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generation europe neWs

generation europe portrait

eu BuBBLes

competitions’ corner

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A coffee with…

Pannon University Days in Veszprem

GE on the Brussels stage

Jacki Davis, Communications Director at the EPC

Palme d’Or to teenagers

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11… EUROPE DIRECT !

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eu portrait

Maïa Mazariegos, GE National Ambassador in Luxembourg 08

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Generation Europe.

Publisher

GE Vibes is the monthly newsletter of the Generation Europe community. We welcome your questions and suggestions by email at info@generation-europe.eu.com

Generation Europe - 123 Chaussée St-Pierre - 1040 Brussels - Belgium

www.generation-europe.eu.com

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Last month, GE Vibes chose to quote Commission Vice-President Wallström when she exclaimed: “Information is power”. Is it really?

If I had to be brief about this subject, I would immediately argue that information allows us to make informed choices, which is crucial as citizens. Now if I had the chance to elaborate a little further, I would already draw two conclusions, first that information is a sine qua non condition for responsible citizenship and second, that it is the fuel of politics. If I were to use rhetorical jargon, I would say that information works as facts to build arguments, which in their turn support claims. In other words, information can be used to defend any cause. Searching for information has for long been this sort of quest of the Holy Grail. Be it in times of war and resistance, in politics, or simply at home in our daily lives, many are those who investigate in search of the ‘right piece of information’. Yet, what is the ‘right’ information?

Because every day choices as citizens are political choices, it is indeed important to be careful with what one calls ‘information’. In all press rooms around the world, journalists are flooded with press releases and other information communications. Which one to choose? And yet those are professionals of the world of information. So what happens to us citizens, who are equally flooded with information all day long?

This is why media education has become essential. In the June issue of GE Vibes, we have the chance to meet with Livia and Céline who are actively developing media projects with young people in Belgium. Also, our guest interviewees share with us their experience as young journalists and more experienced information and communication experts.

Finally, the rule to remember is: always double check your information with a second source.

And since we are talking about information and education, best wishes to those of you who are taking exams this month!

Marie-HélèneGE team

Livia Tréfois and Céline LangendriesASBL Gouvernance & Démocratie-Conseils (at the origin of the Espace Citoyen initiative : http://www.espace-citoyen.be) Céline and Livia, welcome to Generation Europe, and thanks for this meeting at La Terrasse! (great bar, very ‘bruxellois’) At GE we’re really glad to count you within our new members, especially considering your involvement in citizenship activities for young people. Could you please tell us more about it all?

Livia: Hello! We’re happy to join this community because it’s very important to share good practices and experiences with other European countries. We are both working for a non-for-profit organisation called “Gouvernance&Démocratie –Conseils” (GDC). We can divide the organization in two frames of work: an international one and a national one. Celine and I work on different national web-based projects. The main one is www.espace-citoyen.net which is dedicated to young people between 12 and 25 years old. We write information files to explain the news in order to make it more accessible and intelligible to young people. We indeed believe that it’s very important to understand the news to get involved in this world. As young people get enough information and become media literate, they get more easily involved in citizen projects. We want them to become “CRAC1” which means “responsible, active and critical citizens”.

In fact, it’s the goal of all our websites, like www.jeunes-journalistes.net. This project is set to teach young people some tools and tricks to become journalists.

A project for young journalists? Why? And how does it work technically?

Céline: “Jeunes-Journalistes.net” is a media education project. Usually, the project takes place in high-schools. We want young people to be critical about the media, especially the press. To be critical, you first need to know how the press works. Through this project, we try to explain young people what the job of a journalist looks like. Then, we suggest them to write an article for the “Jeunes Journalistes” website themselves. Together we choose a theme for all the articles. For example, in 2007, a class chose the theme: “Europe”. This subject interested them so much! Once the drafting is completed, the articles are posted on our website: www.jeunes-journalistes.net. The participants to the project have therefore experienced what it takes to publish an article, and they are so happy to see their article published on the Internet!

How do we proceed? In short, the project is divided into three phases: first, we go to the class to explain the job of a journalist, to choose the theme and to give students some drafting advice. Afterwards, students write the first draft of their article and email it to us. Then, we visit the class a second time to comment on their drafts and/or to give them further advice. After that, students send us the final version of their article, with a picture and the source of the information they used. Then, we post it on the “Jeunes Journalistes” website. Finally, we visit the class for a third time for a wrap-up session, enquiring about the students’ feedback and of course showing them their articles online.

// a coffee with… ////Céline and Livia recently joined our GE Community. Since they are based in Brussels, we had the chance to go for coffee. What an interesting meeting!

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“We want young people to become

responsible, active and critical citizens.”

1 To be a « crac(k) » in French means to to be a hotshot, a champion.

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// pannon university days in Veszprem //////

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Have you ever dreamt about teaching your professors and fellow students? Do you like parties and a festival feeling flavored with inverse education? If your answer is yes then you should visit the next Pannon University Days.

This year it took place in Veszprem and lasted a whole week, 6-11 May. The Pannon University Days are organised every second year only so you’ll have to wait for a couple of years now… but hey! Never too early to get ready for such incredible experience!

It is not a common, ordinary event; it is special because the purpose

of these days is entertainment, not study. The Pannon University Days are

designed specifically for the academic

community and for those who want to have

fun, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty

and administrative staff. The slogan of the event is ‘From Sunset to Dawn’.

There is no real education during these days. As this year’s slogan “From sunset to dawn” indicates, this event reverses the usual education process. In the evenings, students teach their professors, and this is an interesting cultural practice! Students are given a platform to express themselves and share views with their

teachers. This inverse education is not just fun but a nice way to get closer to your professors and tell them what concerns you and your generation.

Besides inverse lectures you can participate in several social programmes and parties all day round. And it was also a great opportunity to introduce the new GE survey at my university. As a GE ambassador, I could distribute flyers and spread the word about the survey during that week.

If you take a fancy, visit the next Pannon University Days in 2010!

Judit BorosGE National Ambassador in Hungary

Could the GE Community members who write for the Topic of the Month or send us various articles ask you for drafting advice?

Of course! We enjoy our job so much, and it’s very important to teach the basic rules of this profession to young people. Sometimes, writing is difficult for some people. They don’t know how to choose the right point of view, how to attract the reader, how to find a good headline...We are there to help them figure it out!.

Here at GE, we’d be happy to have your young writers take part in the GE online debates…a well-written argument always makes a strong argument, doesn’t it?

What a fascinating coffee break – really looking forward to hearing from you and your activities again soon! All the best with Espace-Citoyen.net.

// ge on the Brussels stage ///+

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Soon after joining our GE Community, members of the Forum for Azerbaijani Students in Europe (see GE Vibes May 2008) invited us to participate in their 3rd Forum, this year taking place in Brussels. This is with great pleasure that, on 27 May, Marie-Hélène of our GE team moderated the conference on “Changes for the region: Caucasus at the crossroads”.

With distinguished speakers Mr. Araz Azimov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, and Mr. Adrian Severin, current Member of the European Parliament and former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, moderation was not an easy task! Generation Europe was really glad to take an active part in the debate and to share views on Europe with the 95 young Azerbaijanis.

As natives of the EU Member States, it may be funny to hear the EU being referred to as the “milking cow”. Very interesting however was to notice the recent developments in the public opinion of Azerbaijan. Despite talks in Brussels about possible wishes for future EU membership, the Azerbaijanis involved in the debate that day very much expressed their will to find their own way towards further development of their country. Although discussions were vivid in Brussels about the Polish-Swedish initiative of an Eastern Partnership within the European Neighbourhood Policy (namely for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and

Azerbaijan), Azerbaijani representatives that day did not seem to care much about it…

Moving further east on the map, members of your GE team recently paid a visit to the Uzbek embassy. With the 5th meeting of the Uzbekistan – EU Subcommittee on Justice, Home Affairs and Human Rights on the EU agenda, the Uzbek embassy gave an interesting briefing on the measures undertaken by their government to support the young generations. Indeed the President of Uzbekistan declared 2008 “Year of Youth”. Besides a sample of Uzbek culture, a taste of Uzbek delicious cuisine, an interview with the Uzbek TV, etc. the most important thing to us that evening was to hear that youth under 30 years old represent 64% of the Uzbek population! Although many would argue that much remains to be done towards democracy and freedom of expression in Uzbekistan, it seems that youth has recently become the centre of political attention in Uzbekistan. Various initiatives are being launched for youth education and employment, and most importantly for the protection, and enforcement, of the rights of the child. As Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov recently expressed, “youth is a decisive force of today and tomorrow”.

mr. araz azimoV

Survey results coming soonThanks to all of you who took part in the Tomorrow’s Job Market survey and competition. Generation Europe will be releasing the results and presenting its report at Employment Week 2008, where GE takes an active part in the panel dedicated to the questions of youth and employment. Keep an eye on your GE website!

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Our countries have become too small for the world of today, given the rapid development of modern technology and comparing to big powers such as the United States and Russia today, and such as China and India tomorrow.

Who are these words from? European Commission President Barroso on 26 May 2008 at the European Policy Center annual conference? Sure. This statement pretty much speaks for today’s reality. And yet President Barroso borrowed the words from… Jean Monnet in 1954.

Interestingly Barroso concluded: “Europe has the unique historical experience of successful integration and cooperation among sovereign states. […] In this respect, the European Union is a true school for global governance. Our main task for

the next decades is to make the world understand this.” Plenty to meditate about!

nos pays sont devenus trop petits pour le monde actuel à l’échelle des moyens technologiques modernes, à la mesure de l’amérique et de la

russie aujourd’hui, de la chine et de l’inde demain.

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// european policy center, Brussels

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More than a thousand journalists are registered to the European institutions to be granted access to the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. Let’s not forget about those registered at NATO, those registered by the Belgian government, and the 250 registered audio-visual technicians! Considering that some of them are concomittantly registered to various of these institutions, while also possibly working as correspondants for more than one newspaper, tv, or radio, getting the maths right is pretty complex!

Long research efforts show that it is however quasi impossible to know the exact number of journalists operating in Brussels and yet…there are more numerous than in Washington D.C.! Brussels is indeed the first town in the world for its concentration of journalists.

Should we hope for this impressive amount of information specialists to get people closer to the EU?

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GE Vibes: Hello Maïa, you’re no longer just our GE Ambassador in Luxembourg but also a busy journalist at the Tageblatt. Congrats! Could you please tell us about your experience?

Maïa Mazariegos: My experience has been quite unexpected. Having finished my studies, I started doing some small jobs, distributing free newspaper in the morning, distributing small packages at events, working at exhibitions… This is how I met once a person who works as a journalist at a radio station. I knew him already before because I used to do my internships at that radio station. Just one day after this encounter, his chief called me and offered me a temporary job so that I could make some “pocket money” as he said, while looking for a job. While working for him then, one day at a press conference I bumped into a friend with whom I used to study in Brussels. He asked me if I was interested in writing for the press. So, I applied, and somehow my application was not forwarded to the weekly newspaper I planned to apply for, but it landed in the hands of the person responsible for the website of another newspaper. Still, both papers belong to the same press media. To sum up, I got my job through contacts and thanks to my several internships.

At the beginning, it was quite hard. I had to get used to the new softwares, learn many passwords and usernames, and so on. I even had to learn to edit movies, and to comment videos! The biggest challenge was, and still is, when I have to comment on sports events, which is a field I am not at all familiar with... However, what I enjoy most in this job is the social contact and the fact that everyday I learn new things. For instance, I did not know how a tiger from Tasmania looks like until this week. By the way, this animal does not exist any more, another thing I discovered! I also improve my knowledge in geography... Sometimes it is quite difficult to deal with some issues, such as those happening in Israel or in Lebanon. However, everyday I learn something new; this is what I like most. Here, I don’t have a routine! GEV: How is it actually to relay the flood of information coming from the Brussels institutions?

MM: There is a lot of information coming from the European institutions. As we have access to the AFP news (Agence France Press) for instance, we receive news from Brussels or Strasbourg about almost ten times a day. Sometimes, there is so much that it is difficult for us to select the most important news items, because of course, we can’t publish all of it. For example, we did publish the information regarding the dangerous products circulating in Europe, regarding the traffic regulations’ statistics or concerning the report and so on.

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ge nationaL amBassador in LuxemBourgmaïa mazariegos

maïa mazariegos /////////////

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“do as many internships as you

can. this allows you to get into contact

with important people. it allows you

also to prove them how good a worker

you are.”

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Besides, we also receive daily press releases from the permanent representatives of the EU based in Luxembourg, which we receive in German and French. Those press releases relate more specifically about the situation/role of Luxembourg in the EU. In the end, we cannot complain. GEV: To you, what’s the most important when you start writing an article?

MM: When I write an article, I try to think about the 5 W + 1: why, where, when, who, what and how. And as our newspaper is politically more socialist than anything else, we first try to think what matters first to the citizens. We are not trying to “sell” the benefits of a government but we are doing our best to analyse how a new law or regulation can affect citizens in terms of social and financial advantages. We also try to re-formulate the information in a simple way that anybody can understand. Also, in the first lines, more precisely in the teaser, we have to write in a way that catches the reader’s attention (and keeps it!). However, it is sometimes difficult to respond to all these requirements because very often we have to work under pressure and as quickly as possible in order to be the first one to spread the exclusive news.

Sometimes, when we cannot report about some news at the newspaper or at the radio, we try to feed it to other platforms. For instance, it is much easier to access audio or video files on the Internet!

GEV: Maïa, do you have any tips to give to those of us who’d like to also join the staff of a national newspaper?

MM: My only tip would be: do as many internships as you can. This allows you to get into contact with important people. It allows you also to prove to them how good a worker you are. This is how I worked it out. I left a good impression during a traineeship, even if it was a short one. And later on, that chief editor recommended me because he had a good impression of me. This way, they, the people with whom you work, start to trust you and offer part time jobs which then allow you to prove you are capable. You receive more and more responsibilities and you gain a lot of knowledge, which is what an employer wants.

Thanks Maïa for telling us your story and all the best for the GE activities in Luxembourg.

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GE Vibes: Jacki, how impressive to have you sit in the interviewee seat! With Communication Strategy Commissioner Wallström, it seems that the Barroso Commission has worked at providing journalists with more and more ‘ready to use’ material. As a former journalist, what’s your opinion about this?

Jacki Davis: Covering ‘Brussels’ is not easy for journalists, given the range of issues dealt with by the EU and how hard it can be to persuade editors in national capitals to find space for what they see as ‘dull’ EU stories – and convince them to spend the money on covering them in the first place.

The European Commission is focusing on TV and radio, arguing that this is how most people get their news these days. Sending camera and sound crews to film and record events can be very expensive, so it makes sense to provide as much ‘raw’ material as possible for free.

But the Commission must resist the temptation to use this for propaganda purposes and stick to providing neutral information and film/sound clips. Otherwise, the material it provides will not be credible, few broadcasters will use it and the Commission will be accused of trying to manipulate public opinion, so it risks shooting itself in the foot.

// Jacki davis ////////

communications director at the epcJacKi daVis

GEV: Jacki, you worked for the Daily Mail when you joined the ‘team’ of EU correspondents in Brussels back in 1992. Don’t you think that what’s actually missing is a real EU tabloid to cover EU affairs in a ‘sexy’ way?

JD: I would love to think that enough people would buy and read an EU tabloid to make this commercially viable.

The problem is that most people still prefer to read about what is happening in the world from a national perspective and I don’t see this changing any time soon. So I don’t think there is enough of an appetite yet for a pan-European newspaper targeted at the general public, however sexy!

By the way, I reject the argument that the EU is ‘too boring’ to be written about in an interesting and lively way – lots of national political stories are ‘boring’, but the tabloids still cover them. It is a real challenge to make the EU ‘sexy’, but it can be done by focusing on the impact of what the EU does on ordinary people rather than on dry policies.

“it is a real challenge to make the eu ‘sexy’,

but it can be done by focusing on the impact of what the

eu does on ordinary people rather than on

dry policies. ”

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GEV: Finally, what would be your advice to young budding journalists and to those of them who’d like to focus on EU affairs?

JD: Don’t give up! It is not easy to get that all-important first job in journalism but don’t be put off by those who tell you there is just too much competition. There is, but the jobs go to those who are most persistent – and it’s worth it, because it is a really great profession: endlessly fascinating, challenging and fun.

But don’t be too idealistic and think you are going to change the world. Journalism is not as glamorous as some people think. There is a lot of waiting around for things to happen; it’s tough, competitive demanding; and you will often have to write about things that don’t really interest you - and in the way your editor wants, not the way you would like to.

If it’s EU affairs that interest you, your best chance of success is probably to begin by trying to get a job on one of the specialist EU publications in Brussels – but be prepared to start at the bottom, whatever your qualifications: journalism is a profession you learn on the job, not in the ‘classroom’.

Thank you very much Jacki for this most informative interview.

“...the jobs go to those

who are most persistent –

and it’s worth it, because it is a really great

profession: endlessly

fascinating, challenging

and fun.”

Jacki Davis is Communications Director at the European Policy Centre, a leading Brussels-based think tank. She is also a regular commentator on EU affairs on both radio and television. Until December 2005, she was editor-in-chief of E!Sharp, a bimonthly magazine on the European Union which was launched in December 2001. Before that, Jacki was editor of European Voice, a Brussels-based weekly newspaper on EU affairs owned by The Economist Group. She was responsible for launching the newspaper in October 1995 and remained its editor for five years. Jacki moved to Brussels in 1992 as EU correspondent for the Daily Mail. She had spent the previous five years working for the newspaper in London, starting as a general reporter in 1987 and working on the newsdesk before becoming consumer affairs correspondent in 1990 and taking up her post in Brussels two years later. Jacki started her career in journalism in 1984 on a local weekly newspaper just outside London, where she worked her way up from trainee journalist to news editor.

The European Voice: http://www.europeanvoice.com E!Sharp: http://www.peoplepowerprocess.com The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

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What better reward and honour for teenagers than to win the Palme d’Or of the world famous Cannes Festival? Congratulations to those who played the students of The Class, the Palme d’Or winning movie in Cannes on 25 May 2008! Based on a best-selling autobiographical novel by François Bégaudeau, who plays the main character, The Class (“Entre les Murs”) is a documentary-inflected drama following a year in the life of a French schoolteacher working in a tough multicultural section of Paris. The European cinema was indeed in the spotlights in Cannes with the Cannes Grand Prix awarded to Matteo Garrone’s “Gomorra” and with the Best Screenplay Award granted to “Le Silence de Lorna” by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. While “Gomorra” depicts the dramatic tension of the mafia enrolling youngsters in Naples, Lorna faces the harsh reality of being an Albanian immigrant in Belgium, getting into a vicious circle of marriages of ‘convenience’. Besides the intensity of drama, what do these two award-winning movies have in common? They were both financially supported by the Media Programme of the European Union.

For the 61st edition of the Cannes Festival, 14 of the 22 competing movies were supported by European funds. Under the motto “Europe loves cinema”, the EU and its Media Programme have been supporting the European cinema industry for the last 17 years. Now with globalization, the EU Institutions are considering launching a new programme, ‘Media Mundus’. With the EUR 2 million budget voted by the European Parliament last December, the European Commission has so far launched a preparatory action: ‘Media International’ in parallel to a public consultation. The results of the consultation should be available after the summer.

// palme d’or to

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Many of us know the toll-free phone number 00800 6 7 8 9 10 11. It is that of the EUROPE DIRECT Contact Centre, which you can call from anywhere in the EU.

And yet EUROPE DIRECT is so much more! Perhaps you have already seen those storefronts that look like tourist offices, but where you can walk in and ask any question that you might have about the EU, its policies, its action programmes, its …financial support even? They are the EUROPE DIRECT Relays. There are no less than 474 ED Relays across Europe, located in major cities as well as in more rural areas. What better way than to ask your EU-related questions to “someone from home”? In addition to the ED Relays, the ED Network counts European Documentation Centres (EDC). There’s a good chance you have already visited an EDC without noticing; they are typically situated within university and public libraries. And finally, each country and region has a team of EU affairs experts pretty much at its service. In the EUROPE DIRECT jargon, they are called Team Europe. When you need an EU expert for a conference or a meeting, you can consult the list of Team Europe members present in your area and simply give them a call.

Also, you’ll perhaps be interested in the ED Newsletter. It’s published every month, and although it’s primarily addressed to the members of the ED Network, it is accessible to all of us online.

// �, �, 8, �, 10, 11… europe direct ! //////////

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“Reporting Brussels”

This is the free guide to information sources and tools for journalists in Brussels, kindly published by J@YS. The latest 2008 version of the J@YS pocketbook ‘Reporting Brussels’ is now available at the J@YS Helpdesk in the International Press Centre, at the Residence Palace in Brussels. And of course, it’s free to download online! There is plenty of information equally useful to non-Brussels-based journalists…and also to non-journalists.

http://www.brusselsreporter.eu/beta//wp-content/uploads/reporting_bxl_2008.pdf

J@YS stands for Journalists @ Your Service, and it is the Brussels-based press help centre that offers professional advice, assistance and services for journalists covering Brussels and the EU. You can find further information about J@YS at: http://www.brusselsreporter.eu

If you feel like uncovering more, take a look at http://ec.europa.eu/europedirect/ and see, for instance, where your closest ED Relay is located! Despite all criticisms, the EU is definitely trying to be close to its citizens.

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young people and tobacco – show and share your idea!

oiKos student award

What? A video – photo – comics contest

The point is to take part in the HELP campaign. Help who? Help what? The HELP campaign aims at encouraging a life without tobacco. The videos, photos and comic strips submitted shall support the positive aspects of a life without tobacco. 4 categories in the competition: best video, best “candid camera”, best photo and best comic strip.

For whom? Europeans aged 15 to 35.

Until when? 30 June 2008.

Prizes: • For the 3 best contestants for each category: invitation by the HELP campaign to an event in Brussels, Belgium (September 08). • For the 10 best materials for each category: EU-wide promotion, mainly through the youth- and-tobacco website, the Europa portal and other websites.

Organised by: the European Commission’s Health & Consumer Protection Directorate (DG SANCO) in partnership with the European Youth Forum (YFJ) .

More info: http://www.help-eu.com/youthandtobacco/contest.htm

What? Awards for student-driven projects in higher education supporting sustainable development.

The OIKOS Student Award is an annual competition. For the year 2008, students are invited to present their projects on Sustainable Campus and Curricula Change.

For whom? Students from all over the world. You can apply as individuals or as a group.

Until when? 30 September 2008.

Prizes: OIKOS offers you to • Get rich: Winners get 500€ • Get smart: Winners participate

to the OIKOS Winter School 2008 (16-22 November) on sustainability entrepreneurship at the Management School Witten/Herdecke (Germany)

• Get famous: Winning projects are bragged about worldwide!

Organised by: OIKOS, the international student organisation for sustainable economics and management.

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More info: http://www.oikos-international.org/projects/award/student-award-2008.html

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