On 25 March, Androulla Vassiliou – EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth – officially opened the 2010 edition of Spring Day for Europe, discussing the initiative with a group of 16 year-old students from the European School of Uccle (Brussels) and highlighting the project’s contribution to enhancing education across Europe.
“Entering the knowledge era, Europe seeks to increase its competitiveness in the environmental, economic and social sectors. Within this framework, education represents the starting point to face today’s short and long term challenges,” said Ms Vassiliou. “Over the past eight years, Spring Days have contributed to boosting educational systems, offering support and learning opportunities to thousands of students, teachers, headteachers and school staff in 31 countries over Europe,” stressed the EU Commissioner.
After her speech, Vassiliou answered the students’ questions, sharing her opinions and experience on mobility, gender equality and the role of the European Institutions. The ceremony continued with a “polling the students” activity, in which the young audience could express their views on the main topics related to this year’s edition, by holding up coloured cards that showed whether they agreed or disagreed with a statement.
The event closed with a music quiz, where students were invited to guess the titles and the authors of famous songs – linked to this edition’s topics – and were rewarded on the spot. Spring Day has already gathered more than 2000 school centres and over 3,500 teachers, all registered to debate and celebrate Europe in their schools. As of this week, the Spring Day portal invites schools to take part in activities and competitions.
