The March EU Academy ‘Advocating for the public good: gearing up for the 2020 German Council Presidency’ gathered eighteen participants working on a variety of policy areas, such as climate, sustainable development, human rights and agriculture with varying levels of experience. Led by Marc-Olivier Herman and Joost Mulder, the training combined the essentials of EU decision-making, insights from Council representatives and key steps of an advocacy strategy in a uniquely interactive format. Exploring the role of the Council was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air as its importance in EU advocacy often gets overlooked. However, what made the training really stand out for me was that it went beyond facts and theory. Not only did it offer unique insights into the essentials on ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ in advocacy but…

On the 10th of March, together with other participants from like-minded organisations, I was warmly welcomed by Marc, Lucy and Joost at Holland House to gear up for the 2020 German Council Presidency for what would be an interactive and intensive two-day training. Although I have some experience in EU advocacy, I never studied the EU institutions during my education. I lacked concrete insight into the different institutions and had little knowledge on the interactions between the Commission, Parliament and Council. Hence, I was happy to learn that the first half day of the course introduced us to this ‘golden triangle’ and the EU policy cycle. Marc and Joost took us on a journey to explore the EU ‘tube map’ and provided us with all the essentials of EU policy-making…

Next level of knowledge - I learned more from this programme than I have from years of studying political science. That might be slightly provocative – not least towards my dear university – but of course, in reality there is no conflict. Academic knowledge provides a general structure, which serves its purpose. From this training, I instead got a new level of knowledge of the institutions and how to work towards them: more detailed, more actionable, and more powerful. High-level speakers - The level of the guest speakers, the quality of their contributions and the generosity of their attention were very high. In the constructive and open conversations we were able to have, we discussed details on how to interact with the EU institutions. The perspectives of the guests gave…

On a sunny Thursday morning, myself and a wonderful group of other young professionals from various non-profit organisations in Brussels and beyond gathered in Holland House on Place de Luxembourg in Brussels. With a beautiful and fitting view of the European Parliament against the blue autumn sky, we embarked on an educational, exciting, high-speed journey along the EU policy and legislative tube line. The two-day EU Academy course “Advocating for the public good: from one European Commission to the next” organised by EUChanger and Better Europe Public Affairs began with a brief summary of the outcomes of the 2019 European elections, followed by a more general overview of the EU institutions and policy cycle. Coming to the course in the hope to gain a better understanding of how the European…

On Thursday at 9 am, along with 19 other participants from all over Europe, I was warmly welcomed at Holland House (a few metres away from the European Parliament) by two trainers greatly experienced in the world of EU advocacy: Marc-Olivier Herman and Joost Mulder. From the very beginning, I was glad to see that EUChanger had come with a complete and comprehensive learning programme. It offered a combination of basic, but essential, and advanced information intended for all kinds of profiles, whether you are an expert in the functioning of the EU institutions or vaguely familiar with it. For my part, despite learning about the EU political system at university, I lacked a concrete and experienced perspective from inside the institutions, which was successfully provided by the organisers. The…