MPG-06: INTERNATIONAL TOUR REPORT

DAY ONE

COMMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT  

Date: 23rd June '2011                                                      Time: 11:00am to 2:30pm

Commonwealth Nations is one of the most esteemed international organization which was formed post second world war by the union of 54 countries which was once colonized by the then Great Britain. It has been international peace, security, cultural integrity, human rights and education. The students of MIT School of Government had a great interactive session with Ms. Geraldine Goh at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Their new initiatives to tackle climatic change, unemployment, women's participation in the socio-ecomnmoic-politico aspescts were highlighted upon. Further the working of Commonwealth Nation as a united organization of independent nations were discussed. All the 54 member countries have equal voice in the proceedings and belive in the democracy as the major aspect to run a nation successfully.

CONSERVATIVE PARTY HQ

Date: 23rd June '2011                                                   Time: 13:00hrs to 4:30hrs

The Conservative Party is the largest party in the ruling coalition.

On the 23rd of June, the MIT SOG students had the opportunity to have an interaction with Mr. Rob Thomas, advisor from the international party office at the Conservative Party HQ, London. He widely talked about the origin of the party in the 17th century and how it took it's organizational form in the 19th century.

From the period of 1997-2005 he widely spoke about how the party realised they needed to change and adapt but by retaining core values, especially because the Tony Blair led Labour party appeared unified.

David Cameron took charge of the party and adopted a fresh coherence strategy in the field of environment , health service and social justice. The campaign made use of social media innovations like facebook, twitter, etc. The campaign's tag line was – Vote for change.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

Date: 23rd June '2011                                                  Time: 14:30hrs to 16:30hrs

The Liberal Democrats is a small but effective party which is now a part of the Coalition Government with the Conservative Party.

The MIT School of Government were hosted by Mr. Mathew Hanney , Senior Political Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Mr. Paul Speller, Head of the International Office  at the Liberal Democrats Headquarters at London. He spoke about their ideology , strategy, market economy, individual human rights, social justice and how they are moderate centrists.

Predominantly he spoke about how a coalition works, the compromises made and how the perception of the liberal democrats changed post joining the government. Talks about India-UK relations and how they perceived India and China in the modern changing world.The session ended with an enthusiastic Q&A interaction with the participants.

DAY TWO

WESTMINISTER PARLIAMENT

Date: 24th June '2011                                                Time: 11:00hrs to 13:00hrs

Parliament and government each play a part in forming the laws of the United Kingdom. They are separate institutions that work closely together, so it’s easy to mix up what each one is responsible for. The delegation from MIT School of Government reached the Westminster parliament on 24.06.2011. The entire group was taken on a detailed tour for the House of lords and House of commons where the participants were enlightened about the history of the Great Britain parliament starting from the Magna Carta to the present existing leaders, their proceedings and working. It was indeed a great experience.

BHARAT BHAVAN

Date: 24th June '2011                                                  Time: 15:30hrs to 16:30hrs

Bharat bhavan is one of the most historic building which has its origin during the time of King George and Queen Mary. It has a great significance in the contest of Indian history. Today it stands as one of the most esteemed national organisation in the United Kingdom. The administrative officers and bureaucrats deal with bilateral issues and relations of India and UK. The participants of MIT School of Government got a great opportunity to have an interactive discussion with the Mr.RajSekhar, Minister for political and media and Mr. Vasudeva, Secretary for education. Issues like education, India – UK relations, promotion of cultural and educational exchange programmes, stand of UK regarding India’s claim for permanent membership in security council etc were discussed. It was indeed a good learning experience.  

DAY THREE

GUIDED LONDON TOUR

Date: 25th June '2011                                               Time: 10:00hrs to 14:00hrs

The day started with a guided tour of the London city. The guided tour showed the participants a glimpse of the history of London, as a city. As a part of the tour, the participants were then taken to Buckingham Palace to watch the change of guards ceremony, the tour further went on to the famous London bridge over river Thames as also the very important Tower Bridge. Finally, the tour culminated with a visit to the famous Trafalgar square, both a place commemorating the great Battle of Trafalgar and also bustling shopping centre of modern London. 

DAY FOUR

GUIDED AMSTERDAM TOUR

Date: 26th June '2011                                                    Time: 10:00hrs to 13:00hrs

Day started with a guided tour of the Amsterdam city. The group was made aware of the history of the city. Visit included the palace of the Queen Beatrix, the famous man-made water canals of the city, showcase the magnificent use of water as a medium of navigation within the city. The country-side is full of vast stretches of farms & orchids as well as huge wind &water mills.

CANAL CRUSINE

After some rest, the group went cruising on the famous gentlemen’s canal of Amsterdam which showed around the concentric navigational structure of the canals which were once upon a time used by the Dutch troops for movement of troops. The famous patrician houses along the canals are architectural masterpieces and a pleasure to watch.

DAY FIVE

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Date: 27th June '2011                                                  Time: 09:30hrs to 12:00hrs

The International Criminal Court, governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty based, international organisation. International Criminal Court established to help impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The ICC is an independent organisation, and is not a part of United Nations system. The ICC has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely Genocide, Crimes against humanity and was crimes, when committed after 1 July, 2002.

The delegation from MIT School of government had a great opportunity to be a part of such reputed international organisation. Here the participants had an interactive session with Mr. Matias Hellman and Mr. Reinhold Gallmetzer where participants got the aware of functioning of ICC. The live proceeding of Tean- Pierre  Bemba Gembo was witnessed by the participants which gave them a taste of the trail of the crime cases in the ICC.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Date: 27th June '2011                                                   Time: 14:30hrs to 16:30hrs

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (The Netherlands). The organisation and functioning of the court are governed by a statute which forms an integral part of the United Nations charter. The ICJ is composed of 16 judges elected to nine years term by the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

The participants of MIT School of Government got a privilege to visit this esteemed International court. They had a great interactive session with Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin. It was indeed a great enlightening session. The participants got a clear understanding of the working of the ICJ.

THE NETHERLANDS INDIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TRADE (NICCT)

Date: 27th June '2011                                                  Time: 18:00hrs to 20:00hrs

The Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade situated at the Hague (Netherlands) is one of the international organisation which aims at promoting bilateral trade relations between the two countries Netherlands and India. It believes in unity and integrity through trade and commerce.