2024 Voyage d'étude à Flanders Fields : comprendre les véritables origines de la création de l'Union européenne.

On Wednesday, 18 September 2024, the students of the Jacques Delors Promotion, together with the young diplomats from the European Diplomatic Academy, took part in a study trip to the historic World War I battlefields of Flanders Fields in the Ypres region.

This annual trip, a tradition at the College of Europe, offers students the chance to reflect on Europe’s history and events that ultimately shaped the path toward peace and unity across the old continent. 

The day started with an engaging conference with Professor Christophe CHARLE, entitled “The Memory of the Great War and its links with European history”. Prof. Charle’s lecture not only shed light on the strategic and political dimensions of the war but also served as a reminder of our shared past and of how deeply war memories continue to shape Europe’s identity and path forward.

His talk set the tone for the afternoon’s visits to key sites of remembrance: Tyne Cot Cemetery, Hill 60, Caterpillar Crater, and the trenches of Bayernwald.

The day concluded with the moving Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres. During the ceremony, which has taken place every year since 1928, four College of Europe students laid down a wreath to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers who fought and lost their lives in the Ypres Salient during the Great War.

This study trip is a meaningful part of the College of Europe experience, encouraging students to reflect on the importance of European integration as a peace project and the need to remember history in shaping Europe’s present and future trajectory.

Flickr album is available here.