the magazine for the danube countries connects danube Youth in the Danube Region Special edition - Next Generation! danube connects 02 I 10 1

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1 the magazine for the danube countries Special edition - Youth in the Danube Region connects danube Next Generation! danube connects 02 I 10 1

2 Content Editorial 10 GERMANY Ulm ITALIEN New-Ulm Ingolstadt BRUSSELS Regensburg Rom Passau TSCHECHIEN Linz AUSTRIA SLOVENIA Lublijana Vienna Zagreb CROATIA Bratislava 8 Vukovar BOSNIA- HERZEGOVINA DANUBE YOUTH CAMPS Young people from Danube countries meeting in Ulm and Backa Topola Sarajevo VIENNA HUNGARY SLOVAKIA Budapest Baja HUNGARY Novi Sad Belgrade SERBIA 12 UKRAINE ROMANIA Danube Sofia BULGARIA QUEST! QUERY! BE AMAZED! Children s universities are taking over Europe and make children scientific topics creatively...10 ROMANIA Bucharest MOLDOVA 16 Kischinau The Dear readers, In 2010, the topic of Danube was central in many respects: Danube conferences were held alongside the Danube in order to develop the Danube Strategy, Danube-Journalists networks were founded and artists and stakeholders came to Ulm for the International Danube Festival. But of what value are all those efforts, if they are not supported and developed further by the young generation? It is this generation who will shape the future of the Danube countries. Reason enough for us to ask which perspectives and visions the youth alongside the Danube has. The Next Generation creates the future alongside the river Danube. The study Hungary 2025 showed us, for example, that young people in Hungary want to speak several foreign languages in 15 years, that they want to be environmentally aware and possibly live abroad. Similarly, the young people of stay positive in times of economic crisis and uncertain professional careers, as the Shell Youth Study 2010 shows. At this year s Danube Youth Camps in Ulm and Backa Topola, teenagers discussed what they expect from the future of Europe and the European Parliament in Brussels was interested in young people s opinion as well. European Journalists Association The Communication Network asbl Association of European Journalists (EJ) is an independent communication network and a non-profit organisation, which advocates European integration and freedom of press in Europe. As a section of the association we call for the coverage of the various activities along the Danube. Danube connects the magazine for the Danube countries, provides a platform for this, since information and communication is an important factor for the growing Danubecommunity. Therefore, we are continuously expanding our Danube Journalist Network and are looking for journalists and young journalists from the Danube countries If your are writing about current Danube-topics in the areas of HUNGARY S YOUTH 2025 Speaking several foreign languages, environmental friendly and living abroad that s how Hungary s youth sees itself in 15 years ACTIVITIES FOR THE SERBIAN YOUTH Only slowly, youth support becomes an issue in Serbia s politics. The GTZ is providing for several youth projects...11 But now, read for yourselves what is moving the youth alongside the Danube! Yours, l economy, l culture, l tourism, l science, l Danube politics, l environment, SELF-CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE Sixty young people are speaking their minds in the European Parliament in Brussels concerning the Danube Strategy CAPTAIN FOR A NIGHT Ana, Victor and Paul are playing chess and discussing politics and environmental friendly ways of travelling the Danube Andrea Toll & Sabine Geller Editors in chief and initiators danube connects Please get in touch with us: EVENTS...19 IMPRINT...19 the magazine for the danube countries Tel. +49 / (0)731 / Fax +49 / (0)731 / info@danube-connects.eu 2 danube connects 02 I 10

3 Danube Festival Ulm 111 young people from, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary travelled to Ulm to participate in the second Youth Camp, organized by the Donauschwäbisches Zentralmuseum (Danube Swabian - Central Museum). From the 27th of August to the 2nd of September, cultural and political activities were scheduled for the 16- to 20-yearolds, as well as diversified recreational activities. The beginning of the exchange was not easy and the countries borders seemed to be borders between the teenagers as well, at first. But after a while the ice broke and the participants got to know each other better in group work activities and discussions. They learned more about the others countries, their everyday life and their wishes for the future. These turned out to be not so different We love Donaujugendcamp :)) from each other. Many participants wished to travel, to get to know other cultures and languages and for a more open communication between the Danube countries. They themselves gave the first impulse for this, since the presentation of the different countries had made them curious to go and see them with their own eyes. The camp also left room for the encounter with foreign traditions and customs, which sometimes came quite out of the blue, as Lara (16) recounts. She had shown her hometown Ulm to a group of Romanian participants, the Minster, the Fishermen s Quarter and the Butcher s Tower. Everyone had been very openminded and interested and wanted to know everything the young woman At an energetic drumming-activity the young people gave it their all During the International Danube Festival young people from the Danube countries came to Ulm. Under the heading We are Europe! the Youth Camp wanted to initiate a dialogue in order to get to know the neighbours alongside the Danube better, to overcome prejudices and discuss the Europe of the future. could tell them. After the tour she wasexhausted and tired and suddenly, Ina gave me a kiss on the cheek and said that this was common in Romania to cheer somebody up, says Lara, laughs and adds that this tradition should be brought to as well. Via facebook, the two girls still remain in touch. Sightseeing at Ulm s Town Hall Feeling the Danube s rhythm In Bačka Topola, Voyvodina (Serbia), the fourth Youth Camp of Tolerance took place from the 25th to 31st of July Under the heading Capture the Danube s rhythm, the parliament and government of AP Vojvodina and the Danube Office Novi Sad/Vojvodina in co-operation with several partner institutions had invited young people to Backa Topola in the Republic of Serbia. About 150 young people between the ages of 18 and 27 came, to strengthen relationships, form If I were president of a Danube country, I would first of all initiate more promotion and education through the media in order to strengthen the solidarity in the Danube countries. Annette Kulzer, If I were president of Ukraine, I would first of all introduce measures, which would give people from other Danube countries the opportunity to get to know Ukraine better. Furthermore, I would commit myself to making academic qualifications and academic titles comparable in the Danube region. Galyna Schweizer, friendships, find similarities and differences that connect people alongside the Danube and develop a Danube identity in the broader sense. In order to participate in the Danube Youth Camp the persons interested had to submit an essay. The topic If I were president left space to develop ideas concerning the Danube, the Danube-Strategy and borderbridging co-operations in the Danube countries. First of all, the cities along the Danube and especially the schools should provide more information on what connects the Danube cities. By that, children could already relate to the Danube when growing up. It would be my goal as president to make people appreciate the Danube, which also means not to dispose of their trash there and polluting it. Simon Brendel, I would first of all support ecological fair trade, transportation and tourism, if I were president. Nataša Pivnički, Serbia 4 danube connects 02 I 10 danube connects 02 I 10 5 Sascha Bail, I would give young people the opportunity to discover the Danube region with cheap combi-tickets for busses, trains and ships. Thomas Moik, Austria

4 Youth Study Youth Study Fifteen years from now, they will speak several languages, be aware of the importance of environmental protection and perhaps even live abroad that is how the Hungarian youth of today sees themselves according to the research study Hungary The Hungarian Academy for Sciences committee for futurology dealt with this topic for three years and interviewed 980 middle school pupils and 700 studends concerning their visions of the future. Emese Ujfalusi lives in Budapest and is a pupil of VIK middle school in Hernád Street. The your woman chose this institute because she can not only take her A-levels there, but also gets vocational training. In the future, the 17-year-old would like to work in tourism or the media industry. Also, she could imagine becoming self-employed and running her own company in Hungary. At school, Emese is learning English and German and she thinks that foreign languages are very important. Later on, she would like to have children but only after she finishes her academic studies. These statements are congruent with a report, which was published in Hungary this summer. Experts of the Hungary-2025-Research interviewed 700 Hungarian students an 980 middle schoolers about their visions of their life in 15 years and what they imagine the Hungarian society to be like in the year Emese Ujfalusi sees her future in Hungary. What does the Hungarian youth think about the future The scientists wanted to know what the future decision makers opinions on Hungarian minorities, environmental protection, politics and family are and distributed questionnaires with 16 topics. Erzsébet Nováky, head of department at Corvius University Budapest and president of the Hungarian Academy for Sciences committee for futurology, conducted the survey. It became apparent that 79% of all middle school pupils would like to have a family; 18% of the people questioned were uncertain concerning the topic family and 3% rejected this idea. The majority of participants wished for two to three children. Hungarian Youth attracted by foreign countries Patrick Schönberger does not think about a family right now, but rather about founding his own rock band. The 21 year old lives close to the Austrian border in western Hungary and is a student of English Studies at the University of Szombathely. Patrick could well imagine moving to a foreign country in the future. He would prefer an Englishspeaking country since that would give him the opportunity to improve his language skills. In his opinion, one can make more money abroad than in Hungary - for the same amount of work; and he does not stand alone with that view. The study of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences shows that 20% of Hungarian students would like to work abroad in 2025; 19% are not decided yet and 61% would prefer remaining in Hungary. Interestingly, the number of middle schoolers wanting to leave Hungary exceeds 39% considerably. Erzsébet Nováky s study shows that the desire to move abroad depends on the age of the people questioned. The futurologist predicts that the majority will only leave Hungary temporarily in order to gain experience. Emese from Budapest is among those people who do not want to seek their fortune abroad, but in Hungary. She is comfortable in her grade with 26 classmates. Often, she and her girlfriends go out at night; fashion, clothes and physical appearance are important to the 17-year-old. She watches her nutrition, eats whole grain products, fruit and vegetables. She has a soft spot for baking therefore she invites her friends over for a chocolate cake or tiramisu regularly. She s not in a serious relationship at the moment, but has many friends. Due to her friendliness, openness and popularity, she was elected student president. She is interested in the politics of her own middle schools, but does not concern herself with Hungarian politics at all. Disappointed youth As the scientific study Hungary 2025 proves, this is something very common. Even if the young people are not interested in politics, they nevertheless are against corruption. The young generation imagines themselves being openminded Europeans in 15 years. Then, foreigners will be treated as friends without losing their own independent nationality. The students consider it possible for the population to decrease from ten to eight million. Even today they are aware that the provision of pensions for seniors will lead to big problems. Patrick and Emese are only separated by a few years, but nonetheless, their visions of future differ to a great extend. But they are united by one thing: both were born after the Collapse of Communism, after the turning point for Hungary. They are part of a new generation who only knows the Iron Curtain, closed borders and totalitarianism as topics from their history books. They do not have to be introduced to the terms capitalism or democracy, since they have been living in this system their whole live with all it advantages and disadvantages. Barbara Pehi, television editor, Budapest Patrick Schönberger studys English and wants to live abroad in the future. 6 danube connects 02 I 10 danube connects 02 I 10 7

5 Danube-Policy Silvia-Adriana Ticau (40) is a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. Coming from the Romanian harbour city Galati, the politician has taken the initiative of founding a Danube Forum with the aim of disseminating the Danube Strategy. This summer, the member of European Parliament invited young people from all Danube countries to the European Parliament in order to make their opinions heard. In the following interview, she explains to Raluca Nelepcu which conclusions she has drawn and why the development of the Danube Strategy is so important. Young people from all Danube countries in Brussels. The youth needs self-confidence and courage! dc: What importance has the Danube Strategy? Ticau: After the EU enlargement in 2007 the Danube has become a navigational passage of the European Union in almost its entirety and thus plays an important part in the economic and social development of Europe. The Danube Strategy will contribute to a considerably improved co-ordination of local and regional administrations and the organisations which are engaged in the Danube region. The implementation of the Danube Strategy leads to prosperity, sustainable development, the creation of employment and more security. The Strategy will ensure a more efficient usage of EU funds without being limited to this. The commission and the member states must provide sources of finance for the implementation of the Danube Strategy s goals. The Strategy has to be developed in the following areas of co-operation: social development and social security, sustainable economic development, infrastructure of energy and transport, environmental protection, culture and education. dc: Which role does the Danube Forum play in the development of this strategy? Ticau: MEP Danube Forum is a forum in which MPs from all political parties in the European Parliament are involved, as well as representatives of the member states, cities and regions alongside the Danube, members of the European Commission, other European and international organisations and project co-ordinators for the Danube region. The formation and work of this forum confirms the constant support which the European Parliament provides for the formulation, development and implementation of a European Danube Strategy. In order to simplify the implementation of the Danube Strategy, those European MPs who are members of the Danube Forum as well, have proposed amendments to the budget for 2011 to establish a governmental system for the realisation. By these amendments, the Michael Theurer (MdEP) and Silvia-Adriana Ticau are interested in what young people expect from the Danube Strategy. allocation of 1,5 million from the European Commission s budget have been filed with the aim of establishing a governmental scheme. dc: This summer, a session with the topic The Youth and the Danube Strategy was held to which you invited 60 young people from the whole Danube region to Brussels. Which conclusions have you drawn from that? Ticau: The role of young people in the realisation of the Danube Strategy is decisive. With this conference we have demonstrated that the youth is already involved in the development of the Danube area. They study, travel, participate in cultural exchanges, have project proposals and are already active in projects concerning civil society. It is important to listen to them, to involve and support them. Young people are the future and with their active involvement we can move a lot. For that, they need self-confidence and courage. dc: What are the wishes of young people from Danube countries? Ticau: The Danube crosses many, many cities, among them important university-capitals. Young people from the Danube countries are eager to learn and want to access learning possibilities in various areas which they can continue in future exchange with colleagues from other countries. The Danube region enjoys great cultural diversity and cultural exchanges between cities, universities and educational institutions can be realised, in order to get to know and acknowledge the cultural heritage. This will strengthen the Danube region s territorial cohesion. The economic and social development of the Danube region will not only allow young people to find employment, but to realise their projects for the formation of communities. Raluca Nelepcu, Manager on Duty Banater Zeitung, Temeswar Discovering the Danube by bike A group of European bikers from ten countries gets to know the Danube from its source in the Black Forest until its estuary in the Black Sea in three succeeding European bike tours. Various numbers of bikers will be participating on all legs of the tour and young cyclists are invited as well. Along the route, escort vehicles promote a intensified European co-operation in the whole of the Danube region. This year s European bicycle tour started on the 26th/27th of August and lead from Donaueschingen via Ulm, Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Vienna and Bratislava to Budapest, where it ended on the 10th/11th of September. In the cities of Donaueschingen, Passau, Vienna and Budapest, informal colloquia concerning the upcoming EU-Strategy for the Danube Region were held and the final event took place in the Hungarian capital on the 11th of September. In Budapest the tour will continue in 2011 on the 26th of June. The route will end on the 9th of July in Vidin/Calafat, where a new Danube bridge will be opened in June. Political round tables are planned in Budapest, Novi Sad, Belgrade and at the border triangle of Serbia/ Bulgaria/Romania, where a Danube bridge is being built right now. In the summer of 2012, the bikers will explore the delta of the Black See, as they cycle the last third of the Danube. For more information: Ernst Piehl (European Cycle Tours co-ordinator) piehl@scarlet.be 8 danube connects 02 I 10 danube connects 02 I 10 9

6 Education Children s Universities are taking Europe M ore and more universities open their doors and bring children and teenagers closer to scientific topics. Thereby, scientific ideas can be comprehended in a creative way, education opportunities can be shown and the variety of scientific disciplines and approaches conveyed. One of the pioneers concerning children s universities is the one in Vienna and the Detská Univerzita Komenského in Bratislava. Through their great success and the international attention, the European Commission assigned the Children s Office of Vienna University to build a network of children s universities in Europe. International conferences and a mentoring programme resulted in the initiation of further children s universities and a professionalization of the ongoing activities. The Children s Office of Vienna University published the project s final result in The EUCU.NET White Book: A Reference Guide on Children s Universities, which is the first international publication concerning the topic. The temporary project developed into a movement with more than 120 partners from all over the world, which will form an independent membership organisation in December The presidential chair will be held by Karoline Iber, director of Children s Office of Vienna University, Tricia Jenkins, director of the International Centre of Excellence in Educational Opportunities at Liverpool University and Michael Seifert, director of the Department for Internal and External Communication at Tübingen University. The office will be located in the Children s Office of Vienna University. For more information see: How can I build an underwater vacuum cleaner? More than 500 children from Burgenland experienced the days from the 27th of September to the 1st of October under the headline: Quest! Query! Be amazed! Experience Science!. The children s university went on tour from the North to the South of Burgenland. Children s University on Tour, which was initiated in 2007 by the Children s Office of Vienna University, toured through Vienna s boroughs this year and thereby reached over one thousand children. With this concept, university is brought to one s doorstep, with science boxes on researchislands and lectures held by scientists in a mobile lecture hall. In parks and youth centres Children s University on Tour intends to approach especially those children who have never been in contact with science. The aim is to raise the children s curiosity and joy towards science and experiments in their normal environment, to provide a positive approach to science and new education opportunities. From the 27th of September to the 1st of October, Children s University now toured through Burgenland for the thirst time. It made stops at schools from the North to the South of Burgenland. Boredom did not stand a chance! The participants conducted experiments on their own and thereby, science became palpable for them, interesting and interactive. The science boxes contained simple material with which phenomena and questions from How can I build an underwater vacuum cleaner to Who does your heart beat faster when your doing sports? could be explored. Children s University on Tour in Burgenland was supported in the programme Phasing Out and by bmwf and organised in co-operation with the regional management Burgenland Corporation and the Children s Office of Vienna University. For more details and information on Children s University on Tour see: Tatjana Tölly Children s Office of Vienna University A t the moment, approximately 1.5 million young people between the age of 15 and 30 are living in Serbia. To support them is an important investment in the development of a democratic Serbia on its way into the EU. The field of support measures for the youth is new in Serbia. Only in 2007, the Ministry for Youth and Sport was founded, in 2008, the National Youth-Strategy and in 2009, the national action-plan for the implementation of the strategy were passed. Right now, a youth-legislation is developed with the participation of civil societyactors and youth organisations. Such general conditions are important in order to create structures and contact points for young people on a regional and local level. These would give them the opportunity to get informed or become politically and socially involved. Many Serbian teenagers lack the possibilities to shape their environment actively, to improve their personal situation and bring their own potentials into the development of society. GTZ is speaking up for youth In order to strengthen the structures of support for and participation of the youth, the German Gesellschaft für technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ Association for technical co-operation) is conducting a project in Serbia by order of the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ). In practice, standards and guidelines for youth offices and youth-coordinators and so called local youth action plans are developed in co-operation with communes, young people and other interested actors. When the ministry was founded, there were only five communes which established youth offices now 122 out of 167 communes have one! The GTZ has supported the planning and passing of the action plans of 41 of them. It is an impressive result, es Creating new perspectives pecially considering the short amount of time and the broad consultation with civil society-organisations and the youth, remarks the project s manager Britta Lampertz gladly. The action plans are a mechanism for the implementation of the national Youth-Strategy. With their passing, the communes officially acknowledge the needs of the youth, establish programmes for its support and provide a part of the commune s budget for the establishment of youth offices and youth policies. It is important that these plans also include disadvantages teenagers and marginal groups, such as young people with learning difficulties, the disabled or ethnic minorities; furthermore, the different needs of boys and girls have to be taken into account. Mediation courses achieve success An important area of the GTZ is the peaceful solving of conflicts resulting from historical processes. For this, the project has developed handbooks and modules, has supported the establishing of school parliaments and mediation measures, especially mediation We have gone through tears and laughter, through easy and difficult moments, the sun warmed us and winds are carried us, we are developing together. In this way we are strengthened, and we learn and improve ourselves, we become better for ourselves and for others. Whether related to the riots at the Gay Pride Parade in Belgrade or the EM qualification match in Genoa Serbia s youth appeared in a rather bad light in the last weeks. Often one finds a lack of prospects, missing work offers for the young and insufficient possibilities for political and societal participation behind these actions. by teenagers for teenagers (peer mediation). As the anonymous evaluations at the end of the workshop show, this was successful: During the seminar, the knowledge and experience I gained helped me to find myself and I can say that after this seminar I have finally grown up. A lack of opportunities to participate, established conflicts, a lack of prospects one single project cannot solve the structural problems at once, but it certainly can contribute to their solution. Britta Lampertz, GTZ Serbia The GTZ organises projects for young people in whole Serbia, as in the Vojvodina, in Belgrade and in Nis. 10 danube connects 02 I 10 danube connects 02 I 10 11

7 Point of view Point of view Between fantasy and reality Their meetings often do not end before Sunday morning; not seldom, the friends part in anger and do not speak to each other for several days. Why is that? Because they can never agree over chess. Nevertheless, they always find a common basis, which reconciles them again. And therefore, they know that there will always play again the next Saturday with the same disputes and compromises. Early in the morning, the ship left Vienna; the next stop was Bratislava. I have never seen a city like that! In Budapest and Belgrad, I d loved to have stopped the engines and time as well. After their exams, Ana and Victor took the first flight homewards. Paul had told them that he d go home by ship, which was not only cheaper and more relaxed, but also corresponded to his political attitude. After a few weeks, they met again on a Saturday night and Paul started the conversation: It is my policy to travel cheap, fast and environment friendly. Global warming and the written agreement after the climate summit in Copenhagen do not help quite as much. To lower global warming by two degree Celsius is a utopia, if we do not act accordingly! That s why it was the best solution for me to go home by ship. It was fast, efficient, cheap and ecological. It certainly looked better than the Titanic and I felt as if I was going home on a waterbed. Early in the morning, the ship left Vienna; the next stop was Bratislava. I have never seen a city like that! In Budapest and Belgrad, I d loved to have stopped the engines and time as well. When Paul had told them some more stories from his journey, they continued to play chess. Surprised about this traffic system he had not known existed in his hometown, Victor asked Paul at which time he had reached Bazias. The silence, which followed this question, made Paul s story seem less authentic; but his awareness of regional co-operations and the European political strategies kept Victor from doubting his friend. At the end of their converstion, Victor asked Paul whether they could travel home together, the next time. Paul did not attend their next meeting, but Victor and Ana were not mad with him. They had found out that their friend had been lieing and his story about the ship and the cheap, environmental friendly trip had been pure fantasy. Paul had invented all of this because he was ashamed of not being able to afford a plane or train ticket. His father s business was not doing very well and Paul therefore had not been able to leave Graz. And even worse: he was on the verge of having to drop out of university. But nevertheless, Paul became a captain on the Danube that evening or did he simply implement the Danube Strategy into a real, everyday plan based on a simply yet complex regional co-operation? So is Paul a liar or the creator of a plan? Is Paul an example of how far simple people, as you and I are, can come? And who is Paul, in the end? The truth is: Paul is fiction, as well as his friends and the ship. But even if he doesn not really exist, he nonetheless is alive in ever person living on the side of the Danube and whishing to be able to travel that way. We call the Danube The King of European Rivers or The Blue Connection through Europe, but perhaps we should be more pragmatic and simply call it a solution. For the future of Europe and its young generations! It is my policy to travel cheap, fast and environment friendly. Global warming and the written agreement after the climate summit in Copenhagen do not help quite as much. Do you have any idea how harmful this can of beer is to the environment? that is how many a conversations between Paul, Ana and Victor have started. They all study at Graz University of Technology; Ana is Bulgarian, Victor an Paul both come from Bazias in Romania, which they only found out when they met in Austria. Corina Sfia Journalist, Romania The danube collects stories we publish one in each edition. They only have little money and therefore have to save up for the Satuday nights on which they meet to play chess and debate about pollution, politics, the evolution of humankind and other current topics from newspapers like Die Presse or Die Kronen Zeitung. 12 danube connects 02 I 10 danube connects 02 I 10 13