Cardiff Sixth Form College students win Euro Youth Parliament Competition
Congratualtions to the participating students for their superb win at the European Youth Parliament Competition:
Amber Summerhayes, Virut Hemnilrat, Thamani Mazhani, Krishna Ramesh, Aimee Blair, Zen Foo, Sarah Foong, Karima Gadalla, Jamie Coombes, Kamogelo Thutoestsile, and their Group Consultants: Mpho Molosiwa, Lai Zong Bao and Tamara Lewis.
The competition is open to students aged 15 - 17, and provides an excellent opportunity for students to research and debate European issues. Our winning team will go on to participate in the UK-wide Selection Conference in September 2012, from which a team will be chosen to represent the UK in the international sessions in 2012-2013
One of the participants, Sarah Foong, describes her experience of the competition:
The European Youth Parliament Competition was easily one of the most educational yet fun and exhilarating experiences I had at Cardiff Sixth Form College. It was a parliamentary debate where teams of 10 students from different schools gathered at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff Bay and debated about current issues affecting the European Union. We debated on motions to do with the Eurozone crisis, riots in the European Union, sustainable aid in times of economic insecurity, and many more. The most important part though, was the preparation. Weeks before the competition, we were having regular meetings to discuss our points and views to do with the motions we had to debate about. This involved a lot of research and teamwork when compiling our work together to face the competition.
During the competition, we were all nervous but we were able to speak about our points and views about each motion with confidence since we had done a lot of research. All our hard work paid off as we won the competition and will be competing in the UK final in Liverpool. The research that we did for the competition was very useful, and applicable to real life. Even had we not won the competition, this would still have been a great experience just from the knowledge and exposure we gained from it.
The European Youth Parliament (EYP) represents a non-partisan and independent educational project which is tailored specifically to the needs of the young European citizen.
The EYP encourages independent thinking and socio-political initiative in young people and facilitates the learning of crucial social and professional skills. Since its inauguration,many tens of thousands of young people have taken part in regional, national and international sessions, formed friendships and made international contacts across and beyond borders. The EYP has thus made a vital contribution towards uniting Europe.
Today the EYP is one of the largest European platforms for political debate, cross-cultural encounters, political educational work and the exchange of ideas among young people in Europe. The EYP consists of a network of 35 European associations and organisations in which thousands of young people are active in the voluntary capacity.