national youth seminars will be on the schedule again. Meeting people from other countries is still the most effective way to build Europe from the basis.

The highlights of the year will be again the multinational youth gatherings with four to six countries coming for one week to the Europe House to experience intercultural learning and explore European issues. We will start again in April with the so called international spring gathering where we will ask the questions whether the EU is around us 24 hours a day and how this is affecting us on a daily basis.

This start-up is followed by the traditional international editor’s seminar in the Europe week at the beginning of May. The product will be a European online newspaper produced by the participants here in Bad Marienberg, ready to be read from everybody in Europe by the end of the gathering.

Also in May the Europe House will take part in a huge European project organised by the Polish Robert Schuman foundation situated in Warsaw. One of the two busses with youngsters from Southeast Europe will have a stop in Bad Marienberg while travelling through Europe discussion further EU enlargement to the Balkans. This project will be realised together with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung a German political foundation as well as with the GD Enlargement of the European Commission.

Two more multinational youth gatherings in May will bring youngsters together incl. young citizens from Turkey. Here we will also focus on the European Year of Volunteering. Involved will be hopefully the EU youth programme Youth in Action.

The first half of 2011 will be closed with the international prizewinner gathering bringing up to 30 national winners of the competition “Europe at School” together in Bad Marienberg. From Cyprus to Finland, from Ireland to Slovakia this group will really be a huge European family.

You see we have a lot to offer and we expect all of you to be active and engaged to realise interesting, funny and exciting projects in the coming six month. If you’re interested to join please feel free to contact us any time! We are looking forward to welcome you here personally - See you soon!

German-Polish youth gathering

2010-12-13T16:50:00.000+01:00

Last week for the first time ever two partners from Cracow (Poland) and Idar-Oberstein (Germany) met in the Europe House Marienberg to start a vivid cooperation.

Almost 50 youngsters from both countries worked in an intercultural atmosphere together and explored the other country and its culture. They learned together about the things we have in common and experienced certain issues where we are different. One remarkable sentence just after the kick-off was “Hey, I expected them to look different but they do look like us”. What a wonder…young people from another European country look like we do. This little scene makes it obvious that we still have to work on in Europe when in comes to stereotype and prejudices.

To meet people from other countries is still the most effective way to diminish and to remove prejudices. Having fun and learning something are to sides of the same medal. The group experienced this in the past days in the Europe House.

When they left there were already ideas about a visit of the German group to Poland in late summer 2011. It would be fantastic if the seminar in Bad Marienberg starts a new bi-national cooperation which will last for a lot of years to come.

EYV2011

2010-12-03T14:29:00.001+01:00

Breaking News: The European Presidecy has just announced the launch of 2011s year of Volunteering website. I guess it's time for us to volunteer and go abroad or stay and join the voluntary work!

http://www.eyv2011.be/

We will provide all the information we can get a hold of on this blog - so stay tuned and be amazed by the wide range of possibilities the EU offers! This is no commercial! We are aware of all the discourses that shed a negative light on the EU. But where there is shadow, there has to be light and this certainly is shining bright!

Youth Committee Meeting in Metz 2010

2010-12-02T09:49:00.000+01:00

The European Voluntary Service (EVS), an EU scheme enabling young people to do voluntary service abroad, is the EU's chief form of support for volunteering. It has reached its tenth birthday and the European Commission and others see this as a cause for celebration.

The EUNET Youth Committee has dedicated its last meeting in Metz to bringing this issue (and other chances to go abroad) to students of the Supélec in Metz (Grandes Ecoles). An Ivy League university for the field of economics and engineering in France.
Our Team consisted of 5 member institutions of the EUNET organisation. Students were quite reserved at the beginning of our lecture / Workshops, but thawed when it became clear that all "The-EU-sends-you-abroad-programmes" are offering a wide range of possibilities.check this presentation for further information

Looking back at our meeting Metz, which was also dedicated to come up with new and inventive projects for 2011 (a task fulfilled!), we must admit - it was a fun and productive time... stuffed with great food and some french sightseeing (Centre Pompidou). After two hard days of work our hosts (Michael Stange and Richard Stock from CERS) even made us try mussle - a more than doubtful pleasure.

To stay informed about the latest developments in our houses and within the EUNET organization you can follow the Youth Committee on Twitter.If you have any questions concerning EVS or other European programmes contact us any time - we are glad to help!

The Youth Committee Team: Anselm, Sylvia, Michael, Christian not in this picture but important parts of the team: Claudia and Michael "the Greek"

Christian Höfer, Michael Stange, Sylvia Heinrichs

Tough work

Arrival at the Supélec... oh and here we have Claudia on the far right

Creative Workshop Session


Stunned and thrilled students

Stunned and thrilled students 2

Podcast on music on the web and copyright issues

2010-12-01T09:18:00.000+01:00

Due to popular request we have finally found the long lost Podcast created during our international gathering in Autumn 2010 by klara and Elke.

Although we could have done better on the sound side... contentwise this podcast is beyond any doubt. Maybe you can also post the link to the according prezi presentation you prepared to illustrate your spoken words. That would be very nice! So, thanks again for a really good piece of work and information...

European Year of Volunteering

2010-11-30T09:08:00.000+01:00

Every year is dedicated to a special topic in the EU. Next year we will have the European Year of Volunteering in the European Union. It is a great opportunity to show all the work done on voluntary basis and to promote the non-profit sector European wide. We learned from our Network of Europe House that there will be an officail start incl. the launch of the website of this European year on December 2nd 2010 in Brussels.

Beside the official material for the European year there is already a website online called "EYV 2011 Alliance". The website is a plattform of various networks throughout Europe connetcted to the field of voluntary work. It's a very good source to start into the topic and read about it. You can find the Alliance website here http://www.eyv2011.eu/

ENJOY IT!!!

More ressources from the EYV 2011 - let's us know and we will promote it via "thinkeurope"!

Some impressions from the last European gathering - a Polish report in German language

2010-11-25T14:45:00.000+01:00

EHM Trailer

2010-11-24T14:12:00.000+01:00

EVS - European Voluntary Service

2010-11-24T13:46:00.002+01:00

18 years old and tired of Germany? With the EVS Programme you will be able to do voluntary work in a European country of your choice.You need to be between 18 and 30 years old. The Programme covers all costs!!!

The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is Action 2 of the Community YOUTH IN ACTION Programme. It supports transnational voluntary service by young people. Its aims are to develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, primarily so as to sustain social cohesion in the European Union. It encourages active citizenship and enhances mutual understanding among young people. These general objectives will be achieved by: helping young people participate in various forms of voluntary activities, both within and outside the European Union; giving young people the opportunity to express their personal commitment through voluntary activities at European and international level; involving young volunteers in a non-profit-making, unpaid and full-time activity for the benefit of the general public in a country other than their country of residence.

YOU SHOULD GO - This is a unique chance to finally make some life changing experiences - I know this sounds like an advertisement, but in this case it's not!
Here is a collection of paperwork / information that will allow you to develop a better picture of this Programme and what it does for you.

http://www.ngoserbia.com/EVS_guide.pdf (This is probably the most important piece of information, since it takes you through the whole Programme step by step - Very well written as well... easy to understand!)

Additional information
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/programme/action2_en.php

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_en.cfm (This link will help you to find a project of your interest)

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/documents/info_kit_0407.pdf

rausvonzuhaus - neue Erfahrungen im Ausland sammeln...or coming to Germany

2010-11-24T10:35:00.000+01:00

Sorry for writing in German but we have been informed about a tool wich is only available in German. But you can use the website mentioned below to find out ways to come to Germany which might be interesting for you as well.

Wer sich also grundsätzlich dafür interessiert, ins Ausland zu gehen und einen guten Überblick über verschiedene Programme und Möglichkeiten erhalten möchte, der ist bei http://www.rausvonzuhaus.de bestens aufgehoben. Die komplette Website informiert Euch über diverse Programme und Angebote ins Ausland zu gehen, interkulturelle Erfahrungen zu sammeln und sich weiterzuqualifizieren.

Wem die Suche durch diese ganze Seite zu mühselig ist, der kann ein neues Tool benutzen - den Auslandsberater. Hier könnt Ihr Euch durch ein kleines Programm klicken und Eure Wünsche und Daten eingeben. Am Ende steht dann ein Vorschlag, welche Programme alle für Eure Ansprüche in Frage kommen. Viel Spaß!

http://www.rausvonzuhaus.de/wai1/auslandtest.asp

Young Editors Seminar: Latest Newspaper online!

2010-11-19T15:09:00.000+01:00

It has just ended: This years last young editors seminar. The seminar has just put its results online. Topic: Sustainability, Development Assistance, Poverty and personal commitment. It has been a great week... with a lot of work and little fun ;-)

See the result for yourself: http://ehm201011.web-sz.de/zeitung.php?

Check out some more online newspapers under: www.seminarzeitung.de

Thanks to Micha Stalp and Thomas Krohn for their great effort and for doing tons of work behind the scenes!

Social Media Presentation - European Youth Gathering - mediaman

2010-11-19T09:43:00.000+01:00

During our European youth gathering in November 2011 with six countries from all over Europe we were dealing with the issue of Web 2.0 or as it is put nowadays correctly social media. We focused on different tools and applications. We discussed these tools, analyzed them, used them and worked around the whole topic.

During the gathering we got the chance to talk to an expert from "mediaman". Thank you very much again Pia Johannson. mediaman is an agency dealing with digital communication and they cooperate with various big enterprises and get them used to social media in their internal and external communication strategy.

The presentation given by Pia Johannson was very good. If you want to look at it again or develop own ideas from it you can have a look at the presentation again. You can find it here:

http://www.mediaman-evolution.de/2010/11/presentation-social-media-introduction-and-cases/#more-727

Enjoy and use it and give Pia Johannson some comments to her work.

Croatia ante portas - EU enlargement

2010-11-19T09:31:00.000+01:00

Just two weeks ago we had a fantastic European youth gathering with a Croatian delegation (content was Web 2.0 /social media - by the way). Now we have good news for our Croatian partners concerning the prospect of joining the EU pretty soon.

The European Commission released progress reports about the candidate countries and Croatia is doing pretty good. There are expectations that the negotiations can be closed in the next EU presidency from January to June 2011 (Hungary will have the presidency then).

You can read more on the enlargement website of the European commission. Find these information here:

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/press_corner/key-documents/reports_nov_2010_en.htm

Good luck. Hopefully the next time we see us all as EU member states!!!!

European competition about the importance of language

2010-11-17T14:36:00.000+01:00

The European Union has launched "Tounge stories". This is a European competiton where you can participate if you have a good story about the importance of language in the EU.

It is not about a highflying essay on academic level. You can be as creative as possible. This competition could be very funny for you, your schoolclass together with your frinds whatsoever...

You can submit your idea till January 31st 2011.

Check our the rules and participate. And if you have done let us know. Have fun.

http://tonguestories.eu/about

Your voice is needed...European youth programme

2010-11-16T14:26:00.000+01:00

In case you haven't heard of it yet: The next generation of the Youth programme of th European Union will be (hopefully) launched after the current programme Youth in Action will expire by the end of 2013.

The programme is a great tool for multinational youth gatherings and offers also a great variety of European experiences for you personally.

The European Commission is currently asking you about the structure of the next programme generation. So you can include your opinions and points of view.

This online public consultation is available in all official languages of the EU and can be found on:

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/news/news1803_en.htm