She was a SubCommissioner of Network Commission for AEGEE-Bergamo, AEGEE-Brescia and AEGEE-Milano from 2013 to 2014. She also attended five Agorae, four Network Meetings (NWM) and was an organiser of Night of the Seven Antennae in Bergamo in 2015, Europe on Track in Bergamo, as well as being the President of her local, Cultural Events Responsible and Secretary. Lisa Gregis wants to run now for Network Commissioner (NetCom) and we asked her a few questions about her motivation and program.
The AEGEEan: Let us begin by you telling us three words that describe you and why you chose them.
Lisa: Idealist: I have very strong ideals and I stand for them. Sometimes it’s hard for me to stay silent, if I don’t agree with someone/something.
Just: It’s almost impossible for me to use contacts, situations and people I know for personal profit. I have a strong ethic, I’m an honest person, I believe in truth and justice above all.
Emotional: I can be deeply moved by almost everything, and I can be very dedicated to the people I love and the causes I support.
Since you have been a member for a long time, what is your motivation in AEGEE ?
AEGEE has many strengths, one of these is to offer several projects, commissions, committees, working groups where you can challenge yourself. I’ve spent almost four years working on the local level and I still love the organisation. I think it’s my time now to go deeper and put myself out there. I’ve always had a natural inclination towards the Network Commission and I can’t see myself anywhere else. I’ve always liked the kind of job it requires, most of all helping the locals to achieve more and inspiring the people to understand that they’re better than they think.
Part of the SubCommissioners Team of Network Commissioner Mattia Abis 2013-2014
What differentiates you from the other candidates for Network Commissioner ?
Everything. We are different people, with different backgrounds, motivations and programs: that’s precious and I’m glad for this, because every group of locals needs a particular type of person in order to carry out the best work possible. I think that it is good to have different people in the NetCom, because it helps to see a problem from different points of views.
According to your program, you have a well-structured plan of action for your term. How do you plan to keep it ?
My previous experience inside AEGEE-Bergamo and in the Youth Policies Department of the Municipality of Bergamo gave me the know-how to deal with this kind of work. Assisting my former colleagues and observing some AEGEE-Bergamo members doing their best, helped me to understand how you can be productive and stick to your plans no matter what. Moreover, attending Leadership Summer School gave me the tools to handle a structured work plan, having a good team of SubCommies will help me to always walk in the right path, because “no man is an island”. I am going to keep it thanks to hard work and a daily visualization and evaluation of my work plan.
How much time do you think you can invest in this position ? (approximate hours per day)
NWM Brescia 2014
About 3 or 4 hours per day, depending on the workload and on the period (e.g. close to NWMs, summer holidays, …)
Imagine that Europe is a community like EU and every European country is part of that community. How would you expand it, to the East or to the West ? Why ?
I don’t like the idea that we expand the community, because I think everything it’s up to the people who are in charge of their future, thanks to the democratic process and/or self-determination of people. So if they would like to join this community it is Ok, and I’m ready to welcome them, if they don’t, then it’s Ok as well. Diversity is the engine of our world, let’s keep it that way.
How would you help the newly included countries integrate in the community ? (political/economical/social/financial/cultural context)
I read an article some months ago which explained that the European Union is the greatest political contemporary silent revolution of history, and I truly believe that, because we are trying to do what the United States did, but without involving wars. We are trying to peacefully embracing our neighbours in order to feel as brothers and sister. I think this is one of the hardest, utopian and extraordinary things we are trying to do. Some of the means we had so far are mobility programs, Schengen Agreement, European funds, but I think it is not enough. I watched the movie Invictus, and I was very fascinated by how Nelson Mandela achieved the integration of black and white people in South Africa. He used one of the most visceral feelings people had: sports cheer. I think integration is not something you can plan only with rationality, programs and money. The people should care of other Europeans, but it is not something easy if you think that there are divisions and fights between two neighbouring countries, cities, villages, houses, even inside the same family. So if there are any countries which would like to join the community, I think that sport could be helpful, or mandatory mobility programs in high schools, free European magazines for all the families in Europe. We should be able to tell a story, and this story is about all the people in the community, no one excluded.
How would you keep good communication between all the countries from the Europe community ?
For sure the representatives of each state have a first row position in this, thanks to official meetings and political, commercial and social partnerships. This doesn’t mean to have good communication, because the countries are made of all the people living in them. So I would like to use twin cities, a European TV and radio channel, no visa or passport required, a European network of transports, no extra charge for telecommunication within the community and a unified educational, health and social system.
**Questions from participants at Autumn AGORA Kyiv
Why did you choose to apply for Network Commissioner and why now ?
AEGEE-Bergamo 25th anniversary – XMAS Regional Dinner in Bergamo
For me it was a natural thing to do. It was something that I always wanted, like an AEGEE dream. I can’t imagine myself in any other place in AEGEE right now. And that’s because I care about developing the network. Why now? Well, one year ago I didn’t feel ready for the job, I didn’t think I had enough skills, competences and experience, but right now I feel more than ready and if I wouldn’t have run, I would have regretted for the rest of my AEGEE life.
What will you do better than your predecessors ?
Every Network Commissioner is different and s/he starts with a different program, but most of all with a different situation in the assigned locals. That being said, I would like to improve the communication, and I will try to be more close to the locals and their boards, especially throughout their transition during elections. I would like to develop the tools to have better trained members and create a safe environment where they will feel free to go through new things and experiences. I will try to increase the sharing moments between the locals in order to exchange best practices and to help each other overcome common difficulties. I would like to create a very skilled and harmonious team of SubCommies, who will be able to work for common goals, such as the locals’ development and sharing the love for AEGEE, in order to activate more members both in the local and on the European level.
Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București
You can read her full candidature here.