Model European Parliament 2019
During the weekend 8-10th November 2019 five students, of our school (Joscha Kedzia, Ida Gottmann, Jan Niklas Ostheim, Alexa Pamina Stahl, Ole Weichsel) took the chance to experience about how it feels to be a delegate for the European Parliament.
After we enrolled for this year’s MEP we quickly got our so called Delegate Codes which tell every participant which party and committee they belong to and which state they have to represent.
Everyone started to research so that we were well prepared for what was about to expect us.
On Friday the focus was on connecting with the other delegates who partly came from far across Europe, so getting to know each other was rewarding.
With more than 250 delegates assembled, the glorious opening ceremony, introduced by a guest speaker and crowned by the European anthem, started the conference.
In each of the four Committees (economy, employment, social affairs, civil liberties) we wrote a Common Position paper which mentioned problems and attempts to solve them. This laid the foundation for the following days.
Then, the Common Position Paper had to find other delegates who wanted to sign it. Therefore two delegates of every fraction and committee went into a lobbying process with others. While lobbying we were able to identify the other parties’ standpoints, so that we could adapt our paper until it was ready for the Committee meetings.
In the Committee meetings we exchanged possible solutions for upcoming issues in Europe. The discussions had been so vivid that even after 6 hours of debating we still had new points to make and others to criticize. But this is no surprise, taking a look at the importance of problems, for example how to act appropriately fighting against climate change. Carbon taxes, unemployment rates, no more plastic & less meat consumption… just to mention a few aspects.
How should I represent my own opinion best? What is it like to raise my voice in front of 250 passionate students? All of us entered new territory and it was absolutely worthwhile.
While some of us for example may felt a little uncomfortable wearing suits and ties on Friday, you can say that we have grown into our outfits during the weekend.
“The suit looks good on you!“ were some comments.
The role we were slipping in had really overcome us.
Retrospectively this weekend was more than rewarding. Apart from our committee topics, from my personal point of view we all gained a lot of self-confidence and improvement of our rhetorical skills.
We are all looking forward to attending next year’s MEP again. Some of us are even considering to be a student officer. That means that you will be part of the organization team by leading either a fraction or a committee.
Alexa Pamina Stahl
Model European Parliament and other debating activities are prepared and organised in the framework of the European Politics and Debate Club, which meets every Friday from 2:30 to 4:00 in the Europaraum. All students (years 8-Q2) who are interested in discussing in English, learning about European issues or sharing their opinions with others are invited to join. No formal registration is necessary. You can ask Mrs Schilling or Mr Fallak for details or just drop in on any Friday.