Teachers become Ambassadors of the European Parliament in schools in Latvia

The pilot project of the programme has been successfully implemented in six countries: France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain. As the main benefits, the participants underlined a diverse, international experience and high-quality, thorough knowledge of THE EU, practical information on the possibilities of participation and their real use. This year the project is planned to be implemented in all 28 EU Member States[1].
“Both practical observations and studies”[2] it is shown that at present, most EU Member States have included content on the EU, but it is often fragmented, too general, and it is not always possible to complement it with other subjects. A great satisfaction in Latvia is therefore to launch the European Parliament's “Ambassadors' Schools” programme with the aim of helping better understand THE EU and becoming more active for its citizens – voting in the elections, helping to make Europe a better place for all, to be able to exploit the vast opportunities provided by Latvia's participation IN THE EU. The European Parliament, as the only directly elected EU institution, represents the interests of 500 million citizens and works to improve the quality of life of citizens. The European Parliament has shown that the views and participation of young people play a role, ”stresses EPIB in Latvia Head of the March Ribel. In the first year of the programme, more than 50 teachers from various Latvian schools have participated in the 2017 Cycle of the European Parliament “Ambassadors of Ambassadors”.
Minister of Education and Science Karlis Šadurskis: “I am very pleased with the broad initiative of the European Parliament in Latvian schools with the aim of encouraging young people's interest and active participation in society-based political processes and the willingness to participate in building civil society. Our young people, schools must create new and binding opportunities that motivate the peers to become more interested in public political life and make it possible to understand that civic participation is an opportunity for everyone to influence processes.” The Minister is convinced that the new programme will give young people good experience and knowledge, the ability to listen to opinions and debate, and to understand that no discussion can be infinite, and differentiate objective arguments from emotional – always preserving the direction of the result, as the main task of policy-making is the ability to make decisions.
On the “Schools of Ambassadors of the European Parliament”
The programme is intended for classes 9-12. The first phase of the programme is held in Latvia from 17 February to 31 May 2017. Schools from all Latvia can send an application for membership and submit a teacher. Within the framework of the programme, schools will strengthen THE eu's thematic presence in formal education through the proposed support system. This is a long-term project and the next phase of the European Parliament's Ambassadors' School will start in autumn 2017 and end in spring 2018.
For schools participating in the project, the following support will be available:

• Teacher seminars in Latvia and Brussels, receiving methodological support for EU themes;
• Learning material on EU 6 modules (history, economic, policy, etc.) with tasks and activities on THE EU. Learning material is integrated into various subjects;
• Educational activities for pupils, including participation in European youth days and EUROSCOLA (pupil debate and simulation of parliamentary work) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France;
• Activities in schools, including support for the implementation of practical engagement mechanisms in schools within THE FRAMEWORK of THE EU (organisation of European Day etc.).

Latvian Europarliamentarians are also actively involved in the European Parliament's “Ambassadors' Schools” programme.
At the first meeting, “Ambassadors”, together with experts, analysed the latest research on the participation and attitudes of young people to Latvia and THE EU, met with concrete, practical youth participation mechanisms, practically worked with specific educational materials and methods of learning about EU youth in a binding manner, as well as developing scenarios for European day developments in Latvia. Photos from the event: https://flic.kr/s/aHskUCx9LH
The European Parliament for young people
THE EP actively participates in the development of youth policy, for example by adopting a resolution on THE EU youth strategy[3], Youth Guarantee, as well as resolutions on youth employment and the promotion of young people's entrepreneurship[4]. 2017 EU budget[5] Meps have provided greater support for young people with no work and student exchange for Erasmus +.
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