Last October, AEGEE Salerno organised an Erasmus+ project that contributed to the Focus Areas of Civic Education and European Citizenship. As recognition for such a wonderful project, they have been elected as ACTive Local of October. We talked to Sonia Della Sala, HR responsible of AEGEE-Salerno and co-coordinator of the project named “Erasmus nei Picentini”. She was the co-coordinator because the project was idealised, finalised, and delivered by Coordinamento Provinciale dei Forum dei Giovani di Salerno and AEGEE-Salerno.

ACT: Which emotions did you have when you knew that AEGEE-Salerno was chosen as ACTive local of October?

Sonia: Well, happy will be too reductive! I remember we were at our AEGEE-Salerno office at Università degli Studi di Salerno when we read the communication. Our first reaction was silence, then the President moved his eyes from the computer screen and looked at us with a big pirate smile on his Jack Sparrow’s face and we hugged each other. For sure we felt proud of our hard work, sleepless nights and early wakings.

Why did you decide to organise this activity?

There was more than one motivation to be honest. I will try to be as brief as possible, promised! After we signed our agreement on mutual cooperation with Coordinamento Provinciale dei Forum dei Giovani di Salerno during our Summer University “Non Solo Sole -XXIX Edition- InSpiring eUrope” we decided to start official cooperation with “Erasmus nei Picentini”. It took place right after “Erasmus Welcome Days” (that AEGEE-Salerno organises twice a year to welcome incoming Erasmus and International students). We wanted to introduce our local European history and international visions to foreign students with AEGEE flavor. Ideas came during long talks between Forum Giovani and AEGEE-Salerno. I was content manager of our Summer University and a member of CEWG and together with Francesco Barbarito, who is Coordinamento Provinciale Forum Giovani di Salerno External Relations Responsible and AEGEE-Salerno member, “Erasmus nei Picentini” happened!

The idea was to combine history, science, arts and beauty with AEGEE’s Civic Education and European Citizenship Focus Areas. Three cities of the province of Salerno were selected for this project to come true, each one of them selected for a specific reason. Montecorvino Rovella -known as “Science City” because it hosts the astronomical observatory dedicated to the famous local astronomer Gian Camillo Gloriosi, which in 1989, for the 20th anniversary of the Moon landing, held an international initiative where among the guests there were Micheal Collins (Apollo11), astronauts Cristiano Cosmovici and Patrick Baudry, and cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko. The observatory received numerous awards from famous national and international bodies for its research (especially on the extragalactic supernovae and the photometry of the minor bodies of the solar system). Now the Technological and Environmental Multimedia Centre European Planetarium San Pietro is under construction. San Cipriano Picentino because it had the privilege to host Benedetto Croce who was one the founders of “Liberal Italian Party”, which is the founder party of the world federation of liberal and progressive democratic political parties “Liberal International” and party member of the “European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party”, now known as “Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe”. Giffoni Valle Piana because it is the venue of the “Giffoni Film Festival”, now known as “Giffoni Experience”, which aims at promoting the knowledge and circulation of products of high artistic value which contribute to the formation and cultural growth of a mature critical conscience in young people.

Throughout this project, our main goal was to sow intercultural learning among foreign students on the importance of active citizenship, so to foster a stronger European culture.

Participants spent one full day at each venue and had workshops, conferences, debates and city tours. Pretty cool, huh? I bet you are thinking to apply next year…

What was the result of your activity?

When we opened the Open Calls for Erasmus students in Salerno the response was surprising. We reached more than 60 applications. Only 50 have been selected based on motivations given. The feedbacks we received were positive. Both AEGEE-Salerno members, international students and Forum Giovani were participative to workshops.

How do you inform your members about the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

Usually, we inform members about the Action Agenda on several occasions: during general members meetings, for instance, when the board presents the activities planned for the upcoming month. We also have a Whatsapp and Facebook group in which we spam OCs for EBs, Task Forces, AEGEE-Europe Projects and so on with a general introduction on the topic. During LTCs and Agorae Preparation, we go into more detail on the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda. Anyways, every members meeting is a good occasion to recap on AEGEE’s mission and vision. Too much info is hard to store all at once!

Do you have any other activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

Of course we do!! Action Months are approaching fast and we are looking forward to it. We have already planned February according to the guidelines YDWG sent. In March we are going to focus on our Internal Project “Civica Civitas”, while in April we are going to host the prestigious conference for the Franck Biancheri Award. Stay tuned because you are going to hear about it soon!!!

Why should other locals organise activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

Personally, as Vice-speaker of the Human Resources Committee of AEGEE-Europe, I would say that organising activities related to Action Agenda/Strategic Plan could be a good recruiting strategy. It is the best way to show to externals what AEGEE really is and does. The impact that it can have on youngsters. The purest motivation to join AEGEE comes with participation, without having to explain what AEGEE is and does in a few minutes -because it will still look ridiculously impossible after a few hours!!

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

Quite a few, actually. Planning beforehand is definitely one. Download and store guidelines is for sure a start, especially if you will eventually read them. Co-operation with a close or twinn antenna is another tip. Keep a constant eye on OCs, especially on projects and try possible combinations. I do not feel to go much into details because every local has separate needs, but for sure thematic activities could come in handy to solve attendances at events, as in make sure to organise a thematic activity as part of a general local assembly (or members meetings to sound less Dutch).

Can you tell us a bit more about your local?

AEGEE-Salerno was founded in 1989 by Fabrizio Moscati. As soon as AEGEE-Salerno was founded, in the same year we hosted “Autumn Agora Salerno 1989” and “Non Solo Sole – Summer University”. In 2003 we have been awarded “Best Summer University” and this year we are going to host our 30th edition of “Non Solo Sole – The Show mUst go on”, so stay tuned! Currently, we count 50 members of which 20 are active (but 10 are super active-productive). Our board is composed by six members, two of which are active on the European level: Federico Melella, AEGEE-Salerno IT responsible, and IT team of Europe on Track 5; and Sonia Della Sala, former vice-President and AEGEE-Salerno HR responsible, also vice-speaker of Human Resources Committee of AEGEE-Europe, member of Civic Education Working Group and Migration Interest Group of AEGEE-Europe, as well as sub-commissioner of Francesca Zorcolo for the Rainbow Locals. We do not have any committees, we prefer working groups. According to the specific needs we create a WG. One that has been going on for a while now is the “Translations Working Group” which has worked on the translation of the Statute of AEGEE-Salerno (currently under approval of the JC) and on the translation of events descriptions in different languages. We also have WGs according to the European events we host, at the moment we have FBA WG and SU WG.

Written by Cristina de la Parte, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

In the occasion of the Youth Development month, the Youth Development Working Group reached out to four AEGEE alumni and interviewed them, with the intention to connect past, present and future of AEGEE. Here’s the fourth and last interview of the series: Maria Nomikou (formerly) from AEGEE-Athina and AEGEE-Zaragoza. 

YDWG: Hello Maria, can you introduce yourself a bit?

Maria: I am Maria, I have studied theatre studies, stage management and international and European policies in education training and research and I joined AEGEE in 2002. Since then I have spent a lot of my time travelling for AEGEE, for pleasure or for delivering training courses. At the moment, I work at the British Council in the field of education, society and social economy. I love sewing, cooking and cinema. [she smiles, ed.]

And when did you become a member of AEGEE? How many years did you volunteer in it and what have you done during those years?

I joined AEGEE in 2002 and I was very active until 2009, but somehow I stayed involved as the last training I delivered for AEGEE was in 2013. Well, last year I facilitated the team building for the CD but it was just for a couple of days. What I have done… Member of AEGEE-Athina and AEGEE-Zaragoza, one year in the board of AEGEE-Athina, speaker of the Academy twice, president of the Members Commission (i think this doesn’t exist anymore [she smiles, ed.]), trainer in more than 15 European Schools, ES2 Oviedo Manager and chief editor of the NFE book: the impact of non-formal education on young people and society.

What does AEGEE mean for you?

Travelling like an executive, working in the middle of the night like in a multinational company, partying like an animal, having a friend in every single corner of Europe, thinking of the past and smiling for all the wonderful crazy experiences AEGEE gave me.

What was the biggest thing that AEGEE brought to you?

Confidence, the feeling that you have the power to make your dreams come true.

Which skills did you improve most during your very active years in AEGEE?

I feel that my whole personality was influenced by AEGEE. In my seven most active years in AEGEE I spent endless hours working for the organisation and I travelled to numerous places. This influences not only your skills and knowledge but your attitude towards life.

Did these skills help you to find a job easily? And what is your job now?

AEGEE first of all gave me a great opportunity to discover the world of youth work and youth training. Being nominated to the European Youth Forum Pool of Trainers for three mandates (2007-2013) I had the opportunity to work in very exciting projects with big institutions and NGOs. This influenced my future a lot and what I do now is as if I followed a natural path that started with AEGEE, continued with the Forum and other companies/experiences and brought me where I am, at the British Council in Athens.

What would you say is the biggest benefit of AEGEE for young people looking for a job?

It doesn’t matter what your job will be in five, 10 or 20 years, the biggest benefit is that it makes you feel a citizen of the world. It helps you improve basic soft skills such as collaboration, organisation, sense of responsibility, intercultural skills and many more that are useful for any job, even for the ones that maybe don’t exist yet. What you need to keep in mind is that this is not something that AEGEE offers you, but something you offer yourself, with AEGEE being just the vehicle.

Do you have any advice for newbies in AEGEE?

Grab the opportunities, try hard, follow your dreams and try to find out what makes you unique. AEGEE is a great and safe place to try new things, explore your strengths and weaknesses and find other crazy people that will join you in crazy journeys.

This is the fourth and last article of a series. You can find the first here, the second here and the third here. 

Written by Batuhan Çarıkçı, Youth Development Working Group

In the occasion of the Youth Development month, the Youth Development Working Group reached out to four AEGEE alumni and interviewed them, with the intention to connect past, present and future of AEGEE. Here’s the third interview of the series: Fabian Brüggeman (formerly) from AEGEE-Düsseldorf. 

YDWG: Hello Fabian, can you introduce yourself a bit?

Fabian: Sure! I’m living in Cologne in a very nice house with five and a half flatmates (one of them is a small kid) and a cat, with a garden and a pool. The perfect place to live and relax! I am working at the university – doing project management – but I reduced my working hours in order to have more time for my own business: I am running a training company called Improve yourself, where I help my participants to improve their softskills, mostly by the means of methods of improvisational theatre, which is a lot of fun! I played improv for quite some years, but now I am rather giving classes in improv in my leisure time.

And when did you become a member of AEGEE? How many years did you volunteer in it and what have you done during those years?

I became member of AEGEE in December 2004. Actually, I just wanted to be president of the local team which took care of the Erasmus students, but I was told I “had to be in the board of AEGEE” to do so. So I thought “Whatever, just join!”. And that’s how it started. I went to my first Agora in Izmir in 2005, met great people, re-founded AEGEE Düsseldorf in 2009… In 2010 I wanted to quit. I was working back then already, and I thought it was time to let go. But I was asked to help out “one last time” for the European Ideas Factory in Gliwice. And somehow the spirit came back (maybe meeting a nice girl helped as well [he winks, ed.]). That was the time I started giving trainings in AEGEE, teaching what I had learned before being a participant in improv classes. And somehow my participants loved it! I called that workshop “Improve yourself” and at some Agoras I had to give it twice because so many people wanted to join. Since I also became a systemic coach, I joined the MemCom and one term later was elected speaker. Back then, I enjoyed giving team building trainings, also for CDs, like the one for CD just after the vote of confidence back in 2012 in Enschede. During that time, together with Katja Berendt, I made a proposal to change the MemCom into the MedCom, to make sure it can be much more helpful and step in at an earlier time. I was their president from 2012-13. My active time ended back then, but here and there I am still asked to contribute, like for example taking care of teambuilding for the current CD back in August.

What does AEGEE mean for you?

AEGEE is a playground, where its members share the same values. And with playground I mean the space to make mistakes and learn from them, improving and growing. A lot of people are annoyed that AEGEE tries to reinvent the wheel each couple of years. I disagree with them – I think it’s amazing, because that means all those people in the CD, commissions, projects… they are able to do the same mistakes and learn from them big times!

What was the biggest thing that AEGEE brought to you?

The space to grow and learn to become a trainer. At this very moment, writing the answers, I am sitting in a train going back home, because I gave a teambuilding training to a company in southern Germany. This would not have happened without AEGEE!

Which skills did you improve most during your very active years in AEGEE?

Communication, understanding (cultural) differences in people and value them, how to handle big egos without fighting against them, liking people and team work.

Did these skills help you to find a job easily?

Absolutely! I started working at a huge international IT-consulting company after my studies, and half of the time of my job interview was about AEGEE and the experiences I had in AEGEE, working in international teams. They were really curious about it!

What would you say is the biggest benefit of AEGEE for young people looking for a job? Do you have any advice for newbies in AEGEE?

I think the biggest benefit is that young people can make experiences that are valuable for future employees. Intercultural competences, communication, team work… which you can mention and stress in job interviews. Don’t just do it for your CV, but do it for yourself. If you have an intrinsic motivation, go for it, as long it’s aligned with the values of AEGEE it will be a win-win situation. You need to shape your “AEGEE-path” yourself, go and create it.

This is the third article of a series of four. You can find the first here and the second here. 

Written by Batuhan Çarıkçı, Youth Development Working Group

In the occasion of the Youth Development month, the Youth Development Working Group reached out to four AEGEE alumni and interviewed them, with the intention to connect past, present and future of AEGEE. Here’s the second interview of the series: Simon de Hartog (formerly) from AEGEE-Enschede. 

YDWG: Hello Simon, can you introduce yourself a bit?

Simon: Currently I am working at my own company as a software architect. Next to that I occasionally teach classes for both private and corporate people, ranging from personal development to IT. I unsubscribed from Holland last year in November, since I don’t have a house or a fixed place where I live.

People that go on holidays and have pets to take care of can find me on various sites. I travel from house to house every two weeks to two months, taking care of it and the pets there. My stuff fits in two suitcases in the back of my car, it’s great to be able to travel light. Every place I go, I need about a day to find supermarkets, natural places to visit and to set up my laptop and screens.

Some ask me: “But what about friends?”. The funny thing is that I noticed I actually visit more friends than I used to. I guess this is because I travel around the countries a lot more, so it’s easier to stop by friends when I am nearby.

And when did you become a member of AEGEE? How many years did you volunteer in it and what have you done during those years?

I joined AEGEE-Enschede in January 1999. A friend of mine who was in the board at that time asked me to set up the office network and server. After I did that, I thought “I might as well join the Association”. A step I have never regretted!

At first, I joined a local committee to maintain the ICT, because that’s what I was good at. The committee grew to four people, I became the chairman. I started visiting the AEGEE pub called Asterion and I met new and interesting people. They took me hitchhiking to Utrecht, Poland and beyond. My first AEGEE experience was at Agora Utrecht: all those nationalities in a single room, and we were all members of the same group of students! Awesome!

Then I started travelling more, joined statutory events and conferences, European Schools and more. Teaching classes at various IT European Schools was becoming a habit. Together with fellow nerds, we revived the IUG (Internet User Group) into the IT Working Group at Agora Udine.

Various trips to the headoffice followed, arranging the IT there, joining lots of parties and meeting new AEGEEans all the time. The statutory events became more and more dependent on IT, so together with support from various other members, an IT-responsible was appointed for statutory events just after I more or less resigned from the position. [he smiles, ed.]

What does AEGEE mean for you?

For me, AEGEE represents what it stands for: an organisation of European students spread across various countries. It is the best thing that happened to me during my studies at university. I learnt a lot about myself, others, cultures, travelling and broadened my view of the world. It provided me with a vast network of good friends and also business relations. Before I joined, I always thought of Poland as a country left of former Russia. Now, it’s only the country next to Germany, a lot closer!

What was the biggest thing that AEGEE brought to you?

Trying to put a measure on all the things AEGEE has given me is not possible for me, let alone ranking them! In general, I believe AEGEE brings three things to any member, each of course in varying degrees: personal development, fun, travelling and cultural experience.

I’ve been lucky to be able to say I received all three. It greatly improved my social skills, because they were lacking behind when I started university. I’ve also learned a lot about management, organising events, how to deal with various types of organisations and getting comfortable wearing a suit. [he smiles, ed.]

The fun part hardly needs explanation. Parties, inspiring (or sometimes not so inspiring) workshops, organisation of statutory meetings, visiting beautiful places, meeting beautiful people, and last but not least, getting a glimpse of what goes on behind the chairtable!

Which skills did you improve the most during your very active years in AEGEE?

How to make contact with people in a good way, getting insights on how different cultures work and think, especially when interacting. I learnt how to do business, organise events, have effective meetings and why most meetings I have now are not so productive… Giving workshops, putting together training materials, confronting people in a constructive way, oral presentations… I can go on for a long time.

I guess if people wonder what they will get out of joining AEGEE, it’s almost impossible to get an answer. I had a similar issue when I was about to join the board of AEGEE-Enschede. “What will it bring me?” I asked myself and others a lot of times. I did not get a satisfying answer, at least not one justifying giving up more than one year of studies (which is not the case anymore these days, don’t worry [he smiles, ed.]).

In the end, I came to the conclusion that I could not rationalise my decision to join or not. So I decided to go for it, just because it seemed like a wonderful challenge. And it was! To this day, I’m still happy I chose to join the board.

Did these skills help you to find a job easily? And what is your job now?

Certainly! The skills helped my to find a job I love. I quit my job a few years ago and decided to start living off my own company (which I already had for a few years). It worked out great, hopefully I will never have to be an employee again. [he winks, ed.]

I develop software architectures and also partly build them for large and small companies. One thing I also learned in AEGEE is that IT should not be a goal; it is still a mean to make an organisation operate more efficiently. This means IT projects are a success or failure solely based on the adoption rate of the organisation’s employees or participants. Many IT companies these days are no competition for me at all because they don’t understand this seemingly simple rule. Thanks again to AEGEE!

What would you say is the biggest benefit of AEGEE for young people looking for a job?

Difficult to give one biggest benefit that is valid for every combination of persons and jobs. The one I am still profiting from is my network of business relations I got from AEGEE and also the fact that I learned how to maintain and expand it.

Lastly, do you have any advice for newbies in AEGEE?

When I look back to my years in AEGEE, I have little regrets. However, if you are a new member or thinking of becoming one, please enjoy your membership! Enjoy what AEGEE has to offer you in all its aspects. Experiment, play, don’t take everything too seriously all the time. AEGEE can be a safe haven to learn how to conduct business and interact with all kinds of people in real life. Of course there are people, money and time at stake. But, you learn a lot more from mistakes then from successes. Perhaps this advice could also apply to life after AEGEE?

This is the second article of a series of four. You can find the first one here. 

Written by Batuhan Çarıkçı, Youth Development Working Group

In the occasion of the Youth Development month, the Youth Development Working Group reached out to four AEGEE alumni and interviewed them, with the intention to connect past, present and future of AEGEE. Here’s the first interview of the series: Berat Ezel (formerly) from AEGEE-Izmir.

YDWG: Hello Berat, can you introduce yourself a bit?

Berat: I am a volunteer, youth worker and consultant on training design solutions and recently I have been working with Syrian refugees and professionals who work with disadvantaged target groups in the frame of social inclusion. Apart from these fields, I am actively working on outdoor education, entrepreneurship trainings for youngsters and women entrepreneurs living in rural areas. I live in Bodrum,Turkey.

And when did you become a member of AEGEE? How many years did you volunteer in it and what have you done during those years?

Well, I became a member of AEGEE-Izmir in 2000. I was actively involved in local and European activities until 2008. Since then I have been supporting AEGEE locals or members as alumni member. When I was an active member of AEGEE, I had many roles in the Network. I was a board member of AEGEE-Academy, SUCT, DWG, Network Commission at the European level and I was a board member of AEGEE-Izmir, organising committee member of AGORA Izmir 2005, which was awarded “best event” and I was organiser of several Summer Universities.

What does AEGEE mean for you?

AEGEE means a big network and family which can broaden your life vision and give you many opportunities, more than a young person can ever imagine.

What was the biggest thing that AEGEE brought to you?

Obviously the reason of choosing my current job career and my lifelong friends from Turkey and all over Europe. Before being a member of AEGEE, I was involved in volunteering activities but I was feeling that something was missing. Then, after meeting different people from different backgrounds from all over Europe, I realised that youth’s needs and problems are not so different in different countries. And this network motivated me to step up to extend my competences in order to be more active as citizen. On the other hand, while organising social projects and activities for youngsters, I had the chance to meet amazing people who are willing to make a positive impact in society. Some of them are my close friends and some are my colleagues now. We have a strong connection thanks to the AEGEE spirit.

Which skills did you improve most during your very active years in AEGEE?

Well not only skills, but I would rather say I had the chance to develop knowledge and attitudes in my job and life too. First of all, I had the chance to explore civil society and its power for a change in the community. Intercultural learning, conflict resolution, active citizenship, volunteering, human rights and advocacy, and designing learning activities (LTCs, European Schools) are only some of the fields I got knowledge of. Surely event management, project management, FR and PR skills, how to run an NGO, how to manage volunteers and many other skills helped me to build my career. Working in the right field, with the right target group and with the right team helped me to develop my attitude towards my job. Sharing information and gaining knowledge became the vision of my life.

Did these skills help you to find a job easily? And what is your job now?

It was NOT so easy at the beginning. Including my friends and family, nobody ever believed that I could have a good future or good life by choosing social work. When I was travelling in Europe from one event to another, they mostly thought that I was just partying and enjoying life and that’s it. Obviously, recognition of youth work at the beginning of the 2000s was not so developed as much as today. So it was not so easy to find a job to work on. On the other hand, thanks to my social and organisational skills, I had the chance to work on large scale projects of national and international foundations and institutions and this helped me to start working as freelance youth trainer. I still am a trainers’ pool member of different European youth networks. But I work as project manager in an youth and culture centre in Bodrum, Turkey.

What would you say is the biggest benefit of AEGEE for young people looking for a job?

The biggest advantage of AEGEE for a youngster is being a member of huge network/family full of opportunities. Each youngster has skills and motivation, desires but mostly they think they are alone. For a young person, playing a violin in Izmir is nice, but if you tell him/her “there is an opportunity to meet different people who play different instruments from Madrid, Athens, Krakow, Baku, Budapest, Prague, Zagreb” and he/she can come together, meet, understand each other, work together, organise a concert together with those people and invite a whole European community to that, and if you tell him/her that it is not only a music performance but promotion of solidarity, unity and a better future for new generations with no prejudices through this event, then I am sure that youngster would say “It is impossible!”. Well, it is possible..I’ve seen it with AEGEE.

Lastly, do you have any advices for the newbies in AEGEE?

I don’t know if it is advice, but I would say I am very sorry for them. Because if they are already a newbie, that means they are already infected by the AEGEE virus. It will be following them entirely. [he smiles, ed.] AEGEE is like a simulation of life, both professionally and socially, and it is also life itself. So they should enjoy it and use it and gain from it. But they shouldn’t forget to give back to AEGEE as well.

Written by Batuhan Çarıkçı, Youth Development Working Group

AEGEE Sofia has been chosen as ACTive Local of the Month, because during August they organised an Erasmus+ Youth Exchange, and a SU that matters in collaboration with the Civic Education Working Group. We interviewed Elitsa Hadzhieva, president of AEGEE Sofia to know more about those wonderful activities and the local.

ACT: Which emotions did you have when you knew that AEGEE-Sofia was chosen as ACTive local of August?

Elitsa: Total and complete joy! It was a very hard working month for our very small and compact team, so you can only imagine how surprised we were that everything went very good with our events and we even got recognised for it. [she smiles, ed.]

Why did you decide to organise this activity?

We wanted to organise our own Erasmus+ exchange for some time and basically driven by the motivation of one of our members – Ivaylo Bogomilov, we decided to try with the deadline for project proposals in February and luckily it got approved. It was a project that his previous board wrote two years ago but then it was put on the waiting list and we improved it a little bit and applied again. About the Summer University, I have to say that we were very hooked up by the idea of making a SU that matters and from the start when we saw the booklets from SUCT about possible cooperations with some of the AEGEE bodies, we started thinking about doing something more special this summer. And we chose the topic and contacted the Civic Education Working Group because civic education has been a very hot topic in Bulgaria for the last few years. We as a local in Bulgaria feel that it’s a really important issue and of course we should get involved as much as possible, and also our board was very keen on the idea. After we decided the topic and that we would do it with CEWG we were like “Maybe we should make it a summer course+”. So, we took the challenge. We decide to have a meaningful topic, our SU to be an SC+ and at the same time to be a travelling one. It was a big challenge, but it was worth it.

What was the result of your activity? 

We had 50 participants from eight different countries in our Erasmus+ project, which is a big challenge because there are tons of different bureaucratic things you have to do. The topic was about healthy lifestyle and youth empowerment and I have to say that three months after the project our participants are still sharing their experience, like how they challenge themselves, what kind of events they participate to because they were motivated to do so after our project, etc. During our SU we had 25 participants and we did more than 20 workshops about civic education, active participation, European citizenship, politics and policy-making and about Structured Dialogue, which is my personal favourite, about how young people can get active in policy making on a national and European level. Also, we received feedback from some of our participants that have been active in AEGEE for the past few years, they said most of the workshops had very good content, diverse and different from what they had seen until then and they marked it as something positive.

How do you inform your members about the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

We mainly use our LTCs as informative mediums, where we are telling our members what it is. We are planning to get better at this in the future.

Do you have any other activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

We will have a project about social inclusion of young people from marginalised groups. And also we have some ideas for organising some training sessions/workshops connected with the four focus areas for students and pupils (that are 17/18 years old).

Why should other locals organise activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

It’s easier to organise an event when you know that you have four focus areas and some guidelines with them that can help you with coming up with an idea that you would like to put into practice. Also, as cheesy as it may sound, it’s always better to have in mind the bigger picture of the whole network when you organise or execute a project.

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

People, just make our network great again! Joke aside, if you think that thematic activities are what your antenna or what you members need – do not hesitate to organise something. Also, the feeling of what you have accomplished can motivate your board and your members to do more and more activities not only related to the Action Agenda.

Can you tell us a bit more about your local? 

AEGEE-Sofia is not a big local, but it is like a family for most of its members. The antenna was established at the beginning of the 90s. In 1992 the local became part of the Network of AEGEE-Europe and ever since that moment, the number of members varies between 15 and 50 people. This mostly depends on the time of the year. Usually, the peak period in the past when most of the members were extremely active was just before the Summer Universities started. We have around five-six active members. Nevertheless, this year we managed to overcome a lot of challenges and we organised a few big events despite the lack of active people but in that way, we had the chance to work with some of the older members who were active two years ago and were our biggest help this year.

Written by Cristina de la Parte, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

“Discrimination0”, the project organised by AEGEE-Lviv, AEGEE-Dresden and AEGEE-Moskva has already come to its end. The project consisted of two parts which took place in Ukraine and Germany in the format of youth exchange. The main goal of the event – promoting tolerance and unity for building a society free of any kind of discrimination and stereotypes.

The first part took place in Lviv on October 2nd-7th. During the week, every day was very different from the others and very intensive. The first day of the project was devoted to finding the definition of discrimination and discussing some controversial points about it. Then we talked about the discrimination of disabled people and got acquainted with the international sign language. We also had a day devoted to gender discrimination and meeting with representatives of the League of Women’s Rights Protection “Harmony of the Equal”. They shared with us some important information about gender discrimination in Ukraine and the ways it can be revealed. We also learned some legal aspects of this problem. As Lviv is considered to be one of the oldest and the most beautiful cities of Europe, our organisers also included an excursion part to the programme. So, we had a city tour with an amazing guide who let us in on the city secrets and a trip around three old castles situated in the Lviv region. It is also worth mentioning the informal part of the project – communication, games to know each other, evening walks and parties!

The second part of the “Discrimination0” project took part in Dresden from the 17th to the 22nd of November. Due to our amazing organisers, the second part was mostly focused on the themes that weren’t discussed before. So, we had a reflection workshop with a long conversation on privileges in society and empathy towards other people. We tried to understand the phenomenon of PEGIDA, to find out the real ways to react against discrimination, to develop a civil courage and understand the main problems of the muslim community. A gender issue was also present in our discussions, but not in a way we were used to; an exhibition, “The boringly normal man”, dedicated to masculinity made us think about this social construct. What does it mean – being a man in the XXI century? Which problems are men usually faced with? Now almost everybody agrees we must fight against gender inequality, but without understanding the nature of femininity and masculinity it would not be possible.

“Discrimination0” has come to its end. To sum up, the Dresden part differs from the Lviv one on its topics and on the questions we were trying to solve. But that’s the most important thing! Two countries having a different background and different experiences uniting against the mutual problem, trying to learn from each other and to understand each other. Reacting against discrimination is very important, but the first and the main thing our action can start with is a feeling of empathy towards somebody and understanding of the situation. We strongly believe that “Discrimination0” had an impact on the participants and they will feel now informed and empowered enough to make a difference in their society and stand for values as diversity, trust and understanding. We want to thank the foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” (EVZ), the Federal Foreign Office and the Robert Bosch Stiftung for making this project possible!

Written by AEGEE-Lviv

AEGEE-Warszawa and the European Citizenship Working Group have great things in store for this spring. With Citizenship at its Grassroots-European and Polish Perspectives, they want to explore the current situation of democracy and the rule of law in Europe and Poland during a three-days event in March. We reached out to Patrycja Figarska, from AEGEE-Warszawa, and Álvaro González Pérez and Jasmin Kaiser from the European Citizenship Working Group to ask them about this upcoming event!

The AEGEEan: Congratulations on your event. How did you come up with the idea to organise it?

Patrycja: Back in September in Catania, the ECWG and AEGEE-Warszawa shared a similar idea of organising together a conference that will bring Europe closer to its citizens and tackle topics that are current and important for youth. The state of democracy, rule of law, and the approach to European values is something that is being challenged and questioned recently in Poland and other countries. Therefore, we have decided to raise awareness on these issues and invite you to take part in the discussion about the state of democracy and rule of law.

What is the current situation in Poland and why do you think holding this event there is important?

Patrycja: More than 25 years after the fall of communism, once an example for others after its successful fight for freedom and democracy, Poland is now a cause of international worry. Over a period of two years new laws and regulations regarding the justice system have been adopted, and this lead to crowds of demonstrators taking the streets of Poland to protest against the reform, the European Commission triggering Article 7 against Poland, the Polish government not accepting the EU concerns regarding the rule of law, thus rising tensions between Poland and the EU.

Developments in Poland show that the democratisation process never finishes and it is important to understand its development and take an action when necessary. Considering the past and present situation of democracy in Poland we believe Warsaw is a perfect place to discuss its state in Europe.

In your opinion, what should be the role of the rule of law in Europe and how can we AEGEEans contribute to it?

Álvaro: The rule of law should be the same everywhere, be it Europe, Japan, Brasil, or Libya: the principle by which every individual or entity is accountable to a certain and popularly accepted set of rules in a fair and equal way.

As AEGEEans we all agree (or we hope we do) that this is a fundamental principle that should be respected everywhere. Now, the way in which we can contribute to it is essentially tricky: we can and should lobby for it as much as our tools and means allow us, for example by organising a conference on the topic. However, when it comes to specific examples of deficit of rule of law, especially in countries where AEGEE is present, unfortunately we cannot be so open, simply because there’s a risk on it that involves AEGEE as a whole, and particularly the AEGEEans from that country.

Jasmin: As the rule of law cannot be taken for granted in any European country, it is each citizen’s duty to fight for it – constantly. Young people, especially AEGEEans, should act as role models and actively make use of democratic tools such as public discussions or direct contact with political representatives. It’s easy to ignore us, if the youth does not raise its voices.

Can you give us some sneak peeks of the programme?

Jasmin: The programme is going to be as diverse as the event description promises by bringing European and Polish perspectives together. There are various different session formats, ranging from informative input lessons to panel discussion and interactive workshops. In times of fake news we will profit from the expertise of high level speakers who will try to set an equal basis of knowledge for each and everyone. Coming from different backgrounds, such as European and Polish academia, politics or civil society, guest speakers will represent contrasting positions and open the discussion with participants in a fruitful and balanced atmosphere. In general, the programme is tailored to active Polish and non-Polish participants who want to be heard. Ideally the opinions and outcomes of the conference will be published on national and European media and used to confront decision makers. Friday to Sunday will grant a tight schedule which requires an attentive brain, thus participants are invited to take the opportunity to discover the city and relax with AEGEE-Warszawa on Thursday.

Who would be the ideal participant and how can they apply?

Álvaro: The first aspect we had in mind when thinking of the participants was the mixture of both international and Polish participants, mainly because of the fundamentally different perspectives that one has depending on one living in or out of Poland.

The second aspect we all agreed on was the fact that we want both AEGEEans and non-AEGEEans to be present at the conference in order to avoid the constraints that limiting ourselves to the views of exclusively AEGEE members brings along with it. Since the conference is open to all young Europeans who do not necessarily have to be AEGEE members we encourage you to share this open call with all of your friends!

As a whole, we obviously want participants that are interested in the topics of democracy and rule of law. This does not mean that there’s an expertise requirement. The same way our speakers will come from different backgrounds and fields of expertise, we expect our participants to be as heterogeneous as one could imagine.

In order to apply, you have to fill it this formulary.

If AEGEEan, also the intranet form.

And of course, clicking attend to the Facebook event!

Tell us three reasons to visit Warsaw and attend your event.

Patrycja: I. Multiple Perspectives – speakers coming from different backgrounds, local and international participants bringing diverse experiences from their home countries will create a mixture of high quality thematic content that will enrich your knowledge on the topic.

II. State of Democracy – a core value of AEGEE. Therefore, in the times when its principles are under threat we should make an effort to critically assess the situation and take and active role in shaping the presence and influencing the future we want to live in.

III. Warsaw – a city you will fall in love with while experiencing its rich history and different faces. Also called a “phoenix city” as it has been rebuilt from ruins after World War II. It is a place full of contrasts – a mixture of the old and the new, of historical monuments and modern architecture, of traditional and alternative places.

Decide on your own reasons to take part in “Citizenship at its Grassroots” conference and join us in March in Warsaw!

I’m sure that attending your first statutory event, especially Agora, was a great experience, but at the same time quite a shock; seeing 700 to 1000 AEGEEans gathered for the general assembly of our association, meeting your friends from all over Europe and of course making new ones. While every Agora is different, with a different location, different Chair teams, different participants, one figure stays the same; Gunnar. And then you ask yourself and your fellow AEGEE members; Who is this person taking pictures and posting on Facebook? Why is he still around? What stories and experiences does he possess? Spyros Papadatos from AEGEE-Ioannina interviewed Gunnar Erth and here is the full interview.

Spyros: We always see you active at events, taking pictures and posting on Facebook, but how does a normal day of your everyday life look like?

Gunnar: Currently I am working as editor for two business magazines in Stuttgart. However, at the moment there is no normal life. I decided to quit my job by the end of March 2018, so now I am searching for a new one! I already had some nice job interviews and one of them was successful. All this takes time, that’s why unfortunately I don’t have that much time for the Golden Times these days. Aside from that I am also supporting my mother who unfortunately has some health issues. Also this requires a lot of attention.

You were recently part of the “Project Lab” initiative. Can you share with us a few words about it?

The Project Lab was a training and brainstorming event about developing and organising projects in an AEGEE environment. It was a three-day event that took place right before Agora Catania in the beautiful location of Favara. The local organisation was done by Mario Luparello and his great AEGEE- Agrigento team, the trainers were Réka Salamon, Philipp Blum, my fellow honorary member Olivier Genkin and me. It was an honour to work with all of them!

Why did you decide to be part of it?

I decided to be part of it because a lot of AEGEE members have ideas about great projects, but they are not aware that it is actually really easy to turn them into AEGEE events! Because of this, the number of international thematic events in AEGEE has been in decline for the past ten years. We now tried to put a hold on it, the first Project Lab was only the first step!

We see that several projects that have written AEGEE history, like Europe on Track and Y Vote are now running or will run their 5th and 3rd editions respectively and of course Summer University its 30th edition. How possible is it to reinvent older projects?

It is actually very easy. Lots of international projects could easily take place in these days. I just want to give two very different examples:

• “Understanding Europe”, a series of lectures and discussion evenings with an expert journalist of a current affairs topic. Journalists are easy to get and know how to present a topic. This series of events was promoted European-wide under one project name and brand, but of course most participants came from the local and neighbouring antennae. It’s a zero euro project with great impact and easy to do;
• “Find your way”, a series of nine trainings and international conferences dealing with topics such as intercultural stereotypes and prejudices, media impact, nationalism, security policy and students rights in Central and Eastern Europe. If you see the current developments in this part of Europe, you can just copy the project. This requires a bit more funding though.

There are many more and whenever I tell this to our members, they are full of enthusiasm to create something similar. However, they lack information and training. AEGEE should create an international events database, with title, date, organisers and the detailed programme of every international thematic event or project. This would help people a lot, because it’s not always about the funding. AEGEE needs ideas, inspiration and skills how to put the ideas into practice!

How important can the projects be generally for AEGEE and Europe today?

Very important. International projects dealing with aspects of the wide framework of European integration have always been the unique selling point of AEGEE. Other associations such as BEST, ELSA or ESN have a concrete target group, a concrete topic to talk about – being it technology, law or mobility. AEGEE is interdisciplinary, which on first sight makes it a lot harder to explain the purpose of the association. However, being interdisciplinary is actually a great asset, because it opens us to many topics and to see problems from many angles. And our main topic since 1985 is European integration and its many cultural, political or economic aspects. Unfortunately AEGEE lost its way and focuses too much on the personal fun aspect and not on the aspect to discuss current issues on a European scale. We have to go back to this or AEGEE loses its purposes.

You were a CD member and one of the first Network Commissioners 20 years ago. How different did the Network look back then?

The task is the same: the NetCom is there to serve and protect the network. The difference: the NetCom had no money, no reimbursements and communication was a lot harder. There were no social media, phone calls abroad cost a fortune, no one except for a few Italians and Finns had a cell phone. When I was elected, I sent a mail to all my locals, introducing myself and offering my support. Then I realised that two of my locals in Romania did not even have an e-mail address. So I called them on the phone from my flat in Hungary – which was actually a great thing, because both antennae had a recruiting event the week after, so I visited them both. In general, Network Commissioners travelled a lot more to their locals. This was possible because our administrative workload was a lot less. We had to collect one antenna report per semester, not one per month. One more difference: at that time, the task of Network Commissioner was one you would do at the end of your AEGEE career, it was only for the most experienced people. We used our expertise not only to help antennae, but also to create new ones. Network enlargement was a core task and we really succeeded in it.

You have been an AEGEEan for several decades now and you are an honorary member of AEGEE- Europe, the biggest distinction of our association. What motivates you to still be an active alumnus and actively attend events?

It’s several things. First of all, AEGEE is my family. Every year I meet new family members, and they are all so amazing people. It makes it really hard to leave. I actually feel that I have much more in common with their positive spirit, their hunger for making Europe a better place than with many of my peers at home or elsewhere in Europe. Second, I want to give something back. I learnt so much through AEGEE, it made me a more open-minded person and provided me with awesome memories and many skills; therefore it’s only fair to show people how they can do things, to inspire them. It’s only an offer, but I am happy that most members react so positively!

How do you see the current alumni system of AEGEE?

AEGEE’s alumni system should be a lot better. On European level we have Les Anciens, which is organising lots of very interesting events every year and is open to every member who finished its active path and wants to join us oldies. However, many people don’t do that, despite the presentations of Les Anciens at each Agora. This is a pity. Moreover, AEGEE doesn’t use the full potential of its alumni. Many have jobs in parliaments, government bodies or own companies. However, there is no proper database for it. There is a lot of room for improvement. On local level alumni work does hardly exist. Some Dutch antennae are really good at it, also some German such as AEGEE-Passau. However, this is one of the points that AEGEE should really tackle. It’s a pity to see that many locals don’t even bother to invite their founders or other oldies to their annual antenna birthday celebrations. Please do it, guys!

What can the current generation of AEGEEans learn from our alumni?

A lot. They can get inspired, they can get actual useful contacts, they can also get trainings from them. However, many oldies want to be asked, they don’t approach the antenna directly. You are supposed to contact them. So, just find out who they are, contact them and you will see they are eager to help!

In the CD house, one can find hundreds of old publications (magazines, newspapers, booklets etc). How much can we learn from the past and our history? How can we use this knowledge today?

An association that doesn’t know its past has no future. AEGEE is repeating so many mistakes instead of reaching higher goals to build upon past knowledge. By analysing the path that AEGEE went in the past 20-30 years, you can recognise patterns and trends. And they are really important to know. On a more practical note, it’s easy to use the existing knowledge: for example in terms of event and project ideas, knowledge on how to structure trainings, but also by finding out which AEGEE legend now lives in your city and can provide lectures or contacts. All this is easy to find: in the pre-social media age information was stored in great magazines such as the NewsBulletins, it’s ready to take and easy to use since it’s not spread all over Facebook. Also the old mailing lists provide amazing information. And if you are looking for photos of your antenna’s events from the period 2001-2009, you have a great chance to find them on www.aegee.org/photo.

Many things are happening now in Europe. Towards which direction would you turn AEGEE’s attention if you could?

All issues related to European integration as well as peace and stability. AEGEE can give orientation in a phase where more and more people fall back to nationalism because the world has become too complicated for them. When AEGEE was founded, the EU was in a crisis. European integration had come to a halt. Politicians did not know what to do. In this period AEGEE came and said: “Look, we as students will deal with all relevant issues, provide a platform for students and actors or politics and society – and present suggestions.” That’s the task for AEGEE as well today, in the new crisis of Europe.

Any thoughts you would like to share with the Network?

Let’s show our face again to the world by creating more hallmark events that improve AEGEE’s identity, impress politicians, potential members and in general actors in society. How? Let’s create four big thematic conferences per year which have the same general topic every year. For example:

• Checking the status of the European institutions and making ideas for improvements;
• Checking which are the current most pressing areas of political crisis and discuss solutions;
• Checking the situation of formal higher education and non-formal education in Europe, including aspects such as local Erasmus support to make it more practical;
• A conference called European Society: dealing with issues of culture, gender, NGO rights, populism or other issues.

These four conferences should be fixed points in the annual calendar and strive for 150 to 200 participants. Antennae can apply to organise one of these four conferences, which could be in February, May, September and November. These hallmark events could be like the standing topics of AEGEE, which would give them a lot of visibility and identity internally and externally. Moreover, small local or European seminars could be a lead into the big conferences. Also follow-up events could be organised. Since it would be prestigious to host these events, we would have enough organisers and participants for them. And a lot of new thematically-oriented members. This could really help AEGEE.

Written by Spyros Papadatos, AEGEE-Ioannina

Dear reader, I’m Alejandra, member of AEGEE since four years ago and, currently, one of the members from the pool of representatives of AEGEE-Europe. Between the 10th and 14 of October, I’ve attended the General Assembly of IFMSA- Spain (International Federation of Medical Students Associations).  For me, having the opportunity to be there, participate and give everything I could to this event was a big pleasure. Now, I have this report so you can check how the event went and possible future cooperations. Thank you for this opportunity!

The event was the National Meeting (General Assembly) of IFMSA-Spain. There were parallel agendas about different topics that they have been working on during the whole year, apart from the agenda for presidents and for the exchanges responsible. Plenaries happened in order to vote motions, candidates, etc, and there were also trainings.

During the whole event, I was switching between mostly two agendas, one about human rights and the other about sexual health. The sessions were really interesting and I found many topics in which AEGEE and IFMSA can collaborate contributing with different perspectives on the same topic. I have also attended one session for presidents to know how they organise it. Apart from that, I was attending all the plenaries, and during the first plenary I held a presentation to introduce AEGEE.

Moreover, there were also training: I delivered one about how to include your association in your CV. During the whole event, I was talking with many people explaining about AEGEE and the different projects, apart from asking about the functioning of IFMSA-Spain to get more information about it. I also had the opportunity to meet the president of IFMSA International, a representative from the CEEM (Consejo Estatal de Estudiantes de Medicina) and a representative from AECS (Associació d’Estudiants de Ciències de la Salut).

The programme was a mix between bureaucratic procedures and trainings. There were six different agendas, four of them about their different working groups and with thematic sessions, one other related to their exchanges and the last one for presidents. The representatives of each local committee had to attend the one for presidents and the ones in charge of the exchanges in their local had to attend the one about exchanges. The rest of participants could switch from one to another, even if most of them tried to focus in just one. Everyday after lunch  there was the local hour, were each local committee was reunited to discuss everything to vote later in the plenaries. On Wednesday and Thursday there were trainings, three at the same time on Wednesday and two on Thursday. Anyone could choose the one that they liked the most. As feminism was a topic for this GA, there was a session about this, parallel to the trainings. Of course, plenaries were there, in order to vote motions, present candidates, vote them, etc.

As for my impressions about this event, first of all I love the idea of having different agendas. It has a really big potential so anyone can choose in which they would like to participate. This could be also implemented in our Agora, as we have parallel workshops for the visitors and we can implement this procedure and maybe improve the attendance rate of visitors. This kind of structure of course can be implemented in any other events, and we could organise thematic events with this structure, so the funding should be easier, more people with different interests would attend it, and we could have a bigger impact.

Regarding the cooperation, the different local committees can cooperate with our antennae. Right now I just have contacts in Spain, but, from here, I can work to get more from other countries in order to implement the collaboration. Also, with IFMSA International, we can talk and give them some spot in the Agora and some space. We can start with IFMSA Spain, but we can also look further and try to get this cooperation. They are medical students, so a full collaboration is difficult but still, we are fighting for the same ideals and rights, even if we look through them from different perspectives. So, at the end, we can collaborate in this topics that we have in common. I’m starting to test this local collaboration unofficially with the Local committee in Santiago with AEGEE-A Coruña and AEGEE-Vigo, and my idea is to invite two of them to our LTC.

The event opened my mind a lot. I could observe that we can improve a lot how we organise some events to give space to everyone. Everyone here was so attentive, and asking me about how my experience was going, taking the time to explain me something everytime I didn’t understand. It was a totally repeatable experience. To conclude, we should continue with this collaboration, as we can learn a lot from each other. And try to have this collaboration on the European and local level.

Written by Alejandra Piot Pérez-Abadín, Network Commission