Milos Savkovic High School in Arandjelovac welcomed Roman Haken, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, who helped the students prepare answers to some of the key questions concerning the future of European culture for the “Your Europe, Your Say” conference (YEYS). Three third-year pupils, together with one of their teachers, will represent Serbia in Brussels on 15-16 March in “Your Europe, Your Say” conference.
Haken told Sumadija RTV that “by inviting pupils from EU and candidate countries to the Brussels conference, we are giving them the role of members of the European Economic and Social Committee. This means that they will try to act as EESC members for two days and formulate their opinions to submit them to other institutions in Brussels.”
Through this initiative, the EESC, which acts as the voice of civil society at European level, is making sure that the views, experiences and ideas of the younger generation are taken on board in EU policy making.
Haken helped the students in advance of the March meeting to prepare answers to some key questions concerning the future of European culture, such as the essence of European culture and the role of culture and cultural exchanges in students’ lives. They also talked about what the European Union can do to promote culture (cinema, music, dance, literature, theatre, etc.) and better protect cultural heritage sites, and what role culture could play in the economic rebirth of Europe’s regions and cities. Possible opportunities of said economic rebirth in terms of new jobs for young people were also among the key topics.
Serbia is taking part in the conference for the third time, with Milos Savkovic High School being one of 33 schools from across Europe – 28 EU Member States and five candidate countries – that will go to Brussels and tell European institutions what role they see culture playing in Europe’s future. The pupils will brainstorm, debate and vote on three proposals which European institutions will factor into their policy making.
