Jean Monnet Project 06-07

During the academic year 2006-07 in the region of 210 students participated directly in the Jean Monnet Project with a further 150 attending the main activity of the project – the annual Jean Monnet debate. This year the main Jean Monnet event took place on 16th November 2006. This was organised in conjunction with the European Commission in Dublin and it involved a student led debate between students from ITT and University of Limerick. The guest speaker for the evening was former Irish Times Washington correspondent Mr. Joe Walshe. An expert on Irish Foreign Policy, his speech focused on the impact of EU membership for Ireland’s policy of neutrality.

The event was hailed as a great success; Mr Harry O’Connor complimented the staff of ITT for the excellent organisation of the event and for the enthusiasm which the debate generated between the competing colleges. The happy outcome for the participating teams from ITT and UL was the opportunity to travel to Brussels to visit the European Commission and the European Parliament. This visit took place over a three day period at the end of March 2007. A group of 8 students and staff travelled from IT Tralee and 3 students from the University of Limerick. The group attended the European Parliament for its Plenary Session where they had the opportunity to listen to a speech delivered by Mr. Javier Solana, the High Representative for CFSP. They also met local MEP Mr. Brian Crowley. The other organised sessions included “An Introduction to the European Union” ( Mr. Harry O’Connor); “Ireland in the EU” (COREPER); “Lobbying in the European Union” ( Ms Barbara Wynne, IBEC). It was a wonderful learning experience for all and one which I hope will be repeated in the not too distant future. I include a piece written by one of the students which clearly highlights the importance of such trips from a student perspective.

Other events organised in the context of the Jean Monnet project included:

· Visit of MEP Kathy Sinnott in conjunction with the European Movement Ireland in December 2006

· Visiting Lecturer from Belgium, February 2007

· Visiting Speaker from Kerry County Council Arts Office, March 2007. Ms Kate Kennelly spoke to students of the Folk Theatre Studies degree about an EU sponsored project entitled “Arts in Adult Education”. This project is sponsored by the EU’s Socrates II programme ‘Grundtvig 2’ and its involves four EU partners, Ireland, Czech Republic, Greece and Hungary.