This time we are voting!
Students from 8 MEP BSR countries will gather in Riga from the 29th of March to the 3rd of April for a a week of detailed research and discussion culminating in a plenary session at which resolutions will be debated and adopted. The program, which prides itself on being able to provide a training ground for future leaders and politicians, seeks to educate students about the European Union and current political, social, economic and cultural issues in Europe by giving them a platform from which they can voice their opinions, brainstorm with like-minds and engage in a fruitful dialogue while developing their debating skills through public speaking. There is a strong cultural and social aspect to the event, which gives participants ample opportunities to socialise and to visit some of the sights of the host country.
Delegates, representing their own native countries, have already been assigned to 5 different committees where their core task would boil down to examining in critical detail the central issues underpinning the work of the respective committee which they are a part of.
- The Committee on Foreign Affairs would tackle the question of how the EU can step up its involvement in the Syrian Civil War with a view to contemplating an effective opposition to ISIS and bringing much needed stability in the region.
- Participants in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs would have, as a focal point for their discussion, the current volatile nature of the Schengen Treaty in light of many member states closing their national borders as a result of uncontrolled and increased immigration flow into the EU. The question of how the latter can assume a greater responsibility in this process, for the sake of reaching a constructive solution, would be discussed in length.
- The Committee on Energy, Industry and Research will concern itself with how to ensure a more secure and sustainable common energy system in Europe, and what alternatives to gas and oil imports exist that would enable the EU to operate more efficiently and independently in this context.
- The Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality will address the issue of respect and protection for women’s rights at a time when western values are being increasingly challenged by cultural/religious beliefs that run contrary to those of host societies. The incident in Germany on New Year’s Eve is illustrative of such cultural/religious divides and will serve as a backdrop for the discussion.
- Central to the work of the Committee on Culture and Education will be the question of how to empower young people to become active citizens through engagment in the political process on a national and EU-level, and thus, playing a larger role in the decision-making process.
The session is hosted in cooperation with The Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and local partners, and heralds the first MEPBSR’s session for 2016.
For more information visit the official website.
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