The European Union turns 74. Another important birthday, another day which, like every year, Reggio Emilia celebrates by proposing various initiatives aimed at young people and students in the area: 8 May with an event of the What EU Does for Me route (What Europe does for me), promoted for five years now by the Province in collaboration with the E35 Foundation and with the participation of the online community Will Media, on 9 May with a treasure hunt in the city to discover the past and present of the Union in an innovative way.
In the initiative on 8 May, journalists and experts from Will Media – an online community of information on current affairs which, starting from data and statistics, provides information and content on topics of interest, adopting digital, innovative and immediate tools – will involve around 300 students from high schools of Reggio Emilia in a moment of in-depth study on the history of the European institutions, on the changes underway, on the opportunities offered to young people, as well as on the impact that the Union’s decisions bring on the daily lives of citizens, especially the youngest.
Then on May 9th, Europe Day will be celebrated with a treasure hunt through the streets of the historic center promoted by the Eurodesk Agency of Reggio Emilia and the E35 Foundation itself: around 180 students from classes III and IV will liven up the center of the city, discovering, through common questions and games, the places and moments that are symbolic of the local and European history of our city. The treasure hunt will also see a theatrical performance created in collaboration with the theater collective Consorzio Balsamico as part of the European Theater in Palm project, promoted by the E35 Foundation and dedicated to the promotion of young emerging artists. The treasure hunt will also represent the final event of the “European Young Multiplier” project, a training and active participation path promoted within the schools of the Province which allows participants to become multipliers, towards their peers, of information on opportunities European institutions and to create real information points within their own institutes.
The What EU does for me path
“What Europe does for me” is a training course that the Province of Reggio Emilia, in collaboration with the E35 Foundation for international planning, has been promoting since 2019 to illustrate to high school students in the area. the importance and functioning of the European Union, the opportunities offered to young people, as well as offering tools for reading and analyzing the role of the European Union in today’s international context. The project is aimed at all 21 secondary schools in the province with more than 800 students involved in the 2024 edition alone, thanks to the organization of various events spread throughout the area, including Scandiano, Correggio, Reggio and Castelnovo Monti.
In line with the campaign promoted by the European Parliament useyourvote , the path proposed by the Province of Reggio Emilia together with the E35 Foundation aims to be a space of activation and participation, aimed at informing as many students as possible on the importance of actively participating in the European elections, as well as sharing information and insights on the main European institutions and policies.
During the 5 editions held from 2019 to today, What Europe Does for Me has allowed the involvement of almost 8,000 young people in training and awareness-raising activities on European issues.
Why is Europe Day celebrated on May 9th?
Europe Day, which takes place every year on May 9, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic declaration in which the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman set out the idea of a new form of political collaboration in Europe, which would make war between European nations unthinkable. Schuman’s proposal is considered the birth certificate of what is now the European Union. On 9 May 1950, 74 years ago, the then French Foreign Minister and future President of the European Parliament Robert Schuman proposed, in fact, the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), so that European countries could implement common production of coal and steel to make war “not only unthinkable, but materially impossible”.
Robert Schuman’s declaration not only led to the creation of a common market for coal and steel, but also paved the way for an economic community that would progressively become a political union.
In taking this historic step, the founding countries (Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) laid the foundations for lasting peace and a united Europe.
