The annual training programme

What is the annual training programme?

The Académie Notre Europe offers a free annual training course in European citizenship. Each class welcomes around a hundred young people, aged between 18 to 30, from all backgrounds. The course includes nine monthly thematic sessions – including one in Brussels – including debates, workshops and simulation games, in the presence of decision-makers and experts in European construction. In order to allow young people residing outside Ile-de-France to participate in this course, a remote monitoring option in “conference cycle” format has been offered since 2021, according to adapted methods.

Key figures

9
monthly sessions
+100
participants per academic year
+20
nationalities per academic year
+700
Alumni

Who can join the annual programme?

The annual programme is open to all young people aged between 18 and 30, with no requirements regarding qualifications or prior knowledge of the European Union. Delivered in French, it brings together around a hundred participants each year from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life: students, interns and young professionals from a range of countries. The diversity of their backgrounds and experiences is a real asset to the cohort and encourages discussion and the exchange of different perspectives. For example, 24 nationalities are represented in the 2026–2027 cohort.

Knowledge, skills, European citizenship

The Academy’s annual programme is based on three complementary pillars: the acquisition of knowledge, the development of skills and fostering an awareness of European citizenship. This three-pronged approach forms part of the four dimensions of learning that underpin our educational project: learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together.

From October to June, the young people meet one Friday a month in Paris for a day devoted to learning and discussion, alternating between meetings with experts, debates, group projects and simulation games. Each session focuses on a specific theme, enabling participants to develop both a theoretical and practical understanding of the European Union, whilst exploring the major issues shaping the European project.

Throughout these sessions, the Academy’s members compare their viewpoints, collectively build their understanding of Europe and acquire the skills needed to become informed, active and engaged European citizens.

European construction by decision-makers and experts

In order to better understand how Europe was built yesterday and how it is being built today, this course proposed by the Académie is marked by meetings with actors in European construction from the Jacques Delors Institute network and ready to exchange with members of the Académie. These exchanges allow young people to perfect their knowledge of the EU, its functioning and its policies; assert themselves as European citizens; and nourish their professional projects.

Field meetings

Discovering Europe as it is also means experiencing it on the ground. It is through an off-site session that the Académie invites us to better understand how Europe is experienced today. A true citizen Erasmus who has already taken young people from the Académie to Berlin, Brussels, Rome and Strasbourg. The trip is reserved for participants following face-to-face training.

Alumni Association

Over the academic year, the participants build strong bonds with their classmates. Young people who wish to extend their experience after the end of the academic year can join the Académie Notre Europe Alumni Association, created in 2019. The Association’s mission is to develop and maintain a network of former participants in the Academy’s annual course and to enable those who wish to continue their civic engagement in the service of the EU. The Association, chaired by Michael Galeano, carries out numerous activities each year, including afterworks, webinars, events, and trips to European institutions, among others.