A Barrage of ‘News’

Here in Luxembourg, it is not just the year that is new: the government is still relatively new, and the EU presidency handover means that there are lots of developments making the news.

All this translates to lots of work for the Embassy, as it has to keep up with all these developments, with all these new ministers, and with all these new policies. So as a new intern, it is an exciting time: there is plenty to do! Fortunately, it is interesting to see how Luxembourg is changing, and how it is reacting to these changes.

A major topic of controversy in this small country is the new government’s announcement that they will be altering the way religion is taught in schools. Religious education, which is currently essentially run by the Catholic Church, will be replaced by a more neutral, values-based ethics course. This is an undeniably bold move in a predominantly Catholic country; indeed, there has been a very un-Luxembourgish surge of protestation regarding this proposal, with groups forming to fight for their right to choose what form of religion course they want. Many others, however, are in favour of the move, which aims to present religion and ethics in a more objective way across the board. As an outsider, it is interesting to watch a country grappling with these changes, as many western countries are currently debating similar issues.

Further changes can be seen in the EU presidency changeover, as Lithuania passes on the baton to Greece, and Greece resets the focus of the EU for the coming six months. Maritime issues will be their priority, they told the various Ambassadors last week, and so, although this may have limited effect on Luxembourg, a land-locked nation, there is definitely reason for Britain to prick up its ears. Again, it is fascinating for me to see how Luxembourg and the British Embassy deal with such developments.

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In other news, the Grand Theatre celebrated its 50^th Anniversary just the other week, and the Ambassador was one of many dignitaries present at a special performance of the classic musical, West Side Story. I was honoured to accompany her, and even got my first glimpse of Luxembourg royalty and the whole Luxembourg Cabinet. Not bad for my first week. Moreover, the show was great, and went on to run for a further 12 days, managing to sell out every night! All the jubilation surrounding the Grand Theatre’s longevity was thus well and truly justified.

Ben Crystal, celebrated Shakespearean actor and author, also dropped by to give a lively speech about how best to access the great British playwright. The talk gave a flavour of his new book, Shakespeare on Toast, and was a delight to attend: ‘in order to get you to understand Shakespeare as he is meant to be understood, what I’d really like to do is decapitate you all…’ was certainly an intriguing opener! This strange desire was not purely violent for violence’s sake, but for educational purposes: on our shoulders, he would place the head of an Elizabethan spectator, through whose eyes we would be able to appreciate Shakespeare to his full extent. By the end of the talk, everyone – including the Ambassador and myself! – was persuaded to buy the orator’s book.

Finally, the overwhelmingly well-received film, Rafea:Solar Mama, was screened this week by the University of Luxembourg, the Dutch Embassy and the Zonta Club Luxembourg. I was invited to go along, and was immensely pleased to have the opportunity to see such an important documentary. You only have to visit its official page to see just how well-received the film has been: listed there are plenteous nominations and awards, including the 2012 Oxfam award for Global Justice. For the film does indeed promote global justice and human rights, and these were issues that formed the basis of a lively post-screening discussion, where many NGO representatives, Embassy workers, and even government ministers shared their experiences and ideas. It was a truly thought-provoking evening, and one that certainly reinforced everyone’s conviction that this issue needs to be addressed, and that the Barefoot College, to which Rafea goes to become a solar engineer, is an exemplary scheme. I would recommend the film to all.

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Overall, my first couple of weeks here at the Embassy have been full, the people have been über-friendly (so nice to be made to feel so welcome!), and the work has been fascinating, and even fun! Needless to say, I’m grateful for the opportunity to see how the branches of Foreign Office cogs whir in Europe, and I’m very much looking forward to the challenges of the next few months.