AEGEE members across all of Europe will reunite again at another Agora that will take place in Salerno this autumn. However, this one will be special for only one reason. Thirty years ago, the Berlin Wall was torn down by common people who wanted to put an end to the division of the continent in the final moments of the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, reaching Germany with the unification of the country on October 1990 as a prelude of European ideals on which AEGEE bases on its existence. As a tribute to that historic event, new bricks on the wall still divide many different people for various reasons will be retired to reach a borderless Europe by statutory event like this every year.
Of course, this kind of job requires new hands year by year and the Network Commission members have an important role in this task. One of these candidates that want to make his contribution is a young, enthusiastic member from AEGEE-Praha, Adam Kubák, who is presenting his candidature to be a Network Commissioner. We talked with Adam about his programme and objectives for this year.
Hi Adam, and thank you so much for your time to speak with us. Could you tell us a little more about yourself?
I am 27. I was studying at the University of Economics in Prague. Have my bachelors degree in Economics and a masters degree in Information management. My big passion is AEGEE and besides that, I also do a lot of sports (floorball, squash, running). Additionally, I like to listen to podcasts and read books about self-development.
Having being member of AEGEE-Praha board twice and being delegate of your antenna in three agorae, when did you feel that it was the moment to get into the Network Commission?
I started to think about it at the end of this summer. In the past, we have struggled to recruit new members and I was needed more on the local level. I am very happy to say that we have new enthusiastic young candidates for the new board 2019/2020. Thanks to this I feel freer to take this new challenge and candidate for Netcom.
Taking a look to your programme there is one point about communication within the NetCom area. Being into the Wild East area, what things have to be improved in that field?
I would say we need more stable NetCom and more connections within the region. Two of our last NetCommies resigned after a few months. I also realize that we don’t know each other that much, that also can be improved.
Another interesting point is also the communication with European Bodies (EB), which is a bit disconnected and both are in different worlds as you said. What are, from your point of view, the main activities that could take place in Wild East with the help of EB to increase cooperation between members?
Now, I will be talking mostly from what I experienced in AEGEE-Praha. But I can imagine that this can be similar for other antennas. I think we could use the opportunities in our network some more. I think to start off, it would be good to raise awareness of how some EBs work and what good it can bring to antennas, members and maybe also how members can collaborate (an example can be a collaboration with HRC – sharing best HR practices across the network).
Could you explain a bit more about the point of new possibilities and collaborations with other students associations?
Yes, I think cooperation with other students’ associations on the local level can be very beneficial. It can bring locals more visibility, new perspectives (learning new soft-skills, access to interesting events) and possibly new members. What we did in the past – for example, we were presenting AEGEE in national ESN assembly or some association at our University were sharing our events (sometimes we were sharing theirs). We have also partnered with BEST on the European level, so why not to collaborate with them. Basically, AEGEE members can participate in BEST events and vice-versa I bet not too many locals know about this possibility.
To conclude this interview, what are your next objectives in case you are not chosen for the Network Commission?
I don’t think about it. But I would for sure remain active in AEGEE. Maybe, I would try to get active at the European level another way.