Colgate students visit Antwerp, Belgium for EuroSim
On Sunday, January 3, I arrived in Antwerp, Belgium with nine Colgate students for the 29th International EuroSim conference. The conference is a simulation of European Union decision-making, and is organized by the Trans-Atlantic Consortium for European Union Studies and Simulations (TACEUSS). This year the University of Antwerp is hosting EuroSim.
Approximately 200 students from 18 U.S. and European universities will simulate the decision-making of all European Union governing bodies. The topic this year cannot be timelier – EU asylum and refugee policy. EU member states struggle to find a solution as hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa seek protection in Europe. While at EuroSim, students will work on revising the Dublin regulation, the EU law that determines what member state is responsible for evaluating asylum applications under the Geneva Convention. The Colgate delegation will represent the governments of Poland and Estonia, two European Parliament members from Germany and Sweden, and a German journalist.
The conference kicked off on Monday with a visit to the European Union Parliament in Brussels, and opening remarks by Mrs. Patricia Van de Peer, Senior Official at the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Look for more photos and updates from us in the next few days.
The off-campus trip is generously supported by the Department of Political Science, the Center for Freedom and Western Civilizations, the Dean of Faculty and Provost, the Dean of the College, the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Engagement, the Division of Social Sciences, the Center for Learning, Teaching and Research, and the Office of Equity and Diversity.
Ralitsa Donkova is a visiting professor of Political Science.