By now you should know who Ermanno Napolitano is. He was presented in the magazine as the new Juridical Commission President last year, and then he ran for a position in the Members Commission (MemCom) in Agora Enschede and was elected. In the meantime MemCom became MedCom (Mediation Commission), and that is the European level body that Ermanno is focused on this day going for a re-election in Agora Budapest. So The AEGEEan felt the need to interview Ermanno, once again, to get some more details on his candidature.
You have been for a long time the only candidate for the Mediation Commission (MedCom), why do you think that
is the case?
MedCom is a very delicate body and usually people prefer to present a candidature for something more attractive. Just take into account that, apart from the data privacy issue, we also manage the antennae’ problems, so some people are just not into that. However, I’m pretty sure somebody else will candidate.
The AEGEEan: Why do you think that none of the other current MedCom have chosen to re-candidate?
Ermanno: Well let’s start with Alla Resheten, for instance. Alla is running for position of the Chairperson of the Agora, something she has always wanted to do, ever since I know her. All of us pushed her to do so, and I’m sure she will be a very good asset for our General Assemblies. I guess Alberto Cuesta will be busy at work; and Robert Martínez-Carrasco, well, he gave his full availability to the Chair Team when he was elected Comite Directeur Assistant for the organisation of Agora Budapest, but then after the reaction of the JC he prefers (and I perfectly understand him) to take some (temporary) rest from AEGEE.
Are you trying to convince anybody else to join you?
Actually, I have talked to some outstanding AEGEE members about it, including Maurits Korse and Olimpia Parje. I think there are a lot of capable members who can do it, but it’s always up to them. For sure my well intention words alone will not make someone candidate, even if I would love to! The term for our commission will be one year, so the members applying should be very motivated and full of AEGEE spirit right from the very beginning!
You have been extremely active since Agora Istanbul touching upon almost every area of AEGEE, what keeps you going?
Well, thanks for the compliment. Actually I find my motivation in many things. First of all, I’m glad to give my contribution to the 
Network, and I always try to do my very best. I’ve been elected three times already and I hope that is because my work was appreciated. However I also do it for personal satisfaction. AEGEE offers you the possibility to improve your knowledge in many areas. Ever since I started doing things on the European level I grew, both professionally and personally. Throughout all this time I’ve met loads of interesting people working who I have been glad to share team with. To be honest I also saw that, for this Agora, there were not so many candidates and some positions were still open, so I decided to step for the Network one more time. If my appeal may be worth something, I would like to invite those who are motivated to apply, since working for AEGEE is a truly rewarding opportunity
We know that you can’t talk openly about the cases that you get in the MedCom, but can you try to elaborate a bit on what work you have been doing the MedCom since Agora Enschede?
The only thing I can say, because we always have to respect the parties involved and keep everything on a low profile, is that a lot of work has been done this year. We have had to discuss quite a lot of things and consider many possible actions, consequences, and decisions. In any case, we also worked to achieve and guarantee the best and fairest solution for the antenna(e) in question, and of course for the Network.
You mention that you want to improve communication with Network Commission (NetCom) and Comité Directur, why and how do you think it can be improved?
Actually, as I said in my previous interview, the MedCom has changed. At present we act already on the first stages of any possible problem helping AEGEE members right from the very beginning, before any case is open. In order to do that we need a closer cooperation with the Network Commission, because normally it is them who are contacted first should antennas have any internal problem.
Consequently, also the Comité Directeur has to regard the Mediation Commission as an organ with mediation powers and not a body who is activated upon request, something we managed to change during Agora Enschede.
I personally think that, in general, the whole association does still not know what the Mediation Commission does, and there is still some confusion on our everyday activities. What I can say, and on this particular topic I think I can talk on behalf of the whole Commission, is that the new functions, duties and powers of the MedCom have not been fully understood yet by our members. The current MedCom has already started working on in, opening some constructive discussion internally. One of my goals within my term, if I happen to be elected, will be improving that.
The AEGEEan wishes Ermanno good luck with his candidature!
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København