P.E.E.P—The Pan-European Educational Project
PEEP projects consist of international exchanges and conferences centered on culture, history, and science topics that encourage students to collaborate with like-minded individuals across Europe. On top of facilitating European integration and tolerance, students deepen their intellectual knowledge and critical thinking skills while improving their ability to learn, speak, and present in English.
This school year, 2023/2024, our school had the privilege of hosting a PEEP conference where we combined the theme of history, democracy, and the media. Lucas Sprouse and Anna Cifrova led the conference in which students from Athens, Bucharest, Prague, and Bratislava presented on key moments in their country’s democratic development. These presentations led to meaningful discussion and were followed by a workshop on critical thinking before we welcomed famous Slovak journalists Zuzana Kovacic Hanzelova of SME, an independent, reputable newspaper. Mrs. Hanzelova answered all our students questions and explained the problems that journalists face in these trying times.
The final part of our conference this year included writing members of the European Parliament in hopes of encouraging freedom of the press, particularly for those who are investigating corruption or politics. As US President Thomas Jefferson said: “When the press is free and every person able to read, all is safe.”
A LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
PRESENTATION SPACE (a short film)