It‘s 2050, you are a top student in the last year of high school, in a South-Eastern country, member of the European Union. The political system is the same as all over the member states of EU, a struggling type of democracy based on bits from 40 years ago. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU, France is on the verge of an economical collapse and has done an alliance with Germany for apparent revival of its economic situation, but more for the upbringing of people‘s moral. The EU is not what it used to be anymore politically, economically and clearly not from the social point of view. The „security“ of the EU is not longer felt.

You experience these problems at a smaller scale in having to decide where to „hold“ your academic future in the next four years. There is a lot of peer pressure as well as pressure coming from the family. Each group is showcasing its own view in a subjective manner making it hard to observe the objective advantages of both sides.

Personally, an Asian country like Japan, South Korea or even China would have been your first option two years ago, but your parents have totally disagreed to such an idea. They want to know you are close to home, you are able to integrate in the society and in case there are any problems arising they would be able to rapidly help.

From an academic point of view, the United Kingdom is a terrific option but since you’d be coming from the EU that could represent an obstacle in terms of integration. Also you wouldn’t be granted the student loan anymore. In the best of cases you would get a scholarship for high academic achievements which could cover, at most, the tuition fees and the books. That means your parents would need to provide for the living expenses. Would they afford it?

Your personal favorite, at the moment, are the Nordic countries. You feel much better welcomed there. The economy has been slowly improving since 50 years ago. With small steps they’re heading towards a different level than the other countries. The Northern Alliance has formed once again, this time with only Sweden, Ireland and Norway form the old “team” and with the “newcomers “ Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Åland and the Faroe Islands.

In general, the educational system represents the political system which governs in a country. Therefore the way a country is led, at a certain point in time is equivalent to the way the future generations are “nurtured and educated”.(= the future if that country ).

The Nordic countries, let’s take for example Sweden, have a simple and slow educational system which gives more good results after a longer term compared to the South-Eastern countries which try to have greater results at a faster speed. Whose mentality is this? Let’s blame the minister of Education. Who approves of his view? Let’s say… the president. Who has chosen the president? Well, the nation. So, one important person’s decision represents or should represent the interest and the mentality of a nation.

What do your parents have in store for you?

If the UK wouldn’t have left the EU, that would have been their call, but since things turned out this way, their current option is Germany. They believe in “once a ruler, forever in a board position” so their thoughts on Germany as a whole, rank from great to impressive and they would not hesitate in sending their child there.

When the parents’ imagination blooms things turn out this way:

Step 1: By the time you have graduated in Social Studies, you already have a few job offers. Each one of them comes from top companies, from different parts of the world.

Step 2: You have chosen the best one, which is in Germany.

Step 3: Five years passed and you are already competing for an important position in the company.

Step 4: You have bought a wonderful house and you have asked your parents to move in with you…

This could go on forever because parents’ whishes for their child will never stop. They’ll always increase and improve.

Looking at things, from this point of view, Germany doesn’t sound like a bad choice at all.

What do your friends say?

Award Winning articles i My Grandchild‘s Europe By Anathea Cristea (Third Prize Winner of the workshop in Bucharest, Romania) 1 You have a close circle of friends, whom you trust and feel close to. You’ve been in different projects together and your academic achievements are quite the same. Until now, life has shaped all of your personalities alike so you know each other pretty well and you have considered more than once going to study abroad together.

Most of them have come down to Italy or Switzerland.

Italy has been on a downscale for more than 10 years already, but in the last year things have taken a different and interesting turn. After a social strike that lasted for approximately two months, a new form of government has taken the lead, a sort of Liberal-Democrats hipsters. They have a tasteful savoir of, what others may call, anarchy. They give freedom to the people, yet money to the companies. They are an interesting mix, of which we have seen too little to know how to be handled.

Switzerland is in a neutral, safe position. By safe I mean not attackable position but from which it can control. It still “holds Europe’s money”, makes the best clocks, watches and the greatest chocolate. In terms of education it would be recommended for those that would like to take up science or go to a vocational school.

In the end there’s a risky option and a safe one, none of them being spectacular to you.

There are two more persons in your group that wouldn’t pick one of these two countries, because they have already chosen something else. The have chosen the United States of America. A glowing flower and clearly a rotten root. It still is politically correct from every aspect, but you can just tell something is not right in the picture.

Having so many options. Seeing so many routes. Hearing so many stories. Reading so many articles. What should you do?

How about picture your Europe in 50 years ? And then, put “you” at your current age “there”. How is it like? How do you feel about it? Is it politically correct? Is it socially right? Is the economy well? Will it last another 50 years?

After all the above have been answered, tell me: do you know what you have just looked at?