Two Students Travel to Belgium and Meet with European Parliament
Coral Crissey MPA ’24 and Theo Zittel MPA/MAIPD ’25 recently traveled to Germany and Belgium as a part of the Reflect EU + US program, a two-year virtual exchange program that started in their undergraduate studies and culminated with a trip to Europe to attend a conference and workshops, and meet with the European Parliament.
The Reflect EU + US program brings together German and American students to promote global education by forging strong transatlantic relationships. It is funded by the German Marshall Fund and offers students the opportunity to discuss and debate issues like racism, nationalism/right-wing extremism, law and punishment, and the post–World War II world order. Participants are anonymous and are represented by an avatar. This virtual cross-cultural exchange program is followed by a two-week in-person trip abroad, which for the MIIS students took place in Germany and Belgium. Two Middlebury Institute students, Coral Crissey MPA ’24 and Theo Zittel MPA/MAIPD ’25 participated in this exchange program and had the opportunity to travel to Europe to attend a conference and workshops, and meet with the European Parliament.
[My most memorable experience was] having a one-on-one discussion with EU parliament members, specifically, Gabriele Bischoff-Berlin on issues/topics studied at Middlebury
The trip started in Germany for a one-day conference about how different generations interpret the Holocaust and how they are dealing with the effects of that history. There were workshops and visits to museums. This was also the first time that the American and German students had met in-person since this cross-cultural exchange happens virtually. In Germany, they primarily stayed in Cologne and also visited the city of Bonn, exploring the German National Museum of Contemporary History.
The remainder of the trip was spent in Brussels, Belgium with visits to the European Parliament and meetings with lawmakers, policy discussions, museum visits, NGO and civil society organizations visits, and an architectural tour of the city.
For Coral, the trip was extremely meaningful. This was the first time that they had traveled abroad as an adult. One of the highlights from them was meeting the team from Internews Ukraine, particularly one journalist and analyst who proved deeply inspirational with her PhD focus on LGBT rights and gender in Kyiv, Ukraine. Coral and Theo accompanied Internews Ukraine to the conference at the European Parliament the next day. The trip left a profound impact on both Theo and Coral as they now both want to move to Brussels and continue working on peace studies and policy making issues.
Sitting together at an African restaurant [Horloge du Sud] in Brussels, discussing writing, advocacy, peace, and global issues with [Ukrainian journalists], their colleagues, and fellow students, was profoundly meaningful…this trip has expanded my horizons