Au revoir!

It is soon the end of my internship here at the West Norway Office and after these three months in Brussels, I can say without a doubt that it was a wonderful and rewarding experience. I had the possibility to discover a lot of interesting things in connection with my Master´s degree in European Politics, to take part in several important events in Brussels (European Union Sustainable Energy Week, Green Week) and to attend in numerous conferences with renowned persons at the EU level (Herman Van Rompuy, Tarja Halonen, Connie Hedegaard, Janez Potočnik,…).      

          

 

I had the opportunity to meet politicians, employees in local authorities, trainees, students from West Norway. I discovered what the relations are between our office in the core of the EU and our different members in West Norway, but also how bridges can be built with other EU regions and entities. It was interesting to see the place of a Norwegian regional office in Brussels, to know how Norway is connected to the EU (through the EEA agreement, several projects, work of Norwegian offices in Brussels…) and to analyze it with my “French” eye. I also developed in parallel several competences, important in a professional atmosphere, such as communication, reporting, representation, organization of events, development of the website,… During this internship, I had the chance to learn a lot about West Norway and Norway, from culture to some basis in Norwegian language, as well as economical and political life,… that is also very important.

I consider myself very lucky because it is not so common for a regional office to hire a foreigner because of the tasks they carry out. It certainly took an extra effort from everybody but I hope that my contribution in this office was fruitful and successful. This internship came up to my expectations, I gained a practical experience in Brussels and I worked on regional issues in which I want to specialize. I had the opportunity to focus on areas for which I have a special interest (sustainable development, energy, maritime affairs, culture). This experience was constructive and I am sure that it will be a springboard for my future.

Finally, I really would like to thank my boss, Merete Mikkelsen, and my colleagues, John Tveit and Kari-Anne Hamre, for their confidence in me, their help and their warm welcome.

“Tusen takk og vi ses snart i Frankrike, Belgia eller Norge!”