AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg is one of the most northern antennae in the AEGEE Network. However, that is not the most special part about this interesting antenna. Discover the story behind it in this interview with the President of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg where you get insight details into how they motivate their many members and organise events taking place far away from their own city.
It is a paradox, but AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg was founded in 1996 – at one of the most difficult periods of modern Russian history. But the antenna has survived and until now the members have done their best to contribute to the development of the AEGEE community. Dozens of different events were organised during these years, but there is one very special project, and different from all the others, by its scale and ambitions. This is the legendary “Transsiberian Dream” that was invented by AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg. For sure it became the «brand» and now everyone in AEGEE knows about this outstanding project crushing all the borders. The total amount of members have been more or less stable during the latter years. At the moment, the antenna holds 74 members of which about 20 of them are active and some even on the European level of AEGEE. As in many other cases, the amount of members usually increases around the Summer University (SU) application period and in this antenna’s case the number of members rises up to 100.
The AEGEEan interviewed the President of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg, Yulia Bezhenova, about the upcoming board elections, Winter University and more.
The AEGEEan: You will elect a new board soon, how has it been in the board of your antenna for the past year?
Being in the board is a big challenge and responsibility, but it gives you a lot for the self-development and brings really great feelings when the prospected projects are successfully done. Not all of our board members managed to complete their terms, nevertheless it was one more challenge for the team to face, to stand and to learn. We were a great crew, it was a pleasure to work with such responsible and reliable people, sharing together late evenings by Skype or sitting in the almost closing café, discussing, arguing and strategizing. We would highly recommend everyone to take this responsibility: to be in the board and manage long-term tasks – that’s how you grow.
Would anyone of you like to continue in the board?
The best option for productive work is to combine experience and new ideas. We hope the next board will use best practices from the previous one in implementing fresh concepts. Elections will show…Nevertheless, former board being officially as supervisors or as helpers will support and advise the new one.
Making the promotion video for the Summer University 2013
What local activities do you organise to motivate your members?
We usually organise two local training courses (LTC) during the year. This is an opportunity for us to build the bridge between newbies and experienced members. That’s where knowledge and inspiration transfer takes place. Besides that, we always try to delegate some small tasks while organizing events to the members who just joined or were “warmed up” by SU experience. This is how they become a part of the team and learn to take responsibility. Later, as most of us experienced, they are ready to manage more serious tasks.
It’s also important to bring the European level of AEGEE closer to our members. For this purpose we inform them about opportunities to join some projects. In our upcoming Local Training Course (LTC) there will be a special session led by our members who present Audit Commission and International Politics Working Group (IPWG). Sharing personal experience is much more effective in promoting than just general words.
Are you already thinking about organizing a Summer University next year?
Yes, we will for sure. The white nights of Sankt-Petersburg will open their doors for about 20 lucky participants. We are also open for possible cooperation.
Why did you choose to organize the Winter University?
For the last few years we’ve usually carried out the winter event. It’s definitely worth to visit Russia in winter, it’s so special! We would like to share with participants а magic winter, the beauty of our country. That’s why it’s a pleasure for us to keep up this good tradition and we are inviting everyone to participate in our Russian Winterventure.
Is it difficult to organize an event with AEGEE-Moskva which is far away from your city?
In the country we live in, to travel 600 km from Moscow to St. Petersburg is like going to the next door in a campus! Seriously, guys from AEGEE-Moskva are our partners and friends for years so there is no problem to cooperate with them.
Distance is a challenge but not a problem. For instance, we have experience in managing events in cooperation with Sevastopol which is more than 2000 km far away from our city.
The special thing with Winterventure event is that it will be organized only by us, even if the program includes two cities.
Dancing Ball
What is special about the event?
Winterventure will bring our participants to the 18th century dancing ball, to the gorgeous halls of the Emperor family’s palace and open the treasures of the Hermitage. The train will take brave travelers from majestic St. Petersburg to dynamic Moscow, which never sleeps. During the adventure, participants will be accompanied by cheerful and careful organizers.
What other things lie in the future plans of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg?
Every year we organize a SU, winter event and exchange with some other antennae. Every time we try to bring new ideas, that’s why we are ready to set up new contacts, discover new destinations and implement new projects.
On the local level, currently we are working on “Speaking Club” and “Travelers Club”. These projects are also supposed to gather already active members and new ones and by this, to solve such strategic issues like team-building and attracting new members.
One year ago we had already a “speaking club” and now we would like to bring this project back. It will be led by several people who will be in charge of developing different topics and preparing materials for every meeting. Usually it’s performed in a discussion format. Some people are afraid to participate in international events because of lack of foreign language skills. It’s still an issue in Russia. And through this project, we would like to help them to break this barrier. The second project will gather travel-lovers. It will be organized by volunteers among our members and their friends who would like to share their experience of traveling. Also we are planning to invite native representatives, foreign students, to these meetings. The list of possible topics for any country is endless: food, traditions, habits, …This is our plan for the upcoming year. For sure the theme of international communication and traveling will attract and bring quite a lot of new people.
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København