IF I WERE A MEP ACTIVITY STEP BY STEP
PORTUGUESE TEAM DOSSIER
THE TEACHERS…
contacted the Documentation Centre of European Union of the Law faculty in Coimbra University in order to get brochures, posters and books;
organized an exhibition in the school library with the material collected ;
invited a MEP to come to our school;
supervised all the students’ work;
disseminated the work in the school website and local press.
THE STUDENTS…
researched information about the EU;
learnt about the functioning of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Groups they are part of;
prepared the meeting with the Portuguese MEP Marisa Matias, of the Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left;
met the MEP Marisa Matias and disseminated the Project in school;
produced the documents required on time.
THE SCHOOL STAFF…
helped organizing the school library exhibition;
took care of printing all the documents produced. 2
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OUR MEPS Name:
Ema
Surname: Barrigon Martins Date of birth: 30th September 2002 School: Agrupamento de Escolas de Montemor-o-Velho Grade: 10th Country: Portugal
Name:
JoĂŁo
Surname: Ferreira Munhoz Date of birth:30th September 2002 School: Agrupamento de Escolas de Montemor-o-Velho Grade: 10th Country: Portugal
Name: Ruben Surname: Fernandes Date of birth: 31st January 2002 School: Agrupamento de Escolas de Montemor-o-Velho Grade: 10th Country: Portugal
3
MATERIALS RESEARCHED/PRODUCED
EUROPEAN UNITED LEFT / NORDIC GREEN LEFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY GROUP PROFILE
ANOTHER EUROPE IS POSSIBLE!
Our initials - GUE/NGL this abbreviation stands for Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. We are a group of 52 Members from 19 different political delegations and 14 Member States ( Die Linke and Independent – Germany; Podmos, Izquierda Plural – Spain; SP – Netherlands; Akel – Cyprus; Kscm - Czech Republic; Sinn Féin and Independent – Ireland; Popular Unity, Syriza and Independent – Greece; PCP and BE – Portugal; L'Altra Europa and Independent – Italy; Party for the Animals – Netherlands;
EH Bildu - Basque Country; FB – Denmark;
VAS –
Finland, FdG (Independent and PC) – France.
Our birth and growth – GUE/NGL GROUP Constituent declaration - 14 July 1994. The first president of the Group was Alonso Puerta a member of the Izquierda Unida of Spain. Since March 15th 2012, Gabriele Zimmer of the DIE.LINKE party has been the group's president. She is the only female president of a political group at the European Parliament and was reelected as President after the 2014 elections which saw a 50% increase in the group's size to 52 MEPs. The GUE/NGL's 26 women and 26 men make it the only group in Parliament where women and men are equally represented.
Our vision: What unites our parliamentary group is the vision of a socially equitable, peaceful and sustainable European integration process based on international solidarity.
Our fight: We are fighting for more and better jobs and educational opportunities, for social security and social solidarity, for a respectful way to deal with our earth and its resources, for cultural exchange and diversity, for sustainable economic development and for a consistent and strong peace policy.
Our mission: We see it as our mission to make the European Union more human, more transparent and more tangible. We want more direct democracy and active participation by citizens. We want equal rights for women and men, civil rights and liberties and the enforcement of human rights. Anti-Fascism and anti-racism are also a strong part of the tradition of left movements in Europe.
Source: http://www.guengl.eu/
4
EUROPEAN UNITED LEFT / NORDIC GREEN LEFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY
Views on Gender Equality: No place for gender inequality in Europe
GUE/NGL is a crucial force in ensuring that the European Parliament places women’s rights and gender equality high on its agenda. We draft parliamentary reports and questions, intervene during committee meetings and plenary sessions, and organize debates and seminars with these aims and principles in mind.
Working for gender equality is also about empowering women, giving women of all ages a voice and giving visibility to the alternatives created by women working – together with profeminist men – in politics, economics, social and care services, for a sustainable environment, and on conflict and peace issues.
GUE/NGL favours close collaboration with women’s organisations, trade unions and wider social movements. In order to change o
For real gender equality in Europe we need to eliminate the gender pay gap, fight for LGBTI rights, foster equal participation in decision making, and put in place a strategy for combating violence against women that is rooted in a gender equality perspective.
The GUE/NGL stands against female genital mutilation, domestic violence, trafficking, sexual violence and gendercide.
We fight for girls' right to education, global recognition of women’s reproductive rights and the right to claim asylum on the grounds of gender-based persecution.
Views on the Environment: For a greener and more sustainable Europe
Time is running out for strong measures to tackle climate change across all EU policy areas. At the global level the GUE/NGL works for ambitious targets to tackle climate change and measures to help developing countries cope with global temperature increases.
We must protect Europe’s biodiversity and champion renewable energy. We believe our future lies in wind power, wave power, and solar energy, not dirty polluting industries.
Source: http://www.guengl.eu/
5
GENDER EQUALITY
6
E.L.I.O.T. - ENHANCING LITERACY BASIC SKILLS AND FIGHTING DROPOUT WITH CROSS-CURRICULAR THEATRICAL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ID Number: 2016-1-IT02-KA219-024165
«IF I WERE A MEP»
Topic
Gender equality
Country
Portugal
Political group Subtopic description
Political position on topic Proposal description
Reference Law/Act
Confederal Group of the European United Left Nordic Green Left (EN-leaflet-femme-web(2).pdf / PT-leaflet-femme-web.pdf) Gender equality as equal rights and freedom in order to have equal opportunities of participation, acknowledgement and valuing of women and men in every domain of society: political, economic, personal and familiar. Defense of educational policies and programs that promote gender equality Given the reality and the latest data presented, we propose: - an European Educational Program for GENDER EQUALITY, a program that denounces myths and ideas based on gender difference according to which boys should only play with cars and girls with dolls. European Convention on Human Rights: ARTICLE 14 - Prohibition of discrimination “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.” (Convention_ENG.pdf / Convenção Europeia dos Direitos do Homem.pdf) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8_W-yhJh34 (Testemonies )
Useful links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN6kWKTl_eI (Gender Equality is a human right) 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74eofUlyx5o (Desigualdade de Género) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq-jogDdKFU (Emma Watson - #HeForShe) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs ( Always #LikeAGirl) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4WsW3booUo (Short Film on GENDER EQUALITY) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WRNwDptQe8 (Gender Discrimination)
Appendix
Gender Equality Index 2017, European Institute for Gender Equality
The Gender Equality Index shows the latest trends in gender equality in the EU over the past ten years. Is gender equality getting better or worse? Which countries have progressed the most? In which areas has the situation for women and men improved? Or are developments going backwards? Find out more at http://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality... https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=H2ILmsXt4uQ
8
9
ï‚·
Leaflet GUE/NGL
10
Speech about Gender Equality presented to the E.L.I.O.T assembly Today I’m here to talk about Gender Equality. But what do we mean when we talk about Gender Equality? Gender is a social concept that refers to women’s and men’s differences. Not only from a biological point of view but also from a socialization process point of view. The concept of gender is the set of qualities and behaviours that society expects from men and women to form their social identity. The equality between men and women, or Gender Equality, means that both should have equal rights and opportunities to freely participate on society, politics, economics and personal subjects. This is a matter that affects us nowadays, men and women. When we are asked if we are in favour or against Gender Equality, many of us claim to be in favour because it’s something that we have been perceiving like a positive value that should be adopted to built a new and fairest society; a value that the world should adopt, but most importantly, a value that we should adopt. But, honestly, Gender Equality isn’t a reality, and still many people, not only men, but also women, think that men and women are unequal: they play different roles and their functions are ranked in different work places, by assuming that men’s functions are superior to women’s. It’s important and urgent to speak about gender equality on these days, because:
Men’s and women’s participation on the job market is unequal, a fact that
can be verified on the wage gap between men and women one of its consequences is the confirmation poverty in larger scale among the female population;
At public administration and at private enterprises, the management
positions are mostly occupied by men but the number of women with superior habilitations is bigger than men’s;
There are still masculine professions and female professions.
The participation and use of time among men and women about personal
and familiar life are still different. Women are still the main responsible for the housework and family emotional support;
In spite of the fact that the maternity/paternity wave can be shared both by
the mother or the father according to the law, there aren’t many men using this 11
right, specially because of the stigmatization they suffer at the work place;
The psicossocial barriers in the access to politics still persists;
Women have different and unequal positions in the wage work namely
concerning difficulties in time management still caused by what is expected from women with the care and attentions of their families;
In spite of the fact that law advocates equal opportunities in the job market,
men and women still have different expectations, based on the stereotypes and social Gender roles;
The growing women participation in the job world is important not only for
the families support but also from their self-confidence and global economy;
The integration of Gender perspective defies the traditional and
conventional politics and the resource sharing acknowledges the deep connection between the relative disadvantage that affects women and the relative enjoy and possess relative advantage that men enjoy and possess; In the last 100 years this has been the subject of debate and although there is more and more action in the name of GENDER EQUALITY… There is still a long way to go because, recently, the president of Harvard University has made comments about women having less capacity to be scientists, which raised discussions and doubts about how to solve and end this discrimination! The problem is that the prejudices begin in very early ages and I also have them! An example of this is St. Valentine’s!On this date how many of us are used to hear that it has to be the boy paying for the dinner and not the girl? And how many times have you seen a girl come to school with a bunch of flowers to offer her boyfriend? Never… How often do we hear that firefighters, truck drivers and police are men’s professions? These prejudices or ideas are crystallized in our culture and we cannot expect them to change from overnight… If we do nothing it is estimated that it will take more than 75 years until there is GENDER EQUALITY! So, let's try to accelerate this a little bit by approving a European education program for GENDER EQUALITY. A program that denounces the myths and ideas made that are based on gender differences and that in the limit teach boys that they should only play with cars and girls only with dolls. 12
ENVIRONMENT
13
E.L.I.O.T. - ENHANCING LITERACY BASIC SKILLS AND FIGHTING DROPOUT WITH CROSS-CURRICULAR THEATRICAL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ID Number: 2016-1-IT02-KA219-024165
«IF I WERE A MEP»
Topic
Environment
Country
Portugal
Political group
Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
Subtopic description
Political position on topic
Proposal description
Reference Law/Act
Preservation of natural environment
Earth is our home and, as such, demands to be cared for and protected. Economic interests cannot take precedence over ecological interests. We need to implement effective educational policies that alert to the dangers of non-ecological behaviours, promoting the utmost importance of environmental protection.
Ecology must outweigh economy. We must: Implement measures to reduce pollution and preserve the environment seek effective and lasting preventive measures in the area of education find effective punitive measures to punish large companies and economic interests that do not care about the environment and infer violent attacks in the name of money. DECISION No 1386/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’ - Article 2 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/action-programme/index.htm 14
Useful links
For an overview of EU environmental policy: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/index_en.htm For information on the European Environment Agency: http://www.eea.europa.eu For specific information on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances (REACH): http://echa.europa.eu European Environment Action Programme to 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T28MW67OSDI 7th EAP — The new general Union Environment Action Programme to 2020: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/factsheets/7eap/en.pdf True sustainability in Europe in 2050: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wp8b3Zkz50 Basic EU environment policy: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/basics/benefits-law/euenvironment-law/index_en.htm
Appendix: Speech presented to the E.L.I.O.T assembly
We live in very difficult times. We have to take care of our house because it is at risk and we with it. Man has not been worrying about protecting and preserving the environment and his actions have been causing phenomena that pollute and destroy our home. In my country, for example, on October 15 th 2017, 440 fires broke out in Portugal, due not only to climate change (the temperatures recorded on that day were not typical and expected at that time of year) but also to the lack of responsibility of Man by not cleaning the woods, not taking care of the forest, not keeping the grounds clean. On climate change, I would like to state that: We are all responsible. Climate change is the greatest environmental threat of the 21st century, with profound and cross-cutting consequences for various areas of society: economical, social and environmental. All of us, without exception, are being affected by this issue: ordinary citizens, businesses, governments, economies and, most important of all, nature.
15
Climate change has always been recorded over the thousands of years the planet Earth has. The problem is that in the last century the pace of climate change has accelerated sharply and the trend is that it will take on even more chaotic proportions if no action is taken. The occurrence of heat waves and droughts are increasingly frequent phenomena, and consequent agricultural losses represent a real threat to the world economies. At the heart of these changes are the so-called greenhouse gases, whose emissions have risen sharply. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the main negative gas of these so-called greenhouse gases, and is a direct consequence of the use / burning of fossil fuels such as carbon, oil and gas for energy production purposes. It is therefore imperative to reduce emissions of this type of gases. How? Gradually eliminating the massive use of fossil fuels, replacing them with renewables, fostering energy savings and energy efficiency. Human activity was pointed out in 2007 by scientists specializing in this area and meeting under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the main cause of these climate changes. By maintaining an inert and apathetical attitude towards this issue, we run the risk of being exposed to extreme and unpredictable climatic events (such as those that have been reported in recent times) and with harmful effects for the whole world! The temperature, in the last century, registered an increase of 0,76ºC. The forecast is that in the present it rises between 1.1 to 6.4ºC, depending on the mitigating measures that are initiated. This increase in average temperature taken as normal at 2 ° C may induce rapid, unforeseen and non-linear responses that can trigger irreversible damage to terrestrial ecosystems. I would like to show you a little film that shows my country destroyed. (Plays the movie “My wonderful world is in danger” produced by the Team)
In addition to the images of successive fires that devastated my country and turned the landscape into a lifeless lunar space.
16
Tagus river is suffering deep pollution due to discharges carried out by the cellulose industry. We have here called for measures to be taken that would reveal man's care for the earth and that such measures could reduce pollution and preserve the environment. Given the seriousness of the situation we want preventive measures to be considered in the area of education, but we also need punitive measures for large corporations and economic interests that do not care about the environment and that infer violent attacks in the name of money. Ecology must outweigh economy. My country needs support to reforest ... My country needs policies that put environmental issues at the center of discussion But it's not just my country ... It's all over Europe. It's all over planet Earth.
17