CALENDAR May 2011
END
Europe doesn’t at the Pyrenees The 15th May Movement and the Spanish Youth
T
here is an old “Europe ends at the Pyrenees”, hinting that Spain (and also Portugal) were always a bit different and there was a gap between Spain and the rest of the European countries. Years of political isolation created a situation where just a few people were able to speak any foreign language (no matter the large number of tourists coming to Spain year after year). Cultural communication channels had also been obliterated. This handicap could not be solved in a couple of years after joining the European Union, so it kept the country isolated, leaving its mark on Spaniards and their attitude towards European society. Within AEGEE itself, not so long ago, it was not very common to see Spanish members actively involved on the European level. However, the situation has changed in the past couple of years, with members being active in European projects, Working Groups and many others, contributing to the AEGEE work towards a better Europe. The icing on the cake was the Spring Agora in Alicante in April 2011, gathering around 800 active Europeans. Coming back to the world outside of AEGEE, Spanish youth seems more prepared than ever and are willing to take part in building a new European society. Thanks to projects such as Youth in Action, the Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus
and Leonardo especially) or organisations such as AEGEE, the bonds have been created between young people from Spain and every European country, and now Spain and Europe are growing closer together. An interesting example is the spread of the 15th May movement, started by Spanish Youth who found that the political situation of Spain dissatisfactory and decided to march on the streets in order to express this state of mind. A movement that started almost spontaneously on social networks, transforming every big square into an Agora, took politicians and sociologists completely by surprise. It has since spread to many other countries, like Portugal, France or Greece, creating links and synergies. Although the “indignados” were not very clear about all their demands, they certainly managed to draw the attention of decision makers and media across Europe, and even managed to get some of their points on political agendas Probably now, more than ever, we can claim that Europe doesn’t end at the Pyrenees, a place where there are young people looking forward to leap into a new, active European society.
students and cooperation of the university and potential employers, which were put on the agenda due to numerous students’ complaints about the quality and duration of the internships provided. Participants also shared the need of an efficient internship, because the transition from the university to the labour market still remains one of the weak points of the higher education
Erasmus Mundus program, and what should be done to make it more accessible for students. Overall, the event managed to provide the opportunity to exchange ideas and to discuss further improvements. Thus, AEGEE-Yerevan raised the issue of higher education and will try to contribute actively to the sector reforms in the future. future.
2010/2011 Key to Europe
system in Armenia. Another concern was the implementation of the Bologna process in Armenia and whether its implementation is truly satisfactory. Do students have clear information on what the Bologna system is and which purpose it serves? Moreover, there were discussions about the visibility of European Student exchange programmes, for instance the
Juan Sordo & Miguel Gallardo, AEGEE-Alicante
Shushan Khachatryan, AEGEE-Yerevan
69