A teacher workshop for Middle School, High School, and Community College Educators

Location: University of Washington, HUB 214,  (in-person only)

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 8:30am-4:30pm, 2026

More details to come soon!

Washington State educators are eligible to receive 8 clock hours upon full participation upon full completion of the workshop! 

FREE parking is available for this event. Light breakfast, lunch, and coffee will be provided as well! 

The University of Washington’s Jackson School for International Studies and the World Affairs Council’s Global Classroom are excited to host our annual full-day EU Policy Forum for Educators on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026. This workshop will offer an in-depth exploration of the European Union (EU), a monumental entity whose rich history and dynamic present continue to shape the global future. The program provides a comprehensive examination of the EU’s origins, significant milestones, and current challenges, delivering critical insights into its evolution, achievements, and hurdles.

By understanding the EU’s past, present, and future, educators can prepare the next generation to navigate and address global challenges, contributing to a sustainable and interconnected world. This program empowers educators to support students in developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for college, career, and civic life, fostering meaningful connections between local and global contexts. Join us on this enriching educational journey to equip your students with a profound understanding of the European Union’s significance and its ongoing evolution. Washington State educators are eligible to receive clock hours upon full participation upon full completion of the workshop! 

Workshop Speakers

Jose Miguel Roncero Martin, “Security of European Union Democracy Institutions” 

Jose Miguel Roncero Martin (Miguel Roncero) is an EU civil servant hosted by the JSIS, under the EU Fellowship program. Miguel’s research focuses on the development of the blue economy in the Arctic, also as a way to foster cooepration between Europe and North America.

Travis J Nelson, “European Union Democracy and Institutions”

Travis J. Nelson is Associate Dean of International Education and Special Academic Programs at Edmonds College and a part-time instructor in political science at the University of Washington. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Washington, where he was a graduate fellow at the UW International Security Colloquium, as well as an MA in Political Science from UW, an MA in International Politics and Europe from the University of Warwick, and a BA from California State University, Monterey Bay.

Ileana Marin, “The EU Test: Security, Democracy, and Institutional Resilience”

Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington, Seattle, and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies of the University of Bucharest. She has published books on tragic myths, Pre-Raphaelite artists, and most recently on Victorian aesthetics of erasure. Ileana Marin has participated in international conferences with papers on the de-humanizing power of art and the artistic legacy of communism as well as on the materiality of literary, pictorial, and graphic texts. Winner of several research grants she has explored interdisciplinary dialogues between text and image and the transformation of artworks into cultural icons.
https://slavic.washington.edu/people/ileana-marin 

Sabine Lang, “Making European Citizens — Civic Engagement Practices in the European Union”

Sabine Lang is Professor of International and European Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. From 2016 to 2024, she directed the Center for West European Studies and the European Union Center, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. From 2021 – 2024, she held the Jean Monnet Chair in Civil Society, Inclusion, and Diversity from the European Union. She is also Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Germanics, and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. Her work is in comparative politics with a focus on civil society, the public sphere, the nongovernmental sector, and gender politics. Her current research focuses on gendered political representation in the European Union and on EU-level public engagement processes.  https://jsis.washington.edu/people/sabine-lang/ 

Guntis Šmidchens, “Staying Current on EU Democracy and Security (EUDS symposia, 2025-2028)” 

Guntis Šmidchens is Director of the Center for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies in UW’s Jackson School of International Studies.  He has research interests in Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Languages, and Nordic and Baltic Folklore, Cultures, History and Politics. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Slavic, and past President of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS).

Workshop Facilitator

Ryan Hauck is a teacher at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish,WA. As a teacher of comparative politics and international studies, he is often applauded for bringing the world into his classroom by engaging students around the importance of living in an increasingly interconnected, interdependent world. One of Ryan’s global projects has been his work in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, building not only a sister school relationship between his high school and a remote village school in Oporoza, but also a village library. Recently, Ryan participated in a U.S. State Department fellowship to Senegal as part of the Teachers for Global Classroom Program and as a fellow with the Goethe Institut’s Transatlantic Outreach Program to Germany. Ryan Completed his master’s degree in Globalization and Educational Change from Lehigh’s Comparative & International Education Department. As part of this program, Ryan worked with a cohort of classmates and teachers on a professional development project in Cambodia to enhance teacher training and student learning. As a Washington State Council for the Social Studies Board Member, Ryan extends his passion for global studies to other teachers, students, and communities. Ryan brings his own real-life experiences into the classroom so that his students begin to understand the value of cross-cultural understanding and humanitarian action.

This teacher workshop is sponsored by the European Union, the UW Center for European Studies & EU Center, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for Global Studies, the World Affairs Council. The workshop is hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. For more information, please email the Center for European Studies at cereas@uw.edu 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

To request disability accommodation contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance at: (206) 543-6450/V, (206) 543-6452/TTY, (206) 685-7264 (FAX), or dso@u.washington.edu.