Our students were remarkably successful at the 12th EYP Regional Selection in České Budějovice. As a result, several of them were selected to participate in the prestigious event. called Roundtable Weekend. Unfortunately, only two students were able to attend due to the flu epidemic.
The event took place from 3rd to 5th February. Around lunchtime we arrived at a beautiful hotel in Prague and a few hours later the official program started. The first place we had the honour to see was the European House. Here we got acquainted with the programme of the event and then took part in two workshops. The first workshop was led by people from the European Institute for European Policy. We learned about the general functioning of the EU institutions with a special focus on the Council of the EU and the just concluded Czech Presidency of the Council. The next workshop was led by Aneta Zachová from Euractiv. She presented the EU institutions from the perspective of journalists and helped us understand how we as students can also be active members of our society.
In the evening we moved to the Liechtenstein Palace where the opening reception took place. We had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Education, Vladimír Balaš, and also with Tomas Macek, Deputy Head of Mission at the French Embassy in Prague.
The next day was all about the roundtables. The first roundtable focused on the comparison of the Czech presidencies of the Council of the EU in 2009 and 2022. The speakers of this debate were Alexandr Vondra and Kristína Chlebáková. There were so many questions that the speakers did not have a chance to answer them all. Nevertheless, the debate was very interesting and we learned a lot of new information. In the second debate, Ramzi Abu-Eid discussed the strengthening of European defence capabilities, cyberspace security and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine with us. For me personally, this was my favourite debate.
After a short lunch break, we went straight back to debating. During the third roundtable, Ladislav Miko and Luděk Niedermayer debated about energy and climate change in the EU. When we had finished all the round tables, we quickly prepared for the debates that awaited us tomorrow. We went back to our accommodation and played a pub quiz to take a break from all the serious things that were discussed that day.
On the last day we had two more roundtables planned. The first topic was the strategic resilience of the European economy and the transition to net zero. Our guests were Radek Špicar and Tomáš Prouza. Afterwards, we had a short break to properly explore the Liechtenstein Palace. It was a great experience because this place is not open to the general public. The last roundtable we had was about the resilience of democratic institutions in the EU with Kateřina Bocianová. We had a quick feedback session to ensure that any future Roundtable Weekends go smoothly. We then said goodbye to all the new friends we had made and went home.
Overall, the Roundtable Weekend was an experience like no other. We had the opportunity to speak directly with high profile politicians and experts, as well as debate in beautiful venues such as the Liechtenstein Palace. We learned to step out of our comfort zone and strengthened our soft skills. Our guests enjoyed our company and we enjoyed theirs. It was very motivating to see that they care about the opinions of European youth. We really felt that our voices mattered. If I had the opportunity to go again, I would definitely take it.
Alvin Gelner, 1. A
