International students of the 3rd and 4th years of bachelor's degree, as well as the 1st year of master's degree, at the initiative of the department and the non-governmental organization "Ukraine in Europe", took part in the 79th educational trip.

Its program included visiting European political institutions and getting acquainted with the peculiarities of their work. The list of institutions included, in particular, the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

During the visit, the group was accompanied by a tour guide who showed the parliament from the inside, told the history of its creation, and most interestingly - about the process of forming the composition of the European Parliament, the decision-making algorithm and the functions of this European institution.

"We also visited the Council of Europe, where we were also greeted with an interesting tour in English. It was exciting, because important decisions for the whole of Europe were made and are being made within these walls. A surprise was the meeting with Olga Kostenko, a Ukrainian who has many years of experience working in the Council of Europe. During an open conversation in one of the halls of the institution, we learned about its history and the path to the dream position, initiatives with its participation and assistance to Ukraine. We discussed the role of the Council of Europe in solving current international challenges. And of course, the key point for all of us was a visit to the UN office in Geneva, the home of all nations and cultures.

We purposefully visited the excursion in English, not Ukrainian, in order to explore the nuances and vision of the organization's goals by foreigners, to find out how they assess the UN's influence on events taking place in the world. Ukraine, of course, was most interested. An additional part of the trip was a visit to the Nuremberg Trials Memorial to make sure that justice and truth can win, and those guilty of the most terrible crimes will not be able to escape responsibility. We sat directly in the courtroom, where the fate of 19 high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany was decided. "We got unforgettable impressions from the trip, and also discovered the prospects that the International Relations specialty can provide," said Sofia Minaychenko, a participant in the program and a 4th-year international student.