Surveys show that young people feel they ought to know more about the European Union. Only 38 pct. of Europeans under 25 voted in the European Parliament elections in 2013. The decision of whether or not to vote at your first election affects the voting patterns for the rest of your life. Therefore, European cooperation should be made more tangible and exciting for today's youth. But textbooks and traditional teaching doesn't seem to be the answer for most students. That’s why we have created the project Europe Alive.
Europe Alive is an innovative learning method that makes High School students compete and cooperate over a range of important priorities and decisions and strive both for their own success and the common good. It all takes place in their classroom and is supported by a groundbreaking, online simulation game.
In Europe Alive, a digital platform creates an engaging and immersive learning universe where academic content is built into the interplay amongst the students.
All participants are active all the time with the teacher having an advisory role. Progress is built into the platform. The challenge-driven or trouble-shooting progression keeps students motivated and absorbed in the game universe.
Traditional educational materials can be downloaded from the website with discussion points and tasks that are easy to incorporate in lessons before and after the roleplay. The materials cover the national curriculum content on the European Union in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, and support the teacher’s preparation.
Europe Alive gives high school students a closer understanding of EU institutions. They get a chance to experience why transnational cooperation is often complicated. And they are empowered to look behind simplified communication about the EU.
Europe Alive is nonpartisan. It doesn’t favor any country, political view or vision of the cooperation, but simply shows how it works.
The first game of Europe Alive, Europe at Work, is about determining the conditions for citizens working in another EU country and to find a majority to support these rules. In time, additional games will be developed.
7 reasons to use Europe Alive
About Europe Alive
Teachers' evaluation of Europe at Work 2013 (analogue version)
In 10 years, when students have forgotten everything we told them about the EU, they will still remember this role play.
... highly relevant for students
trying to understand
the mechanics of the European Union
There are new ways for the students to interact, they negotiate, they make interviews, and they are much more physically active. I think that engages more types of students.