For the third time in five years, the State University of New York at Fredonia will host EuroSim, a four-day European Union role-playing exercise that will draw undergraduate and graduate students from universities and colleges on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. EuroSim will open on Thursday, April 7 and continue through Sunday, April 10 and will include 12 SUNY Fredonia students.
 
Students will convene at the Fredonia campus from Germany, England, the Netherlands, Poland, and Bulgaria, as well as New York State and Pennsylvania. The U.S. students participating are from the SUNY campuses at Fredonia, Brockport, Geneseo, Cortland, and U.B., as well as from Canisius, Skidmore, Cornell, Hamilton, St. John Fisher, New York University, Syracuse, and Widener.
 
Since its inception in 1988, EuroSim has offered an increasing number of students the opportunity to participate in what is the only international collegiate European Union simulation. The annual event was initially organized by the State University of New York at Brockport’s Model European Community, an organization that evolved into the present-day Transatlantic Consortium for European Union Studies and Simulations (TACEUSS). The Institute for European Union Studies at SUNY has its headquarters at SUNY Fredonia and partners with TACEUSS in EuroSim’s sponsorship. EuroSim has grown from 35 students at its first event 17 years ago to an expected group of over 200 participants from 21 educational institutions in the United States and Europe.
 
The study topic of EuroSim 2005 is the European Neighbourhood Policy, a strategy that calls for EU member nations to engage their geographic, non-Union neighbors in social and economic partnerships. During the course of the simulation, the students will be assigned the roles of various real-life European Union participants – for example, SUNY Fredonia students have been selected to represent delegations from Denmark, Ireland, and Moldova in EuroSim 2005, meaning individuals will actually have to act as Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller – and the Neighbourhood Policy will be opened to debate.
 
“It’s four intense days, and you actually begin to feel like a European politician,” said SUNY Fredonia senior Dana Soprano, American Student Director for EuroSim 2005. Ms. Soprano attended EuroSim 2003 at SUNY Fredonia and EuroSim 2004 at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. “There are opportunities to consider what the real EU member states are discussing, and it’s a good experience to talk and get to know other European and American students who are interested in the same things.”
 
In addition to the student convention, the Institute for European Union Studies at SUNY and TACEUSS will also gather for a scholarly workshop session that will result in a published report regarding their discussions of the Neighbourhood Policy. TACEUSS representatives consist of educators from participating TACEUSS institutions.
 
Previous presentations by participants in TACEUSS conferences at EuroSim events have led to the publication of “Enlargement in European Union,” edited by Neill Nugent of Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England. A second book, “Future of Europe,” is currently being co-edited by Dr. Laurie Buonanno of the SUNY Fredonia Department of Political Science.
 
Dr. Buonanno has been intricately involved with SUNY Fredonia’s participation in EuroSim since 1993. She became director of the program in 1999.
 
“What I see are four major aspects of EuroSim,” said Dr. Buonanno. “First, this is an excellent opportunity for students to network with other young people from colleges and universities throughout the United States and Europe. I have seen relationships formed through EuroSim that last for years. Second, the students have a chance to learn about different systems of government. Not only do our students learn about the European Union, but in many cases, the students from European nations have not been exposed to the mechanics of the EU.
 
“Third, participation in EuroSim requires people who may have little experience with instructional technology to utilize the latest tools – we formally communicated primarily through email and listservs, but now much of the organizational work and student communication takes place via SUNY’s learning management system, SUNY Learning Network Blend. We’ve been at the cutting edge. And fourth, the students who participate in EuroSim build a level of self-confidence that some of them didn’t even know they had. It can bring some young people out of their shells and allow them to grow.”
 
Members of the campus and local communities are invited to make the acquaintance of EuroSim students on Friday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in the Williams Center as part of the annual poster session. This event will include informational visual displays on topics related to the European Union and offers a chance for area residents to learn more about the simulation and the young people who traveled thousands of miles, in some cases, to be a part of this learning experience.
 
“It’s very informative, and a good way to interact socially with the other students,” said Natalie Gonnella, a junior at SUNY Fredonia and student-director of public relations for EuroSim 2005. “It really advances what has been studied. The simulation itself is somewhat formal, and this session gives everyone a chance to talk a little more openly.”
 
Support for EuroSim is provided in part by Institute for European Union Studies at SUNY, the Trans-Atlantic Consortium for European Union Studies, the European Commission, Office of International Program and SUNY Learning Environments at SUNY System Administration, the SUNY Fredonia Faculty-Student Association, and SUNY Fredonia.