This simulation would not have been possible without ERASMUS+ funding as well as the help of MEUSAC and the EUPA.
What is IDE?
Former Projects Officers Adam McCarthy and Bernice Zarb explain:
IDE started with the perceived need to provide a different experience for youths who want to participate in politics by debating and speaking about subjects that impact our lives on a daily basis. As JEF Malta, we decided to take on this idea from the unique perspective of a more integrated form of the European Union.
This was done through the formation of three different bodies consisting of the Government of Europe, Parliament and Senate. Each section played a significant role in forming legislation as well as creating a financial resolution that sought to exemplify tangible solutions the EU could take with issues similar to the topic in hand. The main topics discussed throughout IDE were the environment, the economy, culture, and education. These are topics which heavily concern today’s youths, due to their direct impact on their livelihood and quality of life, as well as their overall implication to society as a whole. Furthermore, the ideal solutions to these topics are highly subjective and controversial, with benefits and problems arising from the ideas on either side of the debate.
Giving participants the opportunity to debate these topics as well as create legislation about them was an important aspect of the simulation, as it allowed youths to voice their own opinions on such issues, rather than those of other people. This aspect of the simulation was amplified by the fact that the participants were encouraged to form their own political parties, rather than being assigned one. Because of this feature, participants had the liberty to experiment with and research different political ideologies, which would help them develop their own personal ideals which they would uphold in their future lives.
As the different parties argued in Parliament about the future of Europe’s position with regard to the topic of the session, a smaller group of individuals were having a very different discussion at the Senate. In the latter context, each participant was assigned a country they would represent, where they would have to represent that particular country’s views and geopolitical standing on the topic at hand. However, after a brief statement made by each participant, they were presented with a crisis that requires immediate attention. The participants would then need to employ the research they had done to try and deal with the crisis in a manner which would coincide with their own country’s stances and political tendencies.
Overall, the simulation put all participants through situations in which they had to apply their critical thinking and could rapidly nurture a wide variety of skills, such as compromise, teamwork and lobbying. The result of this was blatantly evident during the course of the simulation, in which the participants’ performance improved steadily between each session.
Juanita Galea shares her experience of IDE
In my view, IDE was a very well organised simulation that really challenged some pre-conceived notions I held with regard to certain topics such as the economy. The simulation brought together individuals who held different political views and alignments, with at times diametrically opposing ideologies. The beauty of IDE comes from the fact that it instigates a fruitful debate between different individuals, and it motivates them not to back down and always fight for what they believe in. At the same time, listening to other participants’ perspectives indeed helped me in cultivating my own opinion, be it when my opinion was challenged — or instead reaffirmed. IDE not only helped me improve as an individual delegate, but also as a team player during the parliamentary session as part of the European Christian Democrats. Portraying a unified front is of essence in any simulation— especially in IDE. My experience taught me to be more humble and to be willing to listen to my fellow team members, while at the same time endowing me with the confidence to stand up for what I believe in, all while aiming for compromise within a parliamentary group setting.
On a personal note, I felt that IDE helped me mature as an orator and motivated me to speak with assurance, yet to also think on the spot in the case of an unexpected rebuttal. All in all, IDE truly prepares its participants to become well-rounded delegates— to speak with more confidence, to be capable of sticking to your own guns when it comes to ideology without going back on your initial position, all while also focusing on the crucial aspect of policy and speech writing— which are vitally important skills to possess.
IDE gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and for the first time truly strive for what I believe in on a political level. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the JEF Malta team organising and running IDE was highly proactive and efficient in trying to find solutions for all participants to be able to participate in the final sessions, which had to be delayed, with the final session being held this July. Looking back, my fellow teammates and I can see a notable improvement— one which we are extremely proud of, with our team placing Second. Such improvement surely could not have come about without the help and constant support of JEF Malta’s executive board, especially Project Officers Bernice Zarb and Adam McCarthy, who believed in us and gave us valuable advice.
IDE was and is a brilliant and innovative project in Malta, offering a unique opportunity for youths which developed the way it did due to the tireless effort of an extremely visionary executive board, to whom I am extremely grateful. IDE is truly a unique simulation and as JEF Malta’s new Projects Officer for the 2020/2021 term, I look forward to actively working on the second edition of IDE later on this year.
Nikos Chircop shares his experience
Despite the logistical challenges posed by the pandemic mid-way through the simulation, COVID-19 clearly showed the enthusiasm of all us participants, as well as the determination of the organisers, to pull through and successfully complete the first-ever edition of a political simulation that in itself is truly unique! Participating in JEF’s IDE simulation, for me at least, was much more than a Degree+ recognised activity, it is an active political statement. A statement of faith in the possibility for a better, truly democratic, and integrated pan-European Political structure, and ultimately a valuable exercise in furthering debating and consensus-building skills.
I felt that what really made the simulation tick was the sheer diversity of opinions among not just the different ‘parties’, but also among the participants. Representation from all parts of the political spectrum allowed for a dynamic debate that was far removed from the typical run-of-the-mill partisan discourse that continues to impair the national political scene. This as participants were fundamentally concerned with policy, not personality. What I found particularly interesting in the format of the simulation was the fact that all participants got to represent not only our own views in parliament, but also got a taste of what it is like to represent the interests of a member state, a taste of European realpolitik so-to-speak, in the senate session.
I cannot recommend this experience enough and am humbled by the chance I have been given to represent JEF-Malta in the Y-FED simulation in Strasbourg.
