Bucyrus Telegraph Forum, OH
March 28 2005
Diplomat speaks to students
EU administrator once attended Wynford High
By Margaret Thornton
Special to the Telegraph-Forum
BUCYRUS — The euro, the common currency among 12 of the countries in
the European Union (EU) doesn’t have pictures of national leaders.
Instead, the euro has pictures of bridges and windows, symbolic of
looking outward and of building bridges of international
understanding.
Tuesday, Bill Pedersen, an administrator for the European Union,
spoke to students at Wynford and Bucyrus high schools and built some
bridges of understanding among area teens.
An exchange student from Denmark, Pedersen was enrolled at Wynford
High School during the 1981-82 school year. He returned to this area
for two days to visit his host family, Rodger and Carol Carpenter.
When Pedersen came to the United States through the Youth for
Understanding exchange program at age 15, he believed that the U.S.
was filled with tall buildings. Instead of being placed in a city,
however, Pedersen wound up on a farm on the edge of Wyandot County,
living with the Carpenters and their children, Jeff, Gary and Karen.
Pedersen’s year at Wynford High School taught him much about America
and prepared him for his career in foreign relations.
“I learned to feel at home in a new place,” said Pedersen, certainly
something he must do often now because his profession requires
extensive travel. “The Carpenters made me feel welcome, and after two
weeks they said that they felt as though they had a new son. Spending
time in Ohio has helped me better understand the United States.”
After leaving Wynford, Pedersen returned to Denmark and finished his
education. He studied European law and international relations, and
he traveled extensively. For three years, he worked at the Danish
Embassy in Madrid before taking his current post as an administrator
with the EU. The young diplomat speaks eight languages.
Although Pedersen was eager to roam the familiar halls of Wynford
High School again after so many years, most of the familiar faces
were gone. However, he did speak with two of his former teachers, as
well as with science teacher Lee Rowlinson, who was a student when
Pedersen was at Wynford. He also shared his experiences with the
current Wynford students by speaking in four classes. He then went to
Bucyrus High School, where he spoke to about 40 students in the media
center.
Pedersen gave a brief history of the European Union (EU), a “club”
that began with six countries (Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Luxembourg) after World War II and has now grown to
25, with other countries seeking admission. Based in Brussels, the
European Union encourages economic cooperation as a means to
prosperity and peace and makes Europe an “actor on the world stage.”
Pedersen’s post deals with the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia), an area he describes as “a bit messy” because of ethnic
conflicts. In order to join the EU, a European country must apply and
then meet extensive economic and political criteria. To be a member,
a country must “clean up its act” and live up to the standards of
human rights, including abolishing capital punishment. The process of
joining the “club” can take many years.
Speaking about the European view of Americans and President Bush,
Pedersen said that many Europeans know about America through the
media’s focus on crime and violence. President Bush’s image as a
Texan makes him seem extreme to many Europeans. He noted other
differences between Europe and the U.S., such as the fact that
Europeans have gun control and that they focus more on rehabilitation
of prisoners than on punishment.
Regarding the war in Iraq, Pedersen said his own country of Denmark
has committed troops to the conflict and that personally he agrees
with the U.S. actions there. He believes that most Europeans agree
with the U.S. goals in Iraq, but not necessarily on the means to
reach those goals.
Next stop for Bill Pedersen: Georgia, on the Russian border. He is
one of three EU experts being sent to Georgia to report on the
removal of monitors that have been in place to protect Russia from
Chechnyan terrorists. He describes his mission as “very sensitive”
and he expects to be stationed in Georgia for three months.
Before leaving Wynford High School to head for his next faraway
assignment, Pedersen had to take one quick look into the Wynford
gymnasium and inquire about the success of the basketball team. Once
a Royal, always a Royal.