Lovely 13th of February. A day like any other but not for CD54. Réka, Tekla and me started our little adventure, CD on Track, the Comité Directeur first trip in part of the Network. Maybe it will sound like something new and something that had not been done in the past, but you would be surprised to know that CD had so-called “Network trips” years ago. Every local in our Network is having their own challenges, problems, but also strengths. I wish we can make cross-local cooperation stronger and learn from each other, and make our Network stronger, more active and more diverse. That is why also three members of CD are taking part to this trip. We want to understand the situation in locals better, as our overview from the desks in Rue du Noyer 55 is really limited.
Zvonimir
AEGEE-Leon office
My first local to visit was AEGEE-León. Not the closest local to Brussels I must admit, but it was nice to be back in beautiful León after Ideas Factory in September 2016. Already on planning phase we encountered the distance problem from Brussels, but this was also solved by our dear partner Interrail who is supporting us on these trips. Between me and León there were 1500 km, and trains took me from Brussels to Lyon, from Lyon to Barcelona and finally to the first destination, León; or, to put it in hours, 18 hours spent on trains.
But what about AEGEE-León? The local was founded in 2003 and currently they have between 100 and 150 members depending on the fluctuation rate of members during the year. The Board consists of eight board members and two advisory members. They also have active members in European Bodies of AEGEE-Europe, such as a Subcommisioner of the Network Commission, member of ACT and coordinator of a Working Group. Alongside organising Summer Universities in last few years, the majority of their work is based on Erasmus students at the University of León. They are organising a type of Buddy system, trips, parties, but more importantly, the office of AEGEE-León is also a centre of information for incoming Erasmus students.
Zvonimir with AEGEE-Leon members
Last but not least, AEGEE-León is a hosting and sending EVS local, so if you are interested in doing EVS one day follow them: who knows, maybe one day you will do EVS in AEGEE-León.
During my time here, I had also the luck to participate in the Valentine’s day pub crawl edition organised for Erasmus students. In total more than 90 people participated and had a great time.
Laura, president of AEGEE-León, welcomed and hosted me during my time in the city. Thank you Laura for this, and also thank you AEGEE-León for having me, I only wish i had time to stay in every local longer. Also, I am inviting you to check the short video with Laura and check what message she has for you!
Tekla with AEGEE-Lille board members
Tekla: Day 1 and 2 – Lille (14th-15th February)
As my destination was the closest, I was the last CD member to leave the House, which had its advantages (being able to work almost two days more) and disadvantages (leaving the packing to the last minute). After a rather comfortable train ride – I had to switch only once- I arrived to Lille in the evening of the day which is in many cultures the day of love – Valentine’s day. After a nice traditional French dinner and a get-together/night out in a dormitory, the next day we had a meeting with the Board of AEGEE-Lille for a training about the role of CD, Board management and Event management. Apart from these topics, we discussed how to make new members active and how to keep the active members interested to go for international events, as in France universities are really strict with class attendance.
Tomorrow I will start my day early in order to reach Torino, my second stop, where I will be reunited with Réka and Zvonimir for a while to give a joint session to AEGEE-Torino about the opportunities in AEGEE for new members and what Comité Directeur is doing in the Headoffice in Brussels.
Next stop is AEGEE-Torino! Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, and Tekla Hajdu, Network Director