AEGEE was founded on the 16th of April 1985 and, after the special celebration organised last year, the Comité Directeur decided that it was time to established “The AEGEE day”. Over 60 locals celebrated this important day organising something, from a football tournament to barbeques, from round-tables to informative days. The first edition was very promising, and we asked the current Comité Directeur about some insights into it.
Why do we celebrate The AEGEE Day?
The AEGEE Day is a project that we launched, because after the 30th anniversary last year we realized that there was going to be too long until the next celebration could be foreseen. The AEGEE Day aims at uniting the network to celebrate what AEGEE is about on the day of its foundation while reminding ourselves that there is something that unites us all.
Why was the 16th of April chosen as the day?
31 years ago, on the 16th of April, AEGEE was founded. The AEGEE Day therefore symbolizes the birthday celebration of our association.
When was this initiative created?
It was an idea that we started developing as part of our Activity Plan in September and presented during the Autumn Agora in Kyïv. In the last months, we have been consulting the members on how The AEGEE Day should look like and when we finally got a clear picture of what we wanted, we set up our road-map, followed by adding Suzan Dilara Tokaç (AEGEE-Eskişehir) and Federica Soro (AEGEE-Cagliari) to the team. The work is not done yet, because we are putting a big emphasis on the follow-up of the day, gathering all the input that we have generated and presenting the results.
How can locals celebrate it?
This year we have chosen the topic of “Breaking Borders” as a way to symbolize what AEGEE strives for. On the one hand we wanted to include that our activities aim at breaking stereotypes, and on the other hand we wanted to represent the main character of AEGEE, which is its borderless principle. With this broad topic we wanted locals to be able to interpret The AEGEE Day in their own way, so they could celebrate it however they wanted. We tried to ease the organisation of the activities by providing implementation guidelines, but we have also been surprised by the creativity of the activities carried out.
Will there be some special celebration in Brussels?
In Brussels, we have prepared an activity together with AEGEE-Brussel/Bruxelles in the AEGEE house, including presentations and workshops delivered by members of the Comité Directeur. Besides that, on the 20th of April, we will have a presentation towards Brussels-based organisations, Les Anciens and other guests to present The AEGEE Day project and the first outcomes of it.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona