MEU Mainz & Brussels Study Tour 2023 Blog Post
Madison Swain
This summer, I was privileged with the opportunity to travel to Brussels, Belgium, the heart of the European Union, and Mainz, Germany where I participated as a member of the UNC delegation in the Mainz Model European Union conference held at Johannes Gutenberg University.
While traveling in Brussels, our group toured the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. We were given the opportunity to speak with several EU officials and hear about their role within the EU. I experienced Brussels culture by exploring the Old Town, visiting various city parks, and tasting Belgian waffles. The Brussels visit laid a useful foundation about the workings of the EU which I was able to put into practice in the days following.
After our study tour of Brussels, our group traveled to Mainz, Germany, which showed a change in pace compared to the capital city of Brussels. In Mainz, two other delegates and I represented The Greens Party in the European Parliament during the conference. We worked together to push for our party’s priorities while debating the Social Climate Fund and the rights belonging to platform workers. As a participant in the European Parliament, the simulation was structured differently than the previous conference I attended, where parties debated edits to pre-existing briefs instead of drafting resolutions from scratch. This allowed for debates to range from major additions to the document to syntax and sentence structure. I enjoyed the experience of parties coming together to polish plans to solve issue topics, while also adding creative ideas to the resolutions.
The Mainz conference was built on community, the sessions were often relaxed offering more collaboration among delegates and planned social events encouraged me to get to know the other delegates and realize the many nuances between European and American cultures. The study tour and conference enriched my understanding of European politics, providing me with first-hand experience in diplomacy and the opportunity to visit the spaces where real diplomacy takes place.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of UNC, Pitt, and FIU, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
