In the days of 4th to the 9th of November 2008, AEGEE Kraków will be organizing – for the first time in our city – a Model of the European Union. This project is directed at students from Poland and Europe. Its main goal is to facilitate for the participants the chance to familiarize themselves with the mechanisms that govern the functioning of the main organs of the European Union, the rules guiding the creation of Community legislature, the emulation of conference and negotiation techniques as well as the opportunity to test themselves in the roles of speakers and negotiators. The planned sessions will allow the practical use of skills acquired during the course of university studies along with the possibility of their expansion through planning and preparing the proceedings of the respected organs of the European Union.

 The anticipated pool of participants amounts to 100. Candidates at the ages of 18 – 30 will be taken into account.

 The partakers will be divided into two commissions, representing the real organs of the European Union, which will be:

• The European Council, where the partakers will enact the leaders and ministers of the 27 member states,
• The European Parliament, where the partakers will be divided proportionally to emulate the factions in the Parliament and the political parties that comprise them to represent the actual current composition of this institution. Each party will have a speaker, who will oversee the voting discipline and preside over assemblies.

The participants will be selected from amongst sent application forms, in which they will describe their experience so far as well as a short essay on the topic related to the European Union. This will allow the diversification of participants with respect to age, gender, country of origin, as well as enable a high level of merit. Thanks to the recruitment process the organizers will be able to assess the true level of knowledge on the subject of the European Union amongst the candidates along with their language competence (the entirety of the project will be carried out in English).

This project will be realized in the form of a simulation. The anticipated duration is six days. The foundation of the project is active participation – during the conference the partakers will have to form their countries/ parties stance on the discussed matter and, acting in accord with it, come up with a basis for cooperation with others, in order to achieve their own goals. During each day the participants will be formulating a resolution concerning a different topic. They will use documents prepared for them by the organizers in cooperation with the employees of the Jagiellonian University.

Each of the participants will be assigned to represent one of the member states of the European Union ( in case of the European Council ) or a political party originating from one of those countries ( in case of the Parliament ) and will act in accord with their real stance. To help integrate the participants with their assigned roles, the organizers will place information on the project’s web page. The partakers will, after familiarizing themselves with the documents provided, will present his countries/ parties stance, prepare amendments to the resolutions and will participate in a debate concerning the amendments. During the simulation the partakers will also be able to take part in the negotiation process, in which they will share their views and knowledge in order to convince his fellow negotiators to his ideas.

The main topics discussed during the simulation will be:
• “ The acceleration of pre-accession negotiations with Turkey; opening new negotiation chapters”
• “Common foreign policy of the European Union – an institutional approach”
• “The acknowledgment of  informal education and life – long learning within the confines of the European Union”.

  The subjects of this project are closely tied with current events on the international arena, the matters discussed often being controversial and poly-dimensional. This will allow the participants to associate themselves with their decisions, as well as offer a better understanding of the current political situation in Europe. The themes have been highly differentiated, however they are logically bound. In their choice the organizers took into account not only their freshness, but their importance to the idea of an integrated Europe – one of the statutory tasks of AEGEE.

 Because the participants will hail from many European countries, including those outside the European Union, they will bring with them diverse points of view concerning the discussed topics. The engagement in this project will help realize the cultural and political differences present on our continent, they will learn to formulate and voice their opinions, convince others to their worldview, but also to reach a compromise.

 Let us not forget that active participation of youth is the foundation of civic societies. Through the involvement of youth in the decision making process in the European Union the project supports the stable growth and development of its member states, as well as the European Union itself, it contributes to the broadening of integration. It influences the activation of youths in their environment, promotes tolerance and respect for other cultures.

 This project enables its participants to acquire and develop “soft competences” including the ability of presentation, voicing ones opinion, leadership and persuasive skills, which are highly sought after by employers; in other words, it can help better meet the requirements of the modern job market.

 As with all AEGEE undertakings, the Model of the European Union will not be forgotten after it is over. Reports and photographs will be placed on our web page, printed in local university press and student internet services.

 Project goals:
• Enabling a group of students better familiarization with the European Union, its procedures, as well as a better understanding of the course of the negotiation process in the decision making organs of the Union through participation in the proceedings of the respected Union organs.
• The familiarization of its partakers with the legislative process in the European Union and the mechanisms of decision making .
• The delegation and broadening amongst its participants of information regarding the economic, cultural, historical, social and political specifics of the Union’s member states.
• The spreading of democratic ideals amongst European youths, the foundation and enforcement of a civic society through
• The promotion of cooperation and transfer of information and experience.
• The support and inspiration of activity among European youths.
• The manifestation of similarities between young people from different European countries, transcending barriers and stereotypes, the promotion of cooperation and integration in Europe.
• The popularization of the idea of non-formal education and enhancement of interpersonal skills among participants.
• The promotion of the Jagiellonian University amongst students in Cracow as well as high-school youths. The participants will come into contact with the University and its students, which will allow them to form contacts and may in the future be the deciding factor weighing on the choice of their university. This simulation might become and excellent agent of promotion for the Jagiellonian University.

We would enjoy being able to share our idea with You. We encourage You to cooperate and participate in this event.