EYE 2025 in European Parliament

The activities were divided into three themes: ENGAGE, EMPOWER, and CONNECT.

On June 13th, I joined an activity called „Shaping Future Relations: Youth Voices from the EU and South East Asia.“ Since I am from Japan, I was curious about how to share values and work together between the EU and Asia. It was a great opportunity to meet new people working on this and to exchange ideas. The EU recognizes India as one of its important trading partners. 

The happiest moment for me was getting to know the people from the Asia-Europe Foundation who participated in the panel discussion. Getting right information is important but at the same time difficult. The Asia-Europe foundations is my dream organisation when I think about my future job, because it builds bridges between Asia and Europe. I am very grateful to have learned about  the foundation’s work.

It is critically important to step outside your comfort zone sometimes to have new experiences and meet new values!

On 14th June, I joined in three activities: The EU and the Indo-Pacific: building bridges, Move, vote, speak up! Your guide to EU citizenship, EYE2025 closing plenary: democracy in action.

One thing I noticed is a key difference between the EU and Japan. In the EU, mutual understanding and respect for different cultures, perspectives, and languages is an important value. It forms the core foundation for maintaining democracy and promoting peace. In contrast, Japan tends to view the United States as its most important international partner. For many Japanese people, when they think of foreigners or foreign languages, they first think of Americans and English. That’s why I’m fascinated by the European Union, an alliance of 27 member states with diverse backgrounds, values, and 24 official languages, all coexisting and cooperating together.