Day 1: Listening to renowned speakers at the European Parliament.
Day 2: NATO Headquarters after receiving four briefings from U.S. Diplomats and other officials.
Day 2: Visiting the Human Rights Watch.
Day 4: At the Global Governance Institute.
Enjoy the first of our three-part series on °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ's inaugural Faculty Led Study Away program, Diplomacy and Human Rights in the Mediterranean, led by Mietek BoduszyÅ„ski, associate professor of politics.
Fourteen Pomona and other Claremont Colleges students are on their way back today after journeying through Belgium and Morocco as participants in the College’s inaugural Faculty Led Study Away (FLSA) program. Announced by President G. Gabrielle Starr in late February this year, the new FSLA programs are an exciting extension of °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ’s steadfast commitment to global education and learning. In this first trip, Politics Professor and former U.S. diplomat Mietek BoduszyÅ„ski is piloting this group of future global leaders as they explore first-hand how human rights are incorporated into diplomatic policy and practice. , a credit-bearing immersive program, combines traditional classroom coursework with onsite experiential learning.
After completing pre-travel coursework, Prof. Boduszyński and his students began the first leg of this rich and transformative adventure May 26 in Brussels, Belgium, which is considered the capital of the European Union. Below, he recounts their daily activities while in Brussels.
May 26, 2024: Day 1
We kicked off the trip with a walking tour of Brussels, designed to introduce them to the city—an epicenter of international diplomacy. We went on to the European Parliament, where the students learned about the structure and competencies of the EU’s legislature. Finally, we toured the Parlamentarium, a wonderful interactive museum devoted to the EU Parliament’s work. And of course, we couldn’t miss a photo at the Manneken-Pis, a symbol of the rebellious spirit of Brussels.
May 27, 2024: Day 2
We started our day at NATO Headquarters, where our scholars learned about NATO’s role as a community of values, including topics such as women, peace, security and civilian protection. In the afternoon, we spent nearly three hours at Human Rights Watch, where we heard from staff, responsible for the Middle East and North Africa, about how NGOs pursue advocacy while learning about the tools the EU has at its disposal to promote human rights and democracy.
May 28, 2024: Day 3
As the skies cleared over Brussels, we headed to the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU. There, our students heard from officials working on agricultural policy and, notably, for our course, those responsible for policy in North Africa and Morocco.
May 29, 2024: Day 4
We availed ourselves of the excellent facilities of the Global Governance Institute (GGI), a think-tank which brings together policymakers, scholars and practitioners from the world’s leading institutions to devise policy solutions to the world’s leading challenges. We had conversations with several experts at GGI, but one overarching goal was to understand how think-tanks contribute to the policy debate in the European Union and beyond. Our students were offered a critical perspective on EU human rights diplomacy, highlighting the gap between goals, values and norms on one hand and (lack of) action on the other.
May 30, 2024: Day 5
We wrapped up our last day of programming in Brussels today with five hours of briefings at the European External Action Service (EEAS), the diplomatic arm of an emerging EU foreign and defense policy. The students handled the long day like real diplomatic pros, participating and asking questions throughout. The students pressed the migration official on what they had heard from academic experts at GGI yesterday—especially about the gap between legal frameworks and norms on one hand and enforcement and accountability on the other. This is exactly how pedagogy is supposed to work. Tomorrow, the students have a well-deserved free day to discover Brussels, and in the evening, we fly to Marrakesh!
The FLSA program is made possible thanks to the generosity of Sagehen donors. This exciting new program exemplifies how °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ continues to grow its interdisciplinary teaching and learning and offer students transformative perspectives and experiences in ways that reach beyond borders and equip them for becoming global partners and leaders.
Check back next week for part two of our story covering the Morocco visit and more entries from Prof. Boduszyński's travel journal.