You can call her the NetCom of the Two Isles. Lisa Gregis, who cares about what is informally known as “the Rainbow Network” (part of the Italian locals and AEGEE-Valletta), decided to assign the organisation of her Autumn Network Meeting (NWM) to AEGEE-Cagliari, again on an island after AEGEE-Valletta organised the Spring NWM one. From the 3rd to the 6th of November, the Sardinian city will host a NWM that promises to be “rainbowlicious”. Let’s discover more about this event from Lisa and Francesca Zorcolo, President of the Italian local and Main Coordinator of the Network Meeting.
T
he AEGEEan: Why did you chose Cagliari?
Lisa: The application of Cagliari was simply amazing. When the NetCom received it, I thought they were applying to host an Agora, not a NWM! I thought “this is crazy!”. We should take their application as a model for the future. They are organising an amazing event and I’m really proud of them. The seriousness, passion and devotion they are showing for this event is inspiring for me. I feel I have to work even harder in order to not let them down.
Why did you decide to apply for hosting the NWM?
Francesca: We decided to candidate because the Network Meeting represents the successful completion of a path that we started a few years ago that had the aim of being more active on the European level as a local. We worked really hard and it’s an awesome achievement to finish 2016 hosting the first NWM in the history of AEGEE-Cagliari.
AEGEE-Cagliari Board 2015-2016
How many participants do you have?
Lisa: We will have 40 super lucky participants and we can’t wait to meet them!
What will be presented during sessions?
Lisa: The sessions will be about the new Strategic Plan, Summer Universities, fundraising, how to organise a thematic event, SWOT & sharing best practices, 60 Agorae in 120 Minutes, open space technology, board meetings, European Citizen Initiative, the State of the Network, we will talk about what happened at Agora Chișinău. I’m still building the programme, so something might change, but for sure in a week it will be definite.
Rooms where participants will sleep
What is in store for participants (facilities, meals, social programme)?
Francesca: We would like the participants to feel like guests who are coming here for meeting old friends. That’s why we have organised everything as best as we can offer: they will sleep in the hostel in the city centre, all the meals are provided in restaurants, there will be the famous Abis’ pub crawl, the cost being included in the initial fee, the European night and we will even try to take care of them before and after the event
Who will be a trainer?
Lisa: The trainers will be Zvonimir Canjuga (CD), myself (NetCom), Gunnar Erth (Les Anciens), Carolina Alfano (SUCT), Damiano Deidda (AEGEE-Cagliari), Alessandra Caddeu (AEGEE-Cagliari). Maybe there will be space for someone else, but still I’m happy we can have many trainers with very different experiences, so we can provide the best learning environment for our participants.
The core team of NWM Cagliari
Who is in the core team?
Francesca: The core team is composed by 10 members: Paola, incoming responsible, Thomas, social programme responsible, Antonio, fundraising and logistic responsible, Roberto, logistic responsible, Fabian, meal responsible, Federico and Matteo, IT responsibles, and myself who coordinates.
Did you apply for any funding or did you get any help from the university?
Francesca: In order to offer the “NWM of our dreams” we studied a strong fundraising strategy. That’s why we have applied during this whole year to several call for bids from our university, from our municipality, of our region, and also private ones. Moreover, we have organised different events for self-financing and we have gained some sponsorship for cutting the costs.
One of the rooms where sessions will be held
What is special about AEGEE-Cagliari and the city of Cagliari?
Francesca: AEGEE-Cagliari is first of all a family! We support each other, we study, train, eat all together, the success of one is the success of all of us. I think this is what makes us special and what helps us to always have active members.
Cagliari is an amazing city and we will be lucky to stay in the city centre for the entire event. We are hoping that the weather will be nice, as it usually is.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona