Parliament Buildings, Stormont will be the home of the EU on Friday 17 October 2008 when students from Bangor Grammar will join 27 schools from across Northern Ireland to take part in a mock meeting of the Council of the European Union. The event is being organised by the British Council in partnership with the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland.
At Parliament Buildings the students will have an opportunity to take part in debates and vote on topical issues affecting the EU such as climate change, intercultural dialogue and migration, GMOs and food safety. At the beginning of the day, students will hear firsthand from the new Head of the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland, Maurice Maxwell, and from one of Northern Ireland's two representatives on the European Economic and Social Committee, Jane Morrice, who will give the students an insight into the workings of this EU advisory body. Jane will also chair the event, bringing her experience from working in Brussels to the table.
Four pupils, Andrew Clegg, Ben Robinson, Simon Brett and Jonathan McCullough from Bangor Grammar will take on the important task of representing the European Commission and the Secretariat General during the prestigious event in Stormont. On 22 September at Bangor Grammar School, the students were joined by their teacher, Joe Wilson, who had organised a question and answer session to prepare them for the event.
Joe Wilson said: "The students are really looking forward to representing the school and taking on the important role of playing the European Commission and Secretariat General. I am confident that the relevance of topics such as climate change will ensure that there is a good debate on the day and our students are well prepared to help chair the event and represent the Commission."
The students had an opportunity to quiz the new Head of the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland, Maurice Maxwell, about the role of the European Commission in the Council of Ministers meetings. Maurice was joined by Jonathan Stewart from the British Council, who provided an overview of how the mock council would run and answered questions from the students.
Maurice Maxwell congratulated the students from Bangor Grammar School for taking up the challenge of representing the European Commission and said: "The Mock Council event, now in its fourth year, provides students with an excellent opportunity to enhance their debating skills and develop their knowledge of the European Union. I am delighted that, once again, there has been such an enthusiastic response from schools across Northern Ireland."
Jonathan Stewart from the British Council said: "There has been a huge demand from schools across Northern Ireland to participate in this event, and we are looking forward to working with the students from Bangor and the other twenty seven schools as they debate topical European issues in Parliament Buildings."