How can young people participate politically? What impacts do decisions by the European Union have on adolescents? How can we teach Democracy, Tolerance and Human Rights interactively and how can we involve the younger generation in political life? Which information do young people need in order to come to a deeper and sustainable understanding of Active European Citizenship and the European Union itself? The Research Group Youth and Europe at the Centre for Applied Policy Research (CAP), part of the Political Department of the University of Munich, is trying to answer these questions.
Practical use
As a scientific consulting centre in the area of political decision making processes, all research on European structural issues and European integration processes is always directly linked with the concrete question of the practical use and the implementation of proposed strategies in political practice and educational work. The Research Group is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend) in Berlin. It cooperates with various partners in youth and educational work, schools, as well as the media. It also advises the administration sector in Germany and on the European level. Its four main tasks include:
Activities
On the basis of public opinion research, the Research Group Youth and Europe gives advice on national and European education and youth policy. It evaluates and develops teaching methods as well as model projects and organises international trainings for multipliers like ‘Qualification Courses in Europe-Skills’. The increasing complexity of EU ‘high politics’ is taught mainly by means of simulations, i.e. the simulation ‘Europe in Crisis’ on the European Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. Youth summits and youth parliaments are considered as activities that can help young people to clarify their own stance towards the European Union and to formulate their concerns. Further, such events encourage adolescents to represent their interests towards European politics and decision making bodies – an important attempt of the Research Group Youth and Europe to transmit youth topics and interests into the actual political decision making process.
Direct participation
One of the main principles of the Research Group of Youth and Europe is not only to talk about and do research on Youth, but to directly involve young people as much as possible. This is an imperative which is taken seriously and great parts of the work are based on the concept of ‘peer group education’. Therefore, the Research Group constantly educates young trainers in methods of civic education and political topics all within the framework of the so called ‘Junior team’. This is in order to support youth organisations and associations in the adequate implementation of the European Idea in their youth activities.
Right-wing extremism
Another core area is to actively take part in the fight against right-wing extremism amongst young people in Germany. For many years the Research Group Youth and Europe has been a partner within the Federal Network ‘Entimon’, developing practical materials to strengthen democratic identity and to encourage young people to stand up against xenophobia and neo-Nazism.
European youth work
Furthermore, the Research Group Youth and Europe is intensively involved in the work of various committees and steering groups of several institutions and international partners in the field of extracurricular youth work. One of the main objectives is to actively take part in the public discussion about the future of youth work in the European Union. Main topics of lectures held all over Europe are participation, intercultural learning as well as European civil and multicultural society. The research data, analysis and educational concepts are published in study papers, practice handbooks, as well as articles in the relevant scientific literature. A newsletter and a website (www.fgje.de) inform regularly about the current achievements, seminar offers and new publications – please feel warmly invited to contact us!
Eva Feldmann-Wojtachnia M.A., Research Group Youth and Europe, Munich