EYP-UA Weekend in Kherson. Academic preparation kit

ACADEMIC PREPARATION KIT EYP-UA WEEKEND IN KHERSON 1-2 OF MARCH, 2014

INTRODUCTION Dearest delegates, This booklet which was prepared by your chairpersons will briefly introduce you to your topic, walk you through all of the vital background information, inspire your inquisitive minds to think beyond our limits, and greatly prepare you for EYP-UA Weekend in Mykolaiv.

I will for now just leave you with 3 small pieces of advice to help you through this week until we finally meet: - Read your topic overview at least twice; the more knowledge a committee has, the more powerful and emotion-filled time you will have; - Take a closer look to links for further research; - Prepare to amaze and be amazed.

Wish you a successful preparation and interesting reading!

Good luck everyone, we are looking forward to meeting every single one of you very soon.

President of Kherson EYP-UA Weekend, Kristina Chelmakina

Committee on Culture and Education CULT With differences in the quality of education and funding resources in Western and post-socialistic European countries, how should the governments ensure high-quality primary and secondary education all over Europe?

“Today, education is seen as a way to decrease the social inequalities, to avoid conflicts, to learn respect and tolerance and to preserve Human Rights. Europe, in general terms, has succeeded in the policy of ‘school for all’, says Heiko Vogl, in his project “FaceIt” presentation.

Primary and secondary education is compulsory in all the European Union (EU) Member States, and most post-socialist European states.

In most of the EU countries, there is quite a long transition from primary to secondary education (about 7 years) which provides coverage of the basic studies on the world, culture, religion, art, philosophy, etc. This smooth transition into more subjectoriented secondary education serves as a fundamental platform for further education in a diverse region of the EU. The education systems and curricula are therefore made to serve this purpose as well. This might seem like “flattening” education to suit every country to some people, although on the other hand there are opponents of this opinion who say that it gives countries an opportunity to learn from each other’s experience. It is very often that the European Parliament or the European Commission report on the carried out projects of comparing multiple countries’ primary and secondary education systems. Then they outline the fundamentals for the whole EU community. Such projects also include non-formal education alongside with the formal in many Western European states in the same manner which might be considered a factor that contradicts with the general unofficial policy and harms the country’s identity.

A common theory nowadays is that, trying to transform their socialistic societies into more democratic ones, post-socialistic countries borrow too much of “the Western values of diversity” into their educational systems, which sometimes does not help achieve goals governments set for their countries.

Most countries make investment into education their top priority. However, the outcomes are not the same. This being kept in mind, such facts should be considered comparing funding for education in Western European and post-socialist states: 1) Postsocialist countries that are not in the EU have less funding; 2) Working as one system

and having quite similar ‘European mentality’ type, being secured partially by the funding opportunities backed up by the European Commission, Western European states (and the previously socialistic Member States) are capable of holding projects, researches, observations, which is helpful to bring up new educational strategies and curricula; 3) There are very few exchange programs between post-socialist and Western countries for secondary school students in Europe. These facts initiate a concern whether the both sides should keep moving in the same direction?

Keywords: Western European States; post-socialistic states in Europe; primary and secondary education; formal and non-formal education; education projects of the European Commission.

Official information resources: 1. Report on key competences for a changing world: implementation of the Education and Training 2010 work programme (2010/2013(INI)). Primary and Secondary Education: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&reference=A72010-0141&format=XML&language=EN 2. Structure of European education systems 2013/2014: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/facts_and_figures/educ ation_structures_EN.pdf Articles of introductory character: 1. Varieties of Educational Trans formations: Politics, Economics, and Cultures after Socialism: http://www.irex.org/system/files/SILOVA_0.pdf 2. Some trends on school education in Europe: http://www.slideshare.net/heiko.vogl/some-trends-on-school-education-ineurope 3. Eurypedia – The European Encyclopedia on National Education Systems http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/eurypedia_en.php Relevant articles: 1. “Education for all” (archive): http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/i-fight-poverty/think-goal-2.html 2. Western Europe - Educational Roots, Reform in the Twentieth Century, Contemporary Reform Trends, Future Challenges: http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2547/Western-Europe.html 3. European School: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_School

4. Project “FaceIt”: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/project_reports/documents/comenius/all/com_mp_1 34362%20_%20face_it.pdf by Lyudmyla Krasnytska

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs EMPL When many European countries face the challenge of high youth unemployment, what concrete steps should be taken to ensure that post-graduates do not become irreversibly excluded from the labour market?

For millions of well-educated, willing and promising European youngsters the task of finding a job, which could allow them to receive a decent salary and to put into practice their knowledge and ambitiousness, remains unsolved. Levels of informal employment among young people are soaring and they are finding it even more difficult to find jobs that match their skills and education. With on-going political and economic crisis in most European countries the rates of youth unemployment continue to arise alarmingly: 21.4% in European Union, 17.6% in Central and South-eastern Europe according to World Economic Forum 2013. The most shocking tendencies belong to Spain and Greece- 57.4% and 58% respectively. This complicated issue leads to a vast number of repercussions: leak of highly skilled labour force, poverty, deepening of the economic crisis, growth of resentment consequently leading to outbreaks of social crisis, separatism and crime etc.

Despite unfavourable situation, currently there are over 4 million vacancies in the EU, capable to provide approximately 70 per cent of the unemployed youth with a job, which is reported by the European Commission. Economically speaking, the EU faces the problem of the so called structural unemployment, meaning that there is a visible absence of connection between employers` demand and workers, available on the labour market. The McKinsey survey provides some illumination: 43% of employers said that candidates do not possess the skills they need. Yet 72% of educators believe new graduates are qualified to land jobs in the real world. There is an obvious mismatch in this sphere: graduates may have skills, but not the right ones, because education is often not adequately tailored to the needs of the labour market. Moreover, economic stagnation in the country causes the phenomenon of cyclical unemployment, which is why Member States more affected by the financial crisis experience higher rates of unemployment, unable to create sufficient jobs.

Government, authorities, research and development institutions do not leave the problem of youth unemployment aside. In April 2012 the EC created the Employment Package, focusing on concrete measures to boost the level of employment in the Member States. Unlike previous educational programmes, the new Package contains specific economic recommendations concerning all aspects of this problem. As an innovative example, the EC suggests governments to develop areas where a significant

amount of workplaces could be created. Currently, the health service, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and the green economy are identified as such possessing the biggest job potential.

Still as it remains a big challenge to predict the demand for specialists. It is crucially important to prepare youth to be easily adjustable to fast-changing environment through educational reforms and increase of mobility. Career orientation services and school-to-work transition remain a weak link thus complicating the problem. The support of new graduates during their first steps on the labour market needs to be protected and regulated from the beginning, if necessary, by universities themselves. On the other hand, employers need to be supported with suitable securities as well.

Our future is at stake. It is not just discouraged young people who lose out if they cannot find work-society as a whole will suffer tremendously. Unemployment figures are expected to increase this year. Countries will continue to suffer significant losses if little or no action is taken to address the root issues of unemployment. We cannot stress this enough: it is paramount for governments to make impressive and corrective efforts to keep the crisis from worsening. In order to find ways to overcome this deep crisis, one should answer the following questions: what measures should be taken in order to develop better matching between skills (gained throughout education?) and labour market needs? How can the gap between the worlds of education and work be bridged?

What are the ways of promoting better anticipation of future skills need? What are the roles of government institutions, educational establishments and employers in tackling youth unemployment?

Keywords: youth unemployment; labour market; cyclical unemployment; business cycles; economy recession; Employment Package; green economy; job-rich sectors; lifelong learning; skills mismatch; structural unemployment; school to work transition.

Links for further research: 1. Content of the Employment package http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=101&newsId=1270&further News=yes 2. Understanding backgrounds of unemployment http://education-portal.com/academy/topic/understanding-unemployment.html 3. EU measures to tackle youth unemployment

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-968_en.htm Further reading: 1. Resolving high youth unemployment http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20140123072437586 2. Science and technology skills key to tackling EU youth unemployment http://www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/science-andtechnology-skills-key-to-tackling-eu-youth-unemployment/#.Uvz_bGOp40Y 3. Youth unemployment: how to prevent and tackle it? http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=1989&furtherN ews=yes 4. Could stronger EU measures help reduce youth unemployment? http://www.debatingeurope.eu/2013/11/14/could-stronger-eu-measures-helpreduce-youth-unemployment/#.Uv0B1mOp40Y Videos as topic introduction: 1. Youth Unemployment: A Global Emergency http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VN3XBXaI9Q 2. Europe’s unemployment set to continue in 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUJDG21WIfc 3. Jobs for youth: lost for years to come http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/video/video-newsreleases/WCMS_181114/lang--en/index.htm 4. Europe's young and unemployed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7bjoylDuhs by Natalia Sniegur

Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ENVI Today the majority of European countries have introduced environmental education systems for children and youth. What steps can European governments take to educate the adult population on environmental issues and to further cultivate ecofriendly habits in society?

“Environmental education has become an important pillar of sustainable development, a pillar that is set to increase in importance in the years to come”.

Karl-Heinz Florenz, Chairman of the Environmental Committee European Parliament

The United Nations designated the period from 2005 to 2014 as a decade of “Education for Sustainable Development”. To achieve sustainable development, it is necessary to change people’s ecological, economic and social perceptions. The challenge that countries around the world face is the integration of the concept of sustainable development in their education processes.

Environmental education is the central aspect of change towards sustainable environmental development. Now is the time when we realise that the environment is not just a factor in this game, but is a game itself; a game in which we are all players and on which our future existence depends. Environmental problems, such as climate change, threaten our health, prosperity and economic development. Human kind is the major cause of environmental problems and, as a result, they can only be solved on the basis of cooperative actions. Environmental education, like education for sustainable development, is based on building awareness and identification in personal living environments.

Based on this knowledge, the Green Dot and partner organizations have contributed to the integration of waste separation and recycling concept into everyday life and establishing a European platform for environmental awareness. They promote active citizenship through diverse local, regional and national education programmes for the entire education chain, from pre-schools through vocational training establishments to comprehensive consumer communication measures. Many of the activities are realised in partnership programmes with manufacturing and retail enterprises, authorities and recycling companies.

Global environmental issues, such as the greenhouse effect, the decimation of biological diversity and the consumption of finite resources can only be solved on the basis of more intensive international cooperation. People with an understanding of the ecological, economic and social correlations at global level are needed to overcome these challenges. PRO EUROPE (Packaging Recovery Organisation Europe) is playing a pioneering role in promoting cooperation on environmental topics.

So, the question remains at stake with a well-educated younger generation, what steps can the European governments take so as to educate the adult population on environmental issues? Who and in what way can cultivate eco-friendly habits in society today?

Keywords: sustainable development, adult environmental education, the Green Dot, PRO EUROPE (Packaging Recycling Organisation Europe).

Links for further research:

1. European Commission, “Green Paper – Towards a European strategy for the security of

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energy supply”, 2000 http://europa.eu.int Europe goes Green Dot http://www.zalais.lv/files/europe_goes_gd.pdf The PRO EUROPE brochure entitled “Effective packaging – effective prevention” (2004) provides detailed information about the prevention of environmental pollution and packaging waste recycling http://www.pro-e.org Environmental Education – the path to Sustainable Development http://www.pro-europe.info Workshop: Environmental education – Renewable Energies for children and youth http://opus.kobv.de/zlb/volltexte/2007/1325/pdf/WorkshopEnvironmental.pdf How to recycle: www.recycle-more.co.uk by Inna Shcherbyna

Committee on Industry, Technology and Research ITRE In the aftermath of Fukushima disaster European states face the issue of balancing between environmental security and the need for cheap energy. Hence, what role should nuclear energy take in the energy sectors of the Eastern European countries?

The Eastern European countries are active consumers of cheap nuclear energy.

Such countries as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Ukraine meet more than one third of their electricity demand from nuclear energy sources.

Nuclear power plants are producers of one of the most eco-friendly and cheap energy sources. On the other hand, in a case of accident, they may cause the most dangerous disasters in the world. The problems linked with nuclear energy sources are modernization of the power plants and limited lifespan, shortage of nuclear fuel and the lack of methods for nuclear waste disposal. Nuclear power plants provide Eastern European countries with cheap energy and thousands of working places.

Nuclear accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima forced European leaders to review the safety of nuclear power plants. As a result, stress tests were held in 145 reactors to evaluate whether nuclear power plants could withstand naturals disasters and terrorist attacks. Nuclear accidents caused by naturals disasters (e.g. earthquake, tsunamis) or human error have huge influence on environment and public health.

The challenge is to decide whether benefits Eastern European countries get from nuclear energy cover its risks. Are there any alternative energy sources which are enough effective, cheep and more secure at the same time? What should be top priorities for Eastern European countries energy policy? What role nuclear energy should play in meeting those priorities?

Keywords Nuclear energy, energy mix, nuclear accidents, alternative energy sources Useful links 1. Post-Fukushima policy http://ehron.jrc.ec.europa.eu/post-fukushima-policy 2. DW: Nuclear power on the rise in Eastern Europe http://www.dw.de/nuclear-power-on-the-rise-in-eastern-europe/a-17177810 3. "How competitive is nuclear energy?" by J. H. Keppler

http://www.oecd-nea.org/nea-news/2010/28-1/NEA-News-28-1-1-howcompetitive.pdf 4. Nuclear Energy Safety: Lessons of Fukushima for Europe [VIDEO] http://theenergycollective.com/vieuws-eu-policy-broadcaster/202486/nuclearsafety-lessons-fukushima-europe-video 5. EC: Nuclear safety http://ec.europa.eu/energy/nuclear/safety/safety_en.htm 6. EC: Key figures on energy in Europe http://ec.europa.eu/energy/observatory/countries/doc/key_figures.pdf 7. Global Politics: Is Europe Going Nuclear? http://www.global-politics.co.uk/issue7/Poliscanova/

by Dmytro Zinchuk