Diving into the world of European Politics: Jean Monnet Erasmus+

An article written by our student Juli Janitz (RBC 2024-26)

From the 17th to the 21st of March, six students from RBC were given the opportunity to participate in the “JMO Project” (Jean Monnet Erasmus +) and dive into the world of European politics. Two second-year MUN CAS leaders and four first-year members were accompanied by Malcolm McLaren, one of our English and History teachers. Alongside four partner schools, including UWC Maastricht and Adriatic, our students started their excursion with a visit to the UWC campus in Maastricht. They took part in various workshops focused on the EU’s external role in times of crisis, which were then followed by a typical Model United Nations debate on the topic of climate change induced migration to the EU.

In Brussels, our students were able to visit the European Parliament, House of European History and explore the city center. One of their highlights was a tour of the NATO headquarters, where they engaged in dialogues and discussions with NATO representatives. The days were filled with numerous interactions with organizations like “Euractiv” and “JEF Europe”, each of them opening different perspectives. While the trip was mainly focused on the history, structure and function of the EU, it was also a great opportunity to share viewpoints while getting to know students from other UWCs and international schools.