International Visit '07 Masters Program in Government (MPG-04)
Duration: From 8th July 2009 - 26th July 2009
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As participants of Master's Program in Government it is imperative for them to get exposed to the processes of governance in the developed countries in order to broaden their horizons. To facilitate this learning, the institute had organised an International Study Tour for the participants from 8th July 2009 to 27th July 2009, led by Ms. Mukta Kulkarni, the Academic Administrator. It included United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
The objective behind the tour was to make the participants learn about the existing socio-political, administrative and economic system in Europe, observe the functioning of the international organizations and interact with the non-governmental organizations to identify the areas of common interests. Apart from these, the tour also emphasized upon understanding of the existing and potential areas of co-operation between India and Europe and the related foreign policy issues.
The tour started from Great Britain on 9th July 2009. The first appointment in London was the British Parliament where in MIT SOG participants had a historic opportunity to attend the live sessions at both the Houses of British Parliament- the House of Lords and the House of Commons. In the House of Commons there was a discussion on the Motion for Approval for the Draft Terrorism Act 2006 (Misapplication of Section 25) Order 2009. In the House of Lords a debate was going on about the 'Political Parties and Elections Bill'. The visit to the British Parliament was coordinated by Ms. Sue Pamphlett, the Inward Visits Manager, Overseas Office, House of Commons.
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MIT SOG Participants at the British Parliament
MIT SOG Participants at the British Parliament
The next appointment was at the Labour Party headquarters. As a ruling party, it has played a significant role in the recent political history of Britain. The MIT SOG delegation was given a warm welcome by Ms. Jo Billingham, the International Manager of the Labour Party. After the general introduction about the Labour party it was Mr. Chris Lennie, the Deputy General Secretary who interacted with the MIT SOG participants giving an overview of the structure and ideology as well as the policies of the Labour Party. He stated that health, economy, education, criminal justice, international relations will be the focus areas in the coming days for his party. He impressed all the participants by his straightforwardness, honesty and the candid manner in which he interacted with all.
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The next appointment was at the Labour Party headquarters. As a ruling party, it has played a significant role in the recent political history of Britain. The MIT SOG delegation was given a warm welcome by Ms. Jo Billingham, the International Manager of the Labour Party. After the general introduction about the Labour party it was Mr. Chris Lennie, the Deputy General Secretary who interacted with the MIT SOG participants giving an overview of the structure and ideology as well as the policies of the Labour Party. He stated that health, economy, education, criminal justice, international relations will be the focus areas in the coming days for his party. He impressed all the participants by his straightforwardness, honesty and the candid manner in which he interacted with all.
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-SOG delegation with Mr. Chris Lennie & Ms. Jo Billingham (Labor Party Office) |
Next day- 10th July, the MIT SOG delegation had an appointment at the International Policy Network (IPN) at 10.00 am. IPN is a non-governmental, educational and non-partisan organization. Its goal is to encourage better public understanding of the role of the institutions of the free society in social and economic development. IPN achieves its goal by interacting with thinkers and commentators in many countries and across many disciplines. Mr. Mark Bailley, the editor of IPN had an interactive session wherein he explained about the functioning of the IPN. He stated that Health, Free Trade, Intellectual Property Rights and Environment are the focus areas of the IPN. He explained the philosophy of IPN and its work in different areas having a firm belief in fair and free trade policies. |
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MIT SOG Delegation with Mr. Mark Bailley, Mr. Jullian Harris and Ms. Caroline Boin |
After a short break, Mr. Alec Van Gelder, the Network Director conducted the next session. It was on intellectual property rights, trade and technology. Later Mr. Julian Harris, Research Fellow at the IPN spoke on the topic- ‘fake drugs’. After his presentation Ms. Caroline Boin, the Environmental Program Director spoke on the issue of environment. She put forth the view that free trade and free market promote environment protection.
Mr. Shantanu Bhagawat, Advisor to the Executive Dean, MIT-SOG joined the MIT-SOG delegation for an interaction over the lunch. Post lunch the delegation headed for the renowned London School of Economics (LSE) where interactions with Indian students doing different courses was organized. The discussion revolved around the issues such as global recession, downfall of capitalism, the issues of development in India, reforms in the education sector etc. After the interaction, there was a visit to the library at LSE, which is one of the biggest in the world.
After LSE, the team headed for a guided tour of the British Parliament. Tour included British Parliament from inside, the House of Commons and all important halls in the Parliament such as Stephens Hall, Westminster Hall etc.
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Events 
MPG Batch 04 
Internastional Study Tour 
