 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CALD Internship Report |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview Initially I started my internship-work with Mr. Jacques Lecarte, ELDR Group Administrator for the Foreign Affairs Committee. Later-on, under the direction of Marianne Ekdahl, Administrator for the Employment in Social Affairs Committee, I followed activities related to the European Year of the Disabled. In the second week I went to Strasbourg for a plenary session. In the Foreign Affairs Committee, I participated in the preparation of a resolution on Sri Lanka, on the current political tension between the Executive President and the Head of the Legislature that has temporarily brought the ongoing peace negotiations between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) to a halt. (see Annex 01: my note on the situation). In the Social Affairs scenario, Year 2003 being the European Year of the Disabled, I could educate myself by reading and discussing about what has been done in the domain of disability as there have been a number of different events to educate the public on issues concerning disabled persons in the European Union Member Countries. One big event was the "European Parliament of the People with Disabilities", which took place at the Parliament with a participation of more than 200 delegates from 28 countries either disabled or being parents of disabled persons who were unable to represent themselves. I could participate in various other events related to development issues, reproductive health as a human right and liberalisation of ports in the member states. I also had a great opportunity to participate in two seminars: EU Conflict Prevention and Conflict Prevention in Developing Countries and Strengthening the European Liberal Democrat network in Legal Affairs and the Internal Market. During the third week of my internship and onwards, I liased with Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Brussels and accessed literature on liberalism and on the foundation's activities in view of the promotion of liberal principles. I also could participate in the preparatory work for an upcoming seminar on Information Programme for Parliamentarians from Sri Lanka to be held in Berlin, Brussels and Strasbourg from 7th to 14th February 2004. (Annex 2 - Programme) Socially and culturally, I gained experience by visiting Strasbourg (France), Aachen (an old historical German city) and Brugge ( the capital of Southern Flanders in Belgium) and by talking to a great many European nationalities at the ELDR Group, Parliament, and in the city. Overall, I learned a lot about the European Parliament and about what it has achieved for Europe and the rest of the World, to build peace and co-operation after World War II.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| << HOME | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
