Czech Group about "Your New Mission"
Interview of Dominika Honešová from Czech Republic after the Training Course "Your New Mission" in Torremolinos.
Can you give us your opinion about the project “Your New Mission”?
Project “Your New mission” was my first project ever and it set up a high bar for all the projects in the future. Although the presentations themselves were just refreshing my existing knowledge about EU and its institutions (because I study European law), the group work really made me think about EU from a different perspective. I basically had to form my opinions about different topics.
Apart from the training course itself, I really liked the group of people that assembled on this project. In my opinion we worked really well together and it was fun!
Overall, everything was greatly organised, we also enjoyed our free time and I’m grateful for all the memories I have.
What do you understand for “European Identity”?
For me, European Identity means feeling “European” – being a part of a supra-national group that has similar values, such as respect for humanity's freedoms, rights, and dignity; the principle of solidarity; the rule of law and equality before the law; protection of minorities; democratic institutions; separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers; political pluralism; respect for private ownership and private enterprise, and a market economy.
Although I’m proud to say that I’m European, I’m also proudly Czech. Therefore, I perceive European Identity as complementary to my national identity. It’s crucial for the member states to have the same values and principles, but the cultures are still different and need to be preserved.
What should be the EU priorities in the field of youth and in what the EU should
improve ?
First thing that came to my mind was environment and sustainability. The priority should be to teach people how to be more ecological and how bad are the consequences of people’s previous actions. We, youngsters, have a long future ahead and there might be no future if we don’t restore our planet.
Next important thing, according to me, is to get to know other cultures in order to be more united. In this case, EU does a great thing through these projects. You can meet so many different participants from various countries and share your cultures.
What will you do at local level to promote EU iniciatives and explain to other young people what is the EU ?
Workshops are effective and fun way how to promote EU initiatives. But in everyday life it’s a good thing just to debate with people about the EU – how they perceive it. From time to time, I hear false impressions about the EU because of the “fake news”, in that case explaining the truth can lead to, at least thinking about it, if not changing their opinion. Basically, just talking to people might make a small but still some difference.