Applications for Mission Europe 2011 are closed. Mission Europe 2011 is an international project to be held from 30 September to 2 October, from 11 to 14 November 2011 and from 2 to 4 March 2012, in Ypres, Belgium; Berlin, Germany and Luxembourg, Luxembourg respectively. Our project will bring 18 youngsters from Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany together to participate in debates, discussions, workshops (the nuclear-assault game, intercultural evening activities, ...) and sight-seeing tours (such as the European parliament, Checkpoint Charlie, Flanders Fields, ...) concerning mainly the first World War and the EU; and secondly the UN, Human rights and pan-European problems. Mission Europe will be mentored by 8 young adults who will lead discussions, give lectures and lead bicycle trips. As such, the methodology of Mission Europe is based on peer-to-peer education, not only by passively absorbing knowledge through lectures but by also giving the participants the opportunity to actively shape their understanding through discussions and debates. The aims of Mission Europe are to improve awareness of the EU, strengthen English and social skills and immerse youngsters in the first World War and its consequences. Thus, we aim to contribute to the formation of a socially-adept, open-minded, and globally-aware future generation. We will also encourage participants to come up with their own projects, either local, international or anything in between. For this purpose, we give them a lot of time before the Luxembourg weekend to come up with something themselves.
Participants will be asked a €75 participation fee - travel, housing, meal, and program expenses all covered. We believe it very important to keep this program open to everyone, if you have trouble with the participation fee, please contact us by email.
We will provide all participants with a letter for school (in Dutch, French or German) explaining the project and asking the school to excuse the partcipants from school for the days of the project. Ypres
Ypres was of great importance during the first World War. That is why we are starting Mission Europe here. By exploring the past, the participants will learn to form opinions on the present and the future. We are visiting important places, like Tyne Cot Cemetery, the Menin Gate Memorial, Hill 60 and 62 and a German cemetery. On these locations, we will give an explanation about what happened there and start discussions about their history. Questions we can use to start the discussions: Would WW I have occurred if we had an EU in 1914? What can the EU do about the current conflicts? Is a third WW going on in the middle-east?
Berlin
Berlin is a city where for decades the consequences of World War II were visible every day. Freedom was not a certainty. In Berlin, the participants will once again examine history to create an opinion about the present and the future.
We use the same method as in Ypres. We are visiting important sites like checkpoint Charlie, the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburger Tor, the escape routes. There we will give an explanation and start a discussion. Questions are: What is freedom? Does the EU guarantee freedom? Why is freedom important? How do people cope with a lack of freedom? What is the importance of the Berlin Wall regarding freedom?
We will also visit the Belgian embassy in Berlin. Here we will talk about how the Berlin Wall is present in Berlin today.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg is the capital of a very small country, however it is the home to the European court of Justice.
During this last weekend, we will work with participants on how they can make an impact themselves, what they can change. We will encourage the participants to come up with their own idea for a project, under the Youth in Action Programme or not.
Gerbel International strongly believes in the principles of the European Union, peace and freedom. We want to teach the participants of Mission Europe these principles in an interesting way. We will also encourage the participants to start their own follow-up project and to contribute something to community.
After the project the participants will be awarded a Youth Pass, a recognition as an educational experience and a period of non-formal learning by the European Commission.
Mission Europe: Ypres - Berlin is made possible by the Youth In Action Programme of the European Commission and receives additional funding from the U.S. embassies.
