What would you use to inspire and promote an idea? Do you believe in the uniqueness and great value of people? In AEGEE-Tenerife, we believe we all have a talent and therefore a duty: we should contribute with OUR talents for the improvement of the current situation of youth.

Written by Tayri Campo, AEGEE-Tenerife

With this article I would like to bring to you closer one topic which affects us every day; it is the magical Internet. Did you ever ask yourself the question what is behind the phenomenon that makes you be able to connect with all your friends across the world? Now I don’t refer to a technical point of view, which is out of reach and focus of AEGEE, but I’m wondering if there is somebody behind this phenomenon, some institutions or government. Are you interested?

Let me introduce you to the Internet Governance (IG), which is according to definition of United Nations:

Internet governance is the development and application by Governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.

And what is the connection between IG and AEGEE? You might be surprised that there is a strong connection, especially in the field of young participation on big international events which discuss aspects of IG. In 2011 AEGEE organised, together with YEU, YFJ, JEF and Youthpress, an event in Belgrade prior to the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG). This partnership continued with last year’s edition of EuroDIG which took place in Stockholm and the Internet Governance Forum held in Baku and organised by UN.

European Youth representation at EuroDIG Stockholm 2012

What is behind these abbreviations like EuroDIG and IGF? IGF and EuroDIG are multi-stakeholder platforms aiming for discussions with all involved parties and this is the reason why they are so important. There are not so many places where you meet representatives of governments, CEOs of internet companies, human rights activists and youth. This was one of the reasons why this event was organized; to raise youth’s voice on a topic that is very important for our generation called “digital natives”, the generation that was born with internet access as a thing as common as TV.

This year our cooperation with other NGOs will include several activities and mostly the creation of a common platform which is called Network of EurRopean Digital Youth (NERDY), which gathers the aforementioned organisations and increase their cooperation in the field of IG. This year under this umbrella several activities will take place. The first one will be a workshop about IG at SpringAgora Rhein-Neckar, which will be followed by a  week-long capacity building training in Vienna at the beginning of May, and result in participation at EuroDIG 2013 in Lisbon.

Youth event prior to IFG 2012 Baku

You might think that these conferences are full of technology experts and geeks who use words that normal people don’t understand, but it is not like this. Topics which are discussed are more in policy-level and touch upon matters like copyrights, privacy, child protection, freedom of expression.

Furthermore, any member with an interest in the topic has the opportunity right now to apply for the event in Vienna.

Nobody has absolute control over the internet, as a global network is a living organism, however we can see that governments are trying to get control or try to apply laws which are currently used for classical media also to the internet. AEGEE is invited to express the opinion of European Students on this matter and it is on us to use this opportunity right, because it could infulence us all.

Written by Pavel Zborník, European Institutions and Communications Director

The world develops constantly and causes the changes of values, that people have. Scientists call our modern society “information & media-oriented”, because information has recently become the most important value. But is all the information useful? AEGEE-Utrecht tries to find the answer to this difficult question.

The most important and valuable resource in our modern society is information. We receive it every day, in addition such an enormous amount, which we can hardly analyze. Information waits for us everywhere – on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, in the internet and many other sources. Information has recently become a good, which can be sold and bought, has its precise price. But what is also very important, information now needs to fulfill certain requests to be interesting to the audience. For example the message should be up-to-date, devoted to the topics, which are important for the audience, and be reliable.
«Reliability of the Media» is the characteristic, which everybody knows, but can hardly explain how to prove it. With local sources it’s simpler. For example if one of the local newspapers wrote a story about a fire in the house in the center of your city, you can easily go there and see if it’s true. But what to do with messages devoted to other countries? Of course, for AEGEE-people it’s not such a big deal, they have so many friends all over the continent, that they can easily write an e-mail and ask, what is now happening in Spain or in Malta, in Serbia or in Russia. But there are still the countries, which are not in AEGEE-list, such as China, India, Philippine islands and many-many others. The only thing that we can do with the information about these places is to trust Media.
AEGEE-Utrecht is now deeply engaged in the topic, how to prove the reliability of the information that you hear or read. They asseverate that there exist millions of different reasons, why the information can be changed before being published. President of the AEGEE-Utrecht pre-event commission Maarten van de Kuilen says: “Even the most reliable sources of information have to simplify things to make it understandable or readable for the public. But there are also a lot of players that influence the information and can force journalists to change it”. In addition, every media has its own information policy, and it can happen that the editor refuses from the materials, which go against it.
But it is not the reason to be afraid and refuse from all kinds of information you receive. First of all, every valuable medium proves the information that is going to be published – especially facts and numbers. And there also exist some methods how the readers can understand, if the information is trustworthy or not, just being attentively. If you are really interested in these skills, AEGEE-Utrecht especially for you organizes an Agora Pre-event: «Reliability of the media», that will be held from March 28 to April 2. During the event specialists in mass media field will share with the participants all the information about such mysterious players in the process of media production as information suppliers. The participants will be also instructed, what basic factors they have to pay attention to while analyzing the media information. If you want to be an expert in reliability of the media and to be always able to distinguish true and false, go see for yourself.

Written by Aleksandra Antokhina, AEGEE-Moskva

Being the capital of Russia – the country, that unites East and West, Moscow has its own unique charm, which you can hardly find everywhere else in the world.

Moscow – the capital of Russia and one of the biggest cities in the world – is located in the western part of the country and occupies the territory of 2,500 square kilometers with the nationality over 12 million people. So far as the city is comparable in size to some European countries, tourists need to be very concentrated while making their timetable of the journey. For one-two days you can only have a short look on the center. To see all the interesting sights in Moscow you need to stay there not less than a week, but to break the ice of Muscovites’ affected severity and to discover the soul of the city can cost you at about a month.

The heart of the city, as red and beating as all the other hearts,  is Moscow Kremlin. Being historically a fortified complex and now the official residence of the President, it stand on the bank of the Moskva River and overlooks Saint Basil’s Cathedral and Red Square to the East and the Alexander Garden to the West. Within the Kremlin walls you can find four palaces, four cathedrals and well known Tsar Cannon and Tsar Bell – the largest cannon and bell in the world.

Cannon and bell are not the only things, which are large in Moscow. Ruling such a big country, Russians got used to have everything big: big parks, big houses, even the cars on the streets are quite big until now. It is totally inconvenient for the city with incessant traffic jams, but has no disagreement with unbounded Russian soul.

Red Square is the first important touristic target and not in vain. State Historical Museum is waiting for history-lovers at the beginning of the square. Tourists, interested in the Soviet period of Russian history, will definitely like Lenin’s Tomb. And of course no person is allowed to go to Moscow and not to make a picture of Saint Basil’s Cathedral – the geometric center of Moscow.

In walking distance from the Square you can find Bolshoi and Maly Theaters, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Lubyanka Square, where in Soviet time the headquarters of the KGB was situated, Russian State Library, Moscow Manege Building, the Alexander Garden with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and many more interesting places, which deserve to be the object of tourists’ interest.

Only one metro station divides you from the Arbat Street – a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow. It became an important tourist attraction because of the many historic buildings, and the numerous artists who have lived and worked there. But the Moscow Metro itself should be also mentioned as the underground museum of Soviet art.

There are numerous parks within the Moscow area, such as All-Russia Exhibition Centre with the Museum of Cosmonautic near it, Tsaritsyno and Kolomenskoye Parks, Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill with the Obelisk of Nike and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

The thing, that needs to be noted separately, is Russian weather. Of course it is a prejudice, that Russian winter is hardly to survive, but nevertheless it’s quite cold. That’s why the travelers, who decide to visit Moscow in winter, should be ready to choose more indoor-activities, such as museums and Galleries. Among them the most important place wins State Tretyakov Gallery. Tourists, who like more to walk the streets and to enjoy nature, are advised to choose summer time for their visit to Moscow.

Moscow is the magic place. It is the city, where a person can go to sleep poor and wake up reach, but can happen also vice versa. This is definitely the city, that never sleeps, and where your life depends not on you, but mostly on your destiny. And if you are lucky enough, Moscow as a big mother will love you and keep your peace.

Written by Aleksandra Antokhina, AEGEE-Moskva

Some people say that it is not possible to really get to know the spirit of someone through the social networks. However, it can be easy to be nice, kind and close on the other side of the screen, even if there is some distance. The AEGEEan had the chance to talk to Olga Rivero, a cheerful Biotechnology student from AEGEE Oviedo,  who has been elected as the new AEGEE Agora fair manager. Will she manage to modify our souls genetically and use her smile to make us even more human?

This is your minute of glory, go ahead Olga!

Hello, I’m 21 years old and I study Biotechnology. I’m doing the last months of my degree, since I’m planning on finishing University in June. I’ve been an AEGEE member since September 2010 and active from the very first minute on. AEGEE came into my life when I was going through a tough moment, and it was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was totally stunned by its freshness and spirit and, from that moment on, I knew it was going to become such an important thing to me.

Imagine we don’t belong to AEGEE. We have never heard of it. How would you explain to us what being an Agora fair manager means?

I would say that I am the main organiser of a “project’s market”, or an “idea’s market” from the biggest interdisciplinary youth organisation in Europe, and that my task is to provide everything they need for the people of the European bodies presenting their work to the rest of the members who are interested in it.

How are you planning to fascinate people attending the fair? Or is it a secret?

We are still starting to plan what the venue will be like where the Fair will take place, but my team (Anna Gots from Comité Directeur and Monica Olesinska from the Chair team) and I will do our best to make it look really attractive so that no one would hesitate to participate in it!

Three adjectives that should describe your performance in the Agora…

I think this is something that all the people who go to the Fair should answer after the Agora…

Anything personal, passions, obessions, your own way of understanding the World…that you would like to extend to your new role?

I guess my way of understanding the World is almost the same as that of any other young person now. It’s not the best time for being a student or starting looking for a job but thanks to stuff like AEGEE, taking the chance of exploring new and different opportunities doesn’t seem so risky and frightening. And that’s something that I want to transmit to all the AEGEE people: there’s nothing to fear of about becoming a member of a Working Group or a Committee if you like their future projects and what they’re doing when they explain it during the Fair!

Have you read about how former AEGEE fairs were done in the previous years? Anything you would like to keep on doing? Something you will not repeat?

I’m planning on leading the way of my predecessors for organising everything, but I’m also trying to add some personal details that I believe were missed at the Fair so far. I really don’t want to change anything specific, I just want to make the Fair grow a little.

We want to wish Olga good luck and give her thanks for having shared with us some of her time. Keep on shining!

Photos courtesy of the interviewed.

Written by Ana Valiente, AEGEE Tenerife

The EBM comes closer, and now it is the chance of AEGEE-Valletta. This year, the Maltese antenna, known for its best Travel Summer University 2012 and for having hosted the spring Agora “A vision for our Future” in 2007, gives a try to celebrating its second EBM, -the first one was held in 2005-. It would be a tremendous mistake to call them “newbies” in organizing international events but, as it is said, every time it is a new adventure. Martha Mifsud, public relations responsible of AEGEE-Valletta has shared with us some of the questions that might come up when setting up a statutory event.

-How do you manage to coordinate more than 300 participants?

-300 participants…yeah that’s quite a lot! However, we believe that together we achieve more. That is the main thread for the Maltese organizing team, that is what links us all together. Coordination is however, the art of good leadership. The most efficient way we thought of going about this event is to have various teams, each chaired by a specific person. To illustrate it better, I am for instance the Chair of the Marketing and PR team.

– When promoting the EBM, which tools do you use to make it better known?

-The strategy adopted was that of making use of all technological means at our disposal. Facebook nowadays is a major asset. On the other hand,  we also have the EBM Official website which is quite prestigious. Moreover, we used local newspapers and radio stations to make the general public aware of AEGEE-Valletta.

-When it comes to money…How do you achieve to get all the financial support needed for covering the costs of the EBM? Do you give something  in exchange?

-Funding is one big headache! The best solution I found is to be persistent and never lose hope! The plan we adopted was to apply for any funding application possible and ask for the sponsorship of any company or even a corner shop you come across, which also help us to invest that money in local events to encourage more people to join us. At the end, we managed and finally the picture started to get to its place. Obviously, nothing comes for free. However, it is only fair on our part to promote our tiny island on behalf of government entities, after all, we are very proud of our home.

-Once you get the funds, how do you distribute them? Which things are more expensive and which ones can be done in a humble way?  

AEGEE-Valletta has always been known for quality events. We want to present the whole package. We don’t believe in having good accommodation while providing for want of a better word ‘barely decent’ food. The solution is to try to get as much money as possible. This requires hard work and sacrifice and months of preparation.  AEGEE- Valletta tries to find the equilibrium between saving money on the one hand and investing in human relations on the other.

-With your minds fully set on logistics, do you have a little space dedicated to the environment? Are you eco-friendly?

-With regards to being eco-friendly, yes, we do our best to protect the environment. We believe that the world is our home and it needs to be safeguarded. In fact, one of the policies I adopted in the EBM Marketing and PR team was to refrain from printing materials and send documents, including sponsorship proposals strictly by email.

-Which advices would you give to other antennas that might be interested in hosting a European statutory event?

-Being one of the main organizers is a memorable experience. It is self-enriching and educative. With the right attitude, it could be the event which defines your life towards professionalism and practical training in view of a successful future career.

* The EBM Valletta will take place under the sunny sky of Malta from the 28th February till the 3rd March.

Photos courtesy of Martha Mifsud.

Written by Ana Valiente, AEGEE Tenerife

Even though Agora Budapest is still a fresh memory, it is time to think about the next statutory event in AEGEE: the European Boards Meeting, also known as EBM. Situated in an exotic location (the beautiful island of Malta), and organized by AEGEE-Valletta, a very active and popular antenna. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

However, we have to remember that the EBM is about half the size of an Agora, as far as the number of participants is concerned.

What do we need to know about the EBM, compared to the Agora? How important is a good motivation letter? How can you stand out of the crowd if you are a new AEGEE member, without much experience? This article will discuss the selection ofparticipants for this event.

In a quest to gather the necessary information, we asked for help the newly-elected Chair Team, consisting of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of 2013, Alla Resheten and Paul Smits. First and foremost, what we need to bear in mind is that the EBM is not an Agora: it is not a general assembly, and it is not about elections, and voting on proposals, or the future structure, rules and regulations of AEGEE. Having said that, the EBM is still considered a statutory event, and Alla Resheten describes it as “the biggest thematic conference of AEGEE, where at the same time we draft an Action Agenda for the next planning year.”

What is the application method, and what is the Chair Team looking for when choosing the participants? Alla explains very clearly: “This year the application system was changed a bit. Apart from submitting the application on the usual statutory applications website – applicants will also need to fill a survey. The selection will be based on those survey replies. As usual for EBM it is not only the Chair Team who is deciding who will be accepted, but also members of the Content Team, Secretary General and Projects Director”. Paul Smits adds: “For the EBM it is important to have quality participants. We need motivated participants who are willing to get involved and take action. We will try to determine what the real motive of an applicant is and select according to that”.

But what if you are new to AEGEE and do not have much experience, but still need to prove that you are motivated and ready to get active? Paul has the answer: “Make clear what your ideas considering Europe are, and your motivation to put time into it. Everything is possible if you want it enough. The EBM is not about AEGEE’s structure, so don’t bother with that. It is about taking action and learning about the thematic aspect of AEGEE. I do encourage all applicants to at least look at the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda before writing their application. By doing so, new members can have a clear view of what AEGEE has been focusing on”. Therefore, documentation is the key, as well as the willingness to express your ideas and to get involved on a higher level within the organization.

What about the destination? We know Malta is a dream place, but is it easy to reach? Paul believes that “Valletta as a city is in no way inferior to Budapest. Valletta, as a beautiful, vibrant, culturally unique and multifaceted city, will without doubt attract many members from all over our precious continent. Its location is very appealing, being the capital Mediterranean dream, but is does not have the beneficial geographically central position in our Network like Budapest has. It will be harder for people to come, but I still expect a lot of interested applicants”. Indeed, we can give some extra tips about how to reach Malta. The Malta International Airport is served by airline companies such as Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling, Air Berlin, Alitalia, Lufthansa, and, of course, Air Malta.

EBM Valletta is taking place between the 28th of February and the 3rd of March 2013. Do not miss this chance! More AEGEE life and opportunities to get involved in this amazing reality are waiting for you. See you in Malta!

Written by Alexandra Vilcu, AEGEE-Milano

Street lighting, carols, lottery, decorated trees, nativity figures and marzipan are some of the things that welcome the arrival of Christmas time to Spain, a country with a deep Christian tradition. Although it is changing, most of the Spaniards take theses holidays to sit with their family and loved ones around a table. Some others, like those captivated by the ghost of Christmas, think about what they have done, and promise themselves to change and give something away. And there is also someone who just does not care about it, as he feels it is fake, sad and materialistic. Either way, Spain is huge and although, in general we share the same way of celebration, like eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve for example, there are some traditions that belong to specific parts of the territory.

In the Basque Country, for example, there is not Santa Claus, but “Olentzero”, a man coming down from the mountains the night of the 24th of December with presents for the young ones. In the region of León, people decorate their house with a type of handmade crown called “ramo leonés” which consists of ribbons, threads and different kinds of dried fruits in the base. Everything is being held together by a wooden stick. Twelve candles are placed at the top of the structure and while lighting up those lights, the people wish to brighten their next twelve months.

But let’s be honest. If there is something truly expected by children it is the arrival of the Three Wise Men, the night of the fifth of January. In the south, in Algeciras, it takes place along the streets. A “noisy” dragging can parade, in order to remember that the Three kings come to town and leave something nice for us. The morning after, the sixth of January, there will be gifts under the Christmas tree and a delicious large ring shaped cake called “Roscón de Reyes” will be waiting for us at the breakfast table. Inside, there is a hidden figurine but also a bean. The person who finds the bean will pay the cake, but this fortunate person that discovers the figurine will become…KING FOREVER! (or at least this is what we have been told since we were little). To dream from time to time…is not that bad.  Come what may, ¡Feliz Navidad!

Written by Ana Valiente, AEGEE-Tenerife

Two locals, AEGEE-Skopje and AEGEE-Kragujevac, celebrate different humanitarian events and help out people by teaching them, gathering basic supplies and giving them the best thing they have: their time.

On 8th-9th of November 2012 Kathrin Renner and Anna Gots took part in the kick-off meeting of the EduCoach project – last initiative of Study Portals, supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus Mundus Action 3, in Eindhoven.

EduCoach project will help millions of students and PhD Candidates with personal professional advice to improve the quality of their decision on where to study abroad in Europe. To ensure this EduCoach will set up a personal online counselling service for prospective students and PhD Candidates. This service will combine the success of and need for strengthened international student services and personal advice with the effectiveness of modern information and communication technologies – and the outreach and popularity of existing study choice portals.

The expected outcomes of the project are: live chats, webinars, an extensive knowledge base for students as well as the targeted promotion campaigns and recruitment guides for universities.
The role of AEGEE here will be to ensure that the developed services will indeed meet the student information needs and to help with dissemination of the results amongst students in target countries.

Besides AEGEE representatives the meeting was attended by other partners: ACA (Belgium), DreamFoundation (Estonia), EuroDoc (Belgium), DEC Education (Ukraine), IFMSA-Jo (Jordan), GESCO (Jordan), as well as The Brenn White Group (USA).

Within these two days the objectives, work packages and roles of the partners were discussed as well as the first brainstorming and analysing round of the needs of the target groups was performed. Time frame of the project is 1.11.2012 – 30.04.2015, therefore we will keep you updated about its development in future as well.

Written by Anna Gots, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe 2012-2013