The whole plenary hall of Spring Agora Patra muted all of a sudden once the big news was announced: the first two Statutory events of 2015 will be both held in Spain. The city of Burgos will host the newly named European Planning Meeting, and the Spring Agora 2015 will be hosted by AEGEE-Oviedo in the city of Gijón.
“We know we owe you an explanation about this”, Miguel Gallardo, on behalf of the Comité Directeur, told the audience of the plenary hall right after all the members of La Nave (the region of the Portuguese-, Spanish- and French-speaking locals), that were present in Patra, came up on stage after the result of the Spring Agora 2015 was announced. There was no other local, other than AEGEE-Oviedo, that had applied to host the event, and their application was received after AEGEE-Burgos had already been selected to host the EPM.
Therefore, the Comité Directeur had no other choice: “it has been one of the hardest decisions of our two terms in the CD”, Miguel added. Besides, the Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, Anna Gots, insisted that AEGEE-Oviedo’s was “an excellent applicant” for hosting the Statutory event.
The drops that ended up filling the glass
The AEGEEan interviewed AEGEE-Oviedo members Alberto Cuesta Noriega, Gerardo García Díaz, Olga Rivero, Santiago Martínez and Olga Fernández
The AEGEEan asked the members of AEGEE-Oviedo present at Spring Agora Patra how the idea of hosting an Agora came up. It was an idea stuck in the head of Alberto Cuesta Noriega, current Chairperson of the Agora, for some years already, after he came back from his first Agora.
Alberto had been insisting on the members of his local for a long time, and they even considered applying two years ago. But they did not reach their final decision until December last year, when the local was celebrating their 25th Anniversary: “after some glasses of wine, we said that we wanted the Agora of AEGEE-Europe’s 30th Anniversary”, Alberto explains, “so the time was now”. The board members of the local had signed their commitment on some napkins: there was no turning back. Gerardo García Díaz, SUCT and board member of AEGEE-Oviedo, adds: “it was a drop falling down constantly… and, in the end, the glass was filled”.
However, AEGEE-Oviedo didn’t expect the news that they would be hosting the Agora at all: “one month ago it still seemed like a crazy idea”, Santiago Martínez says. “When we submitted the application it was rather a moment of total excitement. Afterwards, we faced some moments of insecurity, like, ‘should we withdraw?'”. Then, the Comité Directeur contacted Alberto to give him the news: “I kept my mouth shut for a couple of days”, he admits. “But then, it was time to convince especially the most skeptical members: this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
Not ‘Agora Oviedo’, but ‘AgorAsturias’
It took only a few days for AEGEE-Oviedo to be offered the help of their local university. “The head of our faculty said, ‘don’t be afraid that you might not have enough resources. We can offer you our help, our contacts and anything you might need'”, Olga Rivero, current vice-president of AEGEE-Oviedo, explains.
However, don’t expect this Agora to be called “Spring Agora Oviedo 2015”, because the event will be hosted in the city of Gijón, the largest one in Asturias, which is located on the coastline, and where many of AEGEE-Oviedo’s members actually come from. Besides, according to the local organisers, it was easier to organise it in Gijón in terms of infrastructure. This is why, as the official logo created by Gerardo shows, this Agora will be named “Spring AgorAsturias 2015”.
According to them, it will not be as difficult as it might look for AEGEE members to get to Gijón. “We will probably have discounts on buses, trains or even airplanes”, they say. Moreover, there are several RyanAir-based airports nearby, such as the ones in Santander and Valladolid, and buses from Madrid every hour.
Now, the local organisers are preparing the final arrangements for the places where the Agora will take place, but the plenaries will most probably be taking place in the main Congress Bureau in Gijón; when we first interviewed them in Agora Patra, they were also defining the main roles and the core team.
An Agora that will break the ‘Astureotype’
Currently, AEGEE-Oviedo is working on their Summer University, under the title ‘breaking the Astureotype’. And this is partly what AgorAsturias will be about: breaking stereotypes about Spain! This region is far from the image that most people have of Spain. Asturias has a unique personality, and the members of AEGEE-Oviedo will make sure that the attendants of the Agora experience it.
Moreover, “if it doesn’t rain” (Gerardo smiles), the AEGEEans coming to the Agora will be able to enjoy the Cantabric sea: the main venues where the Agora will take place are very close to the coastline in Gijón.
When asked about the controversy of hosting two Statutory events by two Spanish locals in a row, they don’t see it as a major inconvenience. “I don’t think it will affect us that much”, the local says. “Most of the times, according to the profiles of delegates or envoys who must come to an Agora or an EPM, they must get there no matter the place”. They also expect to have several volunteers and helpers from the locals involving La Nave region.
Meanwhile, we leave you with the promotional video that AEGEE-Oviedo used in Spring Agora Patra 2014 to show the wonders of Asturias, under their motto: “never stop dreaming”.
Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona
Featured image by Laia Garcia (AEGEE-Tarragona)