Ambassador Schools of the European Parliament: HAK1 Salzburg extended to the Ambassador School of the European Parliament
First Vice President Othmar Karas and Vice President Evelyn Regner presented awards to particularly committed schools
The HAK1 Salzburg was honored together with 15 other Austrian schools as “Ambassador School of the European Parliament”. The appointment took place on Monday, November 28, 2022 at the European Union House in Vienna. The First Vice President of the European Parliament Othmar Karas, Vice President Evelyn Regner and Minister of Education Martin Polaschek presented the awards.
The new “ambassadors” are part of an EU-wide network of over 1,500 schools. These schools maintain a particularly close cooperation with the European Parliament and are characterized by further training activities for teachers and school activities related to European integration, democracy and the values of the EU.
Karas and Regner: Essential contribution to strengthening democracy
The First Vice President, Othmar Karas, emphasizes the importance of this program: “The commitment of the students gives me courage for our common future and the resilience of our liberal democracy. Those who know how the EU works, how we all benefit from it and the value of European cohesion and common values are less receptive to the fake news and conspiracy theories that nationalists and extremists use to try to change the political climate poison.”
Vice-President Evelyn Regner also considers the project to be essential: “For young people, the EU is part of their everyday life, so the EU must also become part of everyday life at school as a matter of course. I am pleased that more and more schools in Austria are recognizing this necessity. Ambassador schools make a certain contribution by bringing young people closer to the democratic added value of European unification.”