Cultural Exchange for Serbian Students

As part of the "Travelling Europe" programme 200 Serbian students are spending four weeks crossing the continent in order to establish personal contacts with cultures and fellow Europeans. The first stop on their journey was Vienna.

"Travelling Europe"

200 of the best students from the whole of Serbia were chosen for the "Travelling Europe" project based on their academic success. The aim is to provide them an opportunity to improve their knowledge of other cultures and other nations. Following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the subsequent hostilities, most young people in Serbia never had a chance to visit other countries. Many of the students chosen had never even been away from their home town.

"Travelling Europe" is a programme initiated by the European Movement in Serbia with the backing of the City of Belgrade and the Austrian Embassy in Serbia, which arranged for the students a cost-free visa for the Schengen countries. An InterRail ticket and some pocket money were also providedto them. They decided the route for the journey and the various stopping places on their own. This project is taking place for the second time in 2006.

"Good-will ambassadors"

The goal sought by the European Movement in Serbia is for the students to acquire a better picture of the European Union. As "good-will ambassadors" they should also reflect the social changes, which have transformed Serbia since the fall of the former regime in October 2000.

"EU4U"

It is hoped their journey right across a Europe without frontiers will enable them to convince their friends of the advantages of entering and integrating with the EU. Their personal experiences should demonstrate the greater chances young people would have if Serbia joins the Union in future.

In Vienna the students were welcomed in the Uniqa Tower by the Serbian ambassador to Austria, Dragan Velikic, the managing-director of Uniqa, Gerald Müller, and the Secretary-General of the European Movement in Serbia, Ksenija Milivojevic, at the start of their "Walk across the Continent".

Link-Tip

European Movement in Serbia Travelling Europe