One more week!

Its official! There is only one week left until Germany Symposium: Prospects and Challenges for Contemporary Germany takes place. Preparations are under way and the Jr. Research Fellows have been scrambling to finalize every last detail in hopes that the day will go as planned. For specific details regarding session times and speakers, our program is now available on our website.


Local, German-born musical artist Nilima will be performing during the lunch break. Have a listen for yourself: http://www.nilimamusic.com/.

Musical Artist Nilima Performing Live

Lunch is being catered by The Prague: Fine Food Emporium, a local restaurant specializing in various kinds of European cuisine. Some of their German specialties include sausages & cold cuts, garlic & herb spätzle, and various kinds of schnitzel all of which are included in our lunch menu.


Finally, here's a look at our afternoon roundtable sessions.


Constitutional Challenges Post 9/11:  Security Measures and Human Dignity

Germany’s constitution balances national security and liberty. Germany’s ability to face terrorist threats without undermining liberty has motivated us to study this in further detail. For instance, the Aviation Security Act, which would allow armed forces to shoot down a hijacked aircraft, was nullified by Germany’s highest court since it was not compatible with its Basic Law. This panel will compare Canada and Germany’s constitution in order to gain a more complete understanding of how both countries react to threats and security issues while dealing with preservation of human dignity. The panel will explore the challenges Germany has faced with regard to its Basic Law in its attempt to balance national security measures with individual liberty in the post 9/11 context. The extent to which these constitutional challenges resonate or contrast with American national security and anti-terrorism policies remains a key point of debate with regard to Germany’s transatlantic Relations.

Speakers include:

Russell A. Miller
Associate Professor of Law & Ethan Allen Faculty Fellow,Washington and Lee University

Kent Roach
Professor of Law & Prichard Wilson Chair of Law and Public Policy, University of Toronto

Alice Beauheim
Political/Legal Analyst, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Washington DC


The Education System: A Tool For Immigrant Integration or Social Dislocation?

This panel focuses on Germany’s education system; how it functions as an integration tool for immigrants, leading to a discussion of the challenges affiliated with integrating immigrants. These challenges range from educational aspirations in immigrant families in comparison to those born in Germany to the different education tracks that lead to distinct qualifications. Germany’s school system is highly stratified and the futures of students are determined at an early stage. Panelists will include experts on both the Canadian and American education systems, and their challenges and prospects for integrating immigrants in comparison to Germany’s education system.

Speakers include:

Onur Suzan Kömürcü Nobrega
PhD Candidate, Goldsmiths, University of London

Ranu Basu
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, York University

Jill P. Koyama
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education,University of Buffalo, the State University of New York

A Look at German Foreign Policy

For those interested in international politics, take a look at our foreign policy panel. Interested in attending? Register at our website!

Germany's Transformed Multilateralism: European Security and the Transatlantic Relationship

 Germany’s foreign policy has undergone a series of developments in the past 60 years that have been largely shaped by the collective memory of its past military aggression. Even today, Germany's historical memory continues to shape its foreign and security policy decisions and this has led to the Bundestag’s strong commitment to multilateral cooperation. While German multilateralism has been characterized by interdependency and mutual cooperation in the earlier post-reunification years, its actions in the post 9/11 context might suggest a turn to a deeper consideration of national interests when responding to international issues.

Confirmed Speakers 

Beverly Crawford

Associate Director & Associate Research Political Scientist, Center for German and European Studies, University of California at Berkeley

Peter Schmidt

Honorary Professor, University of Mannheim

Benjamin Zyla

Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa

Kay Kuhlen

Lieutenant-Colonel, Head of the Military Attachés Office, German Embassy, Ottawa

A Sneak-Peek at Our Environment Panel

Here is a brief overview of our environment panel, Promising or Risky Environmental Policies? which focuses on Germany’s environmental policies and recent green initiatives.  

Germany’s renewable energy endeavors have received growing attention in the past few years. Following the Tohoku tsunami in March 2011, which led to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Germany has announced its commitment to cease all nuclear power production and close all plants by 2022. Its use of alternative energy sources as both a green energy initiative and as a means of replacing nuclear energy demonstrate Germany's strong environmental consciousness. In today’s world it is difficult to avoid talks related to pollution, nuclear waste and the emission of greenhouse gases.

Panelists and Guest speakers include:

Lutz Mez (Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin)

José Etcheverry (Environmental Studies, York University)

Maya Jegen (Political Science, University of Québec at Montréal)

Chuck Farmer (Ontario Power Authority)

In addition to the morning keynote, the environment panel is one of four afternoon sessions to be held at the symposium on March 31^st, 2012. Information on additional panels will be posted over the next few weeks.

Tour of Glendon's New Addition!

Here we are on the 2nd floor of Glendon's new addition!
Nancy Tran, Nicole Thwaites, Gilles Fortin, Sunny Gladish, Malvina Jozwik.

Last Friday, a few of us were given a tour of the new addition to Glendon’s York Hall. If all goes as planned and construction stays on schedule, I'm exited to say that this is where we'll be hosting the Symposium this year. Gilles Fortin, Glendon’s Executive Officer was kind enough to meet with us and gave us a tour of what has been completed so far. So we threw on our hard-hats as we wandered through the many rooms and corridors that will soon become Glendon’s lovely new wing and (more importantly) the location of Germany Symposium! All in all, the tour was quite a treat. We can only hope that construction will go as planned so that its ready for us to take over at the end of March.  

Esther Phua, one of Glendon’s eAmbassadors, also joined us on the tour. We’re happy to say that she will be helping us to promote and cover Germany Symposium during the day of the conference! In the meantime, check out Esther’s Blog!

Introducing our panel topics and Keynote speaker

Now that we are well into the Winter term, the conference is really starting to come together. I’m happy to announce that Dr. Birgit Mahnkopf, Professor of European Politics at the Berlin School of Economics and Law Berlin, will be participating in the symposium as our keynote speaker. Dr. Mahnkopf will be speaking during our morning panel on Germany's role in the ongoing European debt crisis. Further information on her research interests and publications can be found HERE.

 

Here is the list of panel topics that will be explored in detail during Germany Symposium 2012: Prospects and Challenges for Contemporary Germany:

Morning Panel 

The Euro Crisis: Germany to the Rescue? 

The morning session is about Germany’s role in the Euro crisis, which has been a highly discussed topic for several months now. For this reason, it would be interesting to bring this as the main topic for the morning session so that the many opinions on Germany’s role in the Euro crisis could be brought to the table with the possibility of shedding some light on current opinions. 

Afternoon Panels 

Promising or Risky Environmental Policies?
The first topic is on Germany’s environmental policies and initiatives.  The topic came about in order to bring the much attention needed to Germany’s initiatives towards renewable energy.  Following the Fukushima disaster, Germany has made a commitment to shut down all of its nuclear power plants by 2022. In the current world it is difficult to escape from talks related to pollution, nuclear waste and the emission of greenhouse gases.  This is why it is important to bring awareness to the actions people can take to prevent any further damage to the environment.

Germany’s Transformed Multilateralism: European Security and the Transatlantic Relationship 

The second topic is on Germany’s foreign policy. We felt that it would be interesting to try and focus on Germany and its transatlantic relationship, its policy towards and inside the EU, as well as Germany’s transformed multilateralism. Some have argued that Germany’s foreign policy revolves around its status as a civilian power, and this has ultimately had an impact on Germany’s actions towards NATO and the EU.

Constitutional Challenges Post 9/11: Security Measures and Human Dignity  

The third topic is on Germany’s constitution.  This was inspired by Germany’s constitution and how it balances national security, and liberty. Germany’s ability to face terrorist threats without undermining liberty has motivated us to study this in further detail. For instance, the Aviation Security Act, which would allow armed forces to shoot down a hijacked aircraft, was nullified by Germany’s highest court since it was not compatible with the Basic Law.  It would be fascinating to compare Canada and Germany’s constitution in order to have a more complete understanding of how both countries react to threats and security issues dealing with preserving human dignity.

The Education System: A Tool for Immigrant Integration or Social Division?  

The final topic looks into Germany’s education system, and how it functions as an integration tool for immigrants, leading to a discussion of the challenges affiliated with integrating immigrants. These challenges range from educational aspirations in immigrant families in comparison to those born in Germany to the different education tracks that lead to distinct qualifications. Germany’s school system is highly stratified and the futures of students are determined at an early stage. There will be speakers who will be able to comment on Canada’s education system and the challenges and prospects for integrating immigrants, as well as Germany’s system to compare the two.

 
More information on panelists and other guest speakers will be posted over the next few weeks.

What we've been up to.

On Friday, January 18th the Junior Research Fellows hosted the Official Launch of the Germany Symposium 2012.  In all honesty, we were a little worried about the possibility of a miniscule turn-out. Since it was a Friday evening, we knew there was always the possibility that people would rather rush home to relax for the weekend. However, much to our pleasure, the event was a success. Following speeches made by Principal Kenneth McRoberts and our supervisors, Prof. Dagmar Soennecken and Prof. Ulrich Best, we introduced ourselves and the scope of our project to a room full of fellow students, professors, family, and guests from the German community. Other notable guests included Consul General Sabine Sparwasser, Dr. Lorna Wright (Associate Vice-President International), Prof. Stanislav Kirschbaum (Chair of the International Studies Department), and Prof. Sabine Dreher. We would like to thank you all for your generous support and contributions to our project!

All in all, we were happy with the outcome of the event. We were able to raise a considerable amount of funds through our raffle and silent auction, the food was tasty, and we had the opportunity to mingle and network with fellow students, faculty, and members of the Germany community here in Toronto.

 Here are a few snapshots for those of you who missed the event.

The Symposium Team

Guests enjoying tasty appetizers.

Prof. Stanislav Kirschbaum, Principal Kenneth McRoberts, Consul General Sabine Sparwasser

Prof. Ulrich Best, Prof and Dagmar Soennecken - our wonderful supervisors

During the month of January we also held a bake sale in the York Hall breezeway. It was quite a success! Thank you fellow Glendon students for your support!

Our Funding Coordinator, Sue Vivanco, selling the goods.

With all that said, we still have much work ahead of us as we are now less than two months away from the conference!

Happy New Year!

The Junior Research Fellows of the EUCE at York wish everyone a Happy New Year! 

After a few weeks of rest and relaxation (and lots of studying and research, of course >.>) the winter term has begun, which means that we are only three months away from the conference! In light of this, we've organized the Official Launch of Germany Symposium 2012: Prospects and Challenges for Contemporary Germany to be held on January 20th in Glendon Manor. For more details, check out the event info on facebook.

We will also have an information table set up during Glendon's Winter Clubs Day on Monday, January 9th in the cafeteria from 10-2. If you are interested in volunteering during this year's conference, feel free to stop by and add your name to our volunteer sign-up sheet!

More updates to come!

October Update

I am happy to announce that the official date of the 17^th Annual International Studies Symposium: Prospects and Challenges for Contemporary Germany, is set for March 17^th, 2012! I’d also like to introduce this year’s symposium committee!

From left: Sunny Gladish - Communications Coordinator, Professor Dagmar Soennecken, Nancy Tran - Logistics Coordinator, Sandra Song - Panelist Coordinator, Professor Ulrich Best, Nicole Thwaites - Finance Coordinator, Malvina Jozwik - Project Coordinator, Suharmys Vivanco - Funding Coordinator, Vanita Thind - Panelist Coordinator

My apologies for the late update! We’ve all been busy, busy, busy working on the organizational aspects of the conference, consolidating our decisions for our panel topics and panelists, networking with the German community, approaching potential sponsors, setting up our website, planning our field trip, and preparing for our official launch scheduled for January 2012.  (Excuse me a moment while I catch my breath…phew, an exhaustive list, I know!) More information on our launch, events and news will be posted on our facebook page as it becomes available!

Earlier during the month, our group attended an open house at the Goethe-Institute Toronto, a German cultural centre located in the heart of downtown Toronto.  Jutta Brendemühl, the centre’s Cultural Program Coordinator was kind enough to give us a tour of their facilities and provided us with a good list of German film recommendations ( I will post the list within the next few days for those interested in checking it out). After our tour we headed to WVURST, a sausage/beer hall at King West and Spadina, to try some authentic German sausage. Unfortunately, the sausages were not so authentically German, but the food was delicious and we all had a great time! 

Mmm...fries and sausage.

Just before Halloween, a few of our members volunteered at Glendon’s Halloween pub night. We were able to raise a substantial amount of funds due to a great turn out! Thank you to all those who have helped to support Germany Symposium 2012 by attending the event!

In other news, the organizing of our trip is well underway! Although we have much work to do before April, we’ve been able to organize our field trip with the guidance of Professor Best! The focus of our trip will be on Germany’s role in the European Union. Since we’ll be applying for funding from the DAAD, we need to increase the number of people on our trip in order to meet their eligibility requirements. As a result, a few students from Professor Best’s German Studies course have agreed to join us on our trip. We look forward to meeting you all!

The field trip will include a few days each in Frankfurt, Berlin and Leipzig. So far we have confirmed meetings with the Municipality of Leipzig’s Urban Renewal department and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig; the Human Rights Institute, the EU Parliament Office, the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundestag), and the Institute for European Integration at Freie University in Berlin; and the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. We still have yet to contact a few other institutions and organizations, but so far our trip is looking pretty solid!

Summer is almost over :(

Much time has passed since our last update! Although we have all been enjoying our summer break, we’ve been hard at work brainstorming theme and fundraising ideas and figuring out the perfect date to hold our main event.

Earlier this summer, three of us met with a few faculty and affiliates of the Canadian Center for German and European Studies at York. Our meeting was a success and we managed to capture the interest of those we met with. The meeting ended with the best possible outcome, as we received notice shortly afterward that Professor Dagmar Soennecken (School of Public Policy & Administration, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) and Professor Ulrich Best, (Visiting DAAD Professor of Geography) have taken an interest in co-supervising our symposium. We are all looking forward to meeting and working with them over the coming school year.

We may have put a lot of work into our project over the summer, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have time for fun! In the meantime we’ve been trying to meet up under more casual settings to get to know one another a little better in hopes of becoming a strong team!

Let the Research Begin!

When our group first came together, we had (or at least we thought we had) a clear idea as to where we want to go with this year’s symposium. We were set to pursue Uruguay and picked up Argentina along the way as our initial region of choice. Could Symposium life really be this easy? Could we simply choose a region that we knew so little about and simply decide, “Hey let’s make this our focus!” OF COURSE NOT! What do these two countries have in common? Is there a strong community in the GTA? Who will we approach to supervise our endeavors? Things weren’t going so smooth after all.  

Back to square one! From Uruguay and Argentina, to Chile, to South Korea, and a number of countries located in Eastern Europe, nothing seemed to click. Things just weren’t happening for us.

Then came Germany, the light at the end of the tunnel. Why hadn’t we thought of Germany in the first place? I can’t really say. Germany quickly took hold of our interest. As the world’s fourth largest economy and a major player in a number of international global institutions, not to mention its recent ambitions to reduce its nuclear energy production and increase its renewable energy supply, Germany has become a hot topic of international debate, and now the focus of the coming 2012 Symposium!

Our project, “Germany: The Rise After the Fall” has emerged from many long weeks of brainstorming and research (and already one meeting that reached nearly midnight!).  Our research will focus on contemporary German politics and culture since reunification in 1990 to the present and beyond.

Join us as we work toward planning and organizing the Germany Symposium!

We are all looking forward to a challenging, yet exciting year ahead of us!