Book Launch: ‘Discover the European Union with Leo and Myra’

The third publication by Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta and Europe Direct Valletta

The new book for children is the third publication by Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta and Europe Direct Valletta to increase knowledge and awareness on the European Union to students.

On December 6, the new activity book ‘Discover the European Union with Leo and Myra’ was launched during an event with the participation of Year 4 students from Paola Primary School, representing the age for which the book is addressed.

The event started off with an introduction by Mandy Falzon, the CEO of SEM, who gave a short explanation of what the European Union is, and an overview on the development and purpose of this activity book to the children present, while thanking all those involved in the creation of this book.

This was then followed by an activity with children led by Joe Sciberras, Head of Communications & Outreach at SEM who developed a discussion through a sticker activity in the book, bringing out the message that while the European Union is made up of 27 different countries, they are all equal and united in their diversity.

The Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, Dr Chris Bonett, then followed up to this activity with a discussion with the children on EU funds. Dr Bonett explained how it is also necessary that all EU countries come together to decide how the EU’s money should be spent among them. In this regard, he gave a number of examples of how EU funds are spent both in Malta and in other Member States, such as in hospitals, schools, and towards a better environment. On the environment, Dr Bonett presented practical examples to the children including the investment in recycling facilities, energy generation from waste, electric cars, less deforestation, and more investments in digitalisation such as through tablets distributed in schools.

Through this activity book, young children can explore the European Union by learning and playing different activities with Leo and Myra. The book is full of colourful illustrations by Matt Stroud, which have been developed to give an attractive and interesting overview of the European Union to children. The content of the book, developed by SEM and Europe Direct Valletta, explores the EU countries, the motto, the flag, the anthem, the languages, the currency, the values, and Malta in the EU, among other topics.

The book has been distributed to Year 4 students in all schools in Malta and Gozo and can be downloaded from here.

Should you wish to have a hardcopy of the book, contact Europe Direct Valletta on 2779 7320, or via email on edvalletta.sem@gov.mt.