Alfredo Sellitti – President
December brought Christmas mood, a bit of cold and a lot of concerns about the future, after the European Commission released, on the 23rd of November, a Communication about “Erasmus for all”, the programme that will take over “Youth in Action” from 2014.
Several European platforms organised meetings in order to gather feedback and comments from as many organisations as possible; of course, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and the European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning (EUCIS-LLL) took a leading position, being the biggest stakeholders on European level, dealing respectively with Youth and Education.
Therefore the Agenda for the first two weeks was full of meetings with YFJ and EUCIS-LLL: both organisations decide to take a common position, before the implementation of the program will get to the final stage.
After all these meetings I had the possibility to travel again to Caucasus: this time I had the chance to attend the first Network Meeting in the history of AEGEE-Europe in the area! NetCom Olga Iatsyna and AEGEE-Tbilisi made a great job; the event was pretty much interesting and inspiring for the participants there.
And after Tbilisi, it came time to go back home. Since the 23rd I was at home, spending Christmas holidays with my family.
Alma Mozgovaja – Secretary General
Happy New Year!
I wish that in 2012 you would have faith, that makes all things possible; hope, that makes all things work and love, that makes all things beautiful!
December was a short month for me, due to the fact, that I left for winter holidays on the 10th of December, but even because of this early departure from the rest of my team, I didn’t forget about AEGEE. I returned back to Brussels on the 26th of December, to enjoy solitude in the office till the New Year.
December was the month that contained a lot of volunteering. We know what volunteering is, for example, AEGEE. But there are many more different forms of that. I spent one of my winter holiday weeks in Las Palmas, learning how people volunteer in different fields. All of us want to make change in society we are living in. All of us strive for a united, respectful and tolerant society. Thanks to AEGEE-Las Palmas who organised the event “From Roots to the Fruits”.
Earlier this month, I focused on the coordination of the Comité Directeur. CD meetings, evaluation of our work, our relations with each other and looking for new possibilities to improve our performance.
Since December was the Christmas month I attended several Christmas/Winter Receptions of other organisations, where I met representatives of NGOs and stakeholders.
Last but not least, I actively contributed to the Christmas Dinner that our CD prepared all together – decorating the house, cooking our traditional dishes and enjoying the last evening all together in the house before we would re-start our term in January.
Elena Antova – Financial Director
December started for me with my regular task: checking reimbursements and making transfers. While working on the Reimbursements Manual I realised that there is a need for some changes in the form itself to make it clearer and easier to understand. Now they are both finished and will be published soon.
In the first part of the month I took part in Christmas Network Meeting in Leipzig, Germany. I am really happy that I met so many motivated, enthusiastic and energetic AEGEEans from both German and Czech speaking locals. During the Network Meeting I led three Workshops: AEGEE for newbies, Corporate Fund raising and together with the Network Commissioner Pavel Zbornik we presented the different opportunities “Youth in Action” Program is providing.
After coming back to Brussels, I started working on Updating Budget 2011 for the General Subvention – one of the main sources of financing of our association. After the Autumn Agora the budget for 2011 was modified and these changes need to be presented to the European Commission.
In the latter part of December I traveled back home for Christmas and New Year Holidays, which I spent with my friends and family.
Marko Grdošić – Vice President and External Relations Director
December, as every year, is a month full of food, receptions and celebrations. The first two weeks together with Alfredo I attended different meetings and conferences organized by YFJ or EUCIS-LLL. The biggest focus on most of them was “Erasmus for all”, proposal of a new funding programme of the European Commission starting from 2014. In case it would get accepted by the Parliament, youth NGOs would start facing huge problems in financing its existence and projects. This is the reason why all of these conferences in Brussels have been organised, why members of the Parliament and the Commission have been invited to join, talk with NGO representatives and youth representatives. In the future months we are continuing this work, hoping to ensure enough funds for the youth sector in the future years, without getting into question their existence and work.
Last week before winter holidays I had an honor to represent the Comité Directeur at the European School 1 in Passau. After some hard working months and big focus on my tasks, this was a real mind charger. Joining this event full of fresh and inspiring participants gave me back the excitement and power that long office nights often destroy. I held some task related workshops and enjoyed very much being one of the “back office CD members”. I really encourage everyone to take part in a European School as soon as an opportunity presents itself!
Last week of 2011 I spent of course at home, enjoying company of my family and closest friends – another recharger needed for hard working and successful 2012!
Jüri Kirpu – Internal Relations Director
The month of Christmas was many things. At first it was the Network Commission Meeting here in Brussels, where we managed to bring together the new Netcom team and discuss many things that will bring the development of our Network to a new level. Many issues of cooperation with other European Level bodies were discussed. New guidelines for the Network Meetings were created and the purpose of AEGEE was discussed very deeply.
The month was also rewarding because the organisers of the Spring Agora Enschede 2012 had a meeting with the members of the Comité Directeur and the Chairwoman. During the meeting a nice synergy was created for all three bodies, which will definitely improve the preparation and the organisation of our General Assembly.
The month continued with some ups and downs, with meetings of the Comité Directeur, which put our team really to the test and to a different understanding about many things. In the end we learned a lot from our mistakes, so as not to repeat them again.
After all of this the year started to end with a visit home, where I met lots of friends, family and of course my dear beloved AEGEE-Tallinn, after being away for almost 5 months. This was really healthy in many ways, because it gave me a chance to reflect upon the work done and all the upcoming challenges of 2012.
2011 ended in Brussels, with AEGEEans from several locals, which always manages to give you energy and inspiration in the time of need, thank you AEGEE-Las Palmas and AEGEE-Kyiv.
Gizem Karslı – Projects Director
December was the month during which CD house was the busiest ever! We enjoyed December together with the Network Commission, AEGEE-Enschede, EBM Team and many other guests. I assume you can all anticipate that I was all busy with EBM preparations. Together with experienced AEGEE members, we are doing our best to realise this significant step in the best possible way for improving the quality of our thematic works. While having an EBM centred life, I can’t tell how inspiring it was to receive highly qualified and courageous workshop applications. They were not only about cultural exchange but about freedom of movement, freedom of press, youth policies and many others! So dear network stay tuned for EBM, in İzmir we will listen to strong youth opinions!
During December, I also managed to go home to see my beloved friends, family and my sunny hometown. Although I do not celebrate Christmas, I went home during this period as living in the CD house alone is not something we are used to. Moreover, my being in Turkey was practical for EBM preparations. I had several meetings with several academics and organisations. We will see their contributions in İzmir. Although it was really hard, after finishing all my meetings in Istanbul and Ankara, I took the advice of some of the former CD members and turned my computer off to rest when I finally arrived home, in Antalya. Now, back in town and well rested, I will go on with EBM preparations!
Guillermo García Tabarés – Human Resources Director
As you are all aware of, the reform regarding the Working Groups was approved by Agora Skopje. Therefore, I gave my focus by helping them with their elections, and keeping an eye so that the agreed task division was being accomplished. I would like to wish all of them good luck and inspiration!
Besides all these points, I was working on re-establishing a newsletter for all the Working Groups to be able to keep our Network updated about their actions.
Of course, Working Groups are not the only bodies I work with. The Human Resources Committee that I am responsible for keeps on working by mainly gathering information, that’s why it might be not so known in the Network yet.
Apart from that, I spent time on some other issues: helping the Public Relations Committee to improve their human resources strategy after a deep analysis of their structure; commenting on the reports of the last Local Training Courses, so that AEGEE can little by little have a stronger system of training and materials; selecting the next coordinator of the AEGEE-Fair; taking part in the discussions for the next Exposure Photo Exhibition; and helping in the team building activity for the Network Commission that met in the CD house.
No trips from my side this month except the one back to my hometown for the winter holidays, a period in which I also attended the Christmas dinner of AEGEE-Santander, a traditional every-year visit of my mother antenna, before a perfect end of the year organised by AEGEE-Beograd. After an amazing winter holiday, let’s see what 2012 is preparing for me!
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