Our class : Licence Pro A.G.E.E.S 2007-2008

Well, if I had to sum up what I think about Europe in a word I would say ”opportunities”, since Europe for me is the opportunity for young people to discover new cultures and new languages, the opportunity to travel abroad without restraint and for people my age to multiply job opportunities. I think it encourages open-mindedness, at least I hope so!

The capital I would chose to represent the European Union would be London, I really like this place for its mix of people coming from different countries, having different cultures.
London is full of contrasts: on the one hand you’ve got the Royal family, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Bridge and all this heavy British historical background, and on the other hand Notting hill Caribbean carnival, Soho and its Chinese restaurants, fish and chips, sausages and baked beans, the punk attitude…London means all that to me, some kind of strictness mixed up with eccentricity. That’s what makes London so interesting .That’s why I would chose it to represent the Europe culture.

If you need to brush up your knowledge on the European Union, listen to Audrey.
You'll also find out that her favourite European city is Prague.

Listen to Aline talking about her background.

Berlin is a beautiful city with a difficult and painful past . We can still see the great discrepancies between “Berlin –east” and “Berlin west”. In the east, there are still old factories which have been restored to provide cheap housing.
European artists love this city because it is inexpensive and you can do the kind of art that you want. In the west, the economics development is much more visible (department stores, large companies) This is the city of all delusions. Berlin Wall is the most visited monument and symbolises the long struggle of the German people to be recognised as a single nation. (1991)

Hello!
My name is Caroline. I am French student in management at the University of Reims. I live in Reims.
My favourite European city is La Villetta, the capital of Malta.

Carine has an artistic flair. Listen to her speak about her professional experience and aspirations.

Débora raises the question of a common European identity.
Listen and find out if she really feels European.

Does a European culture really exist? I think that a European culture exists, but we have very little information about the cultures of the 24 other countries in the euro zone. It’s true that there is a European dimension inherent to the Economic Area with the exchange and the common currency, the Euro. The cultural dimension however is hardly visible at all. This has already been mentioned by the media. For example the television channel Arte with the promotion of European artists (painters, music groups etc.) Another example is Sziget festival in Budapest. Many European people come here because you can meet a lot of people. It occupies a central place in European culture (music, theater, animations and more)

Listen to Marion.

Listen to Muriel!

My name is Sofia. I'm 24 years old.
I live in Sedan in the Northwestern France, just next to Belgium.
I work in the management of a local association. I decided to go back to university to improve my knowledge of economics.
I work, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and I go to university Thursdays, Friday and Saturday.
It's very difficult to manage both.
There's a lot responsibility but for me it's a good experience and I’m very happy to be doing what I like.
After the university year is over , I will go on holidays in the sun and on the beach.

The Social Economy in Canada
In 2005, the Canadian government opened access to its resources and programs to social enterprises. For the many Canadians who had been working for years to construct a more democratic and inclusive society through citizen-based action, this initiative was welcomed as a long-awaited recognition of a growing movement. The term itself “social economy” is rather new to most Canadians living outside of Quebec and is defined as “Separate from the private sector and government . . . . and [including ]co-operatives, foundations, credit unions, non-profit organizations, the voluntary sector, charities and social economy enterprises”. (- Western Economic Diversification Canada).Given the ongoing debate about the definition of the social economy and its inclusiveness, many people prefer to describe the social economy in Canada in terms of its association-based economics which are “founded on values of : -Service to members of community rather than generating profits; -Autonomous management (not government or market controlled); -Democratic decision-making; -Primacy of persons and work over capital” ( CCEDNet National Policy Council, Social Economy Roundtable Consultation Briefing Notes, 2005) If you want to know more about what’s new in the social economy in Canada, check out the following websites: -Social Economy Student Network (SESN), based in University of Victoria, British Columbia http://socialeconomy.info/en/english /http://socialeconomy.info/fr/francais -Conseil pan-canadien du développement économique communautaire des femmes - http://www.cwcedc-cpdecf.org/ -Imagine Canada - http://www.imaginecanada.ca/ -Le Chantier del’économie sociale - http://www.chantier.qc.ca/