Event: "The EU Parliament - voice of the citizens!"

The Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Head of the State Chancellery has sponsored the event series "The EU Parliament - Voice of the Citizens". The aim is to inform citizens about the European Union in the run-up to the European elections.

The series started with events on 9 November in the morning in Bocholt's Skylounge. Due to the high demand, two events were held back-to-back. Despite the heavy rain, a total of around 150 pupils, trainees and teachers walked from the Berufskolleg am Wasserturm vocational college to the textile factory.

An interesting presentation, in which they were interactively involved, and the opening address by the Minister for Europe, Nathael Liminski, made up for the walk. The participants received plenty of input and had to answer questions. The lively participation reflected the fact that the well-known political scientist knows his subject. He received a long round of applause. The event was coordinated by the vocational college's Europe officer Nicole Kroll.

The event continued in the cinema on Friday 10 November. This time Espenschied gave his presentation in cinema screen format. More than 250 pupils from Mariengymnasium first listened to the words of welcome from their headmistress before Minister Liminski greeted those present virtually from the cinema screen. During the subsequent multimedia presentation, the pupils were able to deepen their existing knowledge of the European Parliament and gain new insights. European Affairs Officer Sven Volmering had coordinated the pupils' participation.

The series concluded with an evening event for citizens. Here, the multimedia presentation by Ingo Espenschied was followed by extensive discussions over a drink. Those present took advantage of this opportunity. A lively discussion ensued with some critical debate. Deputy Mayor Gudrun Koppers opened the evening event.

The theme of all the events was "The EU Parliament - voice of the citizens!" He gave an easy-to-understand and entertaining tour of the history of the EU, gave Members of the European Parliament a chance to speak in his film production and explained the structure and working methods of the European Parliament. He also explained how easy it is to vote in the European elections without having to campaign for a particular party.

Sonja Wießmeier from EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt was delighted that the Minister for European Affairs, Nathanael Liminski, had taken the time for the virtual greetings, as travelling in person from Düsseldorf had not been possible for scheduling reasons.