Recently AEGEE-Europe issued two similar and important open calls – one for the team of Members’ Manual and another for the team of Key To Europe (K2E). What are those publications, what’s the difference between them and why do we, AEGEE members, need them? That’s exactly what we are going to explain to you in this article.
What’s the difference?
Actually it’s quite simple. Members’ Manual (MM) – as the name already suggests – is a manual, guidebook for AEGEE members, which explains the core things of our organization. The statement of principles, the European level, board members’ responsibilities, the main things to keep in mind when organizing an event… These points and many more are covered in Members’ Manual, and the last time the manual was updated was back in 2009.
On the other hand, Key To Europe (K2E) might be better known to you as it’s our annual yearbook which is published every autumn and gives an insight into what AEGEE has done in the last 12 months, at what we have been successful and what are the most important things the next AEGEE generations will remember about this time.
“Every promotional material has its own aim and target audience, so they should not compete much with each other. MM is published by AEGEE-Europe for the local antennae, so their boards can use it instead of creating similar products. We should make MM bright and brief – then local members will love, recommend and use it,” says Olga Yushchenko (AEGEE-Kyiv), editor-in-chief of the new MM.
How can I benefit from MM?
Although newbies will benefit from MM the most, this manual can also be useful for already experienced members giving them insights into those parts of AEGEE they did not know a lot about and making it easier to explain different questions to other members. Verena Schmidt (AEGEE-Tübingen), who was the editor-in-chief of the last MM back in 2009, recalls that it was exactly her reason for making a new MM: “I was interested in creating the MM, because I quickly became active in AEGEE once I had joined my antenna, but never had a MM at that time and depended on more experienced members and the AEGEE website for information. A MM would have been nice, because it’s structured, coherent, concise and all-knowing.”
Also Olga agrees with that, admitting that she is often using the current MM and explaining it to new members, but quite some information is already outdated due to various reforms we have had in AEGEE since 2009. The new MM therefore will be updated with all the latest information, including our structure, projects and more visual materials (e.g., schemes and graphics). Other parts – such as board responsibilities and tips – never get outdated, but it’s always good to have a fresh view at it.
Verena shares another interesting idea her team had previously had, but it was not realized – to translate MM! “We had an idea to translate the MM into different languages (e.g. Spanish), which are widely spoken in AEGEE, so to make reading the MM easier. However, there’s the question whether you prefer to make new members read the MM or to encourage them to use English.”
And how do we use K2E?
And then there is Key To Europe, for which, just a few days ago, it was announced that the new editor-in-chief will actually be two girls – Alma Mozgovaja from AEGEE-Riga and Hara Kogkou from AEGEE-Peiraias. “Together with them, we will firstly define the concept, gather some rough ideas, select a team working with us and then create the new Key over the summer,” clarifies Kathrin Renner (AEGEE-Passau), who as Vice President & External Relations Director of AEGEE-Europe will be the Comité Directeur responsible for K2E. The team is planning to publish it in the autumn, so it will be ready for distribution at Autumn Agora Zaragoza 2013.
In the previous years there has been a lot of shifting regarding the main focus of the publication – some teams thought that their main aim is to show everything AEGEE has done, including also our failures, as this is the true way to write and remember our history. Other teams have claimed that the main aim is to “sell” AEGEE to externals, therefore it should focus only on our biggest successes and possibilities for externals to sponsor and cooperate with AEGEE. What about this year’s publication? “K2E is our possibility to really showcase all the great work and all the possibilities AEGEE offers. This should be the main focus of this edition: showing what AEGEE has achieved in the last year, and getting people interested in becoming and staying involved. Externally, the Key to Europe is our business card, a tool that not only the CD, project managers, Policy and Liaison officers and so on, but also our locals can use to promote themselves to our partners. Of course, the internal aspect should not be neglected, but I believe that there is no problem harmonizing both aspects, making the K2E interesting to read for our members as well as representative for externals,” says Kathrin.
How to apply to join the team?
If you are interested and want to join creating one of these AEGEE publications, it’s not too late! Both open calls for team members have already been issued and, e.g. MM is looking for 7-10 “constantly working people”, although they are open to more ideas and more people joining at a later stage. Olga is optimistic: “There will be a lot of work, so I’m ready to work with everyone who is interested!”
For MM you can apply until May 24 by writing to hrc@aegee.org – you will find more information in an e-mail which was sent to ANNOUNCE-L on May 9 by Beata Matuszka.
Also for K2E you can apply untill May 24, this time by writing to harakogou@gmail.com – more information in the e-mail, sent out by Hara Kogou on May 16 to ANNOUNCE-L.
Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre