It is September and although this month rewarded us with really great weather and an unexpected late summer, we have to admit that summertime and – even worse – the time of Summer Universities is over. But what comes after those two weeks in which you are surrounded by Aeggeans every minute and forget your everyday life? How can you deal with suddenly being alone again? The AEGEEan asked around to find out how to best deal with Post Event Syndrome (PES).

Agoras, Network Meetings (NWM), Summer Universities (SU), European Schools (ES)… Our international network offers many different and interesting events for everybody who is interested. Especially during the summertime thousands of AEGEEans are travelling through Europe to take part in SUs.

The time shared with others is exciting and offers so much: new experiences, new friends, and so much to learn! It is an exciting ride of a few days or weeks, during which you might experience more new insights than you normally do in months. Most importantly, you get to know people and you get to know them well.

Carolina Alfano from AEGEE-Salarno sums it up as follows:  “Adrenaline! During the event everything happens so fast: a lot of things to do, not much time, a lot of people, friends, parties. In this way the adrenaline is on top“.

After spending days after days together, at first shyly playing some energisers together, but a few days after sharing the most intimate stories – you built friendships that will last a lifetime. But, at the end of every event, stands the dreaded moment of saying good-bye. You see your new friends waving while you step into the bus to the airport. You then come home to your empty flat, where you are alone and where it is just too quiet to deal with.

“When you understand you are at home, no gym, no friends, nothing to do tomorrow, you start to be depressed, you climb up in your bed and the only thing you want to do is start to sleep”, Carolina says.

Tekla Hajdu

Tekla Hajdu, Network Director, has also experienced this feeling. She tells us that it does not matter whether it is a fun or even a serious thematic event, you can always be sad after an event you organised. “Most of the times, I felt kind of depressed and I wanted to go back immediately to be part of the event again and have more adventures with the participants and the organisers”, Tekla says.

Some know that feeling from events outside of AEGEE too. Carolina, for example, experienced something similar after her Erasmus semester. Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona, was an exchange student a while back and had more trouble keeping in touch back then, because Facebook was not yet even a thing. This made the situation even worse.

But what about the worst cases of PES when it comes to AEGEE-events? Tekla shares: “I had some bad PES cases after my Network Meetings as Network Commissioner, but my personal worst was after pre-event EPM Leiden: I’ll be AmsterDamned, as apart from missing the people and the memories from the event I also had to go back to my university for an intensive course instead of proceeding to the EPM, which had me really depressed”. Erika’s personal worst case was after Agora Cagliari in 2014: “Once back home it took me more than two weeks to get back to reality, to start to adapt again to my old routine, to even start sleeping properly“.

Erika Bettin

In the end, while taking part in an event, you live in a “bubble” as Erika calls it: “You feel comfortable, you feel protected and you feel loved”. You meet people who think similarly, discover Europe and dream together about making it an even better place. Suddenly coming home and realising that it was just a time-limited bubble, that reality and daily routine have you back is the reason for feeling so bad afterwards. Because it was just so good before.

Moreover, Tekla already mentioned that people who are a big factor too when it comes to PES. You get to know the other participants so well and you experience a lot together. “When the event ends, I think people start to realise that these moments will never be repeated in the same way with the same people again”. It therefore actually is saying good-bye forever, at least in that group dynamic. The important question remains: is there a way to deal with it?

Carolina shares with us that when she felt bad after the end of an event, she just kept to herself in the house for two or three days. But then she “decided to be strong and go out for a walk, call some friends, restart my normal life”. It is you who has to find the right moment to motivate yourself to get up again. Carolina continues: “There will be other events in the future, time is running out and staying powerless is not a solution“.

Erika has a positive attitude too: “The important thing is to keep in mind that in AEGEE and in life there are only ‘see-you-soons’ and never ‘good-byes’. Eventually everybody is going to see each other one more time. You should sleep, turn off the alarm and then try to come back to your old routine as fast as possible.”

Similarly, Tekla agrees that time heals all wounds. She is sure that after some time your symptoms will decline naturally. Especially of course, if you don’t have a lot of time to be nostalgic since you have to start working again. She gives us a great advise: “Look forward and plan your next adventure to have more awesome memories”!

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Surely all of you have already encountered the famous mascot of AEGEE-Aachen somewhere in Europe. Now, the German local became the Local of the Month. The AEGEEan talked to two of AEGEE-Aachen’s new board members, Leonie Riebesam and Malte Berrenberg, about the antenna, their recipe for success and their potential plans for an Agora application.

With around 120 members, of which about 50 are active, and also a lot of secondary members all over Europe, AEGEE-Aachen is quite a big and also very active antenna. In the city of Aachen, one of Germany’s most western cities, the local is mostly known to us for their awesome Erasmus parties and the Erasmus tutoring programme. Throughout the AEGEE-Network, the Aacheners are famous for their active participation at the local as well as European level, their sense of humour, and their mascot, the AEGEE-Aachen polar bear.

“Some people might think we have a good ‘sense of humour’ because we wear polar bear costumes. Maybe this is a good opportunity to set things straight here. We are not dressing up as polar bears, we ARE polar bears”, Malte lets us know. Aacheners seem to take things quite seriously when it comes to their mascot. Besides the fact that the AEGEE-Aachen bear is “super cool”, Malte answers, it is the members themselves and the amazing spirit within their local that makes AEGEE-Aachen special. “We really are a group of friends. Even though we can have really strong discussions and different opinions, we can always sit down, drink a beer and laugh together”, Malte states. “Our members are just super open and welcoming”.
And that seems to be quite appealing since the number of members that AEGEE-Aachen attracts is rather high for a German antenna. But also at the European level, the name of the city is famous. There are many secondary members all across the Network and many members working at the European level: the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT), the Network Commission (NetCom), the Mediation Commission (MedCom), and the CD are infiltrated by Aacheners right now. And two of those members that are currently taking part in some of those groups, namely Damien Latacz from MedCom and Philipp Blum from SUCT, even became Members of the Month in 2015. “Their enthusiasm and motivation to change things for the better and actually do something can really rub off on others”, Leonie tells us. “But we have many more active members that we are very proud of!”

Leonie and Malte themselves are quite active; they have just both been re-elected into their local board. In their opinion, the board members are a good mixture of people with board experience, with experience from other student associations, and new members. All of them are very motivated to spread the AEGEE spirit and Leonie is sure that “a great year lies ahead of us”.

For example, they want to repeat the last year’s awesome SU. Aachen’s Summer University has a long tradition, offering a German-course almost every year, often ranking quite high and therefore, proving that a language course is actually very satisfying for the participants. Moreover, they will have a Christmas party and they will organise a European Day of Languages event and a Local Training Course (LTC). Also, their constitutional drink and their birthday are coming up. “Most importantly we want to have more events with refugees”, Malte says. Already more than once they arranged meetings between refugees and AEGEE-members and still go on planning to keep this up.
One last idea might make the upcoming year especially interesting: Might AEGEE-Aachen apply for Spring Agora 2017? “We are thinking about it, yes. But before we apply, we want to make sure we are able to provide the best possible logistics for everyone”, Leonie reveals. “At the moment we are mainly doing research on possibilities, knowledge transfer with the team of Agora 2008, and preparing the concept”. The Network will have to wait patiently and the AEGEEans will need to cross their fingers for this idea to become reality.

Until then, the antenna will continue with its local work. The three working groups (WGs) will go on organising debates, members’ weekends, LTCs and at the moment, even an event for refugees to show them some German Christmas traditions (Human Resources WG), they will go on managing their tutoring programme and interesting events for incoming Erasmus students (Erasmus WG) and last but not least, they will also design awesome stickers and other PR material (Public Relations WG).
If you want to visit Aachen, do it! Right now, they are trying to set up a hosting database, but “as long as it is still in work, you can just send us an e-mail if you are coming to Aachen, and we will try to arrange something”, Leonie concludes. They are looking forward to it.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

The Network Meeting (NWM) in Berlin will take place in only a few days. The AEGEEan spoke to Vice Coordinator Ralitsa Mihaylova and NetCommie Andrea Schmelz. Read the article to find out what awaits the participants of this interesting NWM!

Between the 19th and the 22nd of November, 40 participants from all over Europe will take part in the NWM in Berlin which carries the expressive title: “NWM Berlin – The power of borderless thinking”.

The main focus of the event will be AEGEE’s policy and advocacy. “We will explore our internal and external resources such as our own local work, our European events, and other organisations, as well as, discuss the stake of our beloved organisation with respect to some of the hottest topics in Europe right now: the refugee crisis and the creation of new borders through Brexit, for example”, says Andrea.

Berlin seems to be the perfect spot for this focus. “Its political and historical importance makes it a great place not just for important discussions, but also for initiating change”, says Ralitsa, the Vice Organiser of the NWM. In her opinion, Berlin is a synonym for cultural diversity and open-mindedness and therefore, it perfectly matches with the main focus of the event itself. And of course, one should not forget that Berlin is an interesting capital, easy to reach from all over Europe and which offers great opportunities to go out at night.

The organisers did not only work on the social programme, but they also worked together for PR, covering specific posts with people from the organisation team. Next to Clemens, the Main Organiser and Ralitsa herself, who is also the Incoming Responsible, there is Filipp, AEGEE-Berlin’s President, who is responsible for the fundraising and last but not least Nicole, who is the boss of the cooking squad. Almost every single member of the local is involved in organising the NWM, and on top of that, they also have “some amazing external helpers who are coming to Berlin to support us during the event”, Ralitsa concludes.

Everybody is really looking forward to this event. It will be AEGEE-Berlin’s first NWM and hosting one has been a goal for these AEGEEans for a while. In the past year, they have been working hard to stabilise and grow their antenna and they have become a lot more active. “That definitely helped us seducing Andrea to give us this opportunity”, Ralitsa says jokingly. And indeed, Andrea lets us know that it was mere seduction! Hopefully, AEGEE-Berlin’s video application will be made public soon.

Although this NWM is being organised without any cooperation with universities, the Berliners are fortunate to get support from other institutions, and to find accommodation with conference rooms where the sessions will take place. To ensure that these sessions will be interesting, three experienced facilitators created the programme through many skype meetings and e-mails, while lots of supporters were giving them hints on how to improve the content even more.
And what happens after an exhausting day, full of interesting input? Sure, it would be time to give the participants a real taste of Berlin. Everything from the classics, like a city tour in the center, a visit to the Bundestag, to some more unconventional activities, all of these will be included in the NWM’s social programme. Because, as Ralitsa sees it: “since we will work hard during the day, it’s only fair that we play hard at night”.

Concerning any other plans in the near future, Ralitsa is optimistic. First of all, at the beginning of December, they will have an exchange with AEGEE-Praha, but for sure, there will be more to come: “We have some big plans for next year, so keep an eye on AEGEE-Berlin!”

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Matthijs Dirks finished his term as president of AEGEE-Nijmegen not too long ago. The AEGEEan talked to him to find out more about his efforts in changing promotional material according to the visual identity, the life as a full-time board member and his future plans.

The AEGEEan: Matthijs, please introduce yourself, your hobbies and studies to our readers.

Matthijs: Hi dear readers of The AEGEEan, I’m Matthijs. I’m in my third year of membership with AEGEE-Nijmegen (And in my first year of membership with AEGEE-Eindhoven). Some of you may know me from my partake in organising two Summer Universities or the Network Meeting (NWM) in Nijmegen or Eindhoven, or maybe from an Agora or the Night of the Seven Antennae.

For those who don’t know me: I’m a third year Linguistics student, and I’ve tried to make myself valuable as President of the XXIXth board of AEGEE-Nijmegen. I’m currently 22, and my favourite colour is blue. My hobbies include, but are not limited to, making video animations (especially teaching students how to do that), fooling around with Photoshop, and enjoying a beer with the good people I have surrounded myself with over the past few years.

What was your first reaction when you heard that you were elected as Member of the Month?

I was, at that point, at the formal party ‘Show Your Colour’ organised by AEGEE-Leiden, where I’ve had a beer (or two). So I may have overreacted by shouting – a bit – that “it couldn’t be true because I feel like I don’t deserve it. I don’t feel like I did something special for AEGEE-Europe or AEGEE-Nijmegen”. Anyhow, of course I take great pride in receiving this title – and I can take a compliment when I get it. It’s an honour to be Member of the Month and I hereby would like to thank my parents for their support in this race, and my friends for never having stopped believing in me – even last January, when my biggest rival ever (Svenja) got the title.

You have been a board member of a Dutch local for one year. There are always some rumours going around saying that being a Dutch board member means working a full time job. Can you tell us about your experience?

It’s certainly true that you can devote a lot of your time at being a board member of a Dutch local, but you can do that everywhere. I mean – if you’d want – everyone can work for 40 hours a week on projects for their locals. That doesn’t make it a Dutch thing, though in a lot of countries it’s very uncommon to do so.

In the Netherlands it actually is very common. Student associations are a real big part of studying here. When you get into the uni, the question is ‘which association shall I join’, because you know for sure that you will join one. The universities recognise the benefits of a board year, so they highly recommend a position in a board of something you love. Also student associations have been around for a long time in our student life, in Nijmegen for example there are associations that are almost a 100 years old.
I guess the support of the university, and the fact that a gap year is socially accepted, make it easy to devote all of your time on your board year. So in my experience I have had weeks where I’d easily work for 60 hours on AEGEE-Nijmegen. But there are also weeks that are more quiet, and then a good 30 hours would be sufficient.

What was your favourite task in general while being a board member?

That would surely be the part where you’re socially obligated to talk to everyone. Of course you don’t HAVE to like everyone, but I wanted all our members to like AEGEE-Nijmegen. I got to know a lot of people whom I’d maybe never had spoken to otherwise. I’ve now befriended them, and it’s hard to imagine an activity with AEGEE-Nijmegen where I don’t feel like coming home.

One of your main achievement was to re-design all the promotional material and bring it in accordance with the visual identity. What exactly did you have to do? Was it a difficult task?

Luckily, the XXVIIIth board of AEGEE-Nijmegen tried to convince our members to change the visual identity before us. I have a passion for design and I liked playing around with the design programmes, so I didn’t mind making a few rough sketches. After the local Agora approved the change I got in close contact with the Public Relations Committee (PRC), and with their suggestions the logo was complete. Everybody is used to it now. It was not a very difficult task. It was just slightly annoying that I had to convince the members and change the logo several times after so some resistance was met. Luckily, I wasn’t alone, and I had a great team of board members with me to go on and change the logo accordingly.

Imagine someone asked you why the visual identity is so important and worth working on so intensively. What would you answer?

It’s surely worth it. As I said it’s slightly annoying that you have to change your design over and over. But following the PRC’s instructions is certainly worth it, they’re genuinely knowledgeable about visual design and they wouldn’t ask you for impossible stuff. It takes some time, but not more than a couple of hours – so it’s not the end of the world.

And what was your most valuable AEGEE-moment?

I guess that moment would be the last few seconds of my term as a board member because it was an amazing year. In that year I grew very close to Isa, Bob, Bart and Kim – whom I was in the board with. On the last local Agora of our term I kind of recapped the year. A few seconds before I said the words of dechargé, I swapped my presidential AEGEE hammer for a hammer that I received from my dad (he’s been president of some associations too) and I had a piece of family history in my hand. While looking my beloved board members in the eyes thinking about what we’ve gone through and looking my successors in their eyes. I said the words, and dropped the hammer. Therewith we were free of duty and everything was over. After a year of hard work, a lot of fun and a spending a lot of time on trying to improve AEGEE-Nijmegen the time was over. It was both sad, because I knew I’d miss it, and happy because it’s a weight off your shoulders. It’s a moment I’ll cherish forever.

Are you striving for any other positions in the network? Maybe even on European level?

I don’t really know where I want to go. I’ve missed a lot of lectures last year – and my parents weren’t too happy about that. So I’ll make them proud this year by catching up on my linguistics skills. With that being said, I’m still an active member locally, and I’ll be giving a training on the NWM Delft. I’ll take it slower than last year at least. Maybe one day I’ll join the PRC or the Key to Europe to exploit my knowledge of design. Maybe I’ll join a Training for Trainers (T4T) one day. So I don’t know – probably see you somewhere in Europe!

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Claudio Armandi has been active on European level in many different positions. Besides his local activities, he has been a Network Commissioner and a member of the Mediation Commission for two terms. Now he is striving for something new, and is running for Chairperson. Read on to find out about his previous experiences, his motivation and aims.

The AEGEEan: Claudio, even though you have been asked to do this quite a number of times already, please briefly introduce yourself to our readers!

Claudio: Hello, readers! My name is Claudio, 27 years old, originally from Naples, Italy, but lost somewhere between Germany and the Netherlands for the past few years. Basically, I haven’t had enough time to get accustomed to sauerkraut before diving into bitterballen. Beer has been good the whole time though.

About one year ago, you were interviewed by the AEGEEan about your candidature for the Mediation Commission (MedCom) which you were elected for, but that was not even the first time that you ran for a position on European level. Please let the readers know about your AEGEE-experiences.

You are making me relive my previous job interviews! Just promise me you will not ask about my values and flaws and I will be OK.

I joined AEGEE back in 2010. In the first two years, I have been active on local level, serving one year as President and being Network Commission (NetCom) SubCommie in the meantime. Then I stepped up at European level, serving and protecting the Rainbow locals (Italian speaking and Maltese locals, ed.) as Network Commissioner for one year and being in the Mediation Commission for two years, the last term as a President. I have also been active in the first round of the Eastern Partnership Project as Financial Manager.

How will these experiences contribute to your work as a Chairperson?

Such a long time in the organisation and attending many statutory events makes you understand how they work, what their critical moments are and the possible unexpected circumstances that you may encounter.

Two years in the MedCom taught me how to put my opinion aside when it comes to tackling some issues. The first level of mediation happens to be inside the team, where every individual has their own opinion, while the Commission must have a coherent and univocal approach to each matter. After that, you are likely to deal with conflicting parties that have to be treated equally, even in the case where you have a strong opinion about the situation and where the chosen approach to tackle the situation was not the one you were hoping for.

I really hope that no future statutory event will host such strong disputes, but I still think my last two years made me a well-prepared candidate for this position.

What about your non-AEGEE experiences? What did you study, what work experience do you have and to how far will they be useful in case you get elected?

I have an Engineering Bachelor, but then I decided to switch to Management and that move saved my life from years of boredom. I lived and studied in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, currently residing in Amsterdam and commuting every day to Utrecht, enjoying lots of traffic jams and speed radars. I have been an industrial buyer for around three years, even if not consecutive. In my free time, I like cooking, travelling, photography, and I recently discovered the passion for running. I took part in a couple of races in the past year and I survived all of them.

All of the above things, including my AEGEE experience, forced me to work in diverse and multicultural teams, as the next Chair Team will probably be. My work includes a lot of public speaking and negotiations, negotiations, negotiations. They teach you that you will not always get what you want and that you have to understand everyone’s vision and needs before going head first into a deal. They also teach you that the way you interact with people and the angle you choose to present a situation can change the outcome drastically. Same can be told about photography, can’t it?

Running teaches you how to dose your energies during a long effort and stay mentally focused when everything around you seems to play against it. Cooking is also about doses, but hopefully the challenge there is eating that last bite when you are way too full just because it’s too good not to eat it! Last but not the least, missing a deadline in my job likely means burning lots of money and people being mad at you. If we treated deadlines equally in AEGEE, we would live in a dream world.

You have filled many positions already. Did your former positions not suit you or why do you keep changing from one job to the next?

I simply kept changing because I believe change is one of the keys to keep machines like AEGEE alive. One year is a long commitment for volunteer work and thus it is preferable to have new and motivated people that can bring freshness and new ideas every year. This was not the case for Mediation Commission last year, since I ran for a second term because there were not enough candidates after the deadline. It happens to be the case this year as well, but I think it has been enough for me in the MedCom. In the end, if you never step down, no new people will be encouraged to apply for a position at European level.

Every position has suited me in a different way. I liked being in daily touch with my locals as a NetCommie and being their referral point for small issues. I also liked working “behind the scenes” as a MedCommie, using my gained experience and maturity to manage more serious situations and to deal with the privacy of our network.

What made you decide to run for Chairperson/ Vice-Chairperson of the Agora/European Planning Meeting (EPM)?

As I wrote in my candidature, Leiden and Bergamo have a special meaning in my AEGEE life for different reasons. I do not believe in destiny or similar stuff, but sometimes I interpret some events as signs that tell me something.

Other than this, the role of the Chairperson and the other people sitting on stage during statutory events has always fascinated me. Their work includes a lot of dedication, commitment and planning. I bet they are the only ones to always be paying attention to what goes on during the Agora, the first ones to wake up in the morning and the most probable to skip a party. That is something to admire. All in all, I feel I have the energy and the willingness to commit to another task in AEGEE for another year. It would be a pity to lose them!

One of the other three candidates is Tom Simons, with whom you have worked together in the MedCom already. Is it a coincidence that both of you are running for a position as a chairperson now or did you two have great plans all along?

I did not discuss about it with Tom before submitting my candidature and I only knew he was running again for it when I saw his candidature online. So nothing that we planned together! Of course, it would be great to work with him again since I know the dedication and the effort he puts in what he does in AEGEE. Additionally, I would be working along with someone that already has one-year experience in this position, and this can only be beneficial.

On the other hand, in case I am going to be elected, I am fully open to cooperating with anyone that will be on my side. AEGEE and my professional life taught me to work with anyone who shared some path with me and I learnt that sometimes you could get a great experience in working with someone you did not know beforehand.

In your candidature you say that you would “like to give a special twist to the Chair team, so that participants would spend less time sleeping in the back row”. What exactly do you have in mind to accomplish this goal?

I know that that kind of behaviour boils down to not sleeping enough at night and too many drinks during the previous party. There is little a Chairperson can do about it. But, if you know me just a little bit, you would know I like joking and entertaining people, while keeping a serious approach. I reckon not even Andy Kaufman (an American commedian, ed.) would be able to entertain people for five days in a row and that a Chairperson needs some aplomb, but a laugh from time to time would not be bad.

There are four candidates for two vacant places. Why should people vote for you in particular?

Because everyone loves the Italian accent, even if I do not eat pizza every day and I cannot play a mandolin. I can grow a mustache if I really need it, but I would have to face some complaints at home. Also because I have been around for long in AEGEE, spending my last three years working every day for the good of the organisation. A last year as a Chairperson would be a very nice way to say goodbye and head to something different in my life. I would take it as a chance to keep doing what I love for another year and for AEGEE to renew the trust it had in me in the past years.

I know I am slightly different from the average AEGEEan and that you may either love it or hate it. This means it is a good chance to try something different.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

You can read his full candidature here.

Rather often, the Member of the Month is someone the whole association has seen and heard about already. This might not necessarily be the case with our newest Member of the Month, Damien Latacz, a Frenchman from AEGEE-Aachen. He became a member less than a year ago, but already participated in many events. He is a member of his local’s board, was one of the main organisers of the Night of the Seven Antennae and is already famous for traveling Europe as much as his limited time allows. Read more about him in this interview!

The AEGEEan: Damien, please introduce yourself, your studies and your most famous character traits.
Damien: Hello, my name is Damien Latacz, 26 year old French guy now living in Germany for the last two years. I am doing a double master: metallurgical engineering in Aachen where I live and process engineering in France where my university was kind enough to let me go away. I am quite a cheerful person, and probably a bit annoying too!
I have two passions which are cooking and hiking. I spend hours every day trying new recipes and techniques. And every year I spend weeks alone in the mountains in my tent, preferably in winter because I love snow!

When and why did you become a member of AEGEE?
I became a member last June because one good friend of mine was in the board and told me it was fun. So I went to the weekly meeting to check it out, and it was indeed great. I had the opportunity to be a helper for our Summer University (SU) a few weeks after, which was a good way to get involved quickly.

Was it a surprise to you when you got the information that you were elected Member of the Month?
Yes! I thought you had to be already quite famous to be elected. But I am really happy, it is a real motivation boost.

Being quite a new member, you nevertheless were already active both on local and European level. What gave you the motivation to become so active?
Well, I like meeting new people, talking with them, sharing our points of view. It is the best way to improve yourself and discover something new. And I also love to organise events, there is always something challenging, something you have never done before, and you need to understand it and adapt.

And on the European level you have a chance to discover a new culture, another way of doing things, and you can have a voice in AEGEE. It’s not often that you get a chance to say what you think and try to improve your world on a scale as large as AEGEE.

It might be frightening sometimes, but it’s a rare opportunity, and that’s what gives me motivation: facing something challenging and just thinking “Okay, let’s do it!”.

You are a board member and even the Vice President. What exactly are your tasks in the board of AEGEE-Aachen?
My official position is Internal Relations and Vice President. We have Working Groups in Aachen, they do a lot of work. Part of my job is to help them and make sure they have everything they need, but at the same time make sure they follow the general goals of our association, which is a bit tricky sometimes. But in the last months I also spent a lot of time planning the Night of the Seven Antennae, now I can focus again on improving the structure of our local.

You were one of the main organisers of the Night of the Seven Antennae. What did you like best about the event?
When we knew we were one of the organising locals, we were really happy. For me the event was a bit of everything: celebrating the birthday of AEGEE, debating about our future in Europe, sharing our vision with other cities. I love the fact that it is possible to do an event that includes all of it.

We also had some really interesting speakers in Aachen, from the European Parliament for example. That’s what I liked the most, and I hope the participants did too: having the opportunity to talk face to face with these people, and just sharing our ideas even if we come from two different worlds.

Where there any obstacles during the planning process or the event itself? How did you manage to overcome them?
Oh, there were a lot of obstacles! And planning an event where seven cities spread across Europe have to gather at some point is not easy. What should we do? When? And of course how can we do such a live-stream?

But we managed it because we worked all together. All seven organisers talked a lot and we helped each other a lot during the previous months.

I think the key is not being afraid to ask for help or to take decisions even if it is risky. At some point it doesn’t matter what people may think of you, you just have to try.

What was your best AEGEE related experience so far?
My best AEGEE experience was for sure organising the birthday dinner of AEGEE-Aachen. It is nothing extraordinary but the atmosphere was amazing. 40 people from Aachen and some friends from other antennae were there. Of course I didn’t cook everything all by myself, I had some amazing cooks helping me, but sharing my passion with them, and watching everybody having fun, laughing and even dancing… It was really pure joy for me!

How often can someone expect to see you wearing a polar bear suit?
Not that often actually. I prefer wearing my usual French styled outfit and hugging the polar bears around me. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should: best hug ever!

What would you say to someone who has never heard about AEGEE concerning becoming a member?
Whatever you want to do, there is a place for you in AEGEE. If you like to organise events, if you want to change Europe because you don’t like the way it is, or if you just want to drink a beer with some new people, you can find it in AEGEE.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Regularly seven people are working and living together as members of the Comité Directeur (CD) in a house in Brussels. Right now, they share their home with three more people: current CD Assistants Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona), Fabrizio Bellicano (AEGEE-Genova) and Ander Guerrero Ruiz (AEGEE-Zaragoza). All three of them were interviewed by The AEGEEan to find out more about their specific jobs, their everyday life in the CD house and their future plans.

The AEGEEan: First of all, can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us shortly about your AEGEE career?

Anna: I am Anna from AEGEE-Barcelona, and I have been an AEGEE member for around three and a half years. I got very motivated to join the European level of AEGEE right after Agora Budapest, in 2012, when I joined The AEGEEan magazine. After that, I spent one year as Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, and I am currently part of the Election Observation Project, as Fundraising Manager, as well as Mission Coordinator for the Moldovan elections (November 2014), and the Anniversary Team among several other activities.

Fabrizio: My name is Fabrizio, AEGEE-Genova, and I’m a member since the online membership system (OMS) meeting at the Comité Directeur (CD) house last February (2014). I jumped directly to the European level because I wanted to be of service (I was working for a big company in Dublin before AEGEE, it was horrible).

Ander: I’m Ander Guerrero Ruiz, from Utebo (near Zaragoza). I’m taking a brief break before finishing my studies in Law and Business Management to come to Brussels as a CD Assistant. I joined AEGEE in 2012 and since then I was organiser of many events (including Agora, Network Meeting (NWM) or Travel Summer University (TSU) or participant (I think on more than 50 events). I was also one year member of AEGEE-Gdansk during my Erasmus. Now I’m the President of AEGEE-Zaragoza and I am running for Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe (which I really hope to happen!). I just like to be busy and active and I love AEGEE.

What exactly is your current position and what are your main tasks?

Anna: I am the member of the Anniversary Team responsible for the main conference that will be taking place in Brussels from 7th – 10th May. I am currently coordinating the preparations of the conference and dealing with literally everything – from logistics to fundraising, from content management to finances, in order to organise a great event.

Fabrizio: Mainly, I am focused on the development of what’s going to replace the intranet, although I also do some HR tasks – my most successful one being aggressive recruitment.

Ander: Corporate Relations Officer is stated in my official mail, known as Fundraising Assistant of the CD. I’m also helping Ioana out with Finances.

Why did you run for this position? What is your favorite part of the position you are fulfilling right now?

Ander

Anna: I decided to apply as event manager because I have quite some experience in organising local events in Barcelona (being main organiser of a Summer University and a European School), and because I really wanted to contribute to make a memorable 30th Anniversary of AEGEE. As for my favourite part, it is probably dealing with the content of the conference, as it allows you to unleash your creativity and look for activities that can be fun, interesting and engaging for the participants. It requires a lot of inspiration, which I get by spending many hours reading old ‘Key to Europe’ editions.

Fabrizio: I get to live with other people, which is great – when I was living in Dublin it was with a boring guy, not many social things going on. Here, I can do what I like and there are nice people.

Ander: I have always wanted to see and experience by first hand how life and work in the CD looks like. Now, I was lucky to move my compulsory internship of my degrees in Spain and, the most important part, an open call was open to something I like and I have experience in. I still have no idea which part I like the most, I just know that I try my best! Ask me in a few months.

How does a regular day in the CD house look like for you?

The garden of the CD house

Anna: Well the working hours are not something as spectacular as you might guess. Waking up, which sometimes I do later than I would like to, so then I rush into the office with my cup of coffee and my rice biscuits, read the e-mails, read the news, defining a bit the “goals” or areas I will be working on for a day (since, as I said before, I cover a wide variety of topics), and then go for them. After work, I usually like to go for a walk in the parks nearby, meeting some friends (from AEGEE and from outside the organisation), or just chilling with our other housemates.

Fabrizio: I wake up, I work, I eat, I work, I eat, I go out and I sleep. According to the day I also watch cat videos.

Ander: It’s pretty simple. During the week days, I am in the office from 10 to 19-20 (for me it is mandatory to take a break, disconnect a little and have a proper lunch) unless more work needs to be done. Timetables are quite flexible, which is good, because I try to continue my Spanish timetables somehow. Later, if I still have some energy and some plan comes up, I go to see the city. It is my first time in Brussels and I hope one day I will manage to visit the city also during the day. On weekends, normally, we have free days but always something appears that needs to be done and I try to reset a bit and continue discovering the city.

It must be very exciting to live with the CD, but it is not a secret that personal space is rather limited when you live with so many people in one house. What are your most and least favourite aspects of your current living situation?

Anna: My favourite thing about living here is the fact that I am in Brussels, with so many things going on every day, so close to the institutions, being able to reach literally any place in Europe very easily, and not least important having good friends living here, as even some of my former classmates have recently moved to Brussels. I also enjoy our social evenings in the basement, or when AEGEE friends of mine stop by at the house. Of course, sometimes I wish I had more time and space to be on my own, but you always find some time for yourself when you need it.

Fabrizio: I am easy going and I don’t care much. As said, the good side is that you never have a dull moment with nine other people.

Ander: The worst is that sometimes you would like some privacy and that I try to be quite clean. And with twelve people now living in the house plus occasional guests this is not easy. But I am quite flexible and open-minded and it is OK. Also, it is my first time sharing a room, and I want to publicly ask for forgiveness to my roommates if I occasionally snore. The positive part is that I really like the house and the office is just ten seconds from the bed. I really like the part of the stairs and entrance when you are lying in the sofa that is in front of the stairs!

How long will you stay in Brussels and what are your plans for the time to come? Any chance you might be interested in staying for another year as an actual CD member?

30th Anniversary Conference Brainstorming

Anna: I will probably be staying in Brussels until right before the Agora, so the end of March. Then I will go to the Agora and, after the event, figure out what I will do next – because indeed, I would love to stay for another year as an actual CD member.

Fabrizio: I am here in Brussels because other than doing my good deed I am delaying finding a job. As long as I can work on that, I can not care to return to adulthood. As for real CD tasks, nope – I still know nothing about AEGEE.

Ander: I will be in Brussels for 60 working days, so, until the middle of May. Later, I will be back in Zaragoza, if nothing goes wrong, to finally finish my studies and organise the most awesome TSU this year! As I said before, yes, I would like to be in the CD in the next term. I feel that I can do something positive to an association that has given a lot to me. I feel prepared, motivated and finally I have finished my studies! I hope it will come true in a few weeks!

If someone came up with the idea of making a movie about the life in the CD house, what genre would it be and what catchy title could you imagine?

Anna: It will be indeed somewhere between a drama and a comedy – it actually kind of reminds me of L’auberge espagnole, a very famous French movie about a guy who moved as an Erasmus to Barcelona and shared a flat with people from several different European nationalities. But as for the catchy title… I really don’t know! A former CD member and friend of mine used to like the “We are all mad in here” quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which could be quite accurate some times!

Fabrizio: I am too sick to reply to this. [he laughs].

Ander: Sometimes I really believe that several reality shows could be recorded within AEGEE [he laughs]. My favorite types of movies are comedies, sci-fi, thrillers and romantic comedies. For sure not horror! So, why not, let’s choose a romantic one with the title “Pretty Assistant”. Classics are always good and who knows if dealing with companies will bring me a Richard Gere [he laughs].

 Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Just a few weeks ago, Split, the second largest city in Croatia, was added to the network as a new contact. Next to AEGEE-Zagreb and AEGEE-Zadar, it is now the third part of the network in Croatia. The AEGEEan talked to founder and President Teo Šarić about the contact’s cooperations, events, and future plans.

For Teo Šarić, president of the contact, Split is more than just a random addition: “With a population of more than 200 000 people and around 25 000 university students Split has the potential to become an active and productive antenna!” Teo, who was already active in AEGEE-Zadar before, was one of the founders of the contact. Together with his board members he has been working on fulfilling their plan to become an official antenna.

By now, the contact in Split has around 25 members from all fields of studies like arts and design to IT, law and management. But of course, they want to attract even more new members. There was already one meeting in Split which was open for public and they also started a cooperation with „info-zona“, one of the biggest organisations in Dalmatia. Moreover, members of the contact were to hear via radio since they gave interviews for several radio stations. Finally, they also printed flyers to give away to interested people. In the end, their PR strategies seem to work well, especially because of the highly motivated members and their friends who are willing to help, too. „People from Split are really interested in AEGEE and I just know that in the future we will be an excellent AEGEE-antenna“, Teo says.

Another plus point for the contact is their cooperation with the rector and pro-rectors of the University of Split for which the AEGEEans are really thankful. By now, they even got their own office to work in by the student council. Also, AEGEE-Zadar cooperates with the new contact in Split, as well as some other locals from the region or even further away. Just recently, AEGEE-Amsterdam let the contact know that they were interested in an exchange.

And that is only one thing that people from Split have in mind for their upcoming time. First of all, Teo hopes to sign the Convention d’Adhésion as soon as possible to become a contact antenna. Then, there are already some ideas for local and international events to be put in motion. For sure, they will organise a Summer University (SU) next year to prove what a great culture Split has to offer. Moreover, there is already one specific idea. “Maybe we’ll organise an international event around (the 6th of) June, when it’s time for the Pride parade in Split. It will be a thematic event since the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) situation in Croatia is not great”, Teo explains.

Finally, Teo concludes: “We are very excited to contribute and to be a part of organising new, interesting and meaningful projects and events on a regional level but also on a European level.”

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

At the upcoming Agora, Teo Šarić, President of the new contact of AEGEE in Split, Croatia, and member of AEGEE-Zadar, is running for the position of Financial Director (FD) of the European Board. The AEGEEan spoke with Teo about his candidature, his different fields of interest within AEGEE and his motivation to become part of the new Comité Directeur (CD)!

The AEGEEan: Teo, even though you have already been active in AEGEE for quite some time, some of the readers might not know you. Briefly introduce yourself and your history within the network!

Teo: Teo Šarić, a Policy Officer on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) topics, a topic which is really hard to deal with because a lot of hate is shown to the people that identify themselves as different. Not a problem in AEGEE yet, I must proudly say. The President and the founder of AEGEE contact Split. (I do a lot of work with our) 30th Anniversary team, a coordinator of our 30th Anniversary on AgorAsturias where we are going to have a super fancy celebration. Zadar’s coordinator of our Summer University with Bratislava and Maribor and HR responsible in the local.

You are running for Financial Director. Please present your programme in one sentence!

My programme will be to support all kinds of projects and also every body in AEGEE, not only one project or one body, so we in AEGEE need to do more different kinds of projects, not only because we have to, but because we can, which means, for example we miss art projects and projects about human rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and gender equality) and I will do everything what is in my power to do this job as good as I can.

When and why did you come up with the idea to run for a position within the Comité Directeur (CD)? Why did you pick the position of Financial Director specifically?

Well honestly, I knew that I will apply for the position within the Comité Directeur after I started to be a Policy Officer, I knew I can give much more to this organisation. I have chosen this position because it is very connected to my studies, which are very useful for the position of Financial Director. I study on Alma Mater Europaea – ECM’s European Business Studies (Project Management) Master Program and the purpose of my studies is to educate and prepare students to become innovative managers who will lead businesses and create new policies.

In your programme, you state that you plan to “support all kinds of projects“. Can you be a little bit more specific as to what kind of projects are the most important to you?

Of course I will support the projects that are active now, but my opinion is that we need more projects in general, we don’t have anything about art, we don’t have enough projects about human rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and gender equality). We need this in AEGEE a lot, I think. I will try my best to make these projects happen and I think that AEGEE as an organisation has much more potential than we usually think.

You are very active in LGBTI topics and you mention that projects about human rights are an important part of AEGEE. How will you try to combine your work as Financial Director with the involvement in such projects?

A lot of people imagine that finances are a boring job with a lot of bookkeeping, numbers etc, but it really doesn’t have to be, especially when you are trying to help, educate and motivate people who are feeling scared or different. I can start with simple things, you will probably see me wearing different kind of clothes, still official but just different. Even though I am good with the finance, I have very strong statements about every subject, and of course I am not scared to show it, which is in my opinion very important for this position. I am also a member of Rišpet – Dalmatian LGBTI organisation. I will fight my entire life for human rights, as much as I can. We, in my country Croatia, in my region and in the eastern part of Europe in general, need more brave people to fight for their rights and I honestly feel as one of them. One of the reasons why I badly need this position is because it will be a huge step in my career. Yes, it is different from my current position, but as I said my studies are very close to the position of Financial Director, and just because it is different from my current position, however ambitious it sounds, I feel I will move mountains after it. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise that. Even our former Financial Director and my dear friend Anna Gots now works for ILGA – the biggest worldwide federation of 1100 member organisations from 110 countries campaigning for LGBTI rights.

Whilst you write a lot about the contact you founded and your efforts in the LGBTI movements, you do not write a lot about your experiences in the topic of finances. What experiences do you have in the fields of bookkeeping, fundraising or finances in general?

As I already said my studies are very connected with the subject. Maybe some of you don’t know, but AEGEE-Zadar is a small antenna and it was all on the back of three or four of us. We were the only active members, so we had to do everything in it from fundraising, finances, bookkeeping to PR, HR… I mean everything. I was also an HR responsible and I succeeded to bring more new members. I think it is a better situation now. I also started from the bottom when I was establishing a new contact in Split. I included a few friends in it, and now we have around 25 members, and we just started! We already have a space to work in, we started cooperation with the biggest organisations in the region. I did all the work by myself mostly, I have huge amount of great friends and contacts that are always gladly ready to help. I will really try to support more new projects, more new trainings, and involve more members to be interested in the topic.

Just recently, you founded an AEGEE contact in Split, Croatia, and, as you point out in your candidature, you are the President. What will happen to this contact in case you move to Brussels soon?

We have a wonderful cooperation with the Rector and the Prorectors from the University of Split, and I will say big thanks to them even in this way. Thanks also to our board members Ivana, Ivana, Marina, Mia, Sara, Tamara and Tamara for their help. We now have around 25 very talented members from all fields of studies from writing, art, design, IT to law and management and we just started. It really seems that people from Split are interested in AEGEE and I just know that in the future we will be an excellent AEGEE antenna. I will persist to support them, but I am already sure that they can do the rest of the job alone if I get this position. I hope to sign the contract during the Network Meeting (NWM) in Zagreb in April.

The other candidate for Financial Director is already living in Brussels right now and working as a CD assistant. Have you been in the CD house before, too? Have you worked with others who are running for a position within the CD?

I was in Brussels in January with my faculty and we were in the European Parliament and the EU Commission, where I also represented AEGEE externally. I also visited the CD house, sadly only shortly I must say. But I hope to be in it much more in the near future. I know this is not my weakness because I worked and cooperated very well with everyone that applied for the position, all of them. The only reason why someone is a CD assistant and I am not is because I already had a position of a Policy Officer before. Too bad I don’t have more hands to do more tasks. I think this AEGEE generation will be impressive. Aleksandra Klucka (Comité Directeur), Andrea Ugrinoska (AEGEE-Skopje), Antonija Parat (Comité Directeur), Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona), Réka Salamon (AEGEE-Aachen), Pablo Hernández Rodríguez (AEGEE-Thessaloniki), Mayri Tiido (Comité Directeur), Balazs Kovacs (AEGEE-Debrecen), Ander Guerrero Ruiz (AEGEE-Zaragoza), Maria Arends (AEGEE-Tarragona) and Natalia Ivleva (AEGEE-Voronezh) are just some of the people that I cooperated and worked with, and I hope to do it more in the near future.

In your programme, you mention the names of eleven other AEGEEans, thank them for their inspiration or for working well together with you. Can our readers assume that you are a team player?

Honestly I am a big team player, I have a lot of AEGEE friends and I just had to mention some of them. I was born in Mostar, BiH, during the war so I have lived in Croatia, Split for the most part of my life. As a child I couldn’t even dream of having the opportunity to travel so much, work at this position and meet so many different people. I am always thankful to the people with who I worked well or who have helped me somehow. I will mention it publicly too, for example my dear friend and our Secretary General, Antonija Parat, to support us, the Policy Office, without any mistake ever. That girl is out of this world. I never saw so much positive energy. Also a President of AEGEE-Zadar, Ivana Kovačević, who accepted me in the board in a very sensitive period of my life. I suppose she is very proud of my work, as I am very proud of her loveliness and hard work. In the end my AEGEE role models and my gorgeous friends Marko Grdošić, Luis Alvarado Martinez, Réka Salamon. Seeing you speaking on the stage feeds my hungry melancholic soul. Even though I am a team player, I am also a big solo player, which means that I am not scared to be different and do my own thing. For example, it was only my idea to make a position of a Policy Officer on LGBTI topics in AEGEE and I suggested it, and the CD accepted it. I consider myself a fast learner and a progressive leader. I speak Croatian, English, French and now I’m learning Spanish. It would be an amazing opportunity and also a big gift for me to be the next Financial Director, I will try my best in that position. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise my potential and quality.

One of our readers asked: May you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature?

After I started to be a Policy officer, I knew I can give much more to this organisation. I have choosen this position because it is very closely connected to my studies (European business studies), which are very useful for the position of Financial director. I will really try to support more new projects, more new trainings, and involve more members to be interested in the topic. We don’t have anything about art, we don’t have enough projects about Human Rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and Gender equality). We need this in AEGEE a lot I think. I will try my best to make this projects happen and I think that AEGEE as an organisation has much more potential than we usually think. Also I will support everyone with a good idea. I will really try my best on that position. I must be honest, after the position I have even bigger plans. I will devote my entire life to fight for human rights, as much as I can. We in my country Croatia, in my region and in eastern parts of Europe in general, need more brave people to fight for their rights and I honestly feel as one of them. One of the reasons why I badly need this position is because it will be a huge step in my career. Yes, it is different from my current position, but as I said my studies are very connected with the position of Financial director, and just because it is different from my current position however ambitious it sounds, I feel I will spread my wings after it. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise that. Even our ex. Financial director and my dear friend Anna Gots now works for ILGA – the biggest worldwide federation of 1100 member organisations from 110 countries campaigning for LGBTI rights. I think that we in AEGEE for the CD need real leaders, not the followers. I consider myself a fast learner and a progressive leader. I hope that AEGEE members will officially regard my potential and quality.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Since a few weeks ago, Ander Guerrero Ruiz, AEGEE-Zaragoza, is living in the house of the Comité Directeur (CD) in Brussels as an assistant. Apparently, he likes it so much that he now will run for the position of Financial Director (FD) for the next term. The AEGEEan talked to Ander about his candidature, his qualifications and his future plans.

The AEGEEan: Ander, even though you have already been active in AEGEE for years, some of the readers might not know you. Briefly introduce yourself and your history.

Ander: That is something normal, when you are part of such a big organisation like AEGEE, where every year a lot of members join. I will try to do it: I am a positive, idealistic, down-to-earth, smiling guy from Zaragoza (Spain) who really believes in the potential of AEGEE and who expects to improve the association next year in Brussels.

You are running for Financial Director. Please present your programme in one sentence!

I want to continue ensuring the financial stability of AEGEE in the short and long-term in order to keep on carrying out our activities, looking for more funds and using them wisely, and also dedicating my time and ideas to increase our activities.

When and why did you come up with the idea to run for a position within the Comité Directeur? Why did you pick the position of Financial Director specifically?

Being part of the CD has always appealed to me, saying anything else would be lying. However, I’m quite realistic and I knew that I couldn’t candidate for it until I finished my studies in Spain, because I am undertaking an intensive and restrictive studying programme and I cannot stop them like in other countries or for other bachelors. I have always said that if one day I would finally apply, I would do it either for External Relations or for Financial Director since I feel prepared and motivated for both. However, during the meeting for possible candidates we had with the CD during the European Planning Meeting (EPM) Burgos, nobody else from the members wanted to run for FD. I know how important and what a risk not having any candidate for FD is, so the next day I talked with Ioana (current FD) and I saw it (even more) clearly. Also, being FD is not just managing money or accounting. When you are the Financial Director, you are also a member of the CD, so you are in charge of more responsibilities, projects, activities, etc., which is, I think, the most important part of the position and where you really can contribute to improve AEGEE internally and externally.

Since the 25th of February you are assisting the CD in terms of finances and you are even living in Brussels right now. What did you learn in the past weeks and how do you think this will help you if you are elected as the next Financial Director?

Yes, I am currently Fundraising Assistant of the CD. However, I am also helping Ioana with finances, which enables me to already start learning about some tasks of the position of Financial Director. But, as I said before, being a CD member involves much more, especially office work, which is the part that regular members do not see when they think of CD work. So yes, this may give me a chance, but I really want to believe that if I am elected, it is because members trust on me, they realise how motivated I am and they think I can be a good CD member.

In your programme, you listed a lot of non-AEGEE experiences that are supposed to be helpful for your intended position as FD. Please name the three most important experiences that qualify you.

First, for sure my studies in Business Management. During six years, I have had several subjects related with the position of FD (accounting, budgeting, finances, etc.). Now is time to go from the theoretical part to the practical part. With a good Knowledge Transfer for sure I will make it. Second, also related to my studies and my internship, is that these extra activities have given me a lot of patient working with some tasks that I have to do and I didn’t like at all. The same can be applied to some people. Third, I have undertaken several trainings and courses that have boosted my presentation and training skills. When you are a member of the CD you have to attend meetings or facilitate workshops.

In your programme, you state that you plan to “remove the prejudice that finances are complicated and boring [which] will encourage our members to be more interested in the topic“. How exactly are you intending to do that?

Is it clear that for a lot of people everything related with finances, accounting or budgeting sounds ‘like Chinese’ and does not catch their interest. But this is not true: accounting is sexy! Jokes aside, it is important for members to realise, for the internal purposes of the organisation and for their personal lives, that a correct management of finances is essential. But in terms of the internal performance of the organisation it is even more important for everybody to understand where the money comes from and for what it is used; otherwise, false prejudices and myths are created and members get confused about what their money is used for. To achieve my goal and avoid people sleeping during the plenary while the FD is explaining the financial report, we should be slower and explain in a way everybody can understand it. The current FD explained in Agora Cagliari in a closer way to the members, which I really liked and appreciated. That is the way. Trying to facilitate a few workshops in budgeting during Network Meetings (NWMs) or Agorae could be positive as well. But in this case, the only setback is time I’m afraid.

You state that right now is the perfect time for you to move to Brussels as a member of the CD since you are about to finish your studies. Do you have a plan B in case you are not elected? What is it?

Being in AEGEE has taught me that there is always an opportunity or an option, you just need to look for it. However, in this case, I am really looking forward to move to Brussels to be in the CD. It is the perfect timing, I feel prepared and motivated and my ideas can have some impact in the organisation. In the unlucky scenario I won’t be elected, I think I would go to an European Voluntary Service (EVS) or similar. It is time for a break from Spain (unless due to personal or family reasons something would attach me to my beloved Zaragoza). We are at the moment for doing what we love – to experiment and discover new things. My parents never had the opportunity to go to university or traveling while they were young, and they have sacrificed many things to support my brother and I in all ways, and they really encourage us to go and follow our dreams and to do something positive for society with our time and life as long as they can support us if needed. I really have a lot to thank them for, and I wouldn’t be here without their help and encouragement, so thanks! I really want to be part of the CD and achieve one of my dreams.

In your candidature you write a lot about your qualifications and ideas concerning becoming FD. But what about the work within a team, especially one in which the team members live so close with one another? Do you see any chances or challenges for yourself when it comes to working together with others?

For sure starting in a new team is a challenge, and living and working in the same house with different personalities and cultures can be a mess or a blessing. I was an Erasmus student, so I know the feeling. I know some candidates and I know I can do quite perfect with both. But, it is true that a few of the candidates I don’t know at all. However, I consider myself quite patient, tolerant and open-minded. You have to give something in order to win, and this case is the perfect example, respecting always some limits. Of course, there will be some challenges, this is not the perfect dream, but I would like to believe that I am quite transparent and honest towards the rest of the people, which is good in order to increase the trust between the team and achieve a better performance while working and living together. For sure the experience can be extreme in both ways, but the one who doesn’t take risks in this life doesn’t win at all. As always time will tell.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen