The contact in Foggia is not even an antenna yet, but that has not stopped them for organizing a Network Meeting recently. They even thought it was really easy to organize such an event and encourage others to do the same. The AEGEEan interview Giuseppe Fascia from AEGEE-Foggia about creating the new antenna, organizing the Network Meeting and their future plans.
The AEGEEan: How did you hear about AEGEE?
We are a group of friends. All of us had experiences with other associations. Giuseppe Fascia and Gianluca Marchese were members of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Association in Foggia and they started to cooperate with the International Office of Foggia University and with Erasmus students. But they were not satisfied by the activities and spirit of ESN, so they started to look for something on European Networks and they found AIESEC and AEGEE. They liked the activities, the projects and the structure of AEGEE so much, that they contacted some Italian members to gain more information and a better understanding of what AEGEE is.
What made you interested in creating an antenna in Foggia?
After having gained more knowledge about AEGEE, Giuseppe and Gianluca involved Francesco La Salandra and they decided to create an AEGEE-antenna in Foggia. They believed that Foggia need to broaden its horizons and embrace the European mentality, and to increase the value of its fantastic province and university.
For how long have you been working on creating an AEGEE-antenna in Foggia?
Exactly one year. In fact we sent our motivation letter to Matteo Scarpa (our Network Commissioner last year) on October 22nd 2012. We started communication from then on about how to build the antenna.
How has the university of your city been involved?
We have a great relationship with our university. Rector and International Office are really keen on this project and they will back up all our projects. We also help them with Erasmus students, promoting their projects because our students are not involved so much in university life, and we help them to develop European projects.
How many members do you have in AEGEE-Foggia?
We are 10 members. We will organize a lot of recruiting days to attract other members.
Why did you decide to organize the Network Meeting?
We decided to organize the Network Meeting because, first of all, we thought that it was a way to get to know other AEGEE members better, as well as the famous AEGEE spirit, and because we wanted to start our journey in the AEGEE world in the best possible way.
What challenges did you have while organizing it?
We didn’t have big problems while organizing it, because all of us had organized events before this one.
Would you encourage other antennae to organize Network Meetings?
Yes because it is a great experience. Organizing a NWM creates a great team spirit and facilitates personal and cultural growth.
How have you been preparing for the Agora in Zaragoza?
ZarAgora will be the most important event for AEGEE-Foggia because we will officially be founded there; we will sign the Convention d’Adhesion. We can’t wait to go there and make another step in our experience in this fantastic AEGEE world. We will be enthusiastic to live another new experience and meet a lot of new people. It is our first Agora.
What lies in the near future for AEGEE in Foggia?
We are ready to make a lot of projects with this Network. One of our purposes is to increase the value of our province and we will move in this direction. Furthermore, we are ready to cooperate with other antennae to create something important. I’m sure that you will hear a lot of people mentioning AEGEE-Foggia in the future.
How do you plan on collaborating with any nearby antenna on projects?
We are planning to collaborate with some other antenna for some important projects, and it does not have to be an antenna which is close to us. We think that collaboration will teach us something new and it will help us and our association grow. “United we stand, divided we fall.”
Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København