Sylvain C. recalls the good old days...

The GerbertEuroClub is a Junior Association set up in 2009 and run by pupils under 18. It is a non-profit association regulated by the July 1901 law. We have a teacher who helps us. The GEC was created by members of the “Section Européenne”. It was created in order to improve our English communication skills, to promote the European ideal, and to help the foreign pupils in our lycée feel at home in Aurillac. I took part in and organized several activities.

In 2008-2009, I was in charge of the Bigger Picture, the cinema activity of the club. Movies were subtitled. For those of us who had never seen these old black and white films it was great! The theme was “Monsters”. So we saw Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Elephant Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster. The Bigger Picture was a challenge to organize, but good fun.

In March 2010, I went to the Puy-en-Velay to take part in the European Youth Parliament with nine other members of the GEC. I worked in a commission called AFET (foreign affairs issues) on the topic of relations between the European Union and Latin America. We suggested, amongst other ideas: the creation of European/South America cultural centers, twinning projects, and employment schemes.

To win a place at the EYP we needed to answer a question, and to get involved in a group project. The question was about our favorite European monument, and our project was to create electronic “postcards” which we would send to pupils in other European countries.

Taking part in the EYP taught me self-confidence and to work in a group with people I had never seen before. It gave me a positive idea about the European Union and its aims.

The GEC organized picnics every Friday, with a member of the group interviewing someone or some other activity.

I have visited various art and photo exhibitions organized by the GEC.

I have helped to organize the yearly Europe Day celebrations and create the first electronic postcard which we sent off during a little ceremony.

This year was my last year as a member of the GerbertEuroClub. It taught me to be more self-confident and organized, and I hope that the GEC will bring to other pupils what it brought me!