This year, JEF Finland has focused on exploring how to improve the quality of discourse about Europe, while also reducing the harmful disinformation associated with it. Discussing EU matters can be difficult. There’s plenty of information out there, but direct answers to questions can sometimes be hard to find. This is made harder still by the many misconceptions attached to the EU. JEF Finland wants to correct false perceptions of the European Union with a new tool. Today, the organisation is launching a section on its website featuring common false claims about the EU, along with explanations of why they’re wrong. The section can be used both as an argumentation tool and as a learning aid.
“Improving access to EU information – and, through it, to discourse about Europe – is central to JEF Finland’s mission. One reason discussion is so limited is that EU matters are often seen as difficult to understand and overly complex”, comments JEF Finland’s President Risto Rajala.
“Our message is that you don’t need perfect knowledge of the EU to be able to discuss it. EU matters affect all of us, and so discussing them belongs to everyone too. JEF Finland wants to lower the barrier to having a high-quality, fact-based discussion about Europe. Information needs to be accessible in order to encourage people to engage in discussion – and that’s one of the things this new tool aims to do” comments Executive Board member Amanda Alvesalo, who led the project.
The project will be presented at JEF Finland’s traditional Castle Seminar, held at Haikko Manor on 12–14 August 2022. Guests at the seminar include Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, MEPs Henna Virkkunen and Ville Niinistö, and Ukraine’s Ambassador Olga Dibrova. The event is organised in cooperation with Akava, the European Parliament’s Finland Office, and the European Commission’s Representation in Finland.
JEF Finland is a nationwide youth organisation founded in 1997 that serves as a voice for young people on European and international issues. The organisation is religiously and politically unaffiliated, and its activities are open to all young people under the age of 29. JEF Finland’s goal is to promote a positive attitude towards the European Union and internationalism, and to campaign for a better and more united Europe. More information about JEF Finland can be found at eurooppanuoret.fi/.
For more information:
Risto Rajala
President
[email protected]
+358 40 056 3080