A sampling of my academic journal:

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend a meeting at the Bavarian Permanent Representation to the EU. Many countries, such as Germany, have their own regional representation to the EU. One of the benefits for these regions is to connect the EU political debates with their own national and regional political debates. Michael, the regional director of JRS Europe was kind enough to invite me to this meeting, in which there was to be a panel of speakers, including two MEPs (Members of European Parliament) discussing the topic of immigration and integration within Europe. These discussions are open to the public, and Michael also informed me about how countries often have funds set aside for political information/education in which they can host events that educate the public, with the idea that being an informed citizen is the only way one can actually fully exercise his or her citizenship.

This meting was quite interesting as the focus was on immigration and asylum issues from an economic and business perspective, with many of the politicians taking a more conservative approach than JRS. Still, I found myself amazed that even this right-centrist approach was still perhaps more open minded than view points I might hear being espoused in the United States. After the meeting was over, I found myself better able to articulate why small countries like Malta have issues with the Dublin Regulation and what some of their alternative paradigms to how the EU should work on asylum and immigration issues might be. I also learned more about some of the challenges that Eastern Europe faces, in that as migration flows traditionally have stemmed from Eastern Europe into Western Europe, and Eastern Europe itself has not necessarily been a destination for large numbers of people, politicians in places like the Slovak Republic do not want to take preventive measures to address migration. Rather, they would rather wait until after there is a particular problem. Hearing politicians actually articulate their positions and listening to the types of questions that audience members asked after the panel, I realized why, as an NGO, it is good to attend these meetings. Because the perspective is different, you can gauge not only the arguments but also how the arguments are being presented and the strategy behind them, so you can plan yours.