On 9 May 2017, the European School Copenhagen marked Europe Day with class room as well as shared events and activities designed to teach the children about Europe and the European Union.
During assembly, the children heard how Europe is believed to be named after Princess Europa, an important character in ancient Greek mythology. The children listened attentively to the myth about Zeus and his infatuation with Europa, who was the daughter of a Phoenician king.
Some of the children presented facts about the European Union and showed off posters they had made with the flags of the member states, pictures of the Euro currency and many other EU specific information and symbols. The children were particularly fascinated with Euro coins as they feature an EU symbol on one side and a national symbol on the other. The children also learned the words for Europe in the many languages spoken within the EU.
The European Union marks Europe Day every year to celebrate the anniversary of the ’Schuman declaration’. On 9 May 1950, just five years after WW2, the French foreign minister Robert Schuman declared his vision for political cooperation, prosperity and peace in Europe during a speech in Paris. His idea was to establish a European institution and common market for steel and coal production, essentially creating the forerunner of what is now the European Union.