EYP’s school visits

Your European Citizenship

Your European Citizenship project organises a school tour for 15- to 22-year-olds in upper secondary schools and vocational schools all over Finland. The purpose of the project is to improve young people’s knowledge about political decision-making and the European Union, as well as to encourage them to participate in discussion about societal questions. From young people to young people is a principle that guides this project making it approachable and emphasizing the importance of young people’s voice.

Also final classes of lower secondary schools, organisations and youth groups may request a presentation, as long as the participants are approximately 15 to 22 years old. In addition to the school tour, the project includes EYP’s sessions which simulate the work of the European Parliament. By participating to the sessions, young people have a chance to express themselves as well as to practice their argumentative skills, public speaking and teamwork skills.

National school tour aims to get new participants to EYP’s sessions, pass on important knowledge about the EU and encourage young people to participate in the discussion about the EU affairs. School visits are suitable for e.g. social studies classes. During the school tour we inform young people about the EYP’s sessions – students can either sign up on their own or they can participate as a delegation with their fellow students (teacher will register the delegation).

The school tour is carried out by EYP’s volunteers who have an extensive knowledge about the EU as well as personal experience of active citizenship. During the school tour we also aim to improve the communication between the EYP Finland and the schools so that our work would be better-known amongst young people as well as the teachers.

School visits are free of charge, they are available in all parts of Finland in Finnish, Swedish and English on the spot or remotely. The duration is about 20 minutes.

1. What is an EYP teacher?

• EYP teacher is a contact person between EYP Finland and 15-to 22-year-old students.
• EYP teacher is a teacher in upper secondary school or vocational school who tells their students about the possibilities to participate in EYP’s events. Teacher gets up-to-date information from EYP about our events.

2. Why should I become an EYP teacher?

• Participating in EYP’s events supports students’ social studies and English studies, it’s in line with the curriculum and helps in preparing for matriculation examinations.
• Encouraging students to participate in EYP’s events will improve their possibilities to take part in the societal discussion, improve their personal skills, English language skills and knowledge about the EU and politics in general. They also get to practice important working life skills.
• Participating in EYP’s activities could happen in students’ spare time or for instance as a part of some course. Our events are educational and they aim to offer young people meaningful experiences and encourage them to be active citizens.

3. How to become an EYP teacher?

• Subscribe to EYP’s newsletter and make sure you get information about EYP’s activities.
• Book a school visit! We offer shorter presentations during the autumn and European Parliament simulations during the spring.
• Assemble a delegation of your students and register it to EYP’s regional sessions (or make sure that the students know how to sign up individually).
• Get a report of the session’s results, a resolution made by the students and what the session’s atmosphere looks like.

You can request a school visit by sending us an email: sofia.olin@eypfinland.org. In the email, please provide the name and location of your school and possible dates & times for the visit. Visits are free of charge and they are available in all upper secondary schools in Finland.