The second “Speed dating with Europe” event intended for young people to get to know the Old Continent more closely was held at the “Drinka Pavlović” Elementary School in Belgrade. The event brought together junior high school graduates, i.e. eighth grade students, to whom journalists that participated in media trips organised by the Pulse of Europe project – presented the best examples of ecological practices from six European countries.
In the library of the Primary School “Drinka Pavlović” and with the support of the school management, about 30 students and several journalists gathered for a speed dating session. Each country has been “granted” 15 minites before a rotation change.
Thus, Sweden was represented by Euronews Serbia journalist Ana Mihaljčić, Germany by RTS journalist Dragana Živojnović and Spain by Beta news agency journalist Nevena Zarić. The journalist of the daily Blic Milijana Milikšić talked to the students about how Portugal meets the goals of the Green Deal, while the RTS journalist Ana Manojlović brought them closer to the Netherlands, and the expert of the EU Info Center in Belgrade, Sanja Babić, talked about Slovenia’s green practices.
In their opening remarks, the project leader Marina Rakić and the representative of the Goethe Institute (which implements the project) Sunčica Šido project, pointed out that the goal is to bring the knowledge gained by Serbian journalists during media trips organised to 19 EU countries as close as possible to the young people. Also, that environmental protection was chosen as the topic of speed dating as the universal one and the most important for all European countries, including Serbia, nowadays.
How the dolphins returned to the Tagus River in Lisbon thanks to the work of the water purification plant, what the 17-hectare pedestrian zone in Ljubljana looks like and how Germany protects biodiversity are just some of the important but also interesting information that the journalists conveyed to the students. Apart from environmental protection, students were also interested in what life looks like in Barcelona, and what is specific to the Netherlands and Sweden. The well-known cartoonist Marko Somborac followed the whole event with his pen.
The event at Elementary School “Drinka Pavlović” is the second speed dating session with Europe organised by the Pulse of Europe project, after the first one was held in mid-December 2023.
