European Year of Youth

The Role of Young Generations in the Future of Europe This year has been declared the European Year of Youth. During this year young people have the opportunity to connect with their peers all over the world and to discuss their opinions and ideas about the future. Current young generations are supposed to take the leader roles in the future. How we see the world and our mindset are what will shape the future. We have to learn how to be considerate of others and to accept people if they are different from us in some way. Although adults might believe that nowadays young people are not interested in certain topics, in many cases we have more knowledge about some issues. It is known that young generations use smart devices on a daily basis and the Internet is the biggest and fastest way to gain knowledge about what's happening in the world around us. Our role isn't only to wait for the future to bring change, we are also here to educate our parents and family about what we believe is good and will have an impact on the future, the one we are supposed to live in. I believe that young generations have the ability to make the world a better place. We need to take care of those around us, stop the pollution and bring peace to the world. Mateo Radošević, 4.b

Media literacy and disinformation It is known that, every day, many young people spend the most of their free time on media and Internet. A lot of young people are receiving basic informations through social media rather than traditional medias. But very small amount ask themselves is the content they are reading or sharing correct. It become common to get in contact with disinformation and manipulation. So what can we do to educate young people how to recognize false informations that are circulating the Internet? Disinformation also existed before all the media, but media and modern communication technologies just made sharing easier and faster so the consequences are a lot more far-reaching. Their main goal is to manipulate public and lead us to wrong conclusions about persons, events or occurrences that are falsely reported and written about. It is crucial for young people to be media literate to think critically about the information they consume and create. So how can we recognize false news? It is very important not to read just the title and to check who posted the news. If the news were posted on some blog or forum it is probably not very credible because its about personal blog and the attitude of the individual. Also it is essential to check the date and time of publication and to check the facts about the news in another sources. And last but not least, to think before sharing. If it is shared uncontrollably it can have harmful consequences for those who are included in them and to whom you share them. Media literacy has become one of the most important forms of literacy in the 21st century and as such should certainly be given more space within the formal education System. We are the future of this world and the government should give more attention to such details to put spreading the false news to an end. Ema Božić, 4.a

Solidarity with Ukraine Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Croatia and all other European countries were trying to help Ukrainian people that stayed there, but most important, we are trying to help people that have come to Croatia as refugees. One way of helping, in which I take part in, is volunteering. I volunteer in nonprofit organization called “Društvo naša djeca” or shorten DND – Society of our kids. The organization is voluntary, independent, nonpolitical, educational, nonprofit and democratic. This organization was founded in 1950, directed its work towards kids’ well-being. The main goals are helping kids and parents in raising their children, starting actions in order to achieve children’s rights, leading freely picked activities and offering help in order to learn and encourage democratic and human behaviors among young children. In this specific situation, we also offer psychological help if one is needed, considering the stress they have gone through. Looking back at it, when bad things start happening, kids are the ones that suffer the most, but they are also the ones who accept changes easier. I’m lucky enough to be able to hear and feel their side of the story. This situation has confirmed my theory that kids are the best people to work with. Working with them, even through the language barrier exists, is still the best part of my week. I’m happy to have the opportunity to affect these little people. Paula Matanović,4.a

Education and employment of young generations in European Union Being EU citizen provides young generations with so many opportunities such as studying and employment in the European countries. Having that opportunity is of a big importance for many young people due to hard conditions that many European countries are facing in the moment. In 1994 European Union launched EURES, a corporation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers. The corporation provides European citizens with all information about finding the job, living and working in that country, ensuring that all European citizens benefit from the same opportunities, despite language barriers, cultural differences, bureaucratic challenges, diverse employment laws and a lack of recognition of educational certificates across Europe. In 2013 with signing the Treaty of Accession Croatia became the 28th EU member country while Croatian Employment Service (CES) became part of the EURES. The Bologna process in Croatia led to greater compatibility and comparability of higher education systems in Europe and thereby made it easier for learners to be mobile and for institutions to attract students and scholars from other countries and continents. Croatian higher education system is fully aligned with the Bologna Process principles - all programmes are structured according to three cycles (undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate) and European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is used to express the student workload. Having the same system as other EU countries makes it much easier for Croatian students to develop the skills that are necessary for certain job application and also to be recognized among other qualified students in their field of knowledge. Croatian universities are also very high ranked in EU which helps young people, providing big opportunities for everyone who studied it. Also a big number of EU citizens come to study in Croatia which proves the quality of education in Croatia. Maja Mašić, 4.a

Education Perhaps one of the most important things in a young person's life is education. It shapes us into who we are, and who we become in the future. It teaches us similarities, and differences between one another. Luckily, we live in a union of countries where education is available to everyone and where we have the ability to experience education from other countries as well. And I can proudly say that I was a part of a project that allowed me to experience culture from all around Europe. My experience wasn't long, but it taught me more than I could have imagined. I spent eight days in Portugal as a part of Erasmus gifted program and I have met people that I will remember for as long as I’m alive. Those eight days taught me so much about life and other cultures, I learned how to communicate with strangers, how to have fun with people I just met and most importantly how to respect the unknown. The project that I was able to attend was educational on so many levels, including the traditional learning in classrooms where I got to experience different types of lectures than what I am used to, but it was deeper than that as I have also accumulated the knowledge necessary for personal growth. In my country we have a saying “na mladima svijet ostaje” which roughly translates to “the future of the world is dependent on young people” and that is where, in my opinion, the importance of education comes into play. The European Union as well as every country individually has a duty to educate its youth because those will be the people whose hands will lay the foundation of a future world. Ema Filipović, 4.a

Employment after graduation Nowadays a lot of young people think about their job after college. They are trying in every way to stay in their country and contribute to it. The Member States of the European Union offer a variety of jobs. In December 2021, it was decided that the European Year of Youth will be held in 2022. Among the topics to be discussed is the employment of young people within Europe. Slovenia`s RPR, with an investment of EUR 27.5 million provides financial incentives for employers to hire young people up to 25 years of age. It was decided that bosses should have mentors employed to teach young people about the job. Young people should be encouraged in education to develop their knowledge, to learn foreign languages and to enable them to have a guaranteed job after college. Unemployed young people face insecurity due to working conditions and lack of social protection. They need to be provided with secure employment and transition from one job to another. I believe that this project will help young people to secure their future. I am also a high school graduate who is currently thinking about enrolling in the desired faculty and staying to work in Croatia. Patricia Pavletić, 4.a

The Role of Young Generations in the Future of Europe Today's young generations want to be heard whenever there is an important topic to talk about. The reason for that is that some decisions have a huge effect on us, but also, they have an enormous effect on the world that will soon be left in our hands. That is why this project is a great deal to us. To begin with, it would be ideal if young, educated people started to focus on including themselves in politics because we might have some fresh ideas that could change the curse of today's politics and the problems that come with it. The other thing is that we always hear about these minorities whether they are sex, race or any other minority, well, we can safely say that it is starting to bother our generation because we do not see someone by their sex, skin colour or even their sexual orientation; we just see someone by their intelligence and great ideas. If we all start behaving this way, we will be able to achieve greater things. For example, something that we face today, and talk about it a lot, is global warming. We all know the main problem behind it, and I believe that if we start including young generations in this problem a lot of great ideas will burst out so we can start saving our planet. The reason that we have a solution for this problem is that we are getting educated in schools increasingly about this topic and it crosses our mind every now and then whether we can do something about it. Also, it is believed that we are generations that will go from fossil fuels to reusable energy sources, and for that reason we need to be entrusted with this issue. So, what is the role of our generations in the Future of Europe? It is to help with any difficulties this century is facing and bring our freshly shaped minds so we can cope with something that is bigger than all of us. The main problem is that we are rarely heard and mostly ignored, but our generations are focused on the future while others are still thinking about the past. Thus, I hope with this project we will be more included in anything that comes upon us. Andrea Valjin, 4.a

Youth and the world What is my role in the world? What is my contribution to this world and can I change the world through my actions?- these are the questions that every young man asks himself, questioning his decisions, attitudes and opinions. Every young man just needs to be given the opportunity to prove himself through upgrading his knowledge and skills. Each of us is only a small part of this vast world, but each of us has a crucial role to play in this world. It is important for young people to have a certain perspective about who they are and what they want to achieve in their life. In the personal development of each individual, the support of the community is very important. Young people are very enthusiastic when they talk about their future: they have big plans, dreams and desires that they believe in and hope will they come true one day . ″And the young shall inherit the world ″ – this is an old Croatian proverb. And it is really true. Young people are our future, our light, the spark that will shine on us. Each person in this world leaves an indelible mark, so it is important to do something beautiful to make our lives, but also the lives of future generations better. Young people have the power to change this world, making it a better place. The young are our hope, we just need to give them the opportunity and support, to trust them and they will do wonderful things. Iva Špoljarić, 4.a

The role of young generations in the future of Europe Everyone has their role in society, all around the world. Younger generations seem to struggle to find their purpose in the world since their ideas are often neglected. After all, young people are the future of Europe. Youth has an enormous purpose in the future of Europe. We are capable of great things if we put our minds to them. My school encourages youth to participate in many projects that improve their skills. our students participate in Erasmus + and eTwinning projects at international level, as well as many others. In these projects, we learn how to upgrade our communication, organizational, or problem–solving skills. It helps in forming our personality so that we can play a better role in building Europe's future. Young generations should be given a voice, a way to express themselves, to share their ideas and ambitions. We should be given a good quality offer of further education or employment, that way youth will be encouraged to reach their full potential. I think that youth has great potential in improving and reforming this whole system if they are given a proper opportunity. We have a large chance to see the development of Europe just by supporting and investing in our youth. Vlatka Sorić, 4.a