The EUritage Essay Challenge “Central Europe, the EU and myself”
Dear Students, we kindly invite you to participate to our Challenge “Central Europe, the EU and myself”. In 1989, Central Europe regained freedom and thanks to that finally in 1990 (East Germany) and in 2004 (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) joined the EU. For you, 2004 enlargement is a distant memory while 1989 democratic revolutions are already part of History. Your generation has experienced democracy, European solidarity and prosperity within the EU as something obvious and natural for many years. However, today in Central Europe these values face serious challenges from nationalism, Euroscepticism, authoritarian trends and economic vulnerability. In consequence, the legacy of 1989 and 2004 seems to gain relevance again for us as an important source of inspiration. Rising awareness about these events among young Europeans, particularly from Central Europe, is essential in order to build common understanding of our European history and values and to deal with challenges as a community.
Share your reflexions on these events through a two-pages essay. Tell us how you understand 1989 democratic revolutions and to what extent they represent an asset for you/your country/your region or even the EU. Explain us how you perceive EU integration as a (Central) European citizen. What lessons we can draw from 1989 and 2004 that we should keep in mind for our present and future.
Our EUritage consortium members will assess your essays and reward the best writers. The winner will be invited to Brussels to participate at a roundtable on 1989/2004 heritage (all costs covered) and his/her essay will be published in a special New Eastern Europe issue. Second prize: invitation to speak at a Berlin event (all costs covered).
- Maximum 1.000 words in German or English;
- Deadline: Sunday 19 July 2020 at 23:59 (GMT+1)
- Announcement of results on 31 July 2020
- Please send your essays as word files to info@iep-berlin.de (Please don’t forget to include contact details and reference: EUritage Challenge in the subject line)
- Who can participate: enrolled students
