European Union of Young Diplomats

During the 2024/2025 school year, our team organized and carried out a number of student educational projects entitled European Union of Young Diplomats at secondary schools across the Czech Republic. The main purpose of these projects was to provide information about the actual functioning of the EU, its structure, legislative process, competences in relation to individual Member States, and opportunities for active involvement in shaping its future. The projects also aimed to highlight the added value of the Czech Republic’s membership in the European Union, to strengthen the European identity of young people, to increase awareness of current developments at the level of EU institutions, and to motivate young people to engage in public life and to enable them to discuss issues directly with decision-makers. The project also focused on developing participants’ soft skills, in particular by fostering critical and analytical thinking, as well as promoting collaboration skills and understanding towards others.

Each project consisted of a preparatory phase in the form of the European Council and European Commission of Young Diplomats. During these sessions, participants gained knowledge about these institutions and took part in simplified simulations of their roles – first identifying, and then voting on, priority topics they wished to focus on during their project. They subsequently developed legislative proposals addressing specific current challenges faced by the European Union, presenting their own ideas on how these issues could be resolved. This preparation was always followed by the European Parliament of Young Diplomats, ensuring that all activities together guided participants through a realistic experience of the EU’s legislative process.

Each European Parliament of Young Diplomats began with an introduction of the Young Diplomats Association and the project’s partners, in particular the European Union and the Erasmus+ programme. Participants then took part in interactive activities, expressing their opinions on EU-related questions by positioning themselves along an opinion scale and explaining their reasons. The questions addressed, for example, whether they considered the Czech Republic’s membership in the EU to be beneficial and whether they wished the country to remain in the EU, or whether they supported or opposed the adoption of the euro. Afterwards, participants completed a quiz in which we anonymously assessed their level of knowledge about the EU. This was followed by a short break and then an interactive presentation on the European Union and its institutions. During this presentation, participants learned factual information about the Union, its history, and the principles governing the functioning of its institutions including several interesting facts and curiosities.

Following the lecture, students were introduced to the Rules of Procedure for the simulated session of the European Parliament, after which the simulation took place. During this exercise, participants debated the proposals they had developed as part of the preparatory activities of the European Council and European Commission of Young Diplomats. Most often, these proposals fell under the broad theme of “environmental protection.” Selected proposals prepared by our participants can be found on our social media channels or below in the Resources section.

After the parliamentary session, a discussion with a decision-maker followed. During this exchange, participants could ask questions related to the European Union as well as any other topics of interest to them. The discussion was always followed by an open space session, where participants had the chance to speak with the guest in an even more relaxed and informal atmosphere. The day concluded with an evaluation of the entire project and the announcement of the best delegates, who received small prizes in recognition of their active participation.

Our sincere thanks go to the European Union, the Erasmus+ programme, and all our guests for their generous support of the project.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Czech National Agency for International Education and Research. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

If you are interested in receiving comprehensive educational materials for this project, please contact us at info@mladidiplomate.com. We will be happy to provide the materials along with a short training session.