Democracy Beyond Textbooks
A reflection by our student Mia
What Is Project Week?
Project Week allows us, as students, to travel once a term for a week in small groups around Europe while working on different projects. These projects range from learning how to swim, to political reading, or even running along the paths of Kafka. Each project has to meet the expectations of the school, meaning it must fall into one of the following categories: creativity, service, outdoor, or physical activity. In addition, at least one part of the project has to take place within a one-hour driving radius of the school. The main goal of Project Week is to combine our activities with learning outside the classroom, giving us the opportunity to gain hands-on experience.
Why Strasbourg?
In this article, I would like to describe my experience during Project Week, with a special focus on my most recent one. This time, I travelled to Strasbourg. Because the journey was relatively short, we had plenty of time to explore the city and fully engage with our project. The focus of this Project Week was democracy and journalism, which is why Strasbourg was chosen as our destination. With the European Parliament located there and the city’s position right at the border, Strasbourg is an ideal place for a project centred on European politics, democracy, culture, and media.
Learning Democracy and Journalism in Practice
Throughout the week, we had planned several activities that supported the overall theme of democracy and journalism. For example, we visited the European Parliament, explored the city, and participated in workshops led by members of our own group. These workshops covered different aspects of journalism, such as research, citations, and how to write a well-structured article. At the beginning of the week, most of our time in Strasbourg was spent listening, learning, and exploring. However, during the last two days, we each started working on our own articles. One person focused on sustainability in Finland, particularly in relation to cooperation with the EU. Others chose to concentrate less on politics and more on the city itself, writing about topics such as Strasbourg Cathedral, which we also visited together as a group.
Challenges and Personal Growth
For me, Project Week always symbolises an opportunity—whether to learn something new, grow from mistakes, or simply have fun and enjoy the experience. Like all Project Weeks, this one also came with a few challenges, such as early wake-up times or discussions about how to organise our day. Nevertheless, it was one of the Project Weeks from which I learned the most. Not only did I improve my article-writing skills, but I also learned a lot about the people I worked with. This made the experience not only educationally valuable, but also personally very meaningful to me.
