"EU Today" debate

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia Vincent Degert and Serbian Minister of Education Žarko Obradović participated in a debate “EU Today” in Aranđelovac. More than 150 secondary school students took part in the debate.

During the visit to Aranđelovac, Degert and Obradović participated in a debate with secondary school students entitled “EU Today” and also talked about the Europa Diary – Wise Choices publication; 80,000 Europa Diaries have been distributed to secondary school students in Serbia last year.

The topics in the debate focused on the main themes of the Diary: My rights, my choices, My environment, My health, my safety. The students were also keen to find out how the EU functions and which steps remain for Serbia on its path towards the accession.

More than 150 secondary school students from Aranđelovac participated in the debate.

The Europa Diary project is funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia and it is implemented in schools with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia. The Office for European Integration of the Government of Serbia has also provided substantial support to the project by drafting part of the content.

Under recommendation of the Ministry of Education and Science and with the assistance of its Regional School Agencies, 84,000 European Diaries have been distributed to all second year students in nearly 500 secondary schools in Serbia. This fun educational tool is intended for students who will use it for recording their homework and school assignments, while reading through and finding out interesting information about different EU-related topics.

The topics contained in the Diary are relevant for students, ranging from Serbia's European integration process, to environment, consumer protection, sport, travel, human rights, etc.

Complimentary with the Diaries 3,360 Teacher's Guides have also reached the schools. These guides give a selection of activities, worksheets and class preparations for the teachers. As a small bonus, teachers who use the Europa Diary with their students are invited to take part in a prize trip competition by submitting an essay on Europa Diary in their schools.

Essays will be assessed by a selection committee composed of representatives of the Delegation of the European Union, Ministry of Education and Science and Serbian European Integration Office, and the best 5 will be awarded a 5-day prize trip to Brussels during summer holidays 2012, where they will have the opportunity to visit EU institutions.