Pablo Hernández (AEGEE-Alicante/AEGEE-Thessaloniki) is a candidate for the position of External Relations Director of the Comité Directeur (CD). He has a bachelor and masters’ degree in law and considers himself to have a lot of experience in the field of External Relations, due to his professional practice and activity in AEGEE, both on local and European level. The candidate wants to focus more on the unemployment problems among young people nowadays.
Hello, Pablo! The Agora is just around the corner! How are you feeling?
Pablo: Excited, so excited! There are many factors that make me feel this way. One of the greatest things is that I will be able to present my Policy Paper. I have put a lot of effort into it and I wish it will be helpful for the network. Obviously, an Agora in my country makes it also very special. I was not able to attend Agora Alicante nor to go to ZarAgora and finally, as they say, third time’s a charm! In Gijón I will have the opportunity to host hundreds of AEGEEans at home.
What makes you think you are a fit candidate for the job?
Some years ago I started participating actively in AEGEE. At that time, there was a member of my local that was very active on the European Level and I tried to learn the most from him. After all this time as an active member, I feel like I fully understand the needs of this association and I want to be one of the main actors finding solutions for those current challenges.
Regarding my preparation for the job, I have studied already my bachelor and master degree in law having a strongly-related educational background. I have also been very active not only in AEGEE in these past years, but also in some other places, founding my own association and carrying out some big projects. From these experiences I got complementary skills that I would need as a CD member.
What makes you think you are a better candidate than your opponents?
I would not want to call the rest of the candidates “opponents” as we are not fighting against each other but giving opportunities to our members to choose the best possible CD team. If I can rephrase the question I would try to answer why I should be elected.
The position I’m running for is External Relations Director. I have had the same position in Alicante this year, dealing with all kinds of institutions while representing AEGEE-Alicante toward policy-makers, the University and some other bodies. In my candidature you can read all about my related experiences but I would want to stress that this is not the only field in which I feel I could contribute to AEGEE, as my profile is broader, including also skills in team management, project management, communication skills and many others.
May you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature? (question from the AEGEEan readers)
In my candidature I have tried to transversely show three different aspects: First, I am confident about my knowledge, abilities, experience and motivation to assume the responsibilities linked to the position I am applying to. Second, as I exposed in my programme, I have ideas to improve the current organisation of this association in order to maximise our impact. The most important point of it is having an added value in all of our activities so we can stand out among the rest of the international non-governmental youth organisations (INGYOs) and be a real stakeholder in the environment AEGEE should have a say in. Third, it is crucial to have great team-work, as one CD member cannot cope with all the tasks alone. The success of every proposed activity or idea lies in the ability of the team to communicate, share knowledge and collaborate.
How will winning the elections affect your activity in your local?
Being elected as CD requires full attention and I would quit from every responsibility that I could have in my local. Luckily, in Alicante I already started the transition when I left the presidency two years ago so now they have a strong team capable to take the responsibilities I have now and they are doing an awesome job. In any case I would work on a good knowledge transfer trying to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Which is your nearest great project for AEGEE?
If I get the question correctly, the most important project that AEGEE has now is the Youth unEmployment project (YuE). All of them are crucial for our association as they are the ones that really define who we are and what we do but the YuE project goes, in my opinion, further than that. The European youth is struggling with high unemployment rates which is dramatically affecting the principle of social equal opportunities and in many cases, it is causing severe family problems. In this sense, AEGEE should work towards the development of strategies that solve, to the extent of our ability, the unemployment issue.
Together with YuE, Democracy in Practice project stands out among the others. I believe that especially this initiative gives an added value to AEGEE as supporter of youth rights. Tackling transversal rights, the so called Human Rights, our association is building a strong society teaching on the very basic principles of its foundation.
How would the loss of the elections affect your activity in AEGEE, on the European and local level?
If I am not elected I will continue working in AEGEE in the Democracy in Practice project, find new challenges for me as well as spaces to share what I have learnt during all these years in this association. On the local level there is always something to be improved and undone projects that I could take on. Anyway, if I’m not elected, it would not be a drama for my personal-professional situation as there is a complementary master degree that I have always wanted to study and I could also find a job but with no doubts, the idea that seduces me the most is working full time for AEGEE.
Who are the people behind Pablo Hernández, candidate for the position of Member of the Comité Directeur?
Well, I would say that everybody that I have met in my life has had an impact on me and has shaped me to become the way I am now. Focusing on my main backers or my main inspirational references, I would start from my family as they are the ones that no matter what I decide to do, support me. I would mention, too, that the people behind Pablo Hernández are my best friends but also the people I’ve worked with. I’ve been lucky finding my place in every team, surrounded by very different people that have made me grow into the person that I am now.
Who is Pablo Hernández? 
This may be the most difficult question for me to answer. First of all, Pablo Hernández is another European citizen that wants to actively contribute to the development of our society and the defense of youth rights. Second, I like finishing what I started, so I work as hard as needed to successfully complete my tasks. Third, I like putting everything in order (as you can see here, listing who I am). Fourth, I’m passionate about Greek culture and their people after a year living in Thessaloniki. And last but not least, I can’t leave my plate with food, no matter how much quantity or quality there is (you can test me).
Written by Gabriela Cioată, AEGEE-București