CLÔTURE

CLÔTURE refers to the end of year graduation ceremony at the College of Europe in Bruges (Brugge) where there are speeches and a prize giving for students. It usually takes place in one of the sumptuous palaces/churches in this medieval city but this year it went online.

Those making the speeches were simply facing a camera and the usual enthusiastic reaction from the students as prizes were announced was absent.

The latter part of this year saw the whole college process going online and from what I gather this was accomplished quickly and efficiently by the College's own IT team. So this year's ceremony lacked the presence and splendour of recent years. Nevertheless, it had its moments.

Incidentally, if you want to see the glossy version, check out the 2018 CLÔTURE.

This is Rector Monar's last year as rector. From what I gather he has been a great success. He falls to be replaced in a few weeks time so this must be close to his last official engagement.

Federica Mogherini

The incoming rector is Federica Mogherini, up to recently the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Her appointment was controversial both on grounds of qualifications and process, so it will be interesting to see how she makes out at the helm of this prestigious institution.

The Rector in my day was Hendrik Brugmans, first rector of the College, and himself an interesting character.

You can check out previous rectors here.

Jorg Monar

Jorg Monar has been rector since 2013 and he had been on the College staff previous to that.

The Rector traditionally makes a speech touching on various aspects of the academic year and giving the graduating students encouragement and advice for the future. I will just touch on a few aspects of this years speech below.

One of his recurring themes, and rightly so, is pointing out to the students that they have been privileged to have participated in their academic year at the College. Not only does their education there, broadly defined, enrich their life experience but it also brings responsibilities towards the rest of the community on whose behalf they will be expected to work with enthusiasm and integrity in the future. They should also never forget those who may have made sacrifices to get them there, or the civic or corporate entities whose subsidies meant that they did not have to finance the full cost of their year at the College.

He acknowledged that the factual aspects of their learning could become out of date very quickly in this changing world but stressed that their overall experience during the year, from the multi-national environment to the breadth of the courses and other activities, would stand to them throughout their life. He called it the College mindset. indeed I can bear this out in my own case and have recorded it in my blog post on the aftermath of my stay in the College in 1967/8.

The programme today is vary varied and includes loads of extra curricular activities. In my day we had a few study trips and were left to our own devices in out-of-class time.

The Rector was particularly encouraged by the current students' good works where they teamed up with various voluntary organisations in Bruges to help the poor and the underprivileged. I must admit that in my day the nearest we came to that was to devote one evening to preparing and serving a meal for the staff.

Among the extra curricular activities were student parties. In my day these involved buying booze of some sort and turning up in a student's room to chat, drink, and sing along. I gather from his remarks that these are now outsourced to local hostelries.

Which brings me to a disturbing aspect of his speech this year. He announced that next week he would be meeting the Bruges Police Chief to try and placate him over the disrespect shown by some students to the local police who had been called in to a party at the Biscaya over the breaking of covid restrictions.

Now this is unprecedented, as far as I'm aware, and it is a very serious matter. It is a stain on the College's reputation and a strain, to say the least, on the good and mutually dependent relationship between the College and the City. It is serious enough for the Rector to refer to in a Clôsture speech that is being broadcast worldwide. It is even serious enough for the Mayor to consider depriving certain students of a customary civic honour at the end of the year. Let's hope it blows over and is not repeated. The students are guests of the city and owe it the respect of behaving accordingly.

Marija Pejčinovič Burič

Guest speaker this year was Marija Pejčinovič Burič who is the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, an institution which was set up in the same year as the College, 1949. Marija is an ancienne (alumna) of the College and she had the unique opportunity of studying in both campuses (Bruges and Natolin in Poland) during her year at the College.

She stressed common European values, or those values that Europe likes to think it has, and the opportunity and responsibility of the students to further those values in their lives and careers.

Mayor Dirk De fauw

The Mayor of Bruges, usually gives a speech on these occasions, extolling the city and its unique relationship with the College.

In recent years the city has bestowed a sort of token citizenship on the departing students (Bruggeling honoris causa). When I first heard of this I asked the Mayor if I might be so bestowed retrospectively but in my ignorance I applied for honorary citizenship which I was mortified to find out had only been awarded six times in the history of the city, in one case to the general who liberated the city at the end of WWII. Anyway I apologised profusely and I had the token nature of the present award explained to me in detail. You can read about my major Bruggelijk gaffe here.

Anyway, for some of this year's students it was a near thing. The Rector said he was holding his breath for two days to see if the city would withhold the honour from those involved in the serious incident at the Biscaya. The Mayor finally decided not to, much to the Rector's relief. It would have been most unfortunate at the end of his watch.

The Mayor made much of this not being a goodbye to the students, hoping that they would come back some day, which is what I did on the 50th anniversary of my graduation from the college. You might like to see a brief record of this here. Whatever about not becoming an honorary citizen of Bruges, I was thrilled to see they had named a street after me in my absence. But that's another story.

Mayor Roland Ries

While we're on the Mayors, the Mayor of Strasbourg also had an innings. The College usually has a study tour to Strasbourg which is the location of both the Council of Europe and the European Parliament (half-time). The Mayor also sponsors a prize for the best student paper on the Parliament and there are close ties between the city and the College.

Which brings me neatly to the prizes. I was thrilled to see four Irish students among the prize winners this year. Punching above ouf weight we are.

Jack Lyons

Susan Fogarty

Emer Gerrard

Éamonn Sweeney

Congratulations. We at home are proud of ye.

Francophonie en Flandre

One prize that intrigued me was that for the best students in each of the French language learning streams. I was not so much pulled up short by the French language itself, though this would not have happened in my day in the middle of what, in this PC era, I am not allowed to refer to as the language wars, though that's what they were, but by the very idea of a society tasked with spreading the French language in Flanders which would have kept the wars going another few decades at least.

I had to make my own calls regarding the French language in Bruges when I was at the College and I think, particularly in retrospect, that I made the right call.

There were words of encouragement from two students, on behalf of the student body. One male ...

... and one female.

Finally, the Rector announced that next year's promotion (class) would be named after Mário Soares, the former Porgugese Prime Minister. I should explain that each year is named after a patron, so go speak, and this year's was Hannah Arendt. My year was Comenius.

Ode to Joy & social distancing

Some Links

Recollections of my year at the College 1967/8

My 50th Anniversary visit to Bruges in 2018

Video of the full graduation/closing ceremony 2020