When the proposal about the working groups passed at Argora Asturias, several of them ceased to exist. One of them was the Culture Working Group. Some months later, two Italian members decided that it was about time to bring back the cultural side to the Network. We spoke with Sergio (AEGEE-Torino) who, together with Alessandro (AEGEE-Pisa), is already very active in recruiting new members and preparing a new platform to share culture.
Sergio from AEGEE-Torino
The AEGEEan: Describe yourselves.
Sergio: We are two enthusiastic AEGEE members (and two really good friends), both philosophy students with a strong interest in culture.
I am 24 years old and I am now doing a PhD in Bonn, where I just moved. I am member of AEGEE since September 2014. During this time I was Erasmus Responsible at first, and then President of AEGEE-Torino. I have a big passion for music and art and I really enjoy writing about that. What I like more about AEGEE, is the possibility of travelling, discovering new places and cultures and speaking many languages.
Alessandro is 23 years old, he lives in Tuscany and he just graduated. He is quite a new AEGEE member, but he already collaborates activelly with AEGEE-Pisa. He is a literature lover and a writer, both in prose and poetry. His last work is a forthcoming postmodern novel called The City (La Città). He lived in Belgium for six months, where he did his Erasmus. He is addicted to anything that belongs to humanities and arts.
Why did you decided to establish the Culture Interest Group?
Because of my studies I recently moved to Bonn, where there is no AEGEE Local. For this reason I would like to keep being an active AEGEE member by working in an international interest group. Ever since I found out that the CWG was closing, I thought that AEGEE should not stay without a cultural interest group: European identity and europtimism are possible only existent on the basis of a solid shared culture.
Together with Alessandro, I would like to give my contribution to the cultural cause. We both have experience in managing cultural projects, both under the administrative and creative profile. We are interested in spreading culture in each form, from the very folkloristic one to the international, in order to create a good way to access a true European culture. And we would be extremely keen on embarking on such a new adventure in the AEGEE community.
Can you give us a sneak peek of the work of the CIG in the upcoming months?
The first thing we would like to do with the Culture Interest Group is editing a multicultural and multilinguistic blog. This blog will be divided in many sections, such as Literature, Music, Visual Art, Cinema, Folklore etc. Each section will have a thematic supervisor and anyone can submit articles to be published. Moreover, we are thinking about organising other cultural activities such as debates, exhibitions, contests, group meetings and thematic events.
During the next week, we will plan the CIG’s next steps and organise our future activities, mainly through Skype meetings and social networks. Everyone who wants to join us is invited!
What is culture for you?
To us, culture is not only a matter of entertainment or a way to spend free time. We recognise culture as a primary need of our society and we believe that only culture can cement European identity. Moreover, spreading culture is what we would like to do in life. We are both philosophy students with a big passion for literature, music and art and we want to put our knowledge into practice in everyday life by making culture accessible and understandable to everybody who is interested.
Do you think that culture can bring us together, despite all the differences?
Of course! In my opinion, culture is always a matter of difference. In our society, the media, trends and global market want us to be all the same and cause a progressive cultural and linguistical flattening. However, globalisation (and Europeanisation too) should not mean that we have to adopt the same costumes, but rather that we can share our diversity without being afraid of cultural differences.
Where can AEGEEans find you?
We will share all the news about the CIG on our facebook page.
Furthermore, in a few days, our cultural blog Momus will be online. We will share the link to the website as soon as possible. The best way to contact us is to write a message to our Facebook page. We will answer within a few hours. If you do not have Facebook or if you want to communicate in an alternative way, it is possible to write to our unofficial email address aegeecig@gmail.com.
Alessandro from AEGEE-Pisa
Who should be joining?
Everyone who is interested in culture and who is keen on discussing his or her cultural interest with other people. If you like reading, writing, listening to music, going to cinema, theatre or exhibitions, if you like the AEGEE atmosphere and you would like to deepen your international engagement, or even if you are just curious, you should definitively join us!
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona