Looking Back on Europe Day

Ask Ursula! Ursula who? Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission.

55 young people from the border region now know who Ursula is. As part of Europe Day, young people were given an explanation about the European elections, about decision-making within Europe, and what Europe can mean for young people. We look back on a successful event attended by Belgian and Zeeuws-Vlaanderen students. There were Belgian youths present who were voting for the first time. For these elections, Belgium specifically lowered the voting age to 16.

The contributions from Henrik Vos of Ghent University and VRT journalist Rob Heirbaut were inspiring. With Rosa Groen and Jochem Bosgra from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the students took on the roles of various countries. How do you set up a good lobby and convince other countries of your viewpoint? A valuable experience!

Focus Group 

This has sparked a desire to collaborate more with young people. That’s why we are taking the initiative to set up a focus group. Several enthusiastic young people have already signed up for this.
 

Financial Contribution 

For the organization of this event, we received a financial contribution from the Scheldemond Fund. On this day, the members had a meeting of the Schelderaad at the town hall. This allowed them to join the last part of the afternoon and engage in conversation with the students.
 

Next year again? 

The students and teachers were enthusiastic. Next year again? We hope to organize such a gathering again. Thanks to the great cooperation with EGTS, the municipality of Terneuzen, and the Provinces of East and West Flanders.