An interschool debate in Novi Pazar reveals the benefits of being informed and voting in the upcoming European Parliament elections
On June 5, a few days before the elections, an inter-school debate took place, which is part of the Amalipe Center’s initiative for inter-school debates, which are organized and held together with youth groups for tolerance and civic participation. The start was set at 1:30 p.m., on a neutral zone in the People’s Community Center “Hristo Botev 1872” in Novi Pazar. The motivation for holding such a debate is that, through inter-school debates, an increase in the activity and participation in the elections for the European Parliament of young people and the Roma community is achieved, providing the necessary tools and motivation to participate in the political processes of the European Union, as well as an aspiration to build of greater awareness and engagement among these groups.
The teams:
The team of “Han Isperih” Secondary School, Novi Pazar was represented by Adelina Petrova – 10th grade, Tunay Kyamil – 10th grade, and Daniel Petrov – 10th grade, and the opposing team of the Professional High School for Agriculture and Food Technology, Novi Pazar was with speakers Helin Abil – 11 kl, Esra Asenova – 10 kl and Janer Yulianov – 11 kl, engaged in a debate on the topic “It is important to vote in the elections for the European Parliament”. The debate was moderated by Valya Videva – a teacher from “Han Isperih” Secondary School, Novi Pazar.
After the draw of lots, the representatives of the teams thought in the direction of “For” and “Against” the importance of the vote. Among the arguments of the high school students from the “Against” team were presented conclusions such as “We young people do not want to stop the heating plants”, “we have our own environmental protection programs which are better” and that “even if they vote, then the young people are left feeling cheated.”
The youth from the “Za” team very quickly instilled faith in their opponents, in the audience and the jury, that it is important to vote by pointing out the fact that campaigns are being made to get to know the European institutions on platforms such as “Youtube”, which are widely used from young people that freedom of movement is something very important for young people. They emphasized that the voice of young people is important and that this is the only way they can achieve changes in the 21st century in their locality, and in general in a united Europe.
The audience in the hall were classmates of the debaters. The young girls and boys had the opportunity to ask questions to the teams as well as participate in a question and answer game related to the European Union and the European institutions.
It was a lively and informative debate! He concluded with an emphasis on the importance of young people to inform themselves, direct their energies to useful and meaningful things, learn respect and equality, and participate in the upcoming elections.
The inter-school debate is part of the project “EMPOWEREU: Fostering participation of youth and vulnerable groups in the EU elections” funded by the European Parliament. The authors are fully responsible for the content of the episode and the European Parliament is not responsible for the use of the information therein.
