Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
transparent HORIZONS
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
About the project
and the people
The project "Feel the Real Europe" gathers students from different countries (32 young people from Poland, Turkey, Romania and Italy) in order to deepen participants' knowledge about European Union. The aim of this project is to encourage young people to be curious, to wonder and look for answers about differencies of the various countries and about European Union's tasks.
s 8 ian c an eti om rg R e en & un f
FEEL THE REAL EUROPE
8 Italians creative & friendly
8p from eople hard Turkey wor king & funn y
8 Poles sociable & interesting "Erasmus + provides grants for a wide range of actions and activities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport. The programme gives opportunities to students, trainees, staff and volunteers to spend a period abroad to increase their skills and employability." https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus_en
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
A small sip
of history
In order to present the importance of the community of EU, I think that it’s important to make a short introduction about it. The European Union is an economic, politic and
28
unique partnership between 28 countries around
European
the Europe continent. This organisation was
countries
created after The Second World War, because it was necessary to improve the economic communication, which could be the help to revive the continent after all the disasters caused by the conflicts. In 1958 was created the first organisation that was named the European Economic Community. The 6 founder countries were: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Low Countries. Even if the partnership had an
It governs common economic, social and security
economic pursuit (a better relation among the
policies of its
members), the activities were enlarged. This is
member states.
the way the EU offers now many services and programs, such as the assistance for development and the environmental care. Since 1993 the organisation is well-known as the European Union. In my opinion, being part of the EU means you have rights and responsibilities, but also you have many advantages and a few threats and disadvantages, that you must keep under control. First of all, let’s talk about the functioning of EU, the opportunities and its advantages.
8 Poles sociable & interesting
The capital
of the European Union is Brussels, Belgium.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
A small sip
of history
As everybody should know, if a country wants to become a member, it must answer to many rules and demands and it must obtain the
The United
agreement of all the member countries.
States is
Romania and Bulgaria joined to EU on 1st
the EU's
January 2009 and that was the moment when the citizens have enjoyed all the opportunities offered. The people can travel easily in Europe,
main trading partner.
because if they have at least 18 years, they use only their ID, and the minors must have a passport. Also, when you travel by car, you haven’t your luggage and your entire car controlled at the warehouse. The main advantage is that you get new rights, because the Human Rights of UNO were added to Carta of fundamental rights in 2009, during the Congress which took place in Lisbon. Thanks to the EU programs, the students can be involved in international programs as the youth exchanges or the
Decisions and procedures stem from treaties ratified by the member states. 8 Poles
the chance to improve the living conditions.
sociable & interesting An estimated
The Government can get a help and support
508.2 million
from the EU, in order to develop the tourism,
people lived
Erasmus mobility during the studies. Apart from this, the belonging to EU represents
the educational system and many other sectors. For example, the money from EU was invested in the infrastructure of the country, because it’s an important factor when we talk about exports and travelling.
within the EU in 2015.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
A small sip
of history
On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of being part of the EU. For
Membership
instance, the diplomatic relation between Romania and Russia isn’t as good as in the
is open to any
past, because there are other politic interests.
country with a
Moreover, we can think about the situation in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, which are countries under the control of Russia. Even
democratic government, a good
if many people want to become a part of the
human rights record,
EU, and even if there were big fights between
and sound economic
those who agree with being member and those
policies.
who don’t, the situation is influenced by the power of Russia, who doesn’t have the same way of thinking as the members of the EU.
The EU is run by five main bodies: European Parliament, Council of the Union, European Commission, Court of Justice, and the Court
8 Polesthe According to the EU website*, objectives of the EU sociable are to
& establish European citizenship, interesting ensure freedom, justice and security, promote economic and social progress, and assert Europe's role in the world.
of Auditors. * http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
Welcome to the world European Magazine Since 2016
Youth's voice
of opportunities
The cultural diversity is more and more visible and many people ask „Is it a good thing or not?�. Due to fewer restrictions and the blurring of boundaries, travelling is so easy nowadays. Studying and working abroad are more and more promoted by many institutions. So, considering these factors, cultural diversity is a natural result and the effect, which will accelerate in time. Many countries are extremely populated by emigrants and the cultural diversity is influenced by the many groups of people who make up the country now. This is also part of growth the country grows because of cultural diversity. Students have now, more than usually, the opportunity to travel and share their cultures and make them known in whole Europe. Teenagers always want to find out more, learn more about different societies, to widen their perspective and to reach different places as much as they can. Adaptability, independence and thinking outside the box are essentials skills in every single profession.
8 Poles sociable & interesting
Welcome to the world European Magazine Since 2016
Youth's voice
of opportunities
Thanks to Erasmus+ projects we can do internships abroad and gain new experience which will be needed on the labour market in Europe and even in whole world. Today’s employers are looking for employees who are confident and open minded for new people, new cultures and new locations. 90% of students said the experience increased their maturity and confidence. We, the young generation, have so many opportunities and we only have to take advantage of. They were created in order to improve our knowledge. There are a lot of companies created in order to help and to inform the good students, that sometimes they have so many chances, they do not know which one to choose. To sum up, European Union offers us a variety of opportunities, we should take advantages of - this only helps us developing ourselves, in order to be a better version of us.
90%
8 Poles of students sociable think& interesting
"experience
increases their confidence and maturity"
Since 2016
European Magazine
Living in democratic
Youth's voice
countries The word democracy comes from the two Greece terms “demos”, which means people, and “cratos”, which means power, literally “people’s power”. Democracy was born in Greece where all individuals, except slaves, foreigners and women, gathered in the “agorà” debating laws and taking part in the public life of the city. During the Age of Enlightenment people started thinking, especially with Voltaire’s works, that democracy could be the best form of government.
In the 1791, after the Revolution, with the first french Constitution was built a new modern state based on three powers: executive, legislative and judiciary, the second one was exercised by a National Assembly composed by French citizens choose directly from the people. After the European dictatorships, which were the mainly World War II’s causes, most of the countries shifted to a democratic system, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, for instance made this choice. German’s Constitution is an emblematic example, indeed people decided to ratify the opposition right, that they could use against any kind of dictator.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Living in democratic countries Nowadays societies rest on these historically changes, they should remember us the importance of our rights and freedom. Some of young people are not aware about their advantages connected with democratic system. In fact most of the possibilities that we have come from our ancestors battles which allowed Europe to be one of the best place to live, but often it is difficult recognize all the results that were reach. The direct advantage of living in democratic countries is the possibility to participate directly at national politic and public life.
Every citizen can contribute to our country’s life in direct way, with the vote, and indirectly, with candidacy, this might be considerate one of the best successful reached by us, indeed by this way individuals can create a State who reflects their needs and wishes. Unfortunately young people are not usually interested in politics because they consider the public system too far from their daily life. This situation has contribute to create one of the most important problem in democratic State: the low turnout. Consequently, appears that where democracy has been conquered a lot of years ago, people used to lose interest in public life, instead in the countries where only recently democracy has been adopted.
Since 2016
European Magazine
Living in democratic
Youth's voice
countries Another democracy feature is the freedom of speech. We generally underestimate this faculty, but it is essential in a modern state. Indeed we are able to use every way of communication to express ideas or feelings about any subjects. In this period we can keep in touch and share each other any information thanks to social network. It is possibile to understand our fortune only thinking about people who live in non-democratic countries where they could be arrested or killed if they express their opinion.
Lots of State don’t allow citizens to criticize or comment politicians’ works, indeed leaders usually contrast this right, because only a silenced State can be controlled. The advantages to live in a democratic country do not concern just the chance to participate actively to the political environment, there are in fact other benefits that we occasionally realize, namely the opportunity of studying. The school is one of the essential pillar of a democratic system.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Living in democratic countries Where there is no opportunity to study and to get informations, people can not contribute to the development of their own country. Historically education is an instrument used by dictatorial systems to control people. On the contrary, in Europe, but not just here, students have a great freedom to gain information of all about. Most of all the internet is considered the main source of informations, and lots of non-democratic countries put limits to the web-research, knowing that an aware population could turn against its own oppressor.
A great supporter of the importance of studying is the recent Nobel Peace prime Malala Yousafzai who, for her campaign for the right of studying has been shooting by Taliban in Pakistan. Her battle should let us think how lucky we are. To conclude, I report one absolutely interesting thought by Winston Churchill: "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time".
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Small talk
about changes
Everyone wants to live a decent life, to have a roof over their heads, a stable job, maybe a car, to go on vacation where he wants, etc. Of course, this would be the ideal scenario for anyone, but the reality may be a little bit different. They say always to be optimistic even if you're not in a very good situation. Humans have learned since ancient times to survive and realized that can do so by forming a group, a community and so we can speak about the beginning of a civilization that has developed continuously. That it is all about, a continuous development, a growing community, and its members to have a decent standard of living.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Small talk
about changes
If we carefully analyze these things, this is how the European Union wants to develop and unite the European states. It is very important that there are no differences, no one should be left out, and all citizens are equal. Theoretically, this is an ideal scenario and by putting into practice should work perfectly. But unfortunately is not always happen because there are many factors that can negatively influence the active participation of countries in the European Union.
In the current example, we have the situation of Romania who managed to join the European Union in 2007, along with neighboring Bulgaria. Everyone was happy that we finally managed to be part of an entity with a huge potential, but Romania's communist past, made this accession not quite as we expected. The following interview shows a comparison of Romania on two periods: the communist and democratic.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Small talk
about changes
Before the Revolution I was a skilled
Can you tell me what did you do for a living during the communist era and what do you do now and what is your opinion regarding these two periods?
worker in a garment factory in Bucharest, capital of Romania. That factory had more than 5,000 employees, production went very well, a lot of orders, and there was no problem. The industry was highly developed in Romania; every citizen was trained in a particular profession since high school, and then was introduced to the workforce. There was no problem with the jobs, nobody was sitting at home. Of course there were also plenty of drawbacks, such as lack of variety of products in our country.
You had money, but was not much to buy the market was quite limited. It has reached limit of embarrassment at one time because you could not buy your necessary products to survive. The only positive thing about this period is that ordinary people probably did not stress so much as far as having a job, having money and content with what he had. After the fall of communism it began the period of transition to democracy. It was very slow; I personally do not believe that this process was completed. Some people say that it needs to pass at least 50 years for the state to change its regime and mentality. I managed to remain at the factory until it closed. The factory resisted several years after the fall of communism. Many factories were closed and later demolished, privatized and sold to scrap. The industry has pretty much fallen in Romania and I don’t think it will reach the level it was. Also advancing to the 3rd millennium the quality of life in Romania greatly decreased. Although today you can have anything you want, the financial situation does not allow you to buy. People are stressing a lot today because they don’t have a decent life.
Small talk
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
about changes
A change is undoubtedly, the borders were opened; you can go in any member country of the Union to work. The European Union has provided us funds for development of the country that we need to use, this is a huge opportunity.
Do you think Romania's EU entry in 2007 changed something? Opportunities, threats?
Young people have their opportunity to study in other countries with scholarships, to go in multicultural project experiences, to volunteer, to work. This is the greatest opportunity for young Romanians, but I see it as a threat because the country's brightest people go to work in other countries and our country remain without valuable people to assist in the development of Romania. However I hope that something will change and Romania will be able to live up to high standards, may even be again what it was: a major economic power in Europe.
Yes, because our country has a huge potential and the younger generation should realize this. The future is made by human's ability to use his mind and skills for community development. The future is in the hands of young people.
Do you believe in a promising future for Romania?
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
New possibilities of young Europeans
The European Union is not only an important political and economic institution, but a community of nearly 500 million citizens and one of the largest markets in the world. As the European Union continues to grow in size and influence, understanding the EU and the countries seeking membership, becomes key to understanding Europe and our world.
Nowadays, there are a lot of possibilities for young generation to study, to work or simply to have an internship in other parts of Europe, in order to develop themselves, improving their qualities. I believe that for a proper development of young people is necessary for them to benefit from the best conditions for development but also for leisure. It is not by chance the fact that the majority of Europeans projects logos are “invest in youth education�. Their main purpose is to encourage the cultural diversity in order to be like in a family. In general, the European projects aim to help a qualified student with a financial limitation to study abroad, offering a lot of attractive proposals.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
New possibilities of young Europeans
From my point of view, even the little internships may have a strong benefit in a student life. I can say from my experience that participating in an international project change your perceptions, making you to see everything from another perspective. I encourage everyone to involve in this kind of projects because they only have to win experience and new skills. After I came from my last project which was in Israel, I knew better how to socialize with those around me, and how to make my ideas understand. There are also internships which offers unpaid, fulltime summer internship programs for academic credit in different locations, as well as unpaid, parttime semester and summer internships to supplement academic coursework. They work with you to determine your career goals and try to match your goals with an appropriate internship experience. They place students within a wide variety of fields: businesses, not-for-profit, cultural, health, media, technology, science, and more. Depending on location, their well-located housing options typically include apartments, homestays, or residence halls that have been vetted by their staff to make sure they meet our rigorous health and safety standards.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
New possibilities of young Europeans Living and working abroad prepares you for real world workplace challenges. Adaptability, flexibility, independence, and thinking outside the box are essential skills in every profession. 80% of companies report they would be more competitive internationally if they had a more globally competent staff. I consider living and studying abroad to be one of the most exciting experiences in a young person's life. It's a time of tremendous
Today’s employers are looking for employees who are confident and comfortable with new people, new cultures, and new locations. 90% of students said the experience increased their maturity and confidence.We, the young generation, have so many opportunities, and we only have to take advantage of. They were created in order to improve our knowledge. There are a lot of companies created in order to help and to inform the good students, that sometimes they have so many chances, they do not know which one to choose. To sum up, European Union offers us a variety of opportunities we should take advantages of - this only to help us developing ourselves, in order to be a better version of us.
growth and has shown to have significant personal, academic, and career benefits.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
European
MIX
Some consider that cultural mix that we are experiencing is a bad thing because people tend to lose their unique culture and beautiful features of their traditions. While this phenomenon promotes the integration of societies and has provided millions of people with new opportunities, it may also bring with it a loss of uniqueness of local culture, which in turn can lead to loss of identity, exclusion and even conflict. This is especially true for traditional societies and communities, which are exposed to rapid modernization based on models imported from outside and not adapted to their context.
On the other side some people consider that is a result of something that is more important, like giving a student the possibility to discover new societies and to explore different cultures. Students have now, more than never, the opportunity to travel and share their culture and make it known outside their country.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
European
MIX
Teenagers always want to find out more, to learn more about different societies, to widen their perspective and to reach different places as much as they can. So by making this possible, some might say we risk to make them lose their cultural identity or the love for their own country. While this risk is taken, that student that travels and discovers so many different things, is being enriched with knowledge and experiences that could lead him to It is normal to influence others and to be influenced by others once you have the chance to live for a certain period of time in another country. For example you visit Spain through an Erasmus program and you show other students your traditional food and they like it so they might try it in the future. But in the same time the same thing might happen to you, you like their food, so when you go back to your hometown you might share the recipe with other friends. So you influenced someone along with being influenced by someone else. In my opinion that doesn’t mean that you lost your love for you country or gave up one of the most important features from your culture, traditional food.
something great in the future.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
MIX
I think that this fear of losing our cultural identity is groundless because each one of us is very proud of where they come from and can’t wait to share facts about their country. The truth is the culture in an intrinsic value that we all have. It is in our blood so we cannot reject it. Yes, it has to face the new challenges of the community, such as globalization. But, culture is a dynamic force for change rather than a rigid set of forms or parameters that must be strictly adhered to. It is up to each one of us how much we want to hold on to our roots and show off our culture in a good way. But I bet we are too proud by nature of our own country, traditions, society habits, families and friends to let go such an important feature of our personality, our culture.
European
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Europe,
you can help!
Europe has real problems, they are visible and we can’t hide the facts. Some might say that things are getting out of control especially after the latest events. Some things are happening out of our will, and can’t be controlled. There are some flaws in the system or some mistakes that have been done and everybody is aware of them. The thing that is debatable is whether people can help or not. In my opinion, people can help. We have more power than we can imagine. We are the walls on that everything is built, the system, the economy, the leaders, the companies, everything is fueled by us, the society. So if we want to see changes, we can make them happen, it is up to us. Youths and youths from ethnic and racial minorities experience high levels of discrimination, bullying, harassment, violence and isolation in educational settings. These problems are creating true damages and still these issues are not taking into consideration as much as they would need to. Nowadays, there are many campaigns that communicate the harm that racism and discrimination are provoking. Students and teenagers continuously try to improve the reach of their message, through campaigns and activities that fight for this cause. People can influence people and everything it takes is a bit of courage, ambition and motivation and action.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Europe,
you can help! Another major problem that Europe faces nowadays is connected to the refugees that come from countries such as Syria or Turkey. Those people left their countries not because they decided one day that they do not like the place they used to live anymore, but because a war happend to their country and their family might be at risk. They managed to escape from their country and decided that Europe is the safest place to live these days. However, us, the Europeans, have been skeptical about them and some of us even racist and decided that their place should not be in our countries and that they do not belong here.
But, this might not be the right attitude, as those people have lost everything and all they need is us to be supportive and to understand their condition and to make whatever we can to help them. The question that may arise is what we should do in order to make those people feel at home in a foreign place. We can start by not discriminate them and try offering them a chance. We should donate them clothes and toys for their children, we should help them learn a foreign language so that they can easily find a job. We should not ignore them and pretend that they do not exist. The change comes from all of us and it is important to acknowledge this problem and to find a solution.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Europe,
you can help!
A good example that proves that people can solve problems is a sad event that happened few months ago in Romania. A fire burst into a nightclub during a concert, that place burned down killing 60 people and injuring other 100. This event wouldn’t have happened if there was no corruption, no lack of care or no indifference for the things that are done nowadays. After this tragic event people, especially teenagers, got united and fought for their cause. They realised that the corruption level in this country is unacceptable and fought for a change. After numerous attempts, it finally happened. The people found guilty for that event had been charged and so it happened with some leaders of this country. Moreover, some laws have changed and now, there is more room for hope in our lives. The conclusion is that things can change if we stay united and fight for our cause in order to change something, in order to reach our objective that is easier that we expected.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Europe,
you can help! So yes, Europe can help, each one of us can help through the power of exemple and through merging our forces and our voices. Social Media is such a useful tool that can help us send our message further away. These Social Networks, showed their power so many times through campaigns that traveled so fast and so efficient aroung the whole planet. Ice Bucket Challenge is a example to support the above mentioned. That was a fun and entertaining way to stand for a true cause. It quickly gone viral and had great results too. So if people want to create something together, they have the perfect tool to bring along people in order to fight together. We need more than just to get to know the problem, we need the courage to take the needed action that ignites the rest of the people and together to have the power in order to get those problems solved.
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Editorial
board
Jakub Prajsnar Ewa Szyniec Aleksander Tylec Angelika Jaszczyk Aleksandra Kachniarz Aleksandra Woźniak Katarzyna Musioł Paweł Marchewka
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Editorial
board
Tugçe ELIBOL Merve ELIBOL Başak Seray KILIÇ Burak VAROL Fırat BARÇADURMUŞ Beste BOYA Olcay AYGÜL Okan ACAR
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Editorial
board
Iulia Dromereschi Albert Opinca Gabriel Florinel Ion Ioana Madalina Belu Ana Maria Baltes Miruna Ghita Irina Pietroc Alexandru Raceanu
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Editorial
board
Filippo Sciaccaluga Filippo Grondona Silviu Cumpanasoiu Ylenia Marres Davide Marzi Giorgia Donega Virginia Cepollina Giovanna Grilli
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Photo gallery Feel the Real Europe
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Photo gallery Feel the Real Europe
Since 2016
European Magazine Youth's voice
Photo gallery Feel the Real Europe