The Gulf Research Center is holding a week-long training program on “Understanding the Institutions, Agencies and Polices of the European Union” from Monday, September 26, to Friday, October 1, 2010 in Brussels, Belgium. The objective of the training program was to provide journalists from the GCC region a platform from which they could gain an insight into the workings of the EU. As such, the program featured in-depth presentations on key aspects of how the EU works and operates, field visits to various EU institutions like the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers as well as other organizations in Brussels. The study visit resulted in numerous press articles being written in the regional press in both Arabic and English following the journalists’ return to their work. This, in turn, justified the idea of using multipliers in the public diplomacy field in order to widen awareness of the EU and its role in the Gulf region.

Training Session: Understanding the European Union

January 10 – 14, 2009
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Gulf Research Center and the Institute for Diplomatic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began on Saturday, January 10th, 2009, a week-long training session entitled “Understanding the European Union.” The session conducted by experts from institutions such as the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels and Cambridge University brought together over 50 diplomats and professionals from Saudi Arabia plus other Gulf Cooperation Council states in an effort to better understand the institutions and policies of the European Union. The purpose and objective of the session was to raise awareness about the European Union and provide a better understanding about the EU, its history, policies and institutions.