Floriane's PEJ experience!

I would say that the PEJ experience has made me understand that sharing ideas and trying to be tolerant is very important. Also, I learnt to cope a little with the stress of having to speak in public.

I found out about European issues and institutions and how an assembly works.

I enjoyed the debates. The other delegates, who came from all over France were nice people.

I also liked the team building; through creative and physical activities we learnt how to solve problems through teamwork.

Europe Day PEJ competition... did Sainte-Marie win? Click on the link below to find out!

And the winner is...

Roch's PEJ experience!

Roch & Rolex!

Sainte-Marie's pupils were divided into different committees. Roch was the only pupil from Sainte- Marie in his committee, but, fortunately, the team building games allowed the pupils to get to know each other and to learn to cooperate. Sainte-Marie's pupils were mixed with other pupils from different towns like Tours and Limoges. There were also three Greek pupils.

Rock got along particularly well with Limoges's pupils. He has kept in touch with them and he intends to see them again.

Roch enjoyed the trip to Sèvres. It raised his awareness of European issues. His worst moment was when he had to give a speech. He was stressed and he found nothing to say! He and his committee worked on the question of how the EU should react against the authoritative regime in Hungary.

His favourite moment was when a girl jumped on him during one of the theater sketches!

This PEJ experience also allowed Roch to get to know the other pupils in the Sainte-Marie delegation better.

Florian's PEJ experience!

Florian... ze style!

I learnt to work with other people, even to manage a team. It is sometimes difficult to find compromises... It was very interesting to act as a member of a parliament, to find out how it works.

The theater sketches we did on Friday evening were fun and at the same time it was a good way to get to know each other.

The best moment of the weekend was when my team won the game during the disco on Saturday evening!

I was sad when we had to leave Paris, not only to leave my new friends behind but also because we were disappointed not to have won...

Nathan's PEJ experience!

Nathan Panza!

I learnt how to work as a member of a committee. Our job was to discuss and try to find solutions to various social problems. I also got an insight into what an MEP has to do.

I loved the team building, meeting new people of my own age, and the fact that the General Assembly took place at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The worst moment was when we had to work from midnight to past 2 o’clock in the morning to finish our work, and then get up at six, on a Sunday! I was exhausted when we got back to the Auvergne!

The weekend in Sèvres just did not last long enough because we really had a lot of fun.

It wasn’t hard to be get along with everybody or to communicate. The Chairs (they managed the committees) spoke English almost all the time and I sometimes translated for the other pupils on my committee. That made me popular!

It was a great experience meeting other pupils and taking responsibility for something. I would go back right now if I had the opportunity! It was a fun trip since I made lots of friends during that weekend. I will keep in touch with some of them.

The great majority of the delegates were from French Lycées, but there were also Greeks, and they were very nice.

This experience made me discover what it means to be "European" and how great it is just to meet people from other countries.

James' PEJ experience!

James, Florian, sandwiches & friends!

We won a place at the 32nd National Session of the European Youth Parliament (called Parlement Européen des Jeunes or PEJ in France) which took place in Sèvres near Paris at the end of March, beginning of April. I took part as a member of the ten-member delegation from Sainte-Marie (all Section européenne pupils in Première).

It was a great experience! We met a lot of people from every part of France but also from, among other places, Greece, England and Poland. It was interesting to act as an MEP (Member of the European Parliament) for a couple of days...

On the first day we were split up into the various committees. I sat on the Committee on Internal Markets and Consumer Protection (which is actually more interesting than it sounds!); the issue that we had to discuss and find resolutions to was: "What measures could the EU take as regards the spreading of music, movies, etc. on Internet in order to ensure a balance between intellectual property and accessibility to culture". I think the greatest moment of the weekend for me was when more than 80% of the General Assembly approved our committee's resolutions. That means we did a good job.

But before starting committee work, we did plenty of fun games to get to know each other better. In the evening of the first day we went to the town hall of Sèvres which was an amazing place (one of the oldest mairie buildings in France). We listened to long speeches by important people, sipped champagne I mean freshly squeezed orange juice, and nibbled dainty canapés. Later that evening we invaded a theatre and did some daft theatre sketches (the aim was to have fun but also to gain a little more self-confidence about speaking in public...).

I learnt a lot about myself during the weekend... Giving a speech in front of more than two hundred people makes you realize that if you believe in yourself and in what you have to say, you can indeed convince others.

I would definitely go again to a EYP session, but not as a delegate as that is only open to Première pupils (next year I'm in Terminale), but as a journalist, Chair, or organizer.

I hope next year's Première will also take part in a PEJ session; maybe they will win and go on to an international Session!

Quentin's PEJ experience!

Nadal trying to imitate Quentin...

I learnt how the UE functions, how to work with a group, how to cooperate with others during team building games or during committee work.

I liked the team building, the committee work and taking part in the General Assembly. Our committee worked on the Tobin tax (which fights financial speculation).

The worst moment was having to leave! The PEJ was great even if we did not win.