YoungAction for YouropeVision
What does it mean to be European?
What makes Europe so European?
Mateusz - Poland
Karolina J. - Poland
There are 44 countries in Europe and each one of
them has its own history, culture and traditions. With
so many differences, it's hard to describe Europeans
as a one group, because people's lifestyles and
habits vary on a region of Europe, they live in. But
there are some things all Europeans can relate to.
Sad memories of many wars that took place in
Europe helped Europeans understand that instead of
fighting we should come together. Every country of
'The Old Continent' is soaked up history, so you can
always feel the nostalgic climate.
Hard times brought European community closer
together and taught them that Europeans, besides
many differences have similar values like democracy,
equality and human rights. European integration is
supported by the European Union, which is a union
of 28 European countries guided by the same
values.Having an opportunity to live next to and learn
about other cultures shaped by different historical
experiences is a huge advantage of being European.
To start thinking about what makes
Europe so European, you need to ask yourself
what Europe is. The encyclopedic notion of
Europe says that it is a part of the world
(usually called, but unclearly, a continent) lying
in the northern hemisphere, on the border of
the eastern and western hemispheres, the
continental part of which together with Asia is
the continent Eurasia. Europe is traditionally
considered to be the continent, highlighting its
distinct cultural character from Asia, but from a
geographical point of view it is incorrect.
Sometimes Europe is called the subcontinent,
which is geologically correct.
To be European, means to celebrate other people
and their cultures, overcome disagreements,
stereotypes and differences and look for the things
that we have in common. There is a shared
experience of being united in diversity amongst
Europeans.
The history of Europe was very stormy. From
the Neolithic revolution Europe, it began to take
shape of a diverse culture. The Neolithic was
characterized by numerous movements of large
population groups. As a result of these
migrations in the late Neolithic, the main
cultural and linguistic groups of modern Europe
were initially distinguished. Culture of each
country made up of many elements
overlapping, which consequently produced
different cultures of individual countries, and
even parts of them. It is these divisions that
seem to have been the main source of
misunderstandings and disputes that have
created Europe as we know it. Countries retain
their autonomy but they do not alienate
themselves from the union such as for example
European Union. Each country takes care of
the cultural heritage of the Old Continent, which
shows that despite such large differences, we
are able to unite. Importantly, the union is not
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