Autumn at the community center in Osijek was spent raising awareness and informing young people about the importance of participating in the European elections in 2024. Numerous and varied activities were organized so that young people could actively participate and through interactive workshops learn about the work and processes of the European Union, as well as the European Parliament. Following that, DKolektiv organized a simulation of the work of the European Parliament in mid-November 2023, in which interested young people, students of two gymnasiums from Osijek, were involved.
The game leader of the Croatian EP simulation was Saša, who participated in the international training that piloted the EP simulation in September, and developed and analyzed the roles of Euro-parliamentarians and worked out the structure of the game and the allocation of roles in a very precise and high-quality manner. The students sat down at random seats and were given the roles of real MEPs, after which the concept of the simulation was explained to them and how they would join forces with partners from their own parties, then in EP committees, after which they would vote on amendments.
Since it is a diverse group of people, where some of them did not know each other before, at the beginning it took time for them to get used to their new roles and to read all the rules and roles, but as the simulation progressed, the students adapted to the game and more and more reached them as the simulation process progressed. In just over two hours of duration, we received final feedback from the majority that it was very useful for them and that they greatly expanded their knowledge of the work of the EU Parliament and that they definitely became aware of the importance and value of European processes. At the end, here are some of the conclusion the participants made along with the organizers of the simulation:
1. More time is needed – We extended the ad hoc time to 2h 15 min.
3. The role of journalists remains unused – it is necessary to elaborate and further strengthen the role.
4. It is necessary to further clarify the political options, i.e. in the introduction, in addition to the EP, students should also be taught basic political ideologies and how they relate to the chosen topic. A piece of paper is not enough.
5. Apart from that, the concept was very interesting, helpful and innovative for students.
