International Crisis Group (ICG)

20 June 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union Reading Time:  8 minutes

The International Crisis Group (ICG; also simply known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1995 that carries out field research on violent conflict and advances policies to prevent, mitigate or resolve conflict. It advocates policies directly with governments, multilateral organisations and other political actors as well as the media.   read more…

Theme Week Warsaw – College of Europe

1 September 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, House of the Month, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  10 minutes

College of Europe © Diderotresurrected/cc-by-sa-4.0

College of Europe © Diderotresurrected/cc-by-sa-4.0

The College of Europe (French: Collège d’Europe) is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1949 by such leading European figures and founding fathers of the European Union as Salvador de Madariaga, Winston Churchill, Paul-Henri Spaak and Alcide De Gasperi in the wake of the Hague Congress of 1948 to promote “a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding between all the nations of Western Europe and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values” and “to train an elite of young executives for Europe.” It has the status of “Institution of Public Interest”, operating according to Belgian law. Since 1993 the college has also had an additional smaller campus in Natolin in Poland. Students are usually selected in cooperation with their countries’ ministries of foreign affairs, and admission is highly competitive. The number of students each year used to be very low—for several decades less than 100—but has increased since the early 1990s. The College of Europe is bilingual, and students must be proficient in English and French. Students receive a master’s degree (formerly called Diploma and Certificat) following a one-year programme. Traditionally, students specialise in either European law, international economics (i.e., European economic studies), or European political and administrative studies; in recent years, additional programmes have been created.   read more…

Theme Week Brussels – Grand Place

22 April 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Museum of the City of Brussels © Paasikivi/cc-by-sa-3.0

Museum of the City of Brussels © Paasikivi/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by opulent guildhalls and two larger edifices, the city’s Town Hall, and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi, Dutch: Broodhuis) building containing the Museum of the City of Brussels. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 361 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. The Grand Place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. A survey by a Dutch website asked its users to rate different squares across Europe.   read more…

NASA and ESA

12 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

NASA

© nasa.gov

© nasa.gov

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA’s predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958.   read more…

Theme Week Brussels – Anderlecht

18 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Dapperheidsplein © Parsifall/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dapperheidsplein © Parsifall/cc-by-sa-3.0

Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region. There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.   read more…

Mechelen in Belgium

12 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Palace of the Great Council - the Belfry tower and the Laekenhall - today part of the Town Hall © Viktorhauk

Palace of the Great Council – the Belfry tower and the Laekenhall – today part of the Town Hall © Viktorhauk

Mechelen is a Dutch-speaking city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel (a few kilometers away), as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dijle flows through the city, hence the term ‘Dijlestad’ (“City on the river Dijle”).   read more…

Mons and Plzeň, European Capitals of Culture 2015

3 January 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  14 minutes

© rtbf.be

© rtbf.be


MONS

Mons is a Belgian city and municipality, and the capital of the province of Hainaut. Together with the Czech city of Plzeň, Mons will be the European Capital of Culture in 2015. The nearby village of Cuesmes is host to Vincent van Gogh‘s house.   read more…

Theme Week Brussels – House of European History

31 December 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  13 minutes

Eastman Building in 2012 © Agapolulu/cc-by-sa-3.0

Eastman Building in 2012 © Agapolulu/cc-by-sa-3.0

The House of European History is an initiative of the European Parliament. As a cultural institution and exhibition centre, the House of European History plans to marshal all available means to promote a better understanding of European history and European integration, through a permanent exhibition and temporary and travelling exhibitions, a collection of objects and documents representative of European history, educational programs, cultural events and publications, as well as a wide range of online content. It will be located in Brussels, close to the European institutions. The opening is scheduled for autumn 2015. The House of European History will give visitors the opportunity to learn about European historical processes and events, and engage in critical reflection about the implication of the processes on the present day. It will be a centre for exhibitions, documentation and information which will place processes and events within a wider historical and critical context, bringing together and juxtaposing the contrasting historical experiences of European people. With a surface area of approximately 4 000 m2 at its disposal, the permanent exhibition will be the centrepiece of the House of European History. Using objects and documents and an extensive range of media, it will provide a journey through the history of Europe, principally that of the 20th century, with retrospectives on developments and events in earlier periods which were of particular significance for the whole continent. In this context, the history of European integration will be exhibited in all its uniqueness and with all its complexity.   read more…

Theme Week Belgium – Ypres in West Flanders

4 December 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

Grote Markt, the market square © Tony Grist

Grote Markt, the market square © Tony Grist

Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. Though Ieper is the Dutch and only official name, the city’s French name, Ypres, is most commonly used in English due to its role in World War I when only French was in official use in Belgian documents, including on maps. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to some 35,000 inhabitants.   read more…

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