Europe will only survive if we fight for it and push back against those determined to undermine it, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said Friday in a video-recorded message at the opening of the “Transnational EPAS (European Parliament Ambassador School) Together 2023” conference that is organized by the European Parliament Office in Cyprus.
It is attended by 130 B? Lyceum students, from secondary schools in Ireland, Malta, the United Kingdom and Cyprus.
The conference was held in Limassol, in the Regional Lyceum of Apostolos Loukas at Kolossi and Saturday it will be held in Nicosia at Nicosia Municipality, on the subject of skills and professions of the future.
The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, thanked in her video-recorded message the participants for their energy and creativity which they invest in the European Parliament Ambassador School Programme.
‘Because of you and your peers all across Europe, this programme has become one of the most successful projects in encouraging active citizenship among young Europeans’, she added.
Metsola said to the participants that ‘you already have the ability to trace the trajectory of our future, because in our Europe it is the size of your ideas, the strength of your arguments, and the firmness of your conviction that matter. Not your age, not your background, not the geographical size or location of your country. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise’.
Europe, she continued, will only survive if we fight for it, if we listen, if we vote, and convince our friends and family to vote too, if we push back against those determined to undermine it. ‘Continue to stand up for what you believe in, for what Europe stands for, because the future of our democracy is already in your hands’, she concluded.
Cypriot MEP Eleni Stavrou referred to the various actions of the European Parliament as well as the opportunities provided to young people within the framework of the great European family.
She also underlined the importance of the EU for small countries like Cyprus, and told students that Cyprus remains semi-occupied, after the Turkish invasion of 1974.
The “European Parliament Ambassador School” (EPAS) program is one of the best actions and now with EPAS Together we have started to do it in a new way by bringing together students from different countries, the Director of the General Directorate of Communication of the European Parliament, Stephen Clark, said at the opening of the “Transnational EPAS Together 2023”.
Warmly welcoming all the students, at the Ancient Theatre of Kourion, the Director of the General Directorate of Communication of the European Parliament, Stephen Clark, said this conference is very important as “we will talk about jobs and skills, we will also talk about democracy and Europe, the importance of civic engagement and much more”. He pointed out that the EPAS program is one of the best actions going on and now with EPAS Together we have started to do it in a new way by bringing together students from different countries.
Head of the Office of the European Parliament in Cyprus, Andreas Kettis, welcomed the students to the conference, telling them that they have a unique opportunity to get to know each other, exchange ideas and recognize the importance of skills for the professions of the future. He noted that the conference is also intertwined with this year’s European Year of Skills.
The foreign students heard traditional Cypriot songs, danced ‘sirtaki’ and participated in interactive workshops related to the professions of the future and the challenges they will be asked to face during their career.
Tomorrow they will travel to Nicosia where they will have a tour in the old town of the last divided capital in Europe.
Source: Cyprus News Agency