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NL Lou looks on at the FMS
Hello all, my name is Lou Boshart and I am in my fifth year of VWO. For the past two weeks, I have been working at the Foundation Max van der Stoel (FMS) as a snuff intern. After my final exams, I plan to study History in Utrecht, with the plan in the distant future to also do a master's degree in International Relations. My uncle, who works at the UN, advised me to do an internship at an NGO given my interest in international politics. This is how I ended up at FMS.
"Doors rather than walls"
In mid-May, our partner FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies) organised a meeting of the FEPS Global Migration Group in Rome. This group, led by former prime minister of Italy Giuliano Amato, is jointly trying to come up with political recommendations to create more safe and legal opportunities for migration: "Doors rather than walls".
Will you join the FMS team?
We are looking for interns again! Do you have an affinity with international politics and would you like to know what it is really like at a political organisation? Then apply now for one of the three internships we are offering.
Africa Day 2019 great success!
This year's Africa Day was another great success. Read back the mood report of this inspiring day here.
'La mobilité, c'est le Sénégal': the context of migration in Senegal
Senegal is a country of migration. According to the World Bank, 10% of the GDP of the country consists of remittances. Those are financial contributions, sent by Senegalese people living outside the country, which is 5% of the Senegalese population. Most of them live in Europe and African countries in the region. With such a large amount of the population living abroad, the question arises: what is the role of migration in Senegal? To understand this, we first need to understand a bit more about the context of migration in Senegal, and in the broader region of 'sub-Saharan Africa'.
Political protests and migration: is there a link?
A surprise move in Algeria two weeks ago. On Monday 11 March, 82-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced that he would not seek a fifth term. At the same time, he cancelled the elections which would take place on 18 April. Citizens in Algeria have protested his candidacy since February. Bouteflika is rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013. Some commentators link the recent protests in Algeria with the Arab Spring protests of 2011. It is not surprising then, that there exists fear of increasing numbers of Algerian migrants wanting to flee towards Europe.
Arab influence as the price of peace in the Horn of Africa?
In September 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a declaration of peace and friendship: a 'kiss of peace' between neighbouring countries that until recently were each other's arch-enemies. Celebrating witnesses included UN Secretary General António Guterres and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Western media mostly shouted "Hosanna!" about the rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, but who were really the architects of the rapprochement between the two arch-enemies?
Alfred Mozer and the Labour Party
This month saw the publication of the biography of Alfred Mozer, the first International Secretary of the Labour Party during the years 1946-1958:
'Alfred Mozer, German-Dutch-European, 1905-1979'.
Blinibioscope: Kremlin's Czech Friends
On 17 February 2019, the Blinibioscoop, in cooperation with the FMS, organised a film screening of the investigative documentary Kremlin's Czech Friends, directed by investigative journalist Olga Malchevska. The screening followed with a panel discussion with Olga Malchevska herself, Nicolaas Kraft van Ermel (Netherlands-Russia Centre, University of Groningen) and Tony van der Togt (Clingendael Institute). The main theme of the debate was propaganda and its impact on the public.
FMS workshops at Labour Party congress in Den Bosch
No better place than the Labour Party Congress on 19 January in Den Bosch - where the list and programme for the European elections were decided - to draw our attention to the EU's neighbours. Foundation Max van der Stoel therefore organised two workshops in Den Bosch on the security situation in Eastern Europe and on EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans. Bert Koenders, Jan Marinus Wiersma and Albanian Ambassador Adia Sakiqi were our guest speakers!
