Student participants negotiating as Heads of Government
On this Flashback Friday, we celebrate the exciting and thought-provoking 2019 West Coast Model EU event organized by the University of Washington’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence with the generous support of the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Programme. Joao Rodrigues, the senior legal advisor from the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C., launched the event with his keynote speech on Friday evening. In his talk, Mr. Rodrigues discussed many topical issues affecting the European Union, including its relations with the United States under the Trump Administration. Of particular interest was the topic of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as California and Washington State are considering similar legislation modeled on that of the EU. Student participants had the opportunity to engage with Mr. Rodrigues directly through a Q & A session, where he shared personal insights into his role as a legal advisor and his thoughts on the importance and role of the European Union. On Saturday former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Mark Gitenstein (2009-2012) gave the Diplomat’s Address at a special luncheon for student participants and attending professors. Mr. Gitenstein provided insight into the role and duties of an ambassador and discussed Romania’s membership in the European Union, which was of particular importance during the first half of 2019 when Romania held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Joao Rodrigues discussing the European Union’s relations with the United States.
Besides the noteworthy guest speakers, what made Model EU especially engaging this year was the impressive level of talent, knowledge, and dedication the student participants brought to the event. Undergraduate students from numerous U.S. and Canadian universities – including the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, Bellevue College, Brigham Young University, San Francisco State University, Lewis-Clark State College, Scripps College, the University of Utah, Western Washington University, the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia – engaged in negotiations as either Heads of Government or Energy Ministers, each representing different European Union member states. EU member states represented this year included: Poland, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary, France, plus many more! Student Heads of government negotiated the critical topic of EU immigration, providing critiques and proposing solutions. Student Energy Ministers took up negotiations on another topic of great significance, EU energy supply and energy resource dependence.
Ambassador Gitenstein leading a Q&A session with participants.
All the student participants did an absolutely phenomenal job and all the negotiation awards were well deserved. Awarded students hailed from Brigham Young University, University of Oregon, University of Utah, Lewis-Clark State College, San Francisco University, University of Washington, and University of Victoria in Canada. UW student Danielle Carrasquero, representing Greece, received an award for Outstanding Head of Government.
The 2020 West Coast Model European Union event will take place at the University of Washington on March 6-7, 2020.
More pictures from Model EU:
Our University of Washington team!
Negotiations with Heads of Government
Negotiations with Energy Ministers
Awards Ceremony
