North Carolina - Sweden

Our third Bridge the Pond brought together high school students from North Carolina, United States and Gothenburg, Sweden.

On May 7, 2021 the Tuscola High School and Hvitfeldtska Gymnasium students met for the first time and kicked off their collaboration with 4300 miles in between. Over the course of the program, the students met in a series of transatlantic groups to discuss equality and the right not to be discriminated in matters of gender, age, origin, every person's right to make their voice heard, and the right to equal education.

Under the guidance of their teachers, students delivered five different presentations with policy recommendations on how to tackle equality across the Pond and make our socities more inclusive.

On May 28th, 2021 the students from North Carolina and Sweden met with a legislator from the European Union and diplomats from the United States and Sweden to present their final work. Swedish Member of the European Parliament, Evin Incir, US diplomat Joseph Lin, and Swedish diplomat Peter Kvist participated, listened to the presentations, and actively engaged with the students.

In the first part of the event, MEP Incir listened to the presentations of the students and expressed her opinions and points of views on the issues touched upon and the solutions proposed by the students. There is still a lot of work to do to make our societies more inclusive and end all forms of discrimination. It is great to see what the young generation proposes. 

In the second part of the event, US diplomat Joseph Lin and Swedish diplomat Peter Kvist interacted with the students and related their research with the diplomatic work they carry out on a daily basis across the Pond. Impressed by the students' presentations, the diplomats congratulated them for the great work and invited them to seriously consider a career in diplomacy or as citizens' representatives.

Other guests included civil servants from the European Parliament Office in Washington DC and Sweden.

A special thank you to the fantastic teachers Erica Smiley, Magnus Myssling, and Susanne Fagerstroem from North Carolina and Sweden who ultimately made this event possible.

Emilia Sergi, student at Jan Eliasson’s international profile at Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet/Hvitfeldtska upper secondary school, shared with us her thoughts and reflections on Bridge the Pond. Click on the link below to find out more.