FOUR BUSY DAYS IN BRUSSELS: RBC ONCE AGAIN TAKES PART IN THE JEAN MONNET & ERASMUS+ PROJECT
Written by student Vivi Engebrigtsen (RBC 2023-25)
Since 2022, the Erasmus+-supported Jean Monnet Network has worked to bring students at
International Baccalaureate schools into the European loop through educational field trips and
projects focusing on the EU. Following last year’s successful first trip, RBC once again sent a
student and staff delegation to Brussels in March this year.
The students were chosen from our Model United Nations CAS members that have spent their
CAS time delving into the structures and functions of the UN. The Jean Monnet project
offered them the opportunity to explore central international institutions and deepen their
understanding. Alongside delegations from four other IB schools – among them two UWCs –
the students met with representatives from several EU bodies and delegations, NATO, and the
media network Euractiv. It amounted to four intense days, leaving our students with plenty of
new knowledge and enthusiasm for international and European collaboration.
Below, our students Béla and Vivi have summed up their engaging and sunny days in bustling Brussels.
“This trip to Brussels was a great opportunity to see politics in action. For a week, we
engaged in exploring the institutions of the European Union and learned about its functions.
We talked to parties closely involved in the legislative process and became a little clearer
about how the EU as a transnational democracy works. In our conversations with EU
representatives as well as in our MUN-style debate on the EU AI Act, I was particularly
interested in the tension between the national interests of member states and finding a
common European consensus. For me as a UWC student and European citizen, the EU is a
role model for implementing the values and mission of UWC in the world. It is central to
European understanding and a bastion for peace in Europe. Therefore, I am very thankful that
I had the chance to be part of this trip.”
(Béla, Germany, RBC 2023-25)
“Participating in this Erasmus+ project has been an incredibly thrilling and enlightening
experience for me. Through compelling discussions and Q&A sessions with individuals
involved in crucial decision-making processes in the EU and NATO, I gained a deeper insight
into the functions of these organizations and their impact on my life. The trip also provided
the unique opportunity to discuss and connect with brilliant and engaged students from other
UWC and international schools. In times of great challenges both globally and within the EU,
this served as a powerful and inspiring reminder of the importance of cross-border
cooperation, youth engagement, and citizen insight and participation in the EU structures. All
of these are embodied by this project, which I am thankful to have participated in.”
(Vivi, Norway, RBC 2023-25)
