The trinational sessions of European culture and citizenship accommodate from 80 to 100 young people of three different nationalities for 14 days. These young people are between 16 and 20 years old, an determining age in their future orientation.

They bring together young Europeans, secondary school teachers, academics, arts professionals, artists, as well as specialists in new technologies, the media, and elected officials.

des travaux pédagogiques autour de thèmes fédérateurs

The sessions on culture and citizenship - trinational educational and cultural meetings of young Europeans - are founded on an active awakening of the cultural dimensions of citizenship and European values. They are based on federative topics of European heritage. Let us quote among those "The Middle Ages", "LThe ways of Santiago de Compostella, first European cultural route ", "Europe of the nineteenth century", "The cultural patrimony of European languages", "The cultures of Mediterranean countries", "The Danube, vector of European culture"...

Photo F. Cosson

The aim of these topics is not to teach about one epoch. They constitute teaching aids to nourish the meetings of three countries with different cultures, but with a common civilisation, by raising the European consciousness of young people, and they are involved in all the stages of the programme.

Guiding thread of the programmes, the working topics are defined as a function of the historical and human environment of the places. They are developed in collaboration with the scientific Committee of the European Cultural Centres, composed of academics, artists, inspectors from the National Education Ministry...

Beyond the broad European topics allotted to each European Cultural Centre, the topics of each session are always renewed. They direct all activities of exchange, conferences, artistic creation workshops, trips ...

For example, in the European Cultural Centre of Saint-Jean d'Angély (France), dedicated to the mediaeval civilisation, young people worked on multiple subjects during the year 2001-2002:

• Sciences and religions in the Middle Ages and today
• Routes of the Middle Ages; from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. Pilgrimages and trade: via francigena
• Europe of memory. Places of conflicts, places of reconciliations
• To be formed in Europe in the Middle Ages and today
• Crafts and arts in the Middle Ages and today

Starting from historical aspects, young people are encouraged to develop, throughout their stay, a contemporary look at current problems.

an intercultural and interdisciplinary context

To facilitate young people's active and plural reading of the common heritage of Europe, the programmes are articulated around tightly linked axes of work. Professional work, artistic productions, teaching excursions or festive activities support the meeting of the other. Work in trinational intercultural workshops makes it possible for young citizens to become aware of their history, their country and, of course, of those of the two other nationalities.

Photo ECC St Jean

The impact of sensitising and linguistic training is essential during these exchanges. Interventions and conferences are always translated consecutively by interpreters who assist the groups throughout the session. As often as possible, young people are asked to express themselves in the language of the other. However, stress is laid primarily on comprehension rather than on emission. In order to develop the linguistic and intercultural aspects of exchange, the lodging of trainees is done in trinational rooms. This permanent incentive to "direct" training gives the dimension of citizenship all its richness.

Photo F. Cosson

At their arrival in the European Cultural Centre, participants are immersed in an intercultural context without precedent for them. The pedagogic project of the sessions is addressed to the individual in his totality, not to the pupil, but to the future citizen as well as to the person. The organisers of the European Cultural Centres accompany the group during the two weeks of the stay. They take part in convivial activities, evenings and meals. Such an organisation guarantees this real pedagogic continuity. At the end of each session, all young people will have followed a complete cycle, which allowed them to acquire knowledge in a structured and progressive form, to work on themselves and on their representations of Europe.

Today, the trinational sessions of European culture and citizenship of the European Cultural Centre of Saint-Jean d'Angély are a reference model for European Institutions, as well as for many associations or French and non-French cultural structures with European vocation.