From 27 to 29 November, a delegation of students from the College took part the proceedings of the European Youth Parliament in Trieste. Every year this international association organises 500 events across Europe, giving thousands of high school students the opportunity to participate in an event in which groups of students from various schools meet and discuss topical issues at an EU level. The ability to discuss crucial international issues from multiple viewpoints whilst trying to find common ground is something UWC Adriatic students start doing from the very beginning of their UWC experience and they very much valued the opportunity to do so with local peers outside the college. The possibility to share one’s ideas, to listen to the opinions of other participants and make new friends in the local community is indeed not to be taken for granted at a time when so many restrictions still exist on social gatherings.
Approximately seventy students took part in the event, fifty of whom were students from high schools in the region beyond Trieste and Duino. The college’s participation was coordinated by Deputy Rettore (Academic), Joanne Jean de Koning, who also supervises the MUN (Model United Nations) creative activity. The event lasted three days and was hosted in multiple locations: the first was a teambuilding day, the second was dedicated to work in different committees, while on the final day all the students were brought together to discuss the resolutions. Throughout the event, the students were supported and guided by a team of more experienced members of the association from different European countries. “I learned two lessons from this experience,” commented our Canadian first-year student Kiran Adam Seeff, “You can always learn more by listening before speaking, and diplomacy cannot succeed without open mindedness.”
The ability to collaborate and find common ground or, in some cases, to continue to disagree while still remaining engaged in dialogue: this is what struck Matilde most, a first-year College student from Italy. The event made for an intense but definitely interesting and enjoyable three days, in which the participants were able to discuss topical issues impacting on agriculture, development, the economy and the environment, often well beyond their comfort zone, as Daniela from Costa Rica and Maiah from the USA noted. An instructive and exciting experience, “Personally, I learned how to stay optimistic even when things don’t go to plan”, commented Frederique, a second-year from The Netherlands, adding “ultimately winning the debate is not what matters the most if you are enjoying what you are doing.”
