Our school is once again taking part in the European School Ambassadors program aiming to strengthen the European identity of our school and nurture European values in the education of our students.
Eight junior ambassadors and a number of volunteers have worked on organized several activities in the last two months which were based on two fundamental pillars. The first has been to promote awareness regarding the European Union’s role in the lives of all citizens. The second was to promote the upcoming European elections and to urge all eligible citizens to take part in the celebration of democracy by casting their vote.
To this effect the following activities were organized and implemented:
- Information point
Our first activity to commence the program was the creation of an information point within the school where all students and visitors can learn information about the European School Ambassador program as well as the upcoming elections. - Visit to the House of Representatives
As part of the program, Xenion Junior Ambassadors visited the House of Representatives to attend a presentation regarding the history of the democratic body as well as to participate in a Q & A session with the House Speaker Mrs Annita Demetriou.
- Conduct of Research and Questionnaire
In order to determine the average knowledge of Cypriot citizens, a questionnaire was developed to collect information. - Community Interviews
In an attempt to promote awareness about the European citizens, two types of community interviews were organized. The first was held in school with students of Xenion who were asked various questions regarding the European Union such as which are the country members, how EU laws are enforced in Cyprus etc. The second was held in Paralimni square where citizens where asked whether they intended to vote and their reasons. - Video campaign
To further promote the participation in the European Elections of 2024, a video was created by the Junior Ambassadors outlining the various reasons why everyone should take part. - Radio show
To further promote our message for greater participation in the European elections, our Junior Ambassadors visited Politia FM. During their interview they discussed their participation in the program and shared information about the European elections including how eligible citizens can register in the election catalogue and reasons why everyone eligible should take part.
- Podcast talks
To engage more stakeholders in the program’s activities our Junior Ambassadors hosted podcast interviews with Mrs Annita Demetriou and Mr Loukas Fourla one of the current MEPs. Both guests were asked about their views regarding the role of the European Union as well as how the youth can take a more active part in political developments. - Instagram promotion
In order to disseminate our activities to a wider audience, an Instagram account was set up by the Junior Ambassadors, devoted solely to promoting the activities of the project.
Instagram Promotion 1
Instagram Promotion 2 - Student workshops
To further promote European values and strengthen European identity the Junior Ambassadors organized workshops about the European Union which were implemented at Xenion pre-school and Xenion Junior school. These workshops involved interactive activities and games which engaged students attention while teaching them about the EU.
- Visit of European Commission Representative
As part of the program, Mr Nektarios Nicolaides from the European Commission in Cyprus visited our school on the 5th of March to host an engaging presentation on the role of the European Union in our every day lives.
- Articles
Another way in which the Junior Ambassadors decided to promote the EU elections and encourage people to vote was by writing articles in Greek and English to be published in online newspapers. - European Day
To honour the European Union, the school is planning to host a European Day on the 8th of May. As part of the celebration the Junior Ambassadors are going to organise a series of activities to be presented to the whole school. This include a presentation on the history of the Union, a knowledge quiz and the presentation of their work for the upcoming elections on the 9th of June.
