More about us extended european offer, the european citizenship training plays a prominent role. It aims to provide a critical and practical understanding of the European Union and its impact on our lives as citizens. This training is aimed at secondary school teachers and students. We can adapt the level as needed
This training programme combines classroom workshops and visits to institutions to offer a multifaceted view of institutions and our responsibilities as European citizens. Far from being a propaganda tool, we offer an open, critical and well-documented approach. Being a citizen does not just mean swallowing institutional slogans whole: it means being informed so that we can mobilise in favour of humanist and democratic values and cultivate the best that our continent has to offer the world.
A 360 degrees European Citizenship training
The european citizenship training consists of participatory workshops and visits to institutions and information centres on Europe. In this way, classroom discussions and information are combined with practical experiences within the European Parliament and neighbouring institutions to provide a comprehensive overview of European realities.
There are two versions: five half-days and ten half-days. Classes and visits usually take place in the morning to leave time for activities exploring Brussels, tourist towns or cultural visits – the Magritte Museum is often popular, for example. And Brussels' gastronomy is not to be outdone...
First workshop: The notions of Europe and Citizenship
This workshop is common to both versions, five or ten half-days.
Participants get to know the trainer. Then they take part in a debate on the concept of European citizenship with The app Kialo-Edu.
They then discuss Europe: is it a territorial, political or cultural concept? What are its limits? They then explore the notions of citizenship and democracy. They watch a presentation on the legal sources of European citizenship.
This presentation is part of a collection of free educational resources that we make available to participants in our training courses. You are also welcome to use them.
They also use NGram Viewer and Google Trends to measure the interest evolution about citizenship interest over time and space.
The morning usually ends with a presentation of the main European institutions:
The Court of Justice, judicial power and guardian of the treaties
The European Parliament, the only body directly elected by citizens
The Commission, the executive arm of European Union
The Council of Ministers, representing the national governments of the Member States
First visit: the Experience Europe information center
Experience Europe is an information centre located just opposite the Berlaimont building, which houses the European Commission. It is a multimedia centre – with touch screens, a cinema, tablets and virtual reality headsets – offering an excellent introduction to:
- The european history since world war II
- The european Commission and how it works
- european commissioners and their responsibilities, the committees to which they belong
- testimonials from European citizens about their lives, their commitment, etc.
This is an excellent way of illustrating in very concrete terms the concepts examined on the previous day. It also introduces the concepts covered in the second workshop on how institutions work.
Second Workshop of our european citizenship training: Introduction to European Istitutions
We explore the history and functioning of European institutions in greater detail.
We focus on the concept of the rule of law. Next, we examine the chronology of European integration and the treaties.
We examine the hierarchy of EU law, illustrating the theory with concrete and topical cases.
We focus on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the methods of exemption from treaties (veto and opt-out, role of the Court of Justice in the event of conflict with the Treaties, etc.).
Second visit: The House of European History
The House of European History offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the history of the continent first, and then in that of the European Union. We generally follow the tour on the history of democracy in Europe, which ties in well with our themes on citizenship. However, we also allow ourselves to discover other areas of the museum, and even into certain temporary exhibitions which can also illustrate certain concepts.
Third workshop: Migration and Asylum
Europe attracts migrants from all over the world. However, in this module, we put the importance of this phenomenon into perspective. Europe only takes in a fraction of the world's migrants. We base our exercises and presentations in this module on the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Participants are often surprised by the complexity of the journeys and local realities. We examine this topic in light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the New Pact on Asylum and Migration, as well as current events and recent academic studies.
Third visit: Parlamentarium
The name is not very delighted, as it causes confusion between Parliament and Planetarium. It is actually a museum which offers a wealth of information in an interactive way. The curators have struck the right balance between detailed documentation on European treaties and legislation, the history of the construction of the institutions and the daily life of Europeans.
Fourth workshop: the Civil Society role in Europe
Any training in European citizenship would be incomplete without addressing the role of civil society on the continent. It is clear that citizens exercise their rights and express their will both through the dense network of European associations and foundations and through elections held every five years. We examine the role played by civil society in Europe, current trends in European philanthropy, the risks to its future and the draft directive on the ECBA, the European Cross-Border Association.
Fourth visit: The European Parliament
Often seen as the highlight of European citizenship training, a visit to the European Parliament is a unique opportunity to see one of the high places of democracy and talk to someone who works there. Although it is the shortest of the four visits – just over an hour – it is undoubtedly one of the most memorable. More than one participant told us that they felt a strong emotion in this highly symbolic place.
Fifth workshop: Brexit and divisions with EU
Brexit is undoubtedly the story of a failure. A failure of the United Kingdom's integration into the Union. We provide a chronology of the UK's presence within the European institutions. We examine the main stages of the Brexit. But also its consequences for the British and European economies and for the lives of citizens, for freedom of movement, etc. We also look at other cases - the French, Italian and Dutch proposals for separation, all aborted after the British failure.
Sixth workshop: The European Union future and its « wrapping up»
For this final workshop in the European citizenship training course, we discuss the many impacts of the war in Ukraine on Europe. These impacts will undoubtedly continue for many years to come. And they affect not only the economy, but also political relations within the EU and with other states, particularly Russia. We reflect together on what the course has taught us. And we ask for feedback from the participants, in particular through Wooclap app.
Contact
Depending on the interests of the groups, we can focus on one theme or another. For schools outside Belgium, travel, accommodation and training are fully covered by the European Erasmus+ Mobility programme. Are you interested in? Please complete the form below!
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