Laramie is 5,000 miles from Europe, making it difficult to travel there on a good day. However, the European Horizons UW chapter is bridging that gap.
European Horizons is US think-tank, founded in 2015 at Yale University, devoted to starting conversations about the transatlantic relationship and producing research about that relationship. There are 32 chapters across the U.S. and Europe
“Other chapters have a focus on producing research, ours is more of awareness,” Lindsay Hein, vice president, said. “And generating interest in the EU and issues there.”
In order to increase awareness, European Horizons holds educational events. Last fall, after their founding in October, they sponsored a roundtable on the Syrian refugee crisis and held a screening of the film “Brexit: The Movie,” describing why the UK should leave the EU, with a panel discussion afterwards.
These events can help start conversation about a place that is so far away.
“Sometimes it’s about starting conversations,” Misty Springer, PR and research head, said.
Anastasia Vishnevskaya, president, agreed that European Horizons helps increase awareness outside of class.
“We thought it would be a good idea to have a solid foundation that gives you an opportunity to educate on the differences,” Vishnevskaya said. “There’s not that many options except the courses offered in political science and global and area studies to learn about Europe.”
One of the events they will be holding this semester, is a photography contest and exhibition. The theme is “European Landscapes.” This includes not only urban and rural landscapes but also human, cultural and political landscapes.
“We’re going to have a photography contest and then an exhibition with an evening event where we’ll unveil the winners,” Springer said. “There’ll be music and a keynote speaker.”
Nicholas Crane, UW department of geography, will be speaking about landscape interpretation.
Hein sees the event as a way to encourage those who have traveled to share their experiences.
“It brings more people in,” Hein said. “A lot of people have traveled and don’t necessarily get to share their experience. I think the photo contest is a good way to do that.”
The call for submission will be Mar. 10 – 31 and the event will be held on April 19.
European Horizons does not just focus on increasing awareness. The organization encourages students to write policy papers which will then be reviewed at national and international conferences before being published.
“The parent organization at Yale hold conferences,” Springer said. “The conferences bring students together but they have to write policy papers that are then reviewed and they’re juried.”
The UW chapter had their paper about the influence of refugees in the labor market.
“For this conference, we were having people work in groups on the policy paper,” Vishneyskaya said. “Basically, during the conference they [policy papers] were reviewed in advance, we were provided with commentary during the conference and we worked on it. At the end, it got published.”
While academic writing is important, networking also plays into the conferences.
“It’s a chance to network,” Springer said. “If you’re a young person wanted to work internationally or in the State Department, you [go] to these conferences and meet and network with other like-minded students and professors.”
The organization brings academics and diplomacy together. At the 2017 European Student Conference, German Ambassador Peter Wittig, French Ambassador Gérad Araud and EU Ambassador David O’Sullivan all were in attendance.
Networking plays a huge role in the future of the UW chapter but on a regional level.
“The main goal for the next year is to develop a network in the region,” Vishneyskaya said. “Also attracting new members, holding new events and spreading awareness of social and political awareness. Making students aware of those opportunities.”
Springer enjoys the format of European Horizons, from the rigorous academics in a relax sort of way.
“The format is nice,” Springer said. “It’s an opportunity for academic advancement and networking but also in a relax collegiate environment. You can be as serious or not as you want. You don’t have to submit papers, you can just help with events. You can get out of it what you want.”
