Sciences Po Students Invited by Warsaw School of Economics to Debate the Future of the EU

Five students from the Sciences Po pour les Nations Unies (SPNU, our model UN association) – Océane Bertea, Anne-Cécile Duponteil, Pierre Fouchard, Eva Jorge, Clara Lemmers – and a professor from Sciences Po were invited by the SGH Warsaw School of Economics to participate in the Impact’24 forum in Poznań, Poland, and take part in a debate about the future of the European Union with Polish students. SGH and Sciences Po are part of CIVICA, the European University of Social Sciences.

Read all about the five students' journey to Poland.

Day 1: The need to stay united as European citizens

On the morning of 15 May, we joined students from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics to explore the forum. This event was a platform for engaging discussions on topics such as geopolitics, artificial intelligence, science, finance, mental health, and education. We had the opportunity to listen to very interesting speakers such as Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski, journalist Anne Applebaum, and historian Timothy Snyder, among many others. The war in Ukraine was at the core of the talks, highlighting the importance of the threat of Russia in Eastern Europe. The speakers emphasised the critical need for a unified response and argued that Russia was a threat not only for Poland, but also for the whole European Union.

Day 2: A focus on youth, cities and women

On the second day, we had the opportunity to listen to Sanna Marin, former Prime Minister of Finland, who spoke about the future of the European Union and the crucial role of youth in politics. We also attended a talk by Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw and member of the C40 Cities Group, who discussed the central role of cities in the climate change adaptation strategy. Finally, the last speaker was Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, who addressed the challenges faced by women and mothers in the workplace and discussed ways to foster change.

An Oxford-style debate on European identity and the future of the EU

Of course, the highlight of our trip was the Oxford-style debate with Polish students from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. The debate's theme, "The Future of the EU: Divided by Age or by Geography?", saw our Sciences Po team arguing that geographical divisions are more significant within the European Union, while the SGH Warsaw School of Economics team contended that generational divisions are more impactful.

Engaging in this debate gave us the opportunity to exchange points of views and opinions with other European students and to discuss the future of European identity. We discussed the challenges the EU is facing, especially considering the upcoming European elections in June and the recent celebration of the 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the EU as part of the 2004 enlargement.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the SGH Warsaw School of Economics for their warm welcome and for providing us with this wonderful opportunity. We hope that the CIVICA alliance will continue to thrive, fostering more opportunities for such cooperation in the future.

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