On 9 May 2019, the Ligue de l’Enseignement was able to celebrate Europe Day at the Paris Anim’ Nouvelle Athènes Centre managed by the League. With the help of many associative and institutional actors, the French partner was able to propose a fun and informative half-day in the spirit of the “R-EU CONNECTED” project and the “Decoders of Europe”.
In total, more than 300 people took part in this day.
Before the Decoders evening, the students were welcomed in the Centre Paris Anim’ and enjoyed the games and activities organised by the associative actors present (OFAJ, Jeunes européens, CIDEM). An exhibition by the photographer Bernard Loyal was presented. Many goodies about Europe were distributed. In the auditorium, the Councillor Delegate for Europe of the Paris City Council was able to present the INCLUDE project, co-financed by the EU and acting locally for an active participation of Europeans living in Paris. It was also an opportunity to come back to the “R-EU Connected” project in the presence of the general public and the pupils’ parents.
Afterwards, the primary school pupils presented their versions of the Ode to Joy, and the secondary school pupils presented their citizens’ initiatives as well as questions chosen in class to the guests present. Indeed, in the spirit of the “Decoders of Europe”, these questions served as a basis for a fact-checking session on Europe. To enlighten the public on the selected issues, speakers from the Representation of the European Commission in France, the European media Toute l’Europe and the European Civic Forum were present as speakers. The objective of this evening, beyond being the culmination of the educational pathways, was to deconstruct the preconceived ideas about the EU and to allow an interaction between the general public and the institutional actors/representatives.
