Day of Europe: Speak dating and Flag Parade

Media materials:

Download
Eurocentrum Liberec / Europe direct Liberec

Organisation:

Eurocentrum Liberec / Europe direct Liberec

Country:

Czech Republic

About organisation:

The Eurocentre Liberec is an information point where citizens can address their questions about the European Union. The Eurocentre provides information about the EU for the general and professional public. It offers information materials and a range of other services for those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the European Union and aspects of the Czech Republic's EU membership. For example, we organize educational and cultural events, we give lectures at primary schools, high schools and universities. One of our main target groups is young people. All Eurocentre services are free of charge. From 1 May 2021, the Eurocentre Liberec is also a Europe Direct information centre under the European Commission.

Title of the project

Day of Europe: Speak dating and Flag Parade

Start date:

11/5/2022

End date:

11/5/2022

Objectives:

On the occasion of the celebration of Europe Day we organised a Speak-dating at the University Square of the Technical University of Liberec followed by a flag march. The event took place in cooperation with ESN LIberec and the Technical University of Liberec and was attended mainly by students of the Technical University of Liberec, but also by students from secondary and primary schools in the Liberec region. There were 10 native speakers from different countries at the Speak-dating event, with various stands with exhibitors including our stand. At the end of the event there was a Flag parade with flags going to the city centre. Information about the event was also published by the Liberec daily (Liberecký deník) and an interesting video was made. There were about 300 active participants and hundreds of other people who didn’t participate actively but saw the event and the march with flags. The main objectives were to celebrate Europe Day, linguistic and cultural diversity, to connect foreigners studying or working in Liberec with local people, to be inspired by the stories of individual speakers and to inform young people about the opportunities offered by the EU.

Why the project was: empowering young people, adapting to changing realities, or thinking out of the box:

Above all, our aim was to visibly celebrate Europe Day and the benefits of EU membership, especially for young people. Key to this event was the partnership with the local branch of ESN Liberec and the Technical University. We emphasised on a good selection of speakers for the speak-dating, the informative side of the event but also on the visual side of the event. We wanted the event to sound like a real celebration. We often feel that there is relatively little contact between students who are at our university on Erasmus+ and Czech students and thus the much desired exchange of experiences does not take place. This is exactly what we wanted to reinforce through Speak-dating with 10 native speakers from the local university. The aim was to talk and learn a little bit of different languages, but at the same time for both sides to get to know each other better and be able to inspire each other. We had an information stand in the square with Eurodesk, ESN and representatives from the international department, Eures Liberec and others were also present. Apart from small competitions for Eurodesk promotional items, we mainly wanted to inform about international opportunities for young people. After the end of the speak-dating we went together in a parade with flags to the city centre, where we actively talked to people and explained why we were organising such a parade.

How the project was inclusive:

In the Czech Republic, young people still underestimate their ability to speak foreign languages. At the same time, our region is one of the smallest in the Czech Republic and there are relatively few foreigners and few opportunities to speak foreign languages. It is therefore important to give young people the opportunity to speak with native speakers and encourage them to learn and to give them the necessary confidence. By meeting students who are here on Erasmus at university and listening to their stories, they can visualise themselves somewhere abroad taking advantage of some of the opportunities the EU offers. Meeting people from foreign countries also allows them to understand how open the EU is and that we don't have to live, work, study, volunteer only within our national borders, but perhaps all over Europe.Beyond just informing about the various international opportunities and connecting locals with foreigners, it was also important to celebrate EU membership and the cultural diversity of their member states as well as the cultural diversity of Europe. And through this cultural diversity and the exchange of experiences, to motivate people to travel beyond our own borders. We had Eurodesk materials at our stand and were actively informed about its website, objectives and activities. The Eurodesk logo was on the poster for the event, it was mentioned in the promotion and during the event itself. Also we included partners from European networks to the project.

Green aspect:

Firstly, when choosing the location of the event, we chose a place that would be easily accessible by public transport and not too far away from the majority of the participants. That is why we chose Liberec as the venue for the event.Registration and promotion of the event was done online. We kept the printing of event materials to a minimum. For serving refreshments (coffee, water, tea etc.) we used washable dishes. We avoided using plastic completely. We used eco-friendly, durable, recycled and recyclable promotional items. We minimised use of physical handouts.We informed participants about our choices and explained to them why we serve food like this etc..

How the project has given a European dimension to your event and ensured the visibility and promotion of Eurodesk?

In the Czech Republic, young people still underestimate their ability to speak foreign languages. At the same time, our region is one of the smallest in the Czech Republic and there are relatively few foreigners and few opportunities to speak foreign languages. It is therefore important to give young people the opportunity to speak with native speakers and encourage them to learn and to give them the necessary confidence. By meeting students who are here on Erasmus at university and listening to their stories, they can visualise themselves somewhere abroad taking advantage of some of the opportunities the EU offers. Meeting people from foreign countries also allows them to understand how open the EU is and that we don't have to live, work, study, volunteer only within our national borders, but perhaps all over Europe.Beyond just informing about the various international opportunities and connecting locals with foreigners, it was also important to celebrate EU membership and the cultural diversity of their member states as well as the cultural diversity of Europe. And through this cultural diversity and the exchange of experiences, to motivate people to travel beyond our own borders. We had Eurodesk materials at our stand and were actively informed about its website, objectives and activities. The Eurodesk logo was on the poster for the event, it was mentioned in the promotion and during the event itself. Also we included partners from European networks to the project.

Impact:

We managed to actively participate around 300 young people in the event. They engaged in conversations with teachers and international students from the local university, some of whom walked with us in the parade. We talked to a large number of them about different international opportunities and motivated them to get involved in the programmes. Hundreds more saw the parade with flags or decorated booths for speak-dating, this way we were able to make the foreign community more visible in our region and connect them a bit more with the locals. Information about the event also made its way into the local press and a video of the event went viral on social media. We have established a tradition of celebrating Europe Day in our region. We have connected more people from different parts of the world and let the European spirit live a little more in our country.