Multimedia-Blog: THE EU-PHORIC POST,

inklusive Video: "Europe? Who cares?"

Interviews mit Teilnehmern des diesjährigen M100 Sanssouci Colloquiums: "Are the Media destroying Europe?"

Postkartenaktion: "From Europe with Love"!

 

VIDEO-ESSAYS: "TWENTY VISIONS ON EUROPE"
(Um die Videos zu sehen, bitte auf die Titel klicken)

How do I see Europe?

By Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Russia

I think it is not an easy task to define how one sees Europe, especially not through the eyes of one person. Especially if this person is divided in half and cannot give an exact answer whether he is European or not.

As I am a citizen of Russia, a country, that hasn’t even achieved the candidate status of the European Union, you may logically ask what are my relations to European citizenship? Who am I to take part in European events if they don’t directly relate to me? I will try to explain how I see Europe and why I feel that it is important to look at it, analyse it and reflect upon it.

Before living in Europe for five years and becoming the member of the European Youth Press Organization, I also shared the same doubts. I also thought that citizens of non-EU countries were excluded from the benefits of such a desirable status. But now I think that being European is not only about politics.

I am not so related to the European Union, my country is not a member state. But at the same time, I am very related; a citizen of a country, which is not part oft he EU, but still inevitably takes part in EU matters. We cannot feel indifferent about it. I follow the news, I travel, I make friends with European people and I am interested in politics.

However, European identity, in my opinion, is not formed through legal treaties, but through the cultural impact. I am fond of the Spanish author Cortázar, I was very touched by the Bosnia war victims as interviewing them when visiting their country, and I would like to travel to Italy and drop a coin in the Trevi fountain. I give these personal examples in order to show my curiosity for Europe and my bonds with it.

So how do I see Europe? Metaphorically speaking, Europe is like a big tree full of apples – the tree where I grew up and found my identity. I am part of Europe, but at the same time I feel excluded most of the time. This tree is my home, but I feel like a fruit that does not belong there. This creates misunderstanding and disconnection with the whole tree. I know that it is my home, but why do I need a visa to travel home?

This is how I feel about Europe – it is home that I feel distant with. It is strange how two words go together – distance and home. I believe that this should not be the case. Despite politics there should be the world of people, who can feel confident and safe at home. I would like to keep my European rights, learn more about other cultures, travel around the world and expand my knowledge. I would like to feel European, but not just by name. I would like to say Europe is my home and mean it.

 

How do the media in Spain show Europe?

By Albert Guasch Rafael, Spain

Day after day I eat my cereal in the morning accompanied by negative news regarding the economic crisis in Spain. They give me the feeling that the country has been abandoned by the European Union. Myself and many other Spaniards are invaded by a gloomy mood on a daily basis. It makes sense, given the current state of affairs in the country, but I think we have to be careful not to reach a point of no return.

A truthful interest in the news is the only thing that might explain why Spaniards keep reading newspapers. There is a masochistic side to reading about the dramas one has at home. In media I might learn that, statistically, my father will probably never work again or that they are going to cut down my mum's salary once again. But far from taking delight from it, we inform ourselves of European affairs to learn why all of this is taking place.

In a time when euro euphoria is at its lowest, the media coverage of European affairs has a huge impact on Spanish public opinion. How do we fix this? Is it even the role of the media to fix this? I believe a greater effort could be done to explain what the EU brings to Spain, besides austerity and bailouts. Moreover, we should explain the alternative to belonging to the union: an irrelevant and isolated Spain.

You might think that my desire is to sweeten the news. In the end, who doesn’t like a success story every once in a while? Definitely not. I want all media to be watchdogs, not lapdogs. It would be farce if the media in Spain became something like the music band in The Titanic: playing lively music, even though the ship is sinking. Quite simply, a different chord needs to be struck. In a Europe dominated by national interests and egoistic reasons, some media reflect exacerbated opinions of their neighbours. The uptight Germany, the big Greek spenders, the unproductive Spanish... How can we strive for a better understanding of our neighbours when there is such a lack of respect in the reportage? How can we inform ourselves in Spain of the German tendency for austerity thoroughly without describing them as uptight? I believe that a higher degree of transnational collaboration between media would benefit European journalism exponentially and help diminish all these stereotypes. By sharing quality opinions and information through collaboration, media would project a wide range of opinions on an issue, instead of closing in on a single nationalistic point of view.

So when I'm eating my cereal, I would love to read an article written in Germany about their feelings towards bailing out Spain. I’m tired of reading the biased content that Spanish media print about Germans. At the same time, I hope there's a young German journalist eating his cereal while reading an article produced in Spain on the effects of the austerity mesures in the country.

 

What should be changed?

By Louise Willocx, Belgium

Honestly? I don’t care what the capital of Georgia is or who the prime minister of Lithuania is. I do care about where I can find a cheap kebab, what my friends posted on Facebook, and when my favourite TV show starts. Why do I care more about kebabs than the capital of Georgia? For the same reason people care more about the local football league than the European Union. It has nothing to do with them.

We all know the Big European Problem: there are simply no Europeans. No one cares about Europe. People feel as if Europe has nothing to do with them.  In my opinion, the media also has responsibility for this.

Every newspaper for example has a public to whom it has to sell, so when selecting news items or approaching a certain topic, they will always do this according to their readers. Here in Europe, the majority of society only read national newspapers and therefore the only information they receive is nationally orientated and never European orientated. But how can we ever feel European when we only approach subjects from a national point of view?

Many people have already come to this conclusion and indeed,  many of them took action by creating pan-European newspapers, radio programs or supranational TV channels. They have amazing ideas, bring quality, have noble intentions,  only… they aren’t successful. Why? For the same reason people care more about the local football league than the European Union. It has nothing to do with them.

People don’t have one identity. I, for example, am European, Belgian, Flemish, Dendermonds and Grembergish. When national newspapers report, they only focus on my Belgian identity. And when European newspapers report, they only focus on my European identity. But people are more complex than just ‘Belgian’ or ‘European’ and the way information is handed to them should reflect this. The solution to me, is simply combining all those identities.

More collaboration between European initiatives and local ones could mean a real change for Europe. Then it would have something to do with them.

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