On 21 November 2022, Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Deirdre Forde, did us the honour to launch our primary and secondary school competitions for our very first Europe Day Festival on 7 May 2023.

It will be a family fun day for everyone. Bring your friends along as well. We are taking over Cork City Concert Hall and Millenium Hall. But really, we're taking over the whole city. We will have an EU themed treasure hunt with 27 teams of four (2 adults and 2 children 12 and under) who will compete for a weekedn away to a European destination sponsored by Cork airport and Cork City Council. 

There will be many spot prizes on the day and lots of fun! Spread the word and come along!

The Hub in Active European Citizenship was launched at University College Cork by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Deirdre Forde, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Simon Coveney TD. The launch, in UCC's Devere Hall, was attended by over 400 rpimary and secondary school students.

The Hub in Active European Citizenship brings four different activities together:

1. To collaborate at primary and secondary level to provide innovative teaching and learning material on Ireland and the European Union to teachers of Junior Infants all the way to 6th year. This aims to develop a continuum of education to empower future voters with a civic voice on European issues.

2. To provide  free Continuing Professional Development courses to primary and secondary teachers.

3. To focus on research regarding teachers’ efficacy in teaching on active European citizenship and the European Union more generally. This hopes to lead to practical recommendations to support teachers in this regard more directly.

4. To host events with other partners, like Cork City Council, on the occasion of the Europe Day festival on 7 May 2023. This will be a family fun day for everyone to play, debate, sing and dance on the European Union theme. 

In August 2022, BFGTOEU will offer UCC CPD courses running for one day, from 9.30 to 2.30pm. On 22 August, we will be in UCC and on 25 August, we will be in NUI offices in Dublin. Join us for a hands-on, to the point, training on one of the most engaging programmes on active citizenship at primary level. 

These CPD courses will be free and will offer the required training to teach BFGTOEU in the classroom from Junior Infants to 6th class as well as ASD classes. They will also give you the opportunity to register on a first come first serve basis for a subsidised four-day trip to Brussels in April 2023. 

In May 2023, a group of 13 Flemish teachers from Catholic Education Flanders came to UCC to be trained through active citizenship to teach about democratic participation, engagement and empowerment. Philip and Emmanuelle of the Hub in Active European Citizenship animated the full training course which included two school visits, to a primary and to a secondary school.

The teachers went to visit Kinsale Community School as well as Kilmurry National School, where they were impressed by the level of engagement, maturity and awareness of the students. The week ended on a European Council simulation set in 2017 on the theme of European migration policy and specifically the proposal to relocate migrants across the EU. This certainly generated many interesting debates! 

The very last day involved some cultural visits to Kilmurry's Independence Museum, Beal na Blath and Kilcrea Abbey where Philip performed some tin whistle. 

On 9 May, thousands of children from 1st to 4th class (7 to 10 years old) across the EU connected with MEPs Frances Fitzgerald and Sean Kelly from Ireland. They were really interested in finding out what the role as an MEP involves but also what are Frances' and Sean's opinion on their job. 

On 11 May, over 6,500 children between the ages of 9 and 15 from 20 different countries across the EU and beyond connected to ask questions directly to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. It was really a privileged moment for children who felt their voice being heard and their questions on the future of the European Union answered. It was important that children, as the youngest citizens of our European Union, could ask the questions and start shaping their awareness and interest for the club. 

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE

After each interaction, the children played a Europe Day Quiz tailored for their age group. The top three Irish winners and international winners received prizes.

On 31 March 2022, the Department of Government and Politics in UCC organised its fifth seminar on the French presidential election. On the previous four occasions, Professor Robert Elgie had been the keynote speaker and analysed the French political system’s development. To celebrate Professor Elgie, the seminar was renamed in his name by Professor John Cryan, Vice President for Research and Innovation, who had been inducted into the Royal Irish Academy on the same day as Robert.