Europe&Youth 2020
International Student Contest

DEADLINE APRIL 30th 2020
International competition open to both university students and school students
from all types and levels of schools.
12 DIFFERENT TOPICS

The Istituto Regionale di Studi Europei del Friuli Venezia Giulia (IRSE) is pleased to announce the competition “Europe&Youth2020”.

The competition is open to both University students and school students from all types and levels of schools of EU Member States.
 

 
Italian version

 

UNIVERSITIES

N.B. The competition is open to University students, recent graduates and anyone who has not reached the age of 27 on the 20th March 2020. Entries must not exceed 20,000 characters, including spaces. Whichever EU language you use, an outline (1500 characters, including spaces) and a video presentation of the topic (max. 2 minutes), both in English, will be considered important added value.

1. ICE MELT AND BLUE GOLD. From the dangerous rise in water levels to the fight for rights to water: these topics have become the subject of disputes, conflicts and impoverishment. Explore these problems using two recent publications by climate change experts: Ice-A Journey in disappearing Greenland by Marco Tedesco and Alberto Flores d’Arcais and Watergrabbing Geopolitical Atlas of Water by Emanuele Bompan.

2. WE ARE THE WEATHER. In We are the weather. Saving the planet begins at breakfast, Jonathan Safran Foer attributes crucial importance to the production and consumption of food. The most desperate conditions can trigger the most hopeful actions, and innovations are taking place in the field of biogenetics. Research and express your views.

3. THE ROARING TWENTIES. The 1920s, the so-called “The roaring twenties”, were characterized by great changes and creativity, combined with great contradictions that prepared for the rise of totalitarianisms and the ruin of Europe. Make a comparison with the coming 2020’s which present decisive challenges to the European Union regarding production models and choices of environmental and social sustainability for a true EUGreenDeal.

4. WE DEFEND OUR DATA. It has been called surveillance capitalism: an economic logic that has hijacked digital technologies to bend them to their own interests. Economic imperatives that corrode democracy from below and above. How is the European Union moving to establish rules?

5. URBAN MOBILITY. Not just bicycles but also sharing and severe constraints for polluting vehicles. Urban mobility is finding alternative solutions in Europe, amplifying differences in quality of life. Describe and analyze original and effective experiences.

6. TAX POLICIES. The fight against tax evasion is among the important challenges of the new European Commission. Examine how Member States’ tax systems are working to reduce tax fraud and helping to promote investment, and also analyze the problems that arise in taxing the digital economy.
  

HIGH SCHOOLS

N.B. The projects can be submitted as individual work or in pairs. An English summary of 500 characters, including spaces, will be considered important added value.

1. THE NATION OF PLANTS. Finally the most important, widespread and powerful nation on Earth takes the floor and, observing our inability to guarantee survival, the Nation of Plants suggests a real constitution on which to build our future. Write your own review on the recent essay: The Nation of Plants by the neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso.

2. BURNING BOOKS. From the burning of books in Germany in 1933, to the destruction of the Sarajevo Library in the Balkan conflict, up to the recent small bookshop “The electric sheep” in Rome. When books are burned the road to totalitarianism is opened. Document and analyze the three events that occurred in these different periods and contexts.

3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. The Black Mirror TV series offers the perspective of artificial intelligence that has excided the limit of political correctness, outlining the contours of a contemporary world that produces toxic behavior patterns. Should we be afraid of artificual intelligence or can new research provide opportunities to learn more about how our brains work and discover new ways to fight disease.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS

N.B. The projects can be done by either a whole class or a smaller group. It is possible to use different techniques (written, graphical, video, comics etc.) but always incorporating a descriptive summary.

1. YOUNG SCIENTISTS. Describe an experience that you’ve had with your class or a group of friends, in a Science Museum or Science Centre. Use the style of either a short journalistic article, a video interview with your companions, or a comic. Enter a few sentences in English and/or other languages spoken by companions from other countries.

2. ESCAPE ROOM. Invent a class game in which to escape from a confined space you are oblidged to solve riddles linked to information relating to: causes of climate change, food waste, energy waste and opportunities for solutions. You can also use the “goose game” formula with a billboard, dice, coupons, etc.

3. NATURE LOVERS. Discover the passion, study and activities of Francesco Barberini, a young boy who will be 13 years old in 2020 and has been proclaimed “Alfiere della Repubblica” by Italian President Mattarella for his scientific and popular merits. Tell us in which nature conservation field you would like to become active. Look for other examples of boys, girls who love science, in other European countries.

DATA SHEET

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