This amount of money will contribute to the creation of a water system in Bougoudré, a Malian village, this coming Fall.

Let’s thank all donors for their generosity!

A charity dinner was organized at the IUM cafeteria on Wednesday May 5, 2010, in order to raise some funds for the construction of a well in the village of Bougoudré, Mali.

 MIBGA students have been devoting time and energy to their humanitarian project since the beginning of the year; this dinner has enabled them, thanks to the generosity of many IUM students, professors and staff members, as well as of members  of the Monegasque Red Cross, to collect some funds for their Malian friends.

Everyone has had fun and good food, while participating in a social event!

A professor, Mr. Ba, from the Institut du Droit de la Paix et du Développement, in Nice, intervened after the projection, to give us his thoughts about the film and the issues at stake, and to lead the discussion.

Several interventions from students in Monaco and in Bamako enriched the debate, which proved very fruitful.

The film and the discussion that followed deal with issues that are tackled within courses taught in the Master in International Business and Global Affairs, such as international economics of economics of development.

The movie is very interesting and intense; it deals with the development policies that are implemented by international organizations in Africa.

The synopsis of the movie is the following: “Caught in the stranglehold of debt and structural adjustment, the African continent is fighting for its survival. In the face of this disaster, representatives of African society bring an action against international financial institutions. The trial takes place in Bamako, in the yard of a house, among its inhabitants who go about their business, attentive or indifferent to the debates. Among them are Chaka and Mele–she is a singer in a bar and he is unemployed.”

The film was directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, a Malian and Mauritanian film director who won 2 awards, when it was released in October 2006.

At IUM, the first videoconference has already taken place on December 10, 2009, between students from the Master in International Business and Global Affairs, MIBGA, and Malian students, with the participation of the program director, Marie-José Rinaldi-Larribe, and two professors, Patrice Sargenti and Marielle Reiss.

The inauguration of RISE took place on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 11:30 am at IUM in the presence of His Serene Highness the Prince Albert II, President of the Monegasque Red Cross. After the presentation of the project, the connection between the two countries has been established, with great emotion. The exchange, which was extremely fluid and of a high quality, has enabled the audience to understand the potential contribution of the project in terms of education and openness to the world; the Prince Albert II concluded the event by stressing the importance of education for sustainable development.

The Intercultural Network for Health and Education or RISE project aims to meet the needs of Malian students by providing training in targeted areas such as health, economics and foreign languages, which will be taught through new information and communication technologies.
Videoconferences on African culture, art, history or traditions, will be offered to people who are interested in these subjects in the Principality of Monaco.

This two-way process will benefit not only the people from Mali but also youngsters and adults from the Principality. Thus two main tools have been considered and put in place:
- The videoconferences represent an interesting tool for the future that can abolish the borders between groups of remote speakers, and thus can promote intercultural exchange and knowledge sharing.
- The e-learning tool can also represent a very valuable tool for African students. Through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (www.ifrc.org), the International University of Monaco (www.monaco.edu) and other partners in education can propose training solutions tailored to the needs of the Malian students, and which can be made available to them at a lower cost.

This project was made possible by a private donor and through a partnership with a Monegasque company, SONEMA, which is offering its services to ensure optimal connectivity between Monaco and the Malian cultural center, the “centre Luc Sangaré”, that welcomes 600 members. Ultimately, many Malian persons will benefit from this technology for cultural and educational purposes.

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, and education is a real problem there: only 43% of children attend primary school, and 23% go on to secondary school. The lack of infrastructure and resources discourages those who wish to build a real professional project. UNICEF estimates adult literacy rate in Mali at 23% only (2008 data).

Undoubtedly, this innovative project will attract new partners and the results will very soon be visible in Monaco as well as in Bamako.

Students from the Master in Business and Global Affairs are also continuing their fundraising for the construction of a well in a Malian village, Bougoudré (following their class in International organizations). The aim of this sustainable development project and all relevant information related to the project can be found on: www.maliwaterproject.blogspot.com

Thus, through their participation in videoconferences within the context of RISE, and through their humanitarian project in partnership with the Red Cross of Monaco, MIBGA students have an opportunity to put in practise the knowledge and tools they acquire in their courses in International organizations and NGOs, in global policy and sustainability, as well as in economics of development.

Historian, Matthias Waechter gained his postdoctoral qualification with a thesis on “The Myth of Gaullism”, which was published in book form in 2006 and for which he was awarded the German-French Parliamentary Prize in January 2007.

The theme of the conference was: “After the Wall: the Rise of the New Europe”.

It dealt with the consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall throughout Europe. As M. Waechter explained to the audience, the objective of the conference was to determine these consequences on Germany, on Europe and on global affairs, using the image of three concentric circles.

After having explained the reasons for this major geopolitical event (which was the result of peaceful revolution and reform from above, as well as, from an external point of view, the consequence of a fundamental change in the foreign policy of the Soviet Union) he then reminded us that Germany is still a country in transformation, with evident differences between the two parts. The challenge for the German population is, according to the author, to “give a place to this period in collective memory”. He also mentioned the importance of the role of the French-German couple in the European integration process, and the traditional division of labour, Germany being economically the stronger partner, while France assumed the political leadership. Moreover, he reminded us that Germany, by adopting the Euro, had agreed to sacrifice its most important symbol, the Deutschmark, in order to make its unification accepted by its partners.

Concerning the effects of the fall of the Berlin Wall on the European Union, M. Waechter reminded us that this event had led to the enlargement to Central and Eastern European countries and more generally to the definition of the Copenhagen criteria that must be fulfilled before any candidate country becomes an EU member. Of course this enlargement to ten and then twelve new countries has reinforced the need for a reform of the institutions of the EU, which were created when there were only 6 members. Luckily, this reform was realized at the end of 2009, with the Lisbon Treaty entering into force.

The third aspect that was developed by M. Waechter concerned the consequence of the fall of the Wall on global relations: end of the Cold War, launching of the Common Foreign and Security Policy by the Treaty of Maastricht (1992), which unfortunately didn’t prevent the war in Yougoslavia. The question raised by the author is then the following: How can the EU exist on the international scene? How can divergent opinions be reconciled between all member states? Will the EU speak with one voice? Where are the borders of Europe located?

Finally the speaker concluded his speech by tackling the issue of the New World Order: since the end of the bipolar world in 1989, have we seen the rise of a unipolar world (dominated by the US) or in a multipolar world (where the EU has its place as an independent actor)? Clearly according to the author, the world was under American hegemony after 1989, especially due to the presidency of Bill Clinton. What is the role played by Russia in this new world order? Although Russia has experienced economic decline and a loss of political influence, it has clearly regained a new potential for power projection through its energy resources.
To conclude this interesting presentation, M. Waechter said that 1989 was not the “end of history”, contrary to Fukuyama’s thesis; it is a rebeginning: the cold war was static whereas “the New World Order is more complex, demands creativeness and flexibility”; it is also more unpredictable.

This event was organized by Marielle Reiss, professor in international organizations, and Claude Fabbretti from the Croix-Rouge Monégasque, with the help of IUM professor Patrice Sargenti, and with the sponsorship of the SONEMA.

Thanks to the explanations of the members of the “Obama group”, in Bamako, the exchange has proven very enriching for Mibga students, from a cultural point of view; it has enabled them to better understand the history of Mali but also the political, economic and social issues at stake in the country.

This event will be, hopefully, the first of a long series of videoconferences.

The title of the conference is: “After the Wall: The Rise of the New Europe” and it will be given by Dr. Matthias Waechter, historian.

Last November, Euromed Management School in Marseille organized a SimONU conference bringing together 200 students from all over France to find global solutions to the issue of climate change. This event was organized with the support of the United Nations Regional Information Center (UNRIC). For two days, students discussed rising water level, drought, heavy rains and floods, and means necessary to help the most vulnerable populations adapt to the consequences of climate change. In the end, they agreed on a common UN resolution recommending emergency measures to slow down climate change.

IUM adjunct professor Marielle REISS participated in the event as an observer. Together with other observers from different schools and NGOs, she evaluated delegations’ respect for United Nations protocol and behavior, diplomacy, and negotiation skills. She also helped choose the winning team, who is going to participate in the global Model UN conference at the UN headquarters in New York in May 2010.

During the conference, professor REISS met with Mr. Jean-Pierre BUGADA, UNRIC Director of Communication, to discuss opportunities for IUM students to participate in UN simulations in the future. A first IUM delegation could participate in a UN Model Conference organized by Paul Cézanne University’s Masters in International Solidarity and Development next March. Motivated IUM students could then take on the responsibility to organize a Model UN Conference in Monaco. Topics would be selected together with UNRIC according to IUM students’ interests and needs.

As soon as we reached the city, we went straight to the core of operation of the European Union: the European Parliament. During the bus transfer to the EP, we reviewed the policies and regulations, as well as the functioning of the European Institutions and exchanged ideas concerning the European elections of 2009.

Once arrived, well accommodated and already in the conference room, one of the forty thousand members of the Parliament gave us an inside tour of the European Parliament. During this presentation, we were able to reinforce our theoretical knowledge acquired within IUM with a look on the practical approach of the EU tasks.
The reasons for the creation of the Treaty of Lisbon, the need for naming a European president, the difficulties of the decision-making process, everything became even more logical and simple. We concluded the first day with a small gathering in a coffee shop opposite the Parliament with a few members of the organization and a former IUM teacher, professor Gibas, for an up close and personal meeting to expand our knowledge.

The second day started early, with two visits scheduled: at 9 am, an appointment at the EU Commission and, in the afternoon, another meeting with the United Nations Regional Information Center (UNRIC). We had a few enlightening presentations from the members of the European Commission, in particular from the deputy head of cabinet of the Bulgarian Commissioner, who gave us concrete examples in regard to her own experience. The main topics then revolved around the explanation of the preparation and collection of the European budget, and of the redistribution of these funds for the needs and commitments of the EU; topics also included consumer protection, European competition Policies, the antitrust bodies in all countries…. The discussion could have continued for a while, but it was already the end of the visit.
Following a small break, we pursued our journey to the UNRIC’s offices and we had several presentations on the organization’s activities.
The entire visit was properly organized; we exchanged contacts with the representatives and discussed the possibilities to join their Institution in the future for those interested. It was a great networking opportunity for the students; as we left the building, we all had a better idea of our future career perspectives in such institutions and we were able to better understand the EU integration process.

We left Brussels the following morning, however, not without indulging in a small trip to the beautiful areas of the city and a shopping experience in the chocolate stores at the delight of all the students.

Beslan Tokaev, MIBGA student

Students now need to define the total cost of the project and they are then going to search for the necessary funding. Once the funds have been collected, they will design one student who will have the opportunity to launch the project in the village that is concerned, together with the instructor (before the end of the academic year hopefully).

They will thus show that we can study international business, while taking care of others, and doing something for the community; besides, the project is linked with other courses proposed in the MIBGA such as global policy and sustainability and economics of development.