Description of organisation

The Maison de l'Europe en Mayenne/ House of Europe in Mayenne (MEM 53) is an association created in 1994 whose mission is to raise people's awareness on the European project and to educate them permanently in order to develop their European citizenship through different actions.
Thus MEM 53 has an essential role in spreading the founding values of Europe such as peace, respect for human rights, equity, freedom, etc. Having become a key player, the Maison de l'Europe en Mayenne participates in the European opening in the region of Mayenne. It is a convivial meeting place promoting debate and dialogue.

The MEM 53 is a Europe Direct Information center (label of the European Commission) and offers a range of activities to meet the expectations of all audiences :

- A documentation center opened from Monday to Friday to everyone and where it is possible to borrow free documentation on the European Union, exhibitions, educational tools and material on Europe (flags, banners, ...). In order to reach more inhabitants of every area of the region Mayenne, the House of Europe has created 17 European Information Points which can be Youth Information Centers, libraries, social centers etc... They also have our documentation about Europe available to the public.

- Educational and interactive activities on the EU and its priorities (Green Deal, digital transition, democracy...or), European cultures, languages are carried out with different audiences: schools, leisure centers, training organisations, companies, ...

- Supporting young people in their project of mobility : information, orientation and follow-up on the European programs relevant to their profile and their project. We are an information and documentation center for young people wishing to travel in Europe and we coordinate projects within the framework of the European ,Voluntary Service and the European Solidarity Corps, both sending (since 2003), receiving (since 2011) and coordinating (since 2017). We also support local stakeholders who wish to set up international youth exchanges through Erasmus+ or the French-German Office..

-- Trainings on specific technical topics related to Europe (institutions, priorities, European funds and calls for proposals) in professional environments (training institutions, local authorities, companies, ...)

- Personalized support for European project leaders: trainings on European programmes are organised to find funding and monitoring is also carried out.

- Conference-debates and citizens meetings around European issues (Environnement, digital transition, European defense, Health in Europe, Euroscepticism...)

- European events such as the Day of Europe on May 9th with a European village in a city of the region, Christmas in Europe evening with different countries' representatives, many highlights with various actions: information stands, games, shows, concerts etc. This is an opportunity to discover our neighbours and open people to cultural differences.

- Language courses: the association offers courses in English, German, Spanish and Italian provided by teachers who are native speakers and in small groups of up to 10 students to promote discussion and interaction