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GETTING TO KNOW EUROPE

The Max Kade Center for European and German Studies in the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University is spearheading an effort in Tennessee and the mid-South to raise awareness about the European Union, European developments in general, and the importance of Europe for transatlantic relations during the calendar year 2009. Developments in Europe especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall and of the Iron Curtain in 1989/1990 have been momentous. The opening of the border between East and West allowed a reconfiguration of the cultural, economic, and socio-political fabric of the European peninsula that most observers had discounted. The continued expansion of the EU and the reorientation of national programs have had a profound affect on traditional, Cold-War-era transatlantic relations. To be prepared for the 21st century, Americans and Europeans alike need to be aware of commonalities and new opportunities.

As part of these efforts The Max Kade Center for European and German Studies has been awarded the "Getting to Know Europe" Grant. The activities proposed as part of this grant for the calendar year 2009 represent initial steps in raising the general consciousness of important European and transatlantic issues. As part of these efforts, certain outreach activities will focus on key educational policy makers in the southern United States. This site is dedicated to the study trip to Brussels, Belgium for policy makers in the Mid-South that took place May 30 to June 6, 2009.