Study trip to European Parliament

Our students were invited to go on a short trip to the European Parliament earlier this month. The office of MEP Janina Ochojska-Okońska organized a study visit to Belgium. The aim was to show students the fundamentals of how European democracy operates in practice. MEP Ochojska-Okońska invited UO students who are involved in helping refugees or found asylum in Poland themselves. Khrystyna Shelvakh and Mohammad Aertza Kohistani accompanied by the UO Fulbright ETA, Dr Sarah Jasmine Stork joined other young people recruited from different Polish organizations and schools, who are involved in migration issues.

A 3 days’ trip included a visit to Bruges (including sightseeing and a canal boat tour), a visit to Brussels and a dinner with the Polish MEP, a sightseeing tour of Brussels, and the lectures and meetings at the European Parliament, including job shadowing of Mrs Ochojska-Okońska’s office work at her desk and in the plenary hall. The students also visited Antwerp on their way back to Poland.

The trip was organized and sponsored by the MEP’s office and was a part of the UO FORTHEM Diversity and Migration Lab activities.

Photos: Sarah Jasmine Stork, Khrystyna Shelvakh

Text: Khrystyna Shelvakh, Michał Wanke