The EU-FACTory
The EU-FACTory is an educational project of the European Commission created and run by Ryckevelde, organisation for European Citizenship. We conducted all class visits between November 2010 and March 2011 in the Van Maerlant building of the European Commission.
In this new interactive project, the EU is represented by means of an EU-factory. Pupils of 13-14 years old visit the factory and are being informed about the European Union (past, present and future, about how it works, the EU-realisations, etc.), by means of different workshops. Two classes from different EU Member States meet each other in the EU-Factory. This way, they experience the diversity in Europe by working together with pupils from other Member States.
This is how it works:
In the 'training center' of the EU-FACTory the pupils get to know the history of the European cooperation by means of a quiz. Next, they learn who the most important players are: the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council, the president of the European Parliament... Then they visit the conveyor and see with their very own eyes some of the 'products' of the EU-FACTory. These are very practical examples of European laws, for example the labels on cosmetics. The generator shows them how Europe's diversity is also its energy. Finally, the two visiting class groups learn how to cooperate and overcome language barriers during the teambuilding activities.
The pilot visits of the EU-FACTory were appreciated for their diversity in working methods. Teachers noted that their pupils got a lot of information in a clear, but fun way.
A Spanish and Italian class group were the last to run through the EU-FACTory at the end of February 2011. This meant the end of a project that has had almost 1000 participants, coming from all 27 EU-member states.
If this project gets a positive evaluation, we hope the doors of the EU-FACTory will open up again, this time for a longer period.
Curious about this project? Have a look at some pictures from the pilot visits of the EU-FACTory. Proud of your own pictures you took that day and willing to share? Send them to info@ryckevelde.be and we will be happy to add them to this web album of the EU-FACTory!
A big thank you to all participating classes for your enthusiasm and feedback.
Afbeeldingen
