Sainte-Marie goes to Paris!

From March 30th to April 1st 2012, ten young people from Sainte-Marie Lycée in Riom, Puy-de-Dôme, went to Sèvres, near Paris. It was more than a simple weekend trip; we took part in the 32nd National Session of the European Youth Parliament (EYP)!

EYP (better known in France as the Parlement Européen des Jeunes or PEJ) is an association that promotes European citizenship among young people.

A lycée delegation is made up of ten pupils, aged 16-17. Nine delegations from different lycées from all over France (plus one from a foreign school) attend a National Session.

During the Session, the pupils from the different lycées are mixed up into a number of committees. The committee members share ideas and try to find solutions to a problem which concerns European citizens. Each committee has a Chair, a member of the PEJ who helps the committee members do their work.

On the final day, we all meet up for a general assembly to present each committee's resolutions; the general assembly has to vote on whether to adopt (or reject) the resolutions. The ideas are then sent to be studied by the European Commission.

Perhaps it sounds boring, but, in fact, the PEJ is a wonderful experience! It's not all work either, as there are plenty of fun team-building games. It's an opportunity too to meet a lot of people our age from different places, and most of us stay in touch with each other.

You'll be able to read in the next article what the PEJ brought to the different members of our delegation, and why it was such a great and unforgettable experience!

 Article by Bénédicte