cafebabel.com

Multiculturalism in Italy: emigration and exodus

('Sophie Inge',) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:02:55 -0000

Not only are Italy's privileged leaving their country as fast as immigrants are arriving in Italy, but when they do move abroad their perception of their own national identity naturally changes. A new open-minded multi-cultural sensibility contrasts with the mindset of their parent's generation, but will they stay attached to their homeland?

Contentious Guéant circular rejects work visas in France

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:07:12 -0000

France’s governmental memo on employment for their residing non-European students caused quite a commotion, and we’re not talking Jerry Maguire style. Graduates like Nabil Sebti are taking a stand against what could either turn into a long-term policy of sealing France off or be a strategy to gain votes in 2012 elections

'Our School' documentary: segregated Roma schools despite EU funds

('Linda Krajcso',) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:40:25 -0000

When directors and producers Mona Nicoară and Miruna Coca-Cozma followed three Roma children in a small Romanian village for four years, their film initially about a success story of integration became one about the realities of ethnic segregation. Interview

Konik: life in biggest Balkan Roma refugee camp, Montenegro

('Bella3726',) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:00:00 -0000

This important refugee camp in Podgorica of Roma hailing from Kosovo had their homes referred to by The Guardian as a 'stinking rubbish tip'. Yet the ambitious young people living there are future masters of hip-hop and their destiny

‘Learning German is pointless’: British students abandon foreign languages

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:51:10 -0000

Could the British actually be getting worse at language learning? Apparently so. In a 21st century UK, more young people than ever are questioning why they should learn a second language at all

University: German students cross the Austrian border

('Joana Cansado Carvalho',) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:54:23 -0000

It fills up pages in both Austrian and German newspapers. The EU’s court of justice has taken a stand on the subject. In some classrooms some say that there is no cause for concern, while others warn that tension is in the air. What is really going on?

University-educated flee and woo Lithuania: emigration and erasmus

('Krisztian Gal',) — Wed, 19 May 2010 10:07:53 -0000

An increasing number of students are asking professor Žilvinas Martinaitis at the University of Vilnius to let them take their exams at the end of May. This would allow them to go abroad - most popularly, to the UK, Ireland or Scandinavia - to work, and return with some extra money in October, a month after the official term start. Lithuanian and eramus students, professors and politicians explain the phenomenon

Truth? There's no-one to vote for in 6 May UK elections

('james whyte',) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:13:58 -0000

For the first time in decades, the very real possibility of a hung parliament allows the political landscape to be shaken up in the UK's general election on 6 May. But the opposition leader David Cameron, who launches his election campaign on 13 April, appears windswept, PM Gordon Brown imperious and Nick Clegg just wants to be recognised

Mrs, miss or ms?

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:08:10 -0000

In the run-up to international women's day on 8 March, one of the debates rolling around the cafebabel circles cropped up - when on earth do English-speakers address a woman by Ms?

Unions, strikes and snow: Europe's 12 days of christmas discontent

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:09:41 -0000

Is spreading the misery really the best way to get what we want? Inspired by the British High Court banning British Airways’ cabin crew's decision to take twelve festive days of industrial action, we take a look at the latest glut of stars and strikes to hit Europe

Free movement of French and Dutch foreign veterinary, medical students in Belgium

('Tam\xc3\xa1s K\xc3\xa9ry',) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:59:13 -0000

A huge amount of foreigners study two of Europe’s seven officially regulated subjects in Belgium, but its foreign student population of 6.3%, the seventh highest in Europe in 2006, is not heterogenous. Insight

German students swoop down on Austrian universities

('Darren Thompson',) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0000

In some border university towns, the student population is as high as 12%, as German students escape the various clauses in their own universities and enrol 'abroad' for subjects like medicine and psychology. A common tongue and the abolition of tuition fees are the fundamental attractions

Lyon Zero: French universities what run themselves

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:28:43 -0000

French university reforms saw the birth of revolts and protests, but also the emergence of alternative higher education projects in spring 2009 which administer themselves at the UA, Paris 14, Paris 3 and Paris 8 universities. The laboratory aim is to share knowledge and abolish hierachy - after all, going to university is not just about getting a job

Kasparas Pocius, not quite the father of Lithuanian anarchism in the millenium

('Daiva Repe\xc4\x8dkait\xc4\x97',) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:23:12 -0000

The 27-year-old is too young to be fairly branded the 'father' of Lithuanian anarchism today. However, as one of the co-founders of anarchija.lt, the critical magazine Juodraštis ('Draft') and the Vilnius Free University, he is the most visible public figure when it comes to presenting Lithuania's anarchist ideas to the wider public

French citizens ‘Balkan-level’ skill at the English language

('Tim Mac an Airchinnigh',) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:07:08 -0000

The nineteenth-century attitudes to language learning here are not just wasting people’s time, but wasting an extraordinary amount of their money, opines a young Irishman who teaches English in Paris, capital of a country which an 'archaic' education system

Why Turkish band Kim Ki O can't break Europe

('Clara Bergstr\xc3\xb6m',) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:45:00 -0000

The Swedish pop elite love them, but EU bureaucracy is preventing Ekin Sanac and Berna Göl from breaking Europe. In Istanbul, music is an unstable bridge between east and west. Part one of a special feature

An East German childhood: ‘People took off their clothes to express their freedom’

('Sarah Pybus',) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0000

West Germans often subscribe to a pretty grim idea of life growing up behind the wall in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Yet although East German children had few toys and less holidays, were they really less happy than their western counterparts? Eik, 29, recalls his Soviet upbringing

Cervantes: torchbearer of Spanish culture abroad

('Darren Thompson',) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0000

The main function of this institution, created as recently as 1990, is to spread Spanish culture abroad, thanks to the diffusion of its language and its 'hispanidad'. The success of the Cervantes network may well inspire other great cultural nations in Europe to follow suit

Visit to the EHU: Belarusian elite university exiled in Vilnius

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:00:19 -0000

The decision was taken: the European humanities university, created in Minsk, Belarus in 1992, packed up to join Vilnius (and democracy) in 2004. In this oasis of free education, Belarusian youth have been exiled further and further to the west

Education: Bologna process, sales time in French universities

('rhiannon_nicolson',) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:05:41 -0000

France is infuriated. The resentment felt towards the Bologna process, aggravated by the repercussions of the economic crisis, has driven students to go on a general strike as a demonstration of their 'anti-privatisation' feelings. They fear that their future is going 'at reduced prices'. We test the water in Clermont Ferrand

Bologna Process: French universities react

('bellaonbabel',) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:59:55 -0000

At the end of 2008, Spanish, Italian and Greek universities showed their discontent. In 2009 it is France’s turn to denounce the consequences of the Bologna Process, which recommended a more hierarchical ‘management’ of universities. A professor explains why

Erasmus testimony: a Greek student in Budapest

('Omiros Tsapalos',) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:58:50 -0000

In the final installment of a five-part series, a politics and public administration student from Athens, 21, confirms and rejects historical and linguistic stereotypes in the Hungarian capital. The student exchange programme has run for twenty-one years

Greece youth: violence in the name of education

('Elina Makri',) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:30:00 -0000

9 December. As the funeral takes place of a young boy, whose death led to days of continuous rioting in Greek cities three days earlier, a look at where the rebellion is coming from. Voice from Athens

The EU talks internet piracy

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:15:00 -0000

The European parliament passes an amendment defending consumer rights on internet downloads, promotes fruit and vegetables and the Blue Card - the latest news from Brussels

Being a teacher: from Ireland to Germany

('Eva Kopriosek',) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:49:46 -0000

Germans are renowned-and feared-for their efficiency and their bureaucratic machinery. Experience

Audio: playing hooky

('Marie Pepper',) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The French and Italians ‘blow up' or ‘make a hole’ in their school timetables, whilst the Spaniards 'disappear' with the 'young bulls' - pan-European idiomatic expression of the week

Students think 'Europa' at the International School, Seville

('Kate Stansfield',) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:28:37 -0000

Not yet at university, but they are already pondering Europe’s identity. They speak foreign languages, know other countries and want to be listened to, to be able to give their opinion for a better future. Who are these young people? What do they know about Europe? Do they believe in the European dream?

Exploiting unpaid interns: rites of passage?

('c\xc3\xa9dric AUDINOT',) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Associations like Generation Precarity or Fairwork expose an exploited flexible labour force with intermittent incomes and no job security

UK, Russia: a new Iron curtain?

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Two out of three British Council offices were deemed 'illegal' and closed down in Russia in January. A reflection on ties between the Kremlin and London

European School in Strasbourg

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The first European school in the Alsatian capital opens in September 2008. Concerns arise that it will undermine the international sections of existing schools and how it will relate to the EU

Educating Pristina

('Kate Martin',) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Leaving an area scarred by ethnic conflict and fifty years of communism is a tempting prospect for young Kosovars. However, most of those who leave to study or work abroad decide to return for good

Branco Stoysin: 'You can learn anything on your own'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The self-taught guitarist is coy about his age and anti-internet-overload. The Yugoslav 'ghost' has lived his dream in London since the early nineties, his folk and jazz music celebrating the sun and the Balkans

Hungaro-Slovak history textbook: keep dreaming

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The project proposed by a joint committee of historians is chalked for the beginning of 2008 but is charged with problematics

Bad European universities

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Non-existent courses in Italy, freezing toilets in France, everyone having to sit on the floor in Germany, bribery in Lithuania. A trip around the universities of the EU

Soviet mentality brakes Lithuanian educational reform

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:32:00 -0000

The educational system has changed as many times as the capital of Vilnius has changed hands – the current system is as young as the independent country, and much criticised

Kindergarten tactics

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Go back to work, have more children, and we'll look after every third child, says the new daycare reform in Germany, a country with one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. But conservatives aren't happy

Classes in citizenship: controversy in the classroom

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The Spanish government is set to introduce compulsory classes in citizenship. The law has been blighted by controversy and critics even before some schools have incorporated the subject into their curriculum

School holidays end in the west

('Sarah Turpin',) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Millions of European students are (almost) heading back to their desks

Hands off Greek universities!

('Kate Martin',) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The Greek government has approved a series of reforms intended to modernise its university system, including the opening of private institutions and placing a limit on the maximum study period. However, the students are protesting

Don't fear the Polish plumber

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0000

Integration must happen in-situ, with your neighbours - not with Brussels, says Slovak Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training and Culture

Girls hit cinema screens

('G. Ring',) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:04:00 -0000

Films about girls in the suburbs are all the rage in Europe

Travelling with insider tips

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:29:00 -0000

Take an alternative trip around Brussels with our private guide, Stephane Lambert. Together we discover the hidden corners of the European capital.

Free schooling for expat children

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:00:00 -0000

Firms in Poland increasingly fund the bilingual education of expats’ children. But financial problems and contract negotiations impede access to exclusive international schools

Education and Islam: keeping the faith

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:00:00 -0000

Are state faith schools a viable solution to integration problems in Europe?

Poor education levels spur reading programmes in Spain

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 02:00:00 -0000

In Andalusia, a new school year has just begun. Town councils strive to introduce and fund more innovative efforts to promote reading

One country, one language

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 02:00:00 -0000

The European Commission wants to improve young Europeans’ grasp of foreign languages. However, EU member states find it difficult to implement concrete measures

Spain: Between bombs and calls for freedom

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:25:00 -0000

192 deaths and thousands of injuries was a harsh wake up call for Spain. On March 11, the country started their fight against Jihadist terrorism

Squabbles and wrangles in the Muslim world

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 07:29:00 -0000

Despite a population of 15 million Muslims in Europe, stereotypes are still strong: Islam = terrorism. Muslim organisations fail to tackle the identity crises that destabilise their communities

Europe’s anti-terror alert systems are out of tune with each other

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:24:00 -0000

The planned terror attacks uncovered in London are putting the alert systems of every European country to the test. Find out how these work and which alert levels are currently in place.

Escalating threats and anti-terrorist measures

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 02:00:00 -0000

In response to escalating violence and fear, Europe has equipped itself with a real arsenal to counter threats