Taking the advantage of the advent of the Europe Day (9th May), the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM) celebrated its 10th anniversary on 8th May. A conference was held at the Cultural Centre and a dinner was hosted at the Military Club, with the honour of the presence of His Excellency, Mr Edmund Ho the Chief Executive of the Macau SAR. The President of IEEM, Mr. Jose Sales Marques, expressed gratitude to the continuous support from the Government, and all members of the association and the public as well, looking forward to greater achievements and more fruitful harvests in the coming new decade.

The Institute of European Studies of Macau was founded in October 1995, starting its operation and activities in 1996. Having its special historical and cultural backgrounds in liaison with Europe, Macau has established a Trade and Economic Agreement with the European Union in 1992. IEEM was part to this strategy and its inception had the special objective to strengthen this link in the academic and cultural fields. In the course of its 10 years of existence the Institute had been pursuing successfully these goals, and is now a recognized partner in the dialogue between Europe in Asia in those areas. As recognition of that role, which is also extended to Macau itself, IEEM was awarded, in a competitive binding, coordinator of NESCA, the Network of European Studies Centres in Asia, by the European Commission. NESCA has successfully completed its first workshop, which took place in Macau, from the 4-6th of this month. Over the years IEEM has conducted regular programs on European Studies, International Trade Law, Intellectual Property Law, Arts Management, Cultural Tourism and several workshops in different areas of knowledge, including Public Administration, European Finance, Management of Cultural Industries, Photography, Video, Fashion, etc. It has cooperated with some of the most prestigious academic and research institutions in the region and the world. Currently its cooperation programs include holding the chair in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Maastricht, in the Netherlands. It also started, two years ago, in a joint effort promoted by the Macau SAR Government and the Chongqing Municipal Government, a summer program on Management of Cultural Industries conducted in the city of Chongqing.

The Institute is offering, jointly with the University of Macau, the Master of European Studies, which has equivalence in EU; the Course on Cultural Tourism, in cooperation with the Macau Institute of Tourism Studies (IFT); the Academy of International Trade Law and the Seminar and School of Intellectual Property Law, as Summer programs; and, several workshops and seminars focusing on European issues, Law and Cultural issues. Concurrently, IEEM started and is operating the Centre of Creative Industries (CCI), which has a wide range of promotional and educational activities of its own, including the creative hub know as “Creative Macau”, at the Macau Cultural Centre. The Institute is also the managing partner of the Euro-Info Centre in Macau, a service providing information and facilitation to two way businesses between EU and Asia.

For its wide range of programs, IEEM is hosting academics and students from over 30 countries in the world, whom has found in Macau their preferred place to teach and learn.

IEEM is a private association with six members: The Macau SAR Government, The University of Macau, the Polytechnic Institute of Macau, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade and Investment, the Macau Monetary Authority and the Macau Foundation. The General Assembly of the Institute is presided by Prof. Iu Vai Pan, Rector of the University of Macau, its Board of Directors by Mr. José Luis de Sales Marques and the Auditing Committee by Dr. Anselm Tan, Chairman of the Macau Monetary Authority.

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