Bright Young Minds – 5th European Education Summit

Última atualização quarta-feira, 22/02/2023

It is young people who stand at the center of the education system in Europe. This was not forgotten at the European Education Summit, which brought together politicians setting up education systems in European countries, experts in the field, and above all, young people, to whom the future of education in the European Union belongs.

The 5th European Education Summit took place in Brussels on 1 December 2022. The discussion panels were held at the Brussels Convention Centre, and there was also an opportunity to follow the event online. As young journalists, we had the pleasure of attending the event on-site, which definitely gave us a different perspective on the Summit.

The conference was opened with an opening speech by Mariya Gabriel - European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. Then we listened to an inspirational online speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who drew attention to the challenge of admitting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to European schools. She also spoke about the green transition and the fact that young people are the most aware generation of climate change. 

Several discussion panels were held during the conference. The roundtable on „developments that marked education in 2022” particularly caught our attention. The invited guests (Mariya Gabriel, Jutta Urpilainen, Vladimir Balas, Sabine Verheyen, Panagiotis Chatzimichail and Janis Fifka) talked a lot about the role of non-formal education and creating it in dialogue with young people, who know their needs best. Attention has also been paid to the issue of young people's mental health.

During the short dialogue between EU-Youth Coordinator Biliana Sirakova and Alexander Valach from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, a discussion was held about the role of teachers and how they influence young people in their early stage of life. Participation has its start in school and everything depends on teachers and the community in which young people grow up.

During a high-level panel “Closer Together through innovation” Ricardo Rivero Ortega - rector of the University of Salamanca presented a report about suggestions on innovations and 10 recommendations about financial support, supporting collaborations between top universities, support for women in leading positions and support for teachers.

In between panels, it was also possible to talk to other people. It was extremely refreshing to see that some high-level politicians really wanted to talk with us about the future of education. However, we found it most inspiring to meet young people who are courageously working for a better future of education in Europe.

We talked to Systke from the EU STEM Coalition about the importance and future of STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math). She shares:

"I think that especially for STEM education, for all the transitions that the EU is making like the energy transition, the importance of technology, young people need to be educated on those topics. STEM education was mentioned a few times during that summit, so it is becoming more and more important, both for initial learners and for lifelong learners. A lot of parties are starting new initiatives so constantly they are being done instead of bringing different initiatives together. In my opinion, that would work better and also build upon what’s already been done instead of always trying new things."

We also talked to Janis, a member of the Governing body of the European Youth Parliament, about the ending of the European Year of Youth.

"I wish for many more years of youth, one is not enough. It was a nice idea to give young people this year after COVID, but this year should not only be symbolic. It shouldn’t be just discussion events. I am sure this year brought more awareness, but it still didn’t reach enough young people. Following this special year, concrete steps must be taken, particularly in response to the demands of young people and young organizations. It was great to hear today during the summit that there is a lot of agreement on not touching the budget for education. Today’s summit focused a lot on institutions, universities, schools, teachers, etc. but we shouldn’t forget the importance of informal and non-formal education."

For us, it was really special to also talk in private to Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. We talked about the European Year of Youth, and especially about the pool of European young journalists. We were able to share what was unique about creating not only content for the European Youth Portal, but also working with people from different countries and truly making the ideas of the EU come to life. In addition, we also pointed out how to further improve the work of future pools. Many thanks to the Commissioner for finding time on this intense day to meet with us.

 

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Meet the authors Anna Marek & Maria Bajorek (Member of the pool of European young journalists – Edition 2022)

"I'm a Polish girl who gained her journalistic experience in several places, including writing for magazines and working in radios. I'm up for all possible challenges, adding the right dose of humour to them. I am primarily interested in talking to young people who introduce real changes. An example is the Youth Climate Strike in Poland as a youth movement fighting for a legal change in the government's approach to the climate crisis. I am interested in writing about how European Union programmes give young people a chance and how they changed their lives. I am also interested in the exclusion that many young people face because of their place of residence, gender or sexual orientation. I would like to raise topics that draw attention to the real problems of young people. I am also more and more interested in the culture of the Balkans and Turkey and their inclusion and impact on the European Union." (Anna)

"I am a young journalist from Poland. I am keen on media world since two years. I have already experience writing in three youth newspapers and I am also creating a social project about media and disinformation. I am responsible for making podcasts and writing articles. This project won a prize for the best educational project in Poland in 2021. I am volunteering in at the local community level and I am also passionate about all topics related to politics, media and leadership." (Maria)

 

This article reflects the views of the authors only. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for it.