In October our class went to Belgium with the purpose of visiting the European Week of Regions and Cities 2024 during our course on the European Union. We lived in Mechelen, a nice city north of Brussels. EURegionsWeek spans four days. Representatives from regions and cities from all over the EU, as well as academics and lobbyists, gather in Brussels to listen to workshops and panels on various themes, such as youth and democracy, energy and climate, digitisation and artificial intelligence.
Each of us choose one or two themes, which could align with the assignment. Mine were AI and energy. My assignment focused on the implementation of the AI Act in a Swedish municipality’s social service.
The most interesting panel discussion focused on the European semiconductor industry, with barely ten attendants, while the most boring panel discussion focused on a members personal interest in climate change (with a personal speech which gave no clue about her actual work for the organization she represented).
To travel with the teachers was nice. They knew Brussels and EURegionsWeek well. We drank some Belgian beer (goeze) and wandered the streets of Brussels.