Euroscola Competition for Secondary School Students launched!

Each year we organise a competition giving secondary school students the chance to win a trip to participate in Euroscola in Strasbourg. The competition is open to all post-primary schools. Competition winners (up to 24 students and two teachers) receive a subsidy towards the cost of travelling to Strasbourg. Students take the floor in plenary and committee sessions to debate and vote on resolutions on current affairs, all the while practising their language skills and making friends with fellow students from across Europe. Teachers also have the opportunity to meet their colleagues and exchange feedback about their own classroom practices and experiences.

The competition

The next European elections will take place in June 2024.  While the vast majority (74%) of Irish people say that the EU has a daily impact on their lives, only 49.7% of the population voted in the last European elections.  What can we do to increase voter turnout especially among young people?

We are asking students to produce a short clip (1-minute) in English or Irish, explaining what they would do to increase voter turnout and how they would encourage more young people to vote in the next European elections. 

What type of advertising campaign would you create (social media, TV ad, poster)?   Role-play an event you would organise (sign up to together.eu for inspiration on types of events that could be organised), imagine you are canvassing door-to-door. What approach would you take?   These are just some suggestions.   Come up with your own idea and be as creative as possible!

Getting started
We encourage teachers to act as facilitators for their students. The main purpose of the competition is to get students thinking about European democracy, active citizenship and the benefits of EU membership for Ireland.
The project can be an individual or team effort but we can only accept one entry per school. The clip should be maximum one minute long.

How to submit your entry

Step 1:
Upload your video clip to YouTube (max. 1 minute and one entry per school)

Step 2:

Send the URL of your video clip by email to youth-epdublin@ep.europa.eu

Step 3:
Include contact details:
• Name and address of school
• Name and email of teacher

*** Copyright Warning ***
Please note that video clips containing music or images, which may be subject to copyright, will not be considered.

Closing date for entries:  27 October 2023

By submitting your entry you give consent to the European Parliament to use your video clip, copyright free, on its website, in its publications and on its social media platforms. The European Parliament will not share your contact details with any third party.

The Prize
We are awarding three educational visits to the European Parliament in Strasbourg (one winner from each European constituency: Dublin, Midlands-North-West and South) for up to 24 students (15-18 years old) and two teachers to represent Ireland at Euroscola, a one-day youth parliament.  Each winning school will receive a travel subsidy, which will cover most of the travel costs. Find out more about Euroscola here

Judging Criteria
Although judges will consider production quality, it will not be a deciding factor so video clips may be made using a mobile device.  Equal marks will be awarded for:
creativity
originality 
message content 
production quality 

The judges’ decision will be final. 
Before you submit your entry please make sure your video runs within the 60-second time limit and no copyright materials are used.

The Winner
The three winning schools will be announced on our website on 14 November 2023

Winning schools will travel to Strasbourg in the first half of 2024.

Subsidy

• Subsidies are given to groups of up to 24 students + two teachers
• Schools are responsible for making their own travel arrangements.

For further information, please email youth-epdublin@ep.europa.eu or call: 01-605 7900