Monday, July 11, 2011
The Fusion of the Two Organizations
La Maison de l'Europe de Lyon et du Rhone has been combined with the organization l'Europe Direct as of this morning and we are assisting them in going through the materials of La Maison de l'Europe and getting rid of any redundant materials to make space for the materials that we don't have that l'Europe Direct has, and vice versa. I doubt that we (interns) will still be here by the time they finish as we are leaving soon, this Wednesay the 13th. It's a big project, though not academic per say.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Vote to Unite Organizations
La Maison de l'Europe and L'Europe Direct came together to hold a vote between their two governing bodies as to whether or not they would come together and become one organization under La Maison de L'Europe, thus increasing the role La Maison de l'Europe de Lyon et du Rhone plays in Lyon.
I was involved in signing in the members of the governing council who were to vote in the matter and to make sure that at least a majority of the members were in attendance to vote on the matter. In the end there was not enough members representing the La Maison de l'Europe de Lyon et du Rhone to carry on with the vote, which was upsetting to those in attendance.
However, even though the vote never took place, there was still an amazing buffet that was to be had at the end of the session, and that still took place :) C’était magnifique!
I was involved in signing in the members of the governing council who were to vote in the matter and to make sure that at least a majority of the members were in attendance to vote on the matter. In the end there was not enough members representing the La Maison de l'Europe de Lyon et du Rhone to carry on with the vote, which was upsetting to those in attendance.
However, even though the vote never took place, there was still an amazing buffet that was to be had at the end of the session, and that still took place :) C’était magnifique!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
La présentation sur "La Turquie"
What I concluded is that Turkey should neither join the European Union, nor become official members of the Arab League or any other union or league in the world, but rather act as the official porte-parole between these two worlds of the East and West. The moment Turkey "picks a side", it instantly distances itself from the other. Turkey's geopolitical position is an incredible asset that it should capitalize on. No other country comes to mind that has such a valuable position on the world stage in mediating between the East and West as Turkey has the potential to do. Much in the same way Switzerland has been able to achieve its status as a center of world affairs, Turkey also could develop such a role. However, Turkey would also need to follow Switzerland's example and become a champion of Human Rights, and until it does that, it can not be as credible and effective a mediator as it needs to be.
This conclusion and other supporting and related information will be presented in my research report.
Major Events Up Till Now
*This is a brief review of the major activities of the internship hosted by La Maison de l'Europe until present.
Printemps de l'Europe
Printemps de l'Europe
The very first activity we went to was the presentation of the events that were to take place in the coming year hosted by the local government that showcase european diversity. Their theme, uni dans la diversity, was exemplified in presentations in all major European Union Languages. As for the presentations themselves, they were rather boring, but hearing all the different languages was interesting.
Soiree de Franz Listz
This evening consisted of a night of musical history surrounding Franz Listz and his major compositions. The point of the event was to show case a historically influencial European in an ongoing series of events hosted by La Maison de l'Europe.
Salon des Artists Europeans du 18eme siècle
A less significant yet interesting activity was that of the exposition on 18th century European artists. I went to participate with another intern at the exposition and ended up being able to walk through and explore the artwork myself before we got started. It was all very different, not one style, but rather a multiplicity of art styles, which was the goal of the exposition I think. What we were doing there was just welcoming people and distributing materials.
La fete consulaire
Thus far this has been the most interesting of the activities. This "Festival" included Tent stands from 70 countries including the United States. It started off with a speech by the Mayor of Lyon (interestingly, there are 9 sub-mayors of Lyon, one for each arrondissement, but only one who actually has power, so there are ten total), which was overshadowed by a protest just behind him. So that was exciting to watch. It was VERY cool to walk from country to country and explore the food, drinks, history, and geography at each stand. I was curious what would be offered for food or drink at the U.S. stand, and not surprisingly, they had Starbucks employees passing out espresso shots, at least it wasn't McDonalds. The country whose cuisine I enjoyed the most was that of Turkey (which I'm also writing my report on). Les feuilles de vine was my favorite, which consisted of rice wrapped in marinated leaves, so good. I also enjoyed getting familiar with many of the african countries geography and culture. Some of those countries I barely even recognized the name.
Since the festival was a two day affair I explored the other stands the first day, and maintained our La Maison de l'Europe stand the second day. While at our stand, I had the opportunity to interact with people all day long, answering their questions and learning a lot about their own organizations. It was about as ideal a cultural experience as one could ever hope for; very enriching.
Les Ports de L'Europe
This was a short presentation done by one of the members of La Maison de L'Europe gave a summary and explanation of the current usage and status of Europe's seaports and their security in our modern age of terrorism. He talked a lot about the northern european ports and less about the mediterranean ports. It was interesting and rather brief.
La maison de Hestia
This activity included a presentation by La Maison de l'Europe about the most commonly mistaken facts and statistics about the European Union to a Rehab center. It was really wonderful to interact with these people and to educate them about the land they live in and to spend time with them. In addition, they prepared an activity involving patisseries from different European countries that we had to identify and then ate. Sympa.
Soiree de Franz Listz
This evening consisted of a night of musical history surrounding Franz Listz and his major compositions. The point of the event was to show case a historically influencial European in an ongoing series of events hosted by La Maison de l'Europe.
Salon des Artists Europeans du 18eme siècle
A less significant yet interesting activity was that of the exposition on 18th century European artists. I went to participate with another intern at the exposition and ended up being able to walk through and explore the artwork myself before we got started. It was all very different, not one style, but rather a multiplicity of art styles, which was the goal of the exposition I think. What we were doing there was just welcoming people and distributing materials.
La fete consulaire
Thus far this has been the most interesting of the activities. This "Festival" included Tent stands from 70 countries including the United States. It started off with a speech by the Mayor of Lyon (interestingly, there are 9 sub-mayors of Lyon, one for each arrondissement, but only one who actually has power, so there are ten total), which was overshadowed by a protest just behind him. So that was exciting to watch. It was VERY cool to walk from country to country and explore the food, drinks, history, and geography at each stand. I was curious what would be offered for food or drink at the U.S. stand, and not surprisingly, they had Starbucks employees passing out espresso shots, at least it wasn't McDonalds. The country whose cuisine I enjoyed the most was that of Turkey (which I'm also writing my report on). Les feuilles de vine was my favorite, which consisted of rice wrapped in marinated leaves, so good. I also enjoyed getting familiar with many of the african countries geography and culture. Some of those countries I barely even recognized the name.
Since the festival was a two day affair I explored the other stands the first day, and maintained our La Maison de l'Europe stand the second day. While at our stand, I had the opportunity to interact with people all day long, answering their questions and learning a lot about their own organizations. It was about as ideal a cultural experience as one could ever hope for; very enriching.
Les Ports de L'Europe
This was a short presentation done by one of the members of La Maison de L'Europe gave a summary and explanation of the current usage and status of Europe's seaports and their security in our modern age of terrorism. He talked a lot about the northern european ports and less about the mediterranean ports. It was interesting and rather brief.
La maison de Hestia
This activity included a presentation by La Maison de l'Europe about the most commonly mistaken facts and statistics about the European Union to a Rehab center. It was really wonderful to interact with these people and to educate them about the land they live in and to spend time with them. In addition, they prepared an activity involving patisseries from different European countries that we had to identify and then ate. Sympa.
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