Youth Organization

Understanding Europe was first introduced in Portugal in 2017, and it has since grown rapidly. We are currently active in schools from north to south of the country, reaching high school students from standard education in all courses of studies, as well as students enrolled in vocational and professional education in varied fields.

Our seminars, expertly designed to be dynamic and engaging, have served to fill a gap regarding EU topics, which the Portuguese formal education system has yet to cover. For that reason, in our few but fulfilling years of action, we have received positive and encouraging feedback from both teachers and students.

UE Portugal aims at making national and European politics more accessible and tangible to young people across the country.

Using a peer education model, our volunteers give courses to Portuguese students from grades 5 to 12, with our focus age group being high school students. UE PT Trainers are trained to approach democratic citizenship education in a dynamic way, focused on class discussion, giving pupils the space to approach the topics that matter most to them.

We provide courses from 2 to 4 hours of duration on the following topics:

• Europe – why it exists, how it works, and its competences
• Media – dangers, benefits, and the role it plays in our lives
• Participation – how young people can be politically active and engage with their communities
• Social Justice – fostering empathy while moving away from bias and pity culture, with workshops focusing specifically on disability and Muslim women in Europe
• Climate Justice – focusing on job orientation in times of climate change and European responsibility