I wanted to cut through the crap and find out exactly who my Member’s of European Parliament really are and what they do to represent my needs. I went to the homes of Trevor Colman UKIP MEP, Graham Watson Liberal Democrat MEP and Giles Chichester Conservative MEP. I had arranged to meet with Glynn Ford Labour MEP but I was let down at the last minute.

I think this was one of the most important steps in my journey so far.  In order to get my vote in the European election June 4^th, the candidate must fulfil two things. Firstly they must have the same or the closest representation of my political priorities as I need to know they will be working towards a future I support. Secondly they must have a personality that I can approach, respect and relate to. I don’t want a stuffy, arrogant, smug pig who is clearly not interested in listening to my opinions or more importantly reassuring my fears. I want a personable, down to earth, passionate warrior who will fight for what I believe in.

In meeting my MEP’s it has really cleared up who is the most appropriate person and party for me to vote for. I would recommend participating in a similar experiment of sorts in order to define who the best candidate for you is! Other wise I hope that my little ‘experiment’ will perhaps guide you to a suitable conclusion.

Good Luck! x

The European Commission

The European Parliament

And the Council of the European Union.

I did my research, trawled through a variety of sources attempting to decipher the mysterious language used to explain their roles and responsibilities.  Finally just as my head was about to explode and my eyes were dry from hours of staring intently at my computer screen, I managed to crack the code……

………..or so I thought!   Unfortunately I hadn’t been successful; the code had got the better of me after all!

I’d managed to miss a trick; there is not only a Council of the European Union but also a European Council. Why you ask? Well who knows, I’m still waiting for someone to explain that to me, so if you have any thoughts all very welcome.

One of my YouTube channel subscribers very kindly pointed out that I’d mixed up elements of both the Councils in my video ‘Euro Gig,’ easily done if you ask me. Because of this I created another video ‘Euro Gig Encore’ highlighting my mistake 

It was genuinely quite confusing for me and I tried my best to make it simpler for my viewers but failed miserably. I think it would be really beneficial for someone to create a simple, informative and engaging piece of media that would enable anyone no matter what age or background to view or listen to it and just understand first time the roles and responsibilities of the EU’s institutions.

Challenge on……..

Last week I went in search of some inspiration to put me in touch with my political animal. I met up with a young guy called Shane Chowen, President of the Student’s Union City College Plymouth.

After I interviewed him www.youtube.com/knowingmeknowingurup there was one thing he’d said that really stuck in my mind,

“I saw something I didn’t like and that I had the opportunity to change it, so I grabbed it.”

This struck a chord with me, as I often catch myself ranting over issues such as the price of utility bills and organic foods, how irritating plastic packaging is and my disgust and utter dismay at pollution on our gorgeous beaches and in our seas!

And do I do anything about these issues? Well sometimes I volunteer with an organisation like BTCV  http://www2.btcv.org.uk/display/volunteer or Surfers against Sewage http://www.sas.org.uk to pick up litter and generally conserve our natural environment and sometimes when I have a bit of extra cash (which is not often, with the ruddy cost of my utility bills!) I donate it to charity.

But have I ever thought of contacting my MP or MEP to discuss these matters. NO. My reason for this is quite frankly, it never even occurred to me!

Perhaps if I were made more aware of my right to contact these politicians over any of these issues, then I’d be more conscious of how my involvement in the whole democratic process works and as such be more inclined to vote?

As Shane mentioned Democracy occurs at a grassroots level. We are the ones with the power and need to learn to recognise the opportunities to make a change and grab them.

X

Not a hugely eventful week to report on I’m afraid folks. I created a ‘catch up’ video, which basically looks back at everything I’ve learnt so far a long my journey www.youtube.com/knowingmeknowingurup.com

I feel I’ve got to grips now with ‘what it means to be a European citizen’ and am ready for the next step, which will take me in exploration of the EU institutions. That reminds me of something I came across on YouTube the other day check it out 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3pFQrMn0DQ&feature=channel_page

Now what do you think about this? Through this project I’ve spoken to a number of different people from across the South West, all over the U.K and even the world through the wonders of social networks. And from listening to them I understand that they as I have a limited understanding of what the EU is all about and in particular European Parliament. So personally I feel a lot more than 15 million needs to be spent in order to promote the European elections and ensure that all citizens from every member state know it is their right to vote and the consequences if they don’t.

Another video I came across thanks to a Facebook friend! Is this one 

How inspirational is this? What an amazing girl, we should all listen to her extremely wise and intelligent words. It makes me happy that there are people like her in the world but sad that a little girl had to face the heads of UN state to discuss these issues because they are not doing their job properly.

x

This had to be the most fun I’ve had creating one of my videos so far. I managed to steal away a few of my colleagues to help me, even persuaded one of them to be the EU and painted his face like the EU flag, special oh so special.

It was great having the creative input of a team rather than the norm, which is just me myself and I. It can make such a difference, bouncing ideas around and you know what they say ‘three heads are better than one’, or is it two heads? Hmmmmm……

Following that little beauty, my previous video showcased some young people who have indirectly benefited from EU funding. Now the latter is dished out by the Commission (http://ec.europa.eu/grants/introduction_en.htm), which goes towards funding anything from Agricultural projects right through to projects involving Transport  (http://ec.europa.eu/budget/budget_glance/where_from_en.htm)

Although this video is a lot longer than I’d like, I feel it’s worth it. What do you think?

I’d like my future videos to take on a similar style, I prefer hearing (and seeing!) the young people, I think their opinions are extremely valuable and visual proof to politicians of what they really want.

This project aims to gather evidence of how young people want to have European Political messages communicated to them, which will go on to inform future decisions that European Politicians make.  So it’s really important to gain as much feedback as possible to please, please leave your comments. Your voice can really make a difference.

I think the reasons for this are twofold, number one in the first video I’m reporting on the four fundamental freedoms of the E.U, http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/top_layer/index_1_en.htm how exciting can you make this in four minutes!

And secondly because I’m trying to fit all the relevant information in, whilst being blatantly aware that this information is probably sounding like ‘blah blah blah blah blah’ for some reason I start talking like a BBC reporter and lose my bootiful Cornish accent……. I don’t know why, nerves maybe I’m not sure.

Anyway it just seems a bit more serious and in a way this is good because I was discussing Gordon Brown’s comment about ‘British Jobs for British workers’ which I don’t think we can take too lightly, do you?

After watching this video back I decided I wanted to create something a bit more up beat with the next one, so that’s how the ‘U.K & E.U date’ came about, also I must mention that I had a little help from some idea angels for this one, thank n you muchly guys!

I’m really happy with the end result of the date video. I think I’ve managed to capture the benefits of the E.U young people will be most interested in, http://www.forumoneurope.ie/eu4u/Benefit.html

And, thanks to a little help from my friends it’s come across in a simple and fun way, which is exactly how I feel messages regarding E.U policies and procedures should be communicated!

Please let me know your thoughts, I’d really like to hear  them and in particular if you have any ideas for a potential video or you want me to answer certain questions then comment on people!

Until next time…………. X

As one of the 27 member states that make up the EU we are entitled to a number of rights and benefits that go beyond the general entitlements that come from being a citizen of our own Country.

For my vlog on this subject ‘Is it just geographical?’, I asked a variety of Young people on the streets of Plymouth ‘What does the European Union do?’ Check out some of the responses www.youtube.com/knowingmeknowingurup comical to say the least but no judegement is uttering from my mouth, as only a few days before I would’ve been stuttering on like the rest of them!

Because actually finding out this information from the EU’s official site http://europa.eu/abc/12lessons/lesson_5/index_en.htm is like trawling through quick-drying cement, slow, painful and easy to get stuck!

The trouble is the information they’re trying to put across is pretty complex so they need a certain amount of detail in there but surely there’s a way to liven it up a bit? With all the technology now available what can they utilise to make the messages easier to digest?

Surrounded by the sea and blankets of green a Cornish citizen feels in tune with the seasons and natural rhythms of life and because of this has a laid back friendly demeanour, and is a loyal, committed friend and family member. Surfing, making sand castles, eating pasties and buying bargains from car boots always reminds me of who I am and where I came from.

I can’t say the same thing about being a European citizen. What connects me to the latter is a mystery; I don’t understand how I can define any aspect of my identity under it. It doesn’t feel local or personal to me, but very distant and empty.

I feel this is partly responsible for why I have never voted in European Elections. So, if I’m to get inspired about voting in the elections in June, I need to get in touch with my European roots and find out what makes us citizens of Europe?

Are you a European? If I call myself European, what am I calling myself?

I’ve been asked to discover why young people in U.K aren’t voting in European elections. Did you even know anything about this? I didn’t.

My mission is to find out, what it means to be European? What is the European Union? What does European Parliament do? How does it affect our lives?

This is a challenging and intriguing project, which I am nervous to take on. But with the next European Election taking place on June 4^th, and living in the ‘current climate’ of economic, social and environmental uncertainty. I feel it’s now more than ever that we should wake up to our responsibilities, understand the role we have to play and take action.