David Warren

Talking to young people in Japan about the EU

Last Friday, I went out to a high school at Tokorozawa, in Saitama, part of Greater Tokyo, to speak to the top three years about the EU.   It was Europe Day on 9 May and most of the EU Ambassadors in Tokyo were doing school trips of this kind.   I didn't honestly fancy my chances of gripping an audience of a thousand 16-, 17- and 18-year olds, with a half-hour presentation in Japanese on the intricacies of EU history and the relationship between the Council of Ministers, the Commission and the European Parliament.   But the audience were not only appreciative but full of questions - why don't some countries want to join and does that worry those that have?   why doesn't everyone belong to the Eurozone?  how is the EU dealing with the current economic crisis and what are they doing to sort out the balance of payments problems of some of the Eastern and Southern European countries that are suffering?   One pupil asked what lessons East Asia might learn from the EU's history of reconciliation.   The ideas I was trying to discuss - creating a peaceful Europe after half a century of conflict, and unity out of diversity - resonate with younger Japanese.

Posted at 15:18 11 May 2009 by David Warren  |  Comments[2]