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- Ελληνικά
The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Athena Michaelidou, participated in the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers of Education and Youth that took place on 18 and 19 September 2023, in Zaragoza, in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
On the first day of the proceedings, the Minister participated in the Meeting of Youth Ministers, which discussed the issue of strengthening the participation of young people and their organisations in decision-making processes at all levels. The Minister said that the Cypriot Government, focusing on strengthening the role of youth, is preparing the 2nd National Strategy for Youth. Ms Michaelidou also underlined the important role played by the Cyprus Youth Organisation, while she touched upon the importance of the EU Youth Dialogue, saying that it is "a strong example of a multi-level participatory process".
At the Higher Education Ministers' Meeting, Ministers discussed ensuring a more inclusive Higher Education and exchanged views on offering more access opportunities to students from underprivileged backgrounds and an environment that enhances their chances of completing their studies. The Minister referred, inter alia, to the need for targeted financial support, the offer of more flexible curricula and the adoption of tailor-made teaching methods. She also shared with her counterparts good practices implemented in Cyprus, such as the collection of data on students in order to formulate targeted policies.
During the political debate of the Ministers of Education, the Ministers were invited to comment on the role of education in strengthening democratic citizenship and common European values. Ms Michaelidou stressed the fundamental importance of the universal values that bind Europeans together. In her statement she stressed that the educational systems themselves must lead as models of democracy and beehives of fundamental values and presented programmes and policies implemented by Cyprus, as well as good practices of experiential teaching of democratic citizenship. He also referred to the fact that these issues will be reviewed in the context of the effort to modernise curricula at all levels of the education system. Finally, he stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with the Council of Europe and stressed the need to offer more opportunities for students to participate in programmes simulating democratic processes.
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