Meet the new JC president

Dear Network, meet another Italian president:  Ermanno Napolitano, the new president of the Juridical Commission whom you have given an amazing 93,3% of your votes.

During the introduction of the Chair Team and JC at the Agora Skopje, you clearly had the loudest and most passionate applause.

(Ermanno is a bit shy now) It is strange and emotional every time people applaud for me so loudly, but it gives me the strength to continue working.

You very successfully concluded your mission to clear up the archive. What motivated you to keep going?
It was the biggest challenge for the JC last term. We actually created the archive, because before there was only a mess of statutes, CIA’s, and current as well as deleted antennae, all lying somewhere in the basement of the CD house. After discovering this, I went to the CD house twice to establish a proper archive and Edouard, the former JC President, joined me during the second weekend. After the Chair weekend we finished our task. The archive is sorted from A-Z now, and there are different folders for statutes, CIA’s, antennae, and deleted antennae. I scanned all the CIA’s to create an online archive. I found out some Convention d’Ahésion were lost and most of them were re-signed during the Agora.
It was a huge amount of work, but I found the first Key to Europe, old booklets, old pictures from every CD AEGEE has ever had, and documents from before the fall of the Berlin wall. When realizing you hold a piece of AEGEE history in your hands, some from before I was even born, that motivates you to keep on working until the task is done.

Before you were elected JC President, you were a part of the JC and Edouard Mougin was the President. How did the working together go?
Working together was great and the most important thing is that we are friends. Edu also attended my SU in Catania. Of course we had disagreements about JC things and it happened that we sent 52 emails back and forth, disagreeing on how to handle a proposal. The most important thing is that we always found a solution in the end.

You just have a very big impact on each other’s daily life when you have skype meetings for three hours, even at night. I think there were just two days during our term when we did not keep in touch and that was when we had exams.

You were present during the Chair weekend before the Agora which is unusual since you were not the President of the JC back then. How was your cooperation with the Chair Team?All I can say is that the Chair Team is my family! I felt like a part of the team, we stayed in touch a lot and I was there for the Chair weekend. You sit together in front of the whole Agora and when difficulties occur, I felt we have been in this together. Whenever there was a tricky question to one of the Chair Team members, it was just as well addressed to me.

I am proud of the former Chair Team and I look forward to working with Yvonne and Sygrit this term, also because I knew both of them before the election already. Even though we are still recovering from the Agora, I already had a skype meeting with Yvonne at night to work on things and it was a great start for our term.

Rumor has it that you are very impressed by the Dutch in AEGEE. Does this make you any less Italian?
I guess I am half Dutch and half Italian. I went to the Netherlands a lot to see how Dutch antennae work. When I went to their offices in Groningen and Utrecht, it was like entering another world. They spend at least 7 hours a day on AEGEE and it is a job for them so they treat it like professionals. I want to see what they do so well and take it home to my antennae and also use it for my work.

What did you think of the pasta served at the hotel in Struga?
(laughs) It is the same when eating pasta in the Netherlands. I try it and then I go out for dinner because I just cannot eat it. I do not need Italian food, but I want nice food and I therefore I spend way too much money on food.

This is the only downside in the Netherlands: their food is just not good.
Do you consider yourself an Italian Casanova?
(laughs again) I really do not feel like a Casanova.

Are you still looking for subcommies?
Yes, the open call has been sent. Some people expressed their interest during the Agora and I hope they will apply. They will be working in one of the most important teams where they will understand the legal structure of AEGEE and also work with the Chair Team. Of course a subcommie has responsibilities when he is assigned for a certain task, but in general he just learns and supports the team. Sometimes I miss being a subcommie and having way less responsibilities.

Thank you, Ermanno and all the best of luck for your term as JC President.

Written by Yvonne Antonovic, AEGEE Utrecht