A special field trip took students from the Bad Mergentheim Business School to Strasbourg to visit the European Parliament. As an official European Parliament Ambassador School, the school was selected to participate in the “Euroscola” event. “Euroscola” is a program of the European Parliament that allows students to experience the work of the EU Parliament firsthand for one day in Strasbourg. During the program, they take on the roles of Members of the European Parliament, debate, negotiate, and vote on European issues.
Once the KSM students had taken their seats in the impressive plenary hall of the European Parliament, they watched a video message from Parliament President Roberta Metsola and met with young Members of the European Parliament, who shared insights into political work during one-on-one conversations. A staff member from the European Parliament’s Legal Service also answered questions from the students. Topics included the protection of human rights and how democracies can be defended and strengthened.
In a second phase, the students took on different roles through a simulation of the EU legislative process and represented various political positions. Together, they discussed amendments, such as whether member states should submit regular reports to the European Commission to outline their progress in strengthening democracy and fundamental human rights. Just like real members of parliament, they voted electronically on the proposals in the plenary hall. Afterward, they were able to ask for the floor and present their positions to the entire plenary.
Many participants were also particularly impressed by the work of the simultaneous interpreters. The discussions were translated simultaneously into several languages, including French, English, and German, and could be followed through headphones.
The day at the European Parliament offered the students a unique opportunity not only to learn about Europe in class, but also to experience politics where it is made—and to try out for themselves how democratic decision-making processes work—making it an extracurricular learning environment par excellence.
Kathleen Florek, a student at KSM, said: “The day was very informative; I learned a great deal. I was very grateful for the opportunity to participate.” Everyone in the group was thrilled by this experience; “the visit to the European Parliament impressively demonstrated how important exchange, engagement, and participation are for the future of Europe.”
