Prof. Richard Griffiths attended a conference at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at the end of October. He was invited to give a lecture on the implications of the current Euro crisis on Mercosul. Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Griffiths: "There I was, giving a lecture in Brazil, while the crisis was in full flood around me. And all I could say was, the impact will either be a lot ... or none. Disintegration of the euro zone will lead to an enormous and inpredictable outcome. On the other hand, when Europe will be able to save the Euro, it will stay business as usual."

Prof. Richard Griffiths (BA International Studies) with Prof. Hélio Henkin (Dean of Economics Faculty, UFRGS)

Griffiths also gave a lecture to International Relations students at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Meeting the staff and the dean, closer agreements between BA International Studies and their International Relations programme were discussed. Leiden University lecturer Marianne Wiesebron was also present at the conference. She gave a lecture about educational exchange.

The outcome of the meeting is the first close agreement BA InternationaL Studies signs as a programme. Our students will be able to do an exchange programme with the UFRGS university and their International Relations students will be visiting the Netherlands. Griffiths expects to close more agreements in the months to come.