Bienvenue à Bruxelles!

Posted by Nessa Kenny

Brussels, a city of just over a million people, is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union. The city is our home base for the trip, and we will be there from the 15^th to the 21^st of February, save a day in The Hague and a day in Bruges.

Brussels is primarily a French-speaking city, with French and Dutch as official languages. Founded in the 10^th century, the city is vibrant. Its history is reflected in the picturesque architecture, boulevards, and monuments that can be seen at every turn. La Grande Place, the town square, is the heart of Brussels, and is surrounded by beautiful medieval guild houses. The city is home to some 80 museums, including the Royal Museum of Fine Art. Brussels has been home to many eminent people, such as Karl Marx, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas, all who resided in the city while politically exiled from their home nations. Brussels was also the home city of Hergé, the author of The Adventures of Tintin!

La Grande Place

Since World War Two, Brussels has been an important element of the international landscape, as it is the administrative centre for many organizations. Thus, Brussels is the perfect city in which to study global governance. During our visit we will be visiting the European Union which established many institutions in Brussels in 1958 and has subsequently expanded its presence in the city. EU institutions located in Brussels include the European Commission, a seat of the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union. We will also be visiting NATO, which established its presence in Brussels in 1967. Please see the posts regarding each body for more information. All in all, Brussels is truly a magnificent city, perfectly fitting to be our home base for this trip.

Landed in Paris! Everyone safe!

Hey everyone,

Just an update that we arrived in Paris safely and are now waiting to  take a TGV to Brussels. Our flight was delayed due to a transient western wind, so we barely missed our scheduled train! However, there has been a tragic accident on the rail lines in the Benelux region. We are not sure about the status of the rail lines and there have been rumours that the lines have been shut down. We will keep the blog updated as we recieve further news.

What a start to the trip! Hopefully we will be eating frites and moules later today.

Cheers,

Jake

‘Twas the night before leaving…

Posted by Jake Brockman

Hey everyone,

I just thought I would stop in with some of my last-minute thoughts before our departure tomorrow! It is hard to believe that what started as a passing comment at the end of a class in October has become this amazing trip that we are about to leave on. From the moment that we started planning, this trip has been fueled by the passion of my friends, the 09-10 Trinity One IR class.  I am honoured to be a part of this group and am really excited to be taking my first trip to Europe with all of them.  To our mentors, Profs. Kislenko and Tieku, thank you for planting this idea inside of all of us and helping us to bring it to fruition. To Prof. Allen, Dean of Arts at Trinity College and the undisputed #1 fan of this trip, thank you for being the voice of reason and helping us through every step of this journey. And most importantly, thank you to the smarter, better looking and more organized brother that I never had: Johnny Henderson has poured his heart into this trip and we are all grateful for his incredible work.

So, in less than 24 hours we are leaving! I am sure that the trip will fly by and seem like a blur.  Thanks for reading this blog and come back soon, because we are going to be posting frequently from Europe! I’ll be sure to check in everyday with an update (and maybe some pictures, too). I personally can’t wait for my first taste of fries and mussels, a Brussels speciality.

Take care, and I’ll be sure to blog soon!

Jake

Schedule Preview

Posted by Johnny Henderson and Jake Brockman

With eight days until departure, the class of Trinity One’s International Relations stream is very excited about its upcoming trip to Brussels, Bruges and The Hague!  We wanted to give everyone a general overview of the people and places we’ll be visiting in Europe, so below we’ve included a list of the institutions we will be visiting and some of the individuals with whom we will be meeting.

• Monday, February 15 (Brussels, Belgium)
  • Mission of Canada to the EU
    • Mrs. Tamara Mawhinney (Head of the Political Section)
    • Mrs. Cathy Dickson (Head of the Trade Section)

• Tuesday, February 16 (Bruges, Belgium)
  • United Nations University – Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)
    • Dr. Philippe De Lombaerde (Associate Director, UNU-CRIS)

• Wednesday, February 17 (Brussels, Belgium)
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Headquarters
    • Ambassador Robert McRae (Canada’s Permanent Representative to NATO)
    • Ms. Isabelle Poupart (Counselor and Head of Political Section, Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO)

• Thursday, February 18 (The Hague, The Netherlands)
  • International Criminal Court
  • International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
    • Ms. Lada Soljan
    • Ms. April Carter
  • Permanent Court of Arbitration
    • Ms. Heather Clark

• Friday, February 19 (Brussels, Belgium)
  • European Parliament
    • Ms. Morag Donaldson
  • European Commission
    • Mrs. Erika Zuderell
    • Mr. Frederick Lamberty
  • European Council
    • Mr. Alexis Loeber
    • Mr. Didier Cosse

Blog Launched!

Posted by Johnny Henderson

Welcome to the web presence of the Trinity One: Brussels 2010 trip!

This blog will be used to document the exploration of international institutions and their roles in regional and global governance by the class of TRN151: “Global Governance” in the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Programme at Trinity College in the University of Toronto as they travel to Brussels, Bruges and The Hague in February 2010.  This trip was made possible by the University of Toronto and its Internationalized Course Module programme.  For more information about the trip, Trinity One and the class, please visit the About page (click here).

The class will be meeting with representatives from international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), European Council, European Parliament, European Commission, International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  The class will also be meeting with experts in the fields of international relations, regional governance and global governance at the United Nations University – Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) and the European Policy Centre (EPC).