Lena Düpont spent a few weeks in the Czech Republic in 2004 with a student program. She still remembers the atmosphere shortly after the country joined the EU. „On the ground, we discussed a lot about what it meant for people to become part of a community that I took for granted.“ Her time in the Czech Republic, she says, was instrumental in politicizing Düpont at the time – she recognized the value of the European Union in terms of peace, freedom and stability.