Mr President,
We are young citizens of Europe and we care what kind of Europe we live in.
There is so much we want to learn, experience and accomplish, but our hopes and dreams can only come true if life in Europe is secure.
In our opinion, the cause of all military conflicts, and indeed of terror, is a conflict of interests, ignorance of other cultures and inability to hear and understand each other. We will never be enemies if we have common economic interests and close cultural ties.
Therefore we ask you to contribute to the economic and cultural rapprochement of Russia, France and other countries, and to support all the joint economic and cultural projects which strengthen our unity and mutual understanding.
Being aware of their responsibility for the thoughts of many people, the media should also promote the ideas of unity, tolerance and openness.
We think it would be useful if the history and culture of other countries and the common tenets of all the world religions are studied in school.
We are worried by the fact that the number of people who study French is decreasing in Russia and that only a few young French people know Russian. This makes economic cooperation more difficult and threatens the centuries-old cultural ties between our countries. We urge you to contribute to the spread of the Russian language in France and the French language in Russia, and we would like to draw your attention to the lack of modern manuals of Russian and French at affordable prices.
We want to meet more often, to study and work together. We want to be friends. That is why it is so important to remove all the barriers of free communication among young people: to simplifyvisa regulations and make transport fares and the tariffs of modern communication means – the Internet and telephone – affordable for everyone.
We also propose creating a Russian-French Youth Exchange Service to organise studies, internships and visits for all students who wish to take these trips. We are ready, along with adult specialists, to work on this service.
We are going to live a long time and remain as healthy and handsome as we are today. We don’t want to breathe polluted air and learn only from books that there was a time when rivers were blue and clear. Man must stop fighting nature and at long last learn to live in peace and harmony with it. What shall we do when the reserves of oil and gas run out? Cut down the remaining forests? And then what?
We ask you to create conditions for the development of the market of green energy and to pursue developments in this area and to make their introduction attractive for private investors. The consumers of green energy must enjoy tax benefits.
We don’t like the fact that Europe is becoming one of the biggest producers of waste on Earth. We suggest that Russia, France and other countries pool their efforts to solve that problem. For instance, is it so hard to sort household rubbish? We are ready to do it.
We spend many years in school and our experience has turned us into experts on education.
We are sure that lessons can and must be interesting. Every modern classroom must have the Internet and video, and the number of students in a class should not be more than 20 because otherwise the teacher cannot give enough attention to each individual.
Besides, schools must have a system of optional classes so that every student could develop his/her individual talents.
We think it is unfair that good education more and more often costs a lot of money. We suggest that every willing and capable student should be able, regardless of the economic status of his family, to secure admission, through a contest, to any school or university and receive financial support from the state.
We do not understand why a distinction is often drawn between young people and adults. It is a good thing that there are youth clubs and leisure centres, but we propose to create joint leisure centres for both young people and adults where they could communicate informally as equals and pursue interesting activities together with our parents, teachers and other adults. Both young people and adults need that.
We are full of strength and energy. We want the people who take decisions about the future of Europe, our future and our life, the adults, to hear our voices too. That is why we propose to establish a permanent European Youth Council in which young people would be able to express their opinions on key issues of our time and thus help solve them.
We want Russia and France to do everything possible for our home in which we will be happy. And we are ready together with the adults, together with you, Mr President, to work towards a united Europe.