Learning to cooperate as a team member effectively, adding an item to my CV, and vastly improving my usage of the most important language in the world… This is only a partial list of things I’ve gained from EYP – European Youth Parliament. The main purpose of the project is “to provide a forum for young Europeans to develop and express their opinions on political and social issues in Europe in an open and welcoming environment.” You get to meet many new people of a variety of backgrounds and make new friends, but most importantly, you get an opportunity to elevate the skills crucial to success in life onto a whole another level. In retrospect, I have to say that the part of the statement about an open and welcoming environment is more than true. I was quite surprised by how very tolerant everyone was. Perhaps too much, if you ask me, but that’s just my personal preference – I am used to rather strict environments. Reserved people need not worry about being pushed into anything (and you can take my word for it, as I am a reserved person myself). The event can really be enjoyed by all sorts of people – introverts and extroverts, shy and outgoing, etc.
To explain further some of the skills you can cultivate in EYP, first I’ll highlight the fact that your English speaking is very likely to improve together with overall confidence in expressing your views. After all, you’ll be using the language for 4 days straight. Naturally, nobody is going to kill you for using Czech every now and then. You’ll get your free time, there is no reason to be concerned about that.
Another skill you’ll get to practice is cooperation – building something new with other people by means of sharing your thoughts, ideas, and views. Our world is interdependent, so you will have to learn this skill sooner or later in your life to be successful anyway. Choosing to do so sooner will give you a great advantage over those who have decided to leave it “for some other day”