An Afternoon in Club de Warande

 

We started the day bright and early at 8 am after another
tasty breakfast at the Irish College. Our morning consisted of two lectures by
professors at the Katholieke University. Professor Piet Sercu discussed the
current world financial crisis and gave us an overview of what led to the
current economic situation and how that has affected the agricultural food
industry. Next, Professor Marnik de Kimpe continued the conversation with an
explanation of retail marketing in the European sector, which enabled us to
gain a better understanding of some of the similarities and differences between
the European Union and United States. We wrapped up the morning with lunch at
the Irish College dining room.

Around
12:45pm, we all piled into our bus and Hugo skillfully drove us in record time
to Brussels, Belgium. Once we were there, we, as the biodiesel group, had a
great opportunity to meet and interview Ms. Luciana Tomozei who is the Project
Manager of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB). Her insightful comments about
EBB’s activities in the EU’s biodiesel industry enhanced our knowledge of the
current tariff situation that we are focusing on in our research.

In the afternoon, we had the
privilege of attending seminars at the Club de Warande. It was an honor to be
invited to one of the most exclusive and important business clubs in Brussels.
We all enjoyed attending the seminars in a beautifully designed interior room
of the Club de Warande. There were four presenters: Ms. Marta Vetier who is an
EU policy officer from Greenpeace European Unit; Ms. Lily Deforce who is the
General Manager of Max Havelaar; Mr. Lars Hoelgaard who is the Deputy Director
General of Agriculture from the EU Commission; and Ms. Debra Henke who is the
Minister-Counselor for Agricultural Affairs. As students, we do not often get
the opportunity to talk to such influential and knowledgeable people who are
passionate about their work. We learned a lot about the issues that surround
agricultural and trading policies in the EU and worldwide. In particular, Ms.
Henke also told us how, even as students, we could take advantage of the
internship opportunities available at the EU Commission and in other
governmental offices.

The Baron Piet Van Waeyenberge, a
loyal alum of the University of Illinois, was our host at the Club for the
entire afternoon. During the reception that followed the lectures, we were
served numerous platters of delicious small sandwiches filled with tuna,
cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, etc. There was also a great selection of wine and
sparkling water. The time was well spent as students and past alumni conversed
while mingling and walking on the Club patio. Everyone also had a lot of fun
taking group photos. At around 8:30, we left the Club de Warande, excited to
have met and learned from many wonderful people.

 

 

Posted by Christine Cheng, Janice Glavtcheff, Jamison Mosely, Jordan Tate