On Wednesday the 28th of March 2007,I had the privilege of travelling to Brussels with a group from I.T. Tralee and UL to further our education about the EU. As part of my B.A in Folk Theatre Studies,I must study EU Arts Policy for one semester. The objective of this module is to give students an understanding into how the EU promotes cultural inclusion and social cohesion through the Arts.
This trip offered all candidates an inside view into how each segment of the EU runs. On our first day we were offered the opportunity to sit in the VIP gallery of the European Parliament for a plenary session. Here we witnessed Mr. Solana the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy discuss, among many other issues, the deployment of anti-missile defence systems in Europe by the United States. The whole process was over-whelming, from the high-tech security procedures to enter the Parliament, to the actual building, complete with the many interpreter boxes, highlighting to us the complexity and linguistic diversity of the European Union.
The remainder of the trip was just as exhilarating with an informed discussion from Brian Glynn,(COREPER) on the impact European integration has had for Ireland. Our second day, now feeling very much an European citizen, we were escorted to the D.G for Culture and Education, where Harry O’Connor, from the EU Commission's representation in Ireland, provided us with a very comprehensive introduction to the European Union and its policies, this discussion however turned into somewhat of a debate. Ms.Barbara Wynne IBEC, introduced to us to the intriguing process of lobbying in the European Union.
The trip was a rollercoaster of education and learning, however us girls did make time for some retail therapy and sight seeing!! We all reluctantly returned to Kerry on the 31st of March after much pampering, wining and dining all thanks to the EU. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the European Commission in Dublin for affording ITT and UL students a unique opportunity to visit the headquarters of the EU in Brussels.
Sarah Walshe,
Folk Theatre Studies – Year 4
Institute of Technology,
Tralee,
Co.Kerry
No comments:
Post a Comment