European competition

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Official logo of the European competition

The European competition is a competition for pupils announced by the European Movement Germany . First advertised as an essay competition in France in 1953, North Rhine-Westphalia participated as early as 1954. The other federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany followed suit in the following school year . It is the oldest student competition in Germany and one of the oldest transnational initiatives for political education in Europe . In the Federal Republic of Germany, the European competition is under the patronage of the Federal President .

Every year, an average of 80,000 schoolchildren take part nationwide. Four modules, staggered according to age groups, present different topics, which are based on the motto of the respective European Year proclaimed by the European Union . In the 2017/18 school year the motto was "Think - what is Europe building on?" and was based on the European Year of Cultural Heritage . In the school year 2018/19 the motto of the competition is "Yourope - it's about you!" and calls on the German students to think about the future of Europe and its democracy.

The tasks always require the students to take a European perspective into account. The focus is on social, economic, political and cultural aspects. The topics can be edited in any way, e.g. B. with texts, pictures, collages, videos etc.

aims

The European competition is a tried and tested instrument for practical school work. It supports schools in fulfilling their European educational mandate, most recently formulated in the resolution of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs “European Education in Schools” (May 5, 2008). As a themed competition, which is aimed at all ages and types of school, it calls for in-depth discussion of European topics and issues in the classroom. The competition directs the perception of pupils, but also of teachers, to the European dimension of as many subject areas and teaching content as possible.

The task and methodology offer teachers a concrete opportunity to develop the European dimension in their lessons. The topics show where European references are effective and in which area European decisions are required. They also make it clear that in many cases only collective action promises success. Through the independent and creative examination of the values, principles, goals, challenges and possibilities of European integration , the competition makes an important contribution to strengthening European awareness among children and young people. It enables young people to actively carry out their future tasks as citizens of the European Union . In 2013 the European competition celebrated its 60th anniversary.

procedure

At the beginning of the school year, the new advertisement will be published and distributed to schools nationwide. Then the teachers and students have until February to prepare competition entries. Advisory contacts in the federal states are the state offices and state representatives who coordinate the competition in each federal state. In February these will be presented to a state jury. The jurors of the federal states make a selection, award state prizes and recommend the best work to the federal jury, which usually meets in March. The federal jury awards around 600 prizes with a total value of € 80,000 to the 2000 best works. The list of winners will be published in April. Award ceremonies often take place on the Europe Days at the beginning of May on a decentralized basis in the countries. Between June and October, prizewinners' meetings and events take place in the Federal Chancellery and in the Bundestag .

Prices

The older students, whose work has been recognized at the federal level, are given attractive travel prizes and invitations to political institutions in Berlin and Brussels every year. The Chancellor invites each year 30 winners for a three-day visit to Berlin. The visitor service of the German Bundestag also welcomes 50 schoolchildren each year to a varied political and cultural program in the capital. On the occasion of the European competition, international prize winners' seminars are held annually in the European Academy in Otzenhausen and in the Europa-Haus Marienberg . The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is also organizing a political seminar in Strasbourg and Brussels specifically for the winners of the European competition. The younger winners will be awarded both monetary and material prizes.

Realignment

The European competition was reorganized in terms of content and form in 2009. The main points of the new concept are:

  • The themed competition puts the activities of the European Union in the foreground by focusing on the annual motto.
  • Pupils who submit purely creative work must explain the European relevance of their work in writing.
  • There is no separation between visual and written competition tasks. Instead, all topics can be worked on in a variety of ways.
  • In addition to German and fine arts, contributions from other subjects such as history, political education, geography, religion and ethics are welcome.
  • A stronger internationalization u. a. through cooperation with European partner schools in the processing of a topic are supported.

financing

In Germany, the European competition is one of the so-called nationally funded competitions. It is financed by grants from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Foreign Office . In addition, the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs as well as the Ministries of Education and Senate administrations of the federal states support the competition financially. A steering committee set up by the Standing Conference determines the guidelines for the European competition. The Press and Information Office of the Federal Government , the Bundestag and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation support the competition by inviting award winners.

Cooperation with eTwinning

In order to enable cross-border cooperation between schoolchildren as part of the European competition, a new eTwinning branch was introduced in the European competition in the 2012/13 school year . School classes from several European countries will in future be able to work together online on the topics of the competition. The topics are age-appropriate and ideal for online cooperation in the TwinSpace.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ European competition , netzwerk-ebd.de, July 29, 2015.
  2. ↑ Flyer for the competition. On the competition website, accessed on August 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ 66th European Competition. Contest website, accessed August 9, 2018.
  4. ↑ Recommendation Europe in School , kmk.org, July 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ State Commissioner for the European Competition , ew2016.de, July 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ eTwinning and the European Competition , ew2014.de, July 19, 2013.