Part I in a nutshell

As a non-EU student who knew very little about Europe, I learned a lot from the first part of the journey on the most up-to-date insights about Europe. The sessions gave me the opportunities to listen to stories from people in the European institutions, as well as invited us to come up with advices and proposals. Moreover, I became more familiar with the notion of European identity and how European institutions are working towards a more socially and politically unified Europe. I also found out that European identity, however, can only be built if citizens from different social backgrounds can be involved and accessible to new technological developments.

From these experiences, I got a chance to compare Europe and Asia, especially Vietnam where I came from, on the communication strategy, as well as the social and political mindset. This insight reminds me to broaden my mind to the international scale and being flexible to adapt to each situation. It makes me realize that cultural aspects play a very important role in developing communication plan in different areas of the world.

This year's Honours Programme, however, it's different from other previous years due to the Coronavirus. Needless to say, this makes the programme even more special. Taking all the activities fully online, I have also learned how to make use of all technological devices to connect with people, and to stay calm when things get hard, for example, when experiencing Zoom fatigue. This is a hard time for everyone, and I treasure all the efforts of Isabel, Mijke and our guests who still succeeded to make this journey so far not less in-depth and exciting for us this year.

Behind the scenes...

Of course, the first part of my journey would not be as interesting without my classmates. Despite the difference in places and timezones, we still manage to connect with each other and collaborate in working towards the proposals for European institutions. There were times when I had to go to sleep while they were working, and I woke up while they were sleeping; however, we took turn and together finished our work. For me, this would be the most unique friendship and the most memorable online work collaboration.

A brief recap of our final meeting for Part I:

2020 is coming to an end, and I believe it was a very memorable year for all of us. My 2020 would not be as exciting without part I of the Honours Programme, which challenged me to learn, live, and connect (well, actually rant and laugh) with people across time and space. For now, I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a safe New Year's Eve, and can't wait for the part of Storytelling!