(07 May 2014) – The European Parliament has posted a fun app showing several items that have had an impact on the lives of European citizens since 1979.
1979 was the year when mobile phones were still an exotic feature on Star Trek and going to another EU country involved waiting for hours at the border. The app demonstrates what has changed since the year when the first European elections took place, and how the EP has helped to make a difference.
Looking like the configurator of a well known Swedish furniture store, the “EU time machine” is shaped as an apartment as it would have been 35 years ago. By entering it, you are given a (rather limited) tour and by clicking on different everyday objects in the room, you find out about relevant developments since 1979, such as the euro, passport-free travel and data protection.
The app, available in 24 languages, can be accessed online. It is shareable and embeddable.