Olga Iatsyna – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. AEGEE's Online Magazine Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:09:00 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.7 ../../../wp-content/uploads/cropped-The-AEGEEan_logo-FBprofile-32x32.png Olga Iatsyna – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. 32 32 Dare to protest – dare to change ../../../2012/10/20/dare-to-protest-dare-to-change/ Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:02:32 +0000 ../../../?p=13265 Mass protest, public action, objecting and lots of other words recently became for us quite usual and commonly used. In fact, in last 20 years they (serious guys in parliaments, governments, councils etc.) managed “to climb” so high from youth, that our voice can only be heard when it is counted in thousands of people, or when youth does something… Read more →

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Mass protest, public action, objecting and lots of other words recently became for us quite usual and commonly used. In fact, in last 20 years they (serious guys in parliaments, governments, councils etc.) managed “to climb” so high from youth, that our voice can only be heard when it is counted in thousands of people, or when youth does something outstanding against all principles. Young people are tired to stay silent, they want their voice to be heard and they start using all possible methods for this. Thus we start to hear about more and more public actions.

However, every time seeing public action it seems so far away and totally not connected to you, that you barely pay attention. What would you say knowing that in one of the last protests shown in media took part same AEGEE member as you?

The Council of Europe Ministerial Conference on Youth on 24th September, 2012 in St. Petersburg

The Council of Europe Ministerial Conference on Youth on 24th September, 2012 in St. Petersburg

Behind every mass action there are people who do it. How they manage to organise it? What did they think while protesting? Were they afraid or maybe proud? And one of the most important questions – how did they feel afterwards and which feedback they received?

Luis Alvarado Martinez, the President of AEGEE-Europe, told us about one of the latest silent protests during the opening of the Council of Europe Ministerial Conference on Youth on 24th September, 2012 in Saint-Petersburg, which caused lots of fuss in the AEGEE network and beyond: “The idea came up because of many violations which Russia carried out towards human rights, freedom of speech and rights of young people”.

The reason of fuss was the “Pussy Riot style” hats the protesters wore while silently standing up at the conference. “We never referred to the Pussy Riot band as such, but used the hats as a symbol for freedom of speech, youth rights and human rights which are being violated by some governments in our continent. If we don’t send clear messages to these governments, things will not change by themselves” points out Luis.

Some blamed protesters for such methods of protest, more supported, but needless to say that whatever the reaction was – the method to attract attention to the issue was chosen brilliant. People started to talk. Luis recalls: “Yes, that day we pissed off a lot of people. But we also made a lot of people proud, they think now that AEGEE can really be different”.

Was it scaring for those young people to protest in this way? Oh yes, it was. “You know that you are exposing yourself and your own security. But it is then when you remember that you have been elected by people to defend certain core values and rights. If you want your organisation to change for better and get more involved in the political happenings in Europe, you must act as an example. Of course, together with the feeling of fear comes the enormous boost of adrenaline and satisfaction. That day we did influence politicians” recalls Luis.

“Listen to what young people have to say!” in Strasbourg

The next youth protest didn’t force us to wait long. Opening of the World Forum for Democracy of the Council of Europe on the 5th October in Strasbourg where AEGEE representative as well participated in the protest of Youth Delegates calling for youth rights – young people standing during the opening and keeping hands of each other with tapes sticking the mouth, which clearly says “Listen to what young people have to say!”

Amandine Scocard from AEGEE-Paris, acting as Youth Delegate, speaking on the World Forum for Democracy of the Council of Europe, had to face certain problems before youth voice could finally be heard at the Forum.

Amandine Scocard making the speech at the World Forum for Democracy of the Council of Europe

It was communicated to young people that they would have three minutes for speech from youth, which was of course frustrating for them as all the politicians there had hours to give their speeches. Nevertheless, youth representatives decided to use at least those three minutes to make people to hear them. How surprising was to know the night before opening of the Forum, that youth speech was canceled due to some “misunderstanding”. “Maybe another time…” they said to young people.

The next day trying to clarify the issue the youth got to know that initially they were not allowed to speak officially at the forum and that maybe they could ask additionally to allow them to have a two minutes speech. Amandine recalls: “The Forum started 20 minutes late. Already 10 speeches could be done during that time..”

Therefore youth delegates had decided that after the second speaker, during the opening session, they would put tape on the mouth, stand up and hold hands. “One of us, Joanna, bravely stood up the first one and then we stood up with her”. They didn’t say anything or make any noise, standing there to denounce the silencing of youth voice with tape on the mouth.

There was another group of youth delegates working on distributing flyers, which was decided to make on the night they got to know about cancellation of youth speech. “Missing democracy, when found, please bring it back to youth” was written at the flyer.

“We were not forcing people to take them, just distributing, but immediately a security guy started to take them all back, even from the people who accepted them. Then he started chasing one of us telling her to sit down and took all papers so she couldn’t distribute them anymore” recalls Amandine.

At the same time in the plenary hall after the opening speech and key speakers, youth was finally given the right to speak: “In the end the speech was made, but not during the time when we wanted to do it. When we finally did it, most of the media and lots of people had already left”.

“I felt pissed off, thinking about all those important people who didn’t care at all what we had to say. I felt pissed off because the security was getting close to us. But at the same time I felt glad and proud to be there, standing to denounce that young people all over the world needed to be heard and that youth didn’t want to compromise anymore on their freedom of speech” says Amandine.

The reaction of people

Most of the young people having the wish to protest against some issues are more afraid of the reaction and misunderstanding, than the protest itself. However, the reaction is something that really motivates the protesters.

“I think the message was partially misunderstood as a single protest against the minister of France or the organisation of the MFD” supposes Amandine, as the young protesters stood up during the speech of Bernard Cazeneuve, the French Minister of European and Foreign Affairs. “We got approached during the Forum by a few people who wanted to know more about this protest to understand it better. Most of them understood our point, but a few still had the idea that it was a protest against the organisation, for example, showing the huge intergenerational gap that exists nowadays between young people and our deciders” she says. However, according to Amandine the positive feedback anyway prevaluated: “In the end a lot of people congratulated us and I think it was really motivating for some of them. The picture of the protest became the Facebook cover of many of us”.

The reaction on protest in Saint-Petersbrug was also quite positive by Luis’ memories. Most of the ministers congratulated young protesters in many different ways – they were approached personally by many of them in the corridors, secret messages thanking activists for putting important statements back on the table written on business cards, emails, Facebook messages etc.

“It is in these moments, when politicians really feel thankful to have young activists who will dare to do what they cannot do (because they represent national governments and their economical and diplomatic interests). This made us realise the power which youth organisations and youth activists really have!” says Luis.

Still hesitating if it’s worth protesting and if your voice could be heard? I think these words from Luis Alvarado Martinez, the President of our organisation, will ruin last pieces of hesitation in your mind: “We can really influence and shape Europe step by step, and this is something which all the money in the world cannot pay. We must dare to change because together we can!”

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

Photos: Facebook archives of Luis Alvarado Martinez & Amandine Scocard

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Chair Team candidate Alla Resheten – “AEGEE people give me huge inspiration” ../../../2012/09/24/chair-team-candidate-alla-resheten-aegee-people-give-me-huge-inspiration/ Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:53:54 +0000 ../../../?p=11997 Quite often after being involved in AEGEE work on full-time basis, lots of AEGEE members are leaving AEGEE “to get some rest”.  However, the candidate for Chair Team Alla Resheten, whose name is usually followed by countless AEGEE titles, is not tired. “How you can be tired from something you thoroughly enjoy?”, says Alla. The AEGEEan was lucky enough to… Read more →

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Quite often after being involved in AEGEE work on full-time basis, lots of AEGEE members are leaving AEGEE “to get some rest”.  However, the candidate for Chair Team Alla Resheten, whose name is usually followed by countless AEGEE titles, is not tired. “How you can be tired from something you thoroughly enjoy?”, says Alla. The AEGEEan was lucky enough to catch her in minutes of rest from thousands of tasks and ask a few questions. 

The AEGEEan: Dear Alla, congratulations with your candidature for Chair Team! As a well-known person in AEGEE, active in organisation for a while now, please tell us, after one year spent in the Comité Directeur (CD) and working full-time in AEGEE as Secretary General, how did you not get “AEGEE allergy” and you remained an active member?

Alla as the Secretary General during Spring Agora Alicante

Alla as the Secretary General during the Spring Agora Alicante

Alla: Thank you! It is a good question. Indeed, 90% of CD members leave AEGEE right at the end of their term or become just “visiting from time to time” members of their locals. I think it all depends a lot on the team you were working and living with for one year and all other people you have shared this year of incredible experiences with. I was very lucky to work with incredible people who have became not only my AEGEE friends, but also friends for my life beyond AEGEE. And for such people I am still in AEGEE and willing to give back more to this organisation.

Interesting fact that not everybody knows – our team (the Comité Directeur 2010-2011) was really exceptional; we are the only ones who managed to finish the term with the same people we started with! And almost all of us have stayed pretty involved in the fields we were working on during our term.

Why did you decide to candidate for the Chair Team? Why not Network Commission or SUCT?

It is very simple – I love to do this work! Of course, a lot depends on the team that I will work with in case I am elected, but on the other hand my background as Secretary General and Local Organiser of the Autumn Agora Kyiv in 2009 will be very handy for everyone working in the team.

Tell us, please, how do you prepare yourself for Agora Budapest and presenting your candidature in front of 800 people?

A lot of people with whom I have worked within last years in AEGEE are supporting me in my decision. Their trust in me and my work is one of the most important parts of my candidature, and I know that they will be with me during my presentation. This gives me a lot of inspiration!

Project leader of the Eastern Partnership project, member of Mediation Commission, now running for Chair Team. Is there anything else you do in AEGEE that people do not know of yet?

It is already quite some things, don’t you think so? Apart from everything you have mentioned, during September and October I am also working as a Chair shadower.

How do you manage to work full-time in a serious company, dedicate time to your family, and with this to do ten thousand different AEGEE tasks? Where is Alla’s battery hidden?

Alla and her little daughter Chloe

Alla and her little daughter Chloe

The secret is the combination of a few factors:

  • motivation- AEGEE is my hobby and I really enjoy doing this;
  • time-management – the more things you have in your agenda, the better it is structured (of course, without exaggerating);
  • team – I am lucky to work with two amazing teams in AEGEE. When people are sharing your motivation and willingness to do something meaningful – it is making you work even better.

And of course the most important is the support from my amazing family!

As an experienced member as well as a former CD member, who stood at the Agora stage so many times, say something encouraging for the ones who are going to present themselves at the Agora for the first time or still hesitate to do this. 

What I would suggest is not to be afraid of running for a position. Sometimes people can think that they are not good enough or not experienced for some roles in AEGEE. But what matters in reality is the motivation and commitment of a person.

Also it is important to know exactly what the body you are running for is doing. That is why I would suggest, before submitting an application – talk to people who are currently holding this position. They will definitely help you with the decision.

So do not hesitate to submit your applications – working on AEGEE European level gives you a lot of fun, new skills and great friends!

Years of experience in AEGEE at the highest European level positions, ability to implement the most interesting ideas, amazing multi-tasking skills and lots of inspiration are Alla’s key advantages, which she is surely going to use as a Chair Team member. 

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

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What your e-mail signature will not tell about you? ../../../2012/07/26/what-your-e-mail-signature-will-not-say-about-you/ Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:55:47 +0000 ../../../?p=9855 David Guetta Founder and member of AEGEE-Kazantip* Speaker of the Party Working Group Active member of We-do-Nothing Commission Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Party Newsletter Member of EXIT** Committee AEGEE/European Students’ Forum Familiar signature, isn’t it? How many times it happened with you that reading the signature of the sender under e-mail, you already forgot which was the content of it and… Read more →

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David Guetta

Founder and member of AEGEE-Kazantip*

Speaker of the Party Working Group

Active member of We-do-Nothing Commission

Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Party Newsletter

Member of EXIT** Committee

AEGEE/European Students’ Forum

Familiar signature, isn’t it? How many times it happened with you that reading the signature of the sender under e-mail, you already forgot which was the content of it and what sender initially wanted from you?

With me it happened few times. However, recently I received an e-mail from one AEGEE member, with excellent sense of humour, under which I saw the signature:

“_ _

Name Surname

to do: insert dozen lines of AEGEE title”

and I understood that this topic needs to be investigated as soon as possible with an urgent definition of diagnosis.

As most of my inbox emails are coming from AEGEE I decided that this is a perfect place for research!

Which situation in AEGEE we have with signatures? Figuratively, we can divide all AEGEE members into three groups: those who do not care about their e-mail signatures and put just name-surname in the best case; those who put in signature only necessary titles connected with the topic of the e-mail and recipient; and those who put there all possible titles (AEGEE + official job positions + all universities they studied in + position awarded after last Summer University in Riga etc.)

Spending hours and reading different theories about e-mail signatures I found out one of the most popular business theories which sounds like: “The more important person is, the shorter his e-mail signature”. Is it true? No idea, I never was emailing with a billionaire. However, both limit situations with an absence of e-mail signatures and with endless ones are not correct.

Let’s see first what is better NOT to do:

What to do if you want to destroy the impression about your e-mail and you as serious person:

  • include all your personal websites, blogs, Skype and Twitter names
  • write all positions and committees you were ever involved in
  • specify all universities you were ever studying in
  • write all possible ways to contact you (dozens of phone numbers, e-mails, your home address etc.)

If you anyway wrote everything above mentioned, but still the reader has last pieces of hope that you are an adequate person – write under your e-mail signature funny jokes or popular motivational quotes. This will kill this last hope once and forever.

Indeed, everything written in the previous paragraph rather says something about the absence of knowledge of simple business etiquette and your unprofessionalism, than how cool you are.

Now let’s try to answer the question “What should be put in your e-mail signature?”

There are existing few lines which are indeed very important to be included in your e-mail:

  • Your name and surname
  • Current position and company
  • Preferred way to contact you (one phone and one e-mail address)

Maximum one or two lines can be added here, but only if it is related to the recipient or topic of the e-mail. The fact that you are a member of all the Working Groups in AEGEE and projects is better not to specify as it shows more that you are showing up, than that you have magic skills to do everything in the world in 24 hours.

So, what is your e-mail signature? These are final words in your message giving the last impression about you. What to put there is always up to you, but writing your next e-mail ask yourself:  If reading your signature the recipient will still remember what you wrote in the beginning?

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

_ _ _ _ _ _

* Fake name of local dedicated to famous party festival Kazantip at Crimean seaside, Ukraine

** Famous EXIT party festival in Novi Sad, Serbia

 


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Health4Youth – more than just fighting with tummy ../../../2012/07/23/health4youth-more-than-just-fighting-with-tummy/ Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:19:20 +0000 ../../../?p=9925 An announcement of a new project in AEGEE is a good sign – it means that the organisation is developing and its members are interested in attracting attention to different topics hence changing this world for better. Health4Youth is the new promising project aimed at teaching us how to live better, and be healthy mentally and physically in this constantly… Read more →

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An announcement of a new project in AEGEE is a good sign – it means that the organisation is developing and its members are interested in attracting attention to different topics hence changing this world for better. Health4Youth is the new promising project aimed at teaching us how to live better, and be healthy mentally and physically in this constantly changing world. The AEGEEan was lucky to meet with its initiators, Mayri Tiido (AEGEE-Tartu), Matthijs Overhaal (AEGEE-Nijmegen) and Katre-Helena Käppa (AEGEE-Tartu), who answered together our questions in the pause between hitchhiking all over Europe and raised the curtain over the Health4Youth project background.  

The AEGEEan: Before in AEGEE we had projects and working groups mainly focused on environment we are living in and how to save this environment from us. However, Health4Youth is something new explaining how to live properly in this environment and manage to arrange healthy lifestyle for yourself in the 21st century. How did you come with the idea of the project?

“Once upon a lifetime, Mayri had this wonderful thought of developing an awesome project for AEGEE. As she was wondering what the topic should be, she came across the health topic, which turned out into something more than a shadow of a thought. She shared her thoughts with Matthijs and Katre and that’s how she found two companions, both interested and with knowledge about the topic.

Matthijs and Mayri

Matthijs and Mayri

The idea was developed further during an 18-hour long bus trip from Tartu (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland). The three of us got together at the Training4Trainers event by AEGEE-Warszawa, where we brainstormed about possibilities, objectives, aims and many other aspects. We found out soon that we believe that a healthy lifestyle for students could be a key item in the future, or better yet, should already be a key subject. This is not the case, as many students are unaware of their (unintentional) bad habits, eating patterns, alternative therapies and so on.“

The AEGEEan: Which health issues you are going to tackle in this project?

“Our project deals with the health in a broad sense, where one idea is to have some focus on eating habits, how to eat cheap and healthy. Next to that we would like to explore the term “healthy lifestyle” and misconceptions about health, food, etc.”

The AEGEEan: How you are going to promote the healthy life style among AEGEE members, loving so much to spend sleepless nights, arrange crazy European Nights and parties? It must be challenging, isn’t it?

“As much as we like to party, booze ourselves to the ground and so on, we believe that the time we don’t party is the most important time to intervene with our project. Students as we are, we love to do crazy things and drink alcohol but we don’t do that 24/7 or 365 days a year. We are not here to tell you to stop boozing (our project would be dead in a second), we want to show you how you can live healthy for the rest of the time.”

The AEGEEan: How the ideal AEGEE member, involved in the Health4Youth project, should look like?

“Naturally, this is an active, participating member in AEGEE, but that alone will not get us very far with our project. This is not just a project for AEGEE alone, we want our members to spread their lifestyle to as many people as they know, their moms and dads, diabetic aunts, friends with a beer tummy, you name it. So basically involved people should be motivated and not afraid to share their knowledge. Sharing is caring, isn’t it?”

The AEGEEan: How did you three found each other in our big AEGEE community and came together to the common idea of the Health4Youth?

“As initial starters of this project, we already knew each other quite long before. Since Mayri and Katre are in the same antenna, it makes sense they knew each other. Since Mayri and Matthijs are a couple for more than a year, it makes even more sense. Since Matthijs was in Estonia quite many times already, you can put together all the pieces. The three of us were together during an exchange in Estonia with AEGEE-Praha, the Training4Trainers event in Warsaw and at the last Agora in Enschede.”

 Katre-Helena Käppa

Katre-Helena Käppa

The AEGEEan: Which are the first practical things you are going to implement in this project as soon as the deadline of open call for the Health4Youth project team members is finished and project team will start working?

“The team has to be put together and they can also share their ideas and thoughts so we can’t give you an exact answer yet. But here are a few examples of ideas:

– A blog about healthy food which will be updated often, with a diverse offer of (student) dishes
– Workshops at the Agora or EBM about a healthy lifestyle for students
And mainly, stay tuned for more!”

The AEGEEan: Please, continue the sentence “The Health4Youth project is an awesome project because…”
“…it aims to make our awesome lives healthier in an interactive way!”

If you are interested learning more about this project, check the project outline here and do not hesitate to write to H4Y team at mayri.tiido@gmail.com to ask any questions or join the project team. Do not be shy to start your healthy life today!

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

Pictures: Archives of Mayri Tiido

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Where Europe meets Asia – AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu ../../../2012/06/03/where-europe-meets-asia-aegee-rostov-na-donu/ ../../../2012/06/03/where-europe-meets-asia-aegee-rostov-na-donu/#comments Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:35:53 +0000 ../../../?p=8559 If you ask me which adjective would describe AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu the best, I would say “motivated”. Being their former Network Commissioner, I am happy to tell you about the new member in our AEGEE family and present to you this local, born at the Spring Agora Enschede – AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu. Unusual city Rostov-on-Don AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu is originated from the city of Rostov-on-Don, located… Read more →

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If you ask me which adjective would describe AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu the best, I would say “motivated”. Being their former Network Commissioner, I am happy to tell you about the new member in our AEGEE family and present to you this local, born at the Spring Agora Enschede – AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu.

Unusual city Rostov-on-Don

AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu is originated from the city of Rostov-on-Don, located in the center of the area which used to be known as Northern Caucasus, but currently it is proudly named Southern Federal District of Russia. The city itself is very unusual – it is a wonderful mixture of Caucasian spirit and truly Russian traditions, with old history, rapid river Don, and one more amazing thing – the bridge in the city center is the official geographical border between Europe and Asia.

Among other unusual things in Rostov-on-Don, there is also the public toilet. It is not mistake, as one might think. However, this is not your usual public toilet. In the beginning of the 20th century, located in the so-called “red light district” of Rostov-on-Don, it was a place of art rebels and Bohemia with continuous exhibitions, public actions and art events, and in 2011 it was recognised as the most famous toilet in the world and the place where contemporary art in Soviet Russia was born.

Successes and failures of the contact

However, let us return to our AEGEE people in this unusual city. From the very beginning of their history, future Rostov-na-Donu contact was facing lots of difficulties and obstacles – first it was bureaucracy, difficulties in receiving a support letter from the University, later after they became a contact, it turned out to be extremely difficult to travel from the small city of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to the even smaller city of Struga where the Autumn Agora Skopje 2011 took place, and this made it impossible for them to sign Convention d’Adhesion there and to finally become an AEGEE local.

At this stage one can naturally ask himself “Why do I need this weird organisation, if so far it has only given me more and more problems?” Indeed, all these difficulties might demotivate anybody, but not future AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu. Irina Burmistrova, their leader, somehow seemed to know the magic way to motivate everybody, to get them involved, and to not let people leave this AEGEE movement while facing difficulties.

Welcome!

Moreover, being motivated and “burning” so much with AEGEE spirit, while still not even being an AEGEE local, but only a contact, they already started to help in establishment of one more AEGEE contact in another Russian city at the Azov seaside – Taganrog!

After some time and local events organised as AEGEE Contact in Rostov-na-Donu, they finally became AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu and with full rights of an AEGEE local, this summer they will organise a great Summer University with AEGEE-Voronezh, their mentors and close friends.

Telling about such an outstanding local is interesting, but getting to know them personally is much more interesting.

Do not hesitate to visit Rostov-on-Don and tell them personally “Welcome to AEGEE, our dear AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu!”

 

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

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Caucasian miracle called AEGEE-Sumqayit ../../../2012/05/26/caucasian-miracle-called-aegee-sumqayit/ ../../../2012/05/26/caucasian-miracle-called-aegee-sumqayit/#comments Sat, 26 May 2012 05:45:24 +0000 ../../../?p=8401 At the Spring Agora Enschede, AEGEE welcomed new “babies” in its family – it ratified previous contracts of new locals and signed the Conventions d’Adhésion (CdA) from the latest Network Meetings, as well as the new ones. However, among all the new locals, there was one which started its history long before Agora Enschede – AEGEE-Sumqayit. The AEGEE Contact in… Read more →

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At the Spring Agora Enschede, AEGEE welcomed new “babies” in its family – it ratified previous contracts of new locals and signed the Conventions d’Adhésion (CdA) from the latest Network Meetings, as well as the new ones.

However, among all the new locals, there was one which started its history long before Agora Enschede – AEGEE-Sumqayit.

The AEGEE Contact in Sumqayit was started in April 2011, right before Spring Agora Alicante, and during the year that passed until the signing of the CdA, the contact managed to organise more events than an average AEGEE local would in a few years.

Every month, the AEGEE Contact in Sumqayit had more and more surprises in its activity reports  – several presentations in a row at the biggest universities, the “Broad Hearts” Charity Campaign for children with heart diseases, the “Brain Ring” championship in Sumqayit schools, a round table for the “Human Rights Day”, the International Forum of Young Leaders, a big Youth UnEmployment Action Day, training camps and lots more – this was all done in the first 6 months after the contact was approved by the Comité Directeur.

“We want to make Sumqayit a center of youth in Azerbaijan,” said Azer Maharramov, the President of AEGEE-Sumqayit, during the first Skype meeting with me, their Network Commissioner. It sounded ambitious and unlikely to happen in such a short time… But it wasn’t the case with Sumqayit.

The city of Sumqayit was founded a little bit more than 60 years ago and now it is already the third largest city in Azerbaijan. Located on the shore of the Caspian sea, at a distance of 31 km from the capital, the city had all the chances to merge with the capital and become a part of Baku in a short time. However, this didn’t happen, and so far the city is developing very fast and independently, being a city of young people and youth activity.

Does this situation remind you of our new-born local? Indeed, AEGEE-Sumqayit started its development extremely fast, the same its city did many years ago, and it seems that there’s only a little bit left until it can become a big competitor of the oldest and biggest local in Azerbaijan, AEGEE-Baki. Competition? No way! Only friendship and extremely effective cooperation exists between those two wonderful locals and the clear evidence of this is the Summer University of AEGEE-Baki and AEGEE-Sumqayit, which they are organising together this summer.

Not for the first time, the whole AEGEE Network can observe the real boost of European activity in the geographically far located Caucasian region. One time we may call it an accident, two times – coincidence, but after the third time it becomes a rule. Welcome to our newest Caucasian miracle: AEGEE-Sumqayit!

 

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk

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Network Meeting Kharkiv “T.G.I.F.” – Thank’s God It’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday! ../../../2012/04/15/network-meeting-kharkiv-t-g-i-f-thanks-god-its-friday-saturday-and-sunday/ Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:33:18 +0000 ../../../?p=5835 AEGEE-Kebab, AEGEE- Cthulhu, AEGEE-Night Ballroom Dancers, AEGEE-Ababa and AEGEE-Pssss. One may think that we have again some fake locals in AEGEE, but believe me – they really existed during three days of Network Meeting Kharkiv with their own board, own projects and own members. But let us start from the very beginning. It may seem complicated to organise a Network… Read more →

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AEGEE-Kebab, AEGEE- Cthulhu, AEGEE-Night Ballroom Dancers, AEGEE-Ababa and AEGEE-Pssss. One may think that we have again some fake locals in AEGEE, but believe me – they really existed during three days of Network Meeting Kharkiv with their own board, own projects and own members.

But let us start from the very beginning.

It may seem complicated to organise a Network Meeting (NWM) together with a fresh host-local which just signed Convention d’Adhesion at the Agora Skopje, but this is not the case of AEGEE-Kharkiv. There are not enough words to describe how fast and well-coordinated the work of the girls (yes, in the board of AEGEE-Kharkiv there are only girls and only beautiful ones) was and which amazing things they did during the event as team of organisers.

The last fact was noticed not at once by all 30 participants of NWM-Kharkiv, who were from Çanakkale, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Ryazan, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odessa and Rostov-na-Donu. It was a real meeting of old friends, where were present also new, but already so close, participants from different locals.

Almost serious part of Network Meeting

The whole Network Meeting was dedicated to discussions about everything what is important for the network.

Troubles with thematic field of work? Here is Olga Yuschenko (AEGEE-Kyiv) from the Action Agenda Coordination Team to tell you how to make your events thematic, but not boring and extremely interesting.

Any problems with finances and budgeting? Anna Gots (AEGEE-Kyiv) from the Audit Commission is right here to tell you how to make the budget of average local AEGEE-Ababa and how it should fill in the Financial Report for AEGEE-Europe. Now you may be sure that AEGEE-Ababa will never have problems with finances!

What about solving troubles in your local if your event coordinator suddenly resigned or your sponsor refused to help your local? This difficult part was prepared by me – “evil” Network Commissioner of this area. The participants had to train case management and solve cases aimed to show how to act in problematic situation, how to use all resources you have and act when you are limited in time. And here come AEGEE locals: Kebab, Cthulhu, Night Ballroom Dancers and Pssss – the locals with their own board which participant created in groups to arrange simulation of board work and solve cases.

Not so serious teambuilding

Separate word is necessary to say about teambuilding activities arranged by AEGEE-Kharkiv. Nothing can make people closer than running all around dark Kharkiv city center in teams and solve how to get the magnet from the vertical pipe having only paper clip in your hands, rule blindly your team mate in the labyrinth or solve difficult logical tasks, when it seems that exactly logic is totally absent there. Participants were frozen, tired, hungry, but their shiny eyes and endless talks about it were saying everything – the quest was adorable!

Meeting of friends under the name “T.G.I.F. – Thanks Got It’s Friday” was finished with common kisses, hugs, tears and promises to see each other at the Agora. Dear NWM Kharkiv family, thank you for wonderful three days, and see you at the next Network Meeting – we have lots of them yet to visit!

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk & Network Commission

Tons of thanks to Maria Chvan, AEGEE-Kharkiv, for pictures.

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Ban on Gay Propaganda: the view from Saint-Petersburg ../../../2012/04/12/ban-on-gay-propaganda-the-view-from-saint-petersburg/ ../../../2012/04/12/ban-on-gay-propaganda-the-view-from-saint-petersburg/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:05:05 +0000 ../../../?p=6049 The governor of Saint-Petersburg has recently signed an amendment to the local “Law on administrative violations” imposing financial penalties for promotion of homosexuality among people under 18. Frankly speaking, for us as for residents of this city it would be much more important if local parliament discusses more pressing issues, such as the situation in public health, taxation of small… Read more →

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The governor of Saint-Petersburg has recently signed an amendment to the local “Law on administrative violations” imposing financial penalties for promotion of homosexuality among people under 18. Frankly speaking, for us as for residents of this city it would be much more important if local parliament discusses more pressing issues, such as the situation in public health, taxation of small business or demolition of historic buildings in the city center. Anyway, let us try to reason out what this much talked-of legislation act means.

Turning to the wording of the law, public activity aimed at propaganda of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality among juveniles subjects to the penalties. Propaganda is defined here as “purposeful activity and uncontrolled public distribution of information able to harm health, moral and spiritual development of juveniles, including forming a distorted view about social equivalence of traditional and nontraditional marriage”.

Of course, the main intention of the law creators was to protect children and teenagers who could be sexually affected, however in practice they devalued the original idea by making the amendment very raw and very ambiguous. The notion “propaganda” itself is determined in rather an abstract way, and it is not quite clear what kind of actions actually fall into this term (leave alone the fact that public response which the law has already caused creates a hundredfold stronger “propaganda” than any actions which the law forbids had created within years).

Anyway, what is unambiguous here is the fact that the amendment doesn’t prohibit anyone to be a gay or a lesbian (or to have any other sexual orientation), as it may probably appear and as it is depicted in some European mass media. And also the fact is that the law doesn’t influence the life of sexual minorities in general. For example, there are several gay-friendly places in Saint-Petersburg and a big gay club in the city center, where one could, can and will be able to go any time if one wants.

Why did the amendment pass?

According to the results of the numerous polls conducted in Russia, more than 50% of Russians are not tolerant to homosexuals. The recent poll which was conducted in fourty-three federal units of the Russian Federation in June, 2011 showed that 61% of the citizens of our country were against gay pride. What is the background of such results?

Every society has its own traditions and moral values that are shaped through the centuries of its history. In Russia, “classical” heterosexual family has always been one of the pillars of our culture. The fact is that if gay people kiss openly in our country, people around in most cases do not understand it, and it may cause negative (and even aggressive) reaction from their side. Just imagine, if for the vast majority of the Russian citizens all members of their families, of the families of their parents and grandparents, and all their friends have been heterosexuals with no exceptions, no wonder that they think in this way! And you cannot judge people for that. Let’s just accept that this situation exists, like we accept other social phenomena.

On the other hand, let’s take a look at the other countries. One of the presidential candidates from the Republican Party in the U.S. (M. Bachmann) suggests that homosexuality can be cured (!) and talks about therapy aimed at turning gays straight. Have a look at the videos of gay prides in Baltic countries like Latvia or Lithuania, which are EU members since 2004. A few hundreds of people trying to march under protection of thousands of police officers. And the majority of the local people also does not support these parades.  So why don’t LGBT-activists  ban visiting Riga, for example?

What to do?

The easiest thing is to put a tag like: “you’re gay, you cannot talk about it”. On the other hand, it is also very easy to label some people or even some countries like: “you are homophobic, you are going backward, you are intolerant and undemocratic.”  Both are dead ends.

In our opinion, if we want to have a society more tolerant to sexual minorities, it cannot be reached by tooth-and-nail inculcating of traditions alien to it, because in fact it causes inverse effect only. We think that the right way is to take a constructive approach: to discuss openly the problems of social inclusion of sexual and other minorities, to increase social awareness of children and teenagers, and to breed respect to other people’s personalities, their rights, their views and their preferences in private life.

In conclusion we would like note that Saint-Petersburg is a charming city with rich culture and friendly people, a city that gives unbelievable impressions to everyone who comes here. And we are convinced that there is no law that can change it.

Written by Sergei Snarskiy, Anna Toropova, and Vladislav Leshchinskiy, AEGEE Sankt-Peterburg

 

 

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Network Commission: history, present and future ../../../2012/04/05/network-commission-history-present-and-future/ Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:56:44 +0000 ../../../?p=5657 “Member of the Network Commission – 6 vacant places” – What do these words mean for the average AEGEE member who never thought of applying to for European level body in AEGEE? Not all too much. You might not dream about joining the Network Commission , but at least you will know for sure who we are.”    The Network Commission… Read more →

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Member of the Network Commission – 6 vacant places” – What do these words mean for the average AEGEE member who never thought of applying to for European level body in AEGEE? Not all too much. You might not dream about joining the Network Commission , but at least you will know for sure who we are.”   

The Network Commission (NetCom) has been established at the Agora Athina in 1996. The following year, the newly established team worked on creating structures that are still in use right now – we call them antenna criteria.

However, the work of the Network Commissioner, or NetCommie in short, is not only about helping the locals to fulfill all antennae criteria, he has many more tasks– fun and serious, but undoubtedly interesting.

How long do we work for?

Despite the fact that members of the Network Commission are elected two times per year at the Agora, every NetCommie serves a one-year term. Usually there are six vacant places at the Spring Agora and five at the Autumn Agora. This balance of newly-elected and old NetCommies ensures a proper knowledge transfer and transparency, even after half the team changed. Sometimes Network Commissioners resign for different personal reasons before the end of their term, and the team of NetCom has to issue sad, but yet hopeful Open Calls for Network Commission Assistants. They will then work with locals in the same region, replacing the resigning NetCommie.

What do we do?

One article is not enough to tell you about all our responsabilities! However, this is a short version:

– We help locals to fulfill antennae criteria, contacting them, and advising what to do in risky situations;

– We travel to locals that have difficulties, meet with their members, hold sessions, communicate 24 hours per day when we are there, and do our best to help them to overcome all difficulties;

– We meet not only at statutory events, but also twice a year during the NetCom Meeting in any part of Europe we find suitable and feasible. It is of vital importance to see each other from time to time to keep team spirit and get to know each other better;

– We work in a team – endless communication via email, Skype meetings, night Skype lounges and etc. The NetCom is one of the biggest teams among the European level bodies and there are always 10 more teammates, always ready to help, support, and increase your motivation;

– We serve as a bridge between the European level of AEGEE and the local level. However, we may say that we serve as bridge between all AEGEE-Europe bodies. When any AEGEE body needs to find contacts of another local, project, committee, or commission, where do you think they write to? Of course, to the Network Commissioner!

The list of things we do can be way longer, as during his term, the Network Commissioner is a mother, brother, and boss at the same time for his/her locals as well as an irreplaceable helper for AEGEE-Europe in all matters related to the Network.

What is NetCom all about?

It is all about communication. Three things are surely needed to be a good Network Commissioner – love challenges, adore communication, and be crazy about AEGEE. When the NetCom was established, the very first manual said: “To be in the NetCom, you have to be a kind of masochistic idealist…”, and after some time in the NetCom, we start to understand that it still holds true. And now we, 11 masochistic idealists, are impatiently waiting now for new 6 people to join our team after the Agora!

More about the NetCom, our tasks, and some more information you can find on our website.

Written by Olga Iatsyna, AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk & Network Commission

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Six scary Maslenitsa gossips from AEGEE-Minsk and AEGEE-Grodno ../../../2012/04/02/six-scary-maslenitsa-gossips-from-aegee-minsk-and-aegee-grodno/ Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:49:40 +0000 ../../../?p=5689 Today you can hear a lot of gossips about nearly dead Belarusian antennae which are still saving their statuses only due to previous merits, and that their last mutual international event was a dramatic catastrophe… “Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to… Read more →

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Today you can hear a lot of gossips about nearly dead Belarusian antennae which are still saving their statuses only due to previous merits, and that their last mutual international event was a dramatic catastrophe…

“Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there. Myth is nourished by silence as well as by words.” (c) Italo Calvino

But is it really true?

Myth #1: Belarusian culture is not unique at all!

Since old times Belarus was one of the main European crossroads. Despite this fact it managed to form its unique cultural space, where tolerance, hospitality and versatility are the major peculiarities.

For one week in Belarus the participants of the event “East or West, Maslenitsa in Belarus is BEST!” by AEGEE-Minsk and AEGEE-Grodno had a unique chance to taste the most delicious winter holiday – Maslenitsa: the main reason for doing that was saying “Good-Bye” to Itchy-Witchy Winter and “Hello” to Sunny-Bunny Spring by eating tons of pancakes, drinking litres of the national drink “Krambambulya”, dancing stirring round dance chorovod and kryzhachok, singing national song Kupalinka and jumping over the burning sculpture of Winter.

Myth #2: Belarus is more Soviet than European country!

We are extraordinarily attentive and careful about our history. We are not reviving the past, we are a little bit nostalgic. We respect our roots as they are a vital, but not the only part of ourselves.

The participants of our event had an outstanding opportunity to walk in the Soviet shoes by a unique ceremony of initiation into pioneers. Each participant was rewarded with a red tie and under the applause of young “Komsomol” members took the oath to be faster, higher and stronger.

By this we have estimated a new trend. Since now it is out of date to be a duke or an earl!

Myth #3: Participants worked like slaves to have their meals!

In a catchy workshop on cooking the traditional Belarusian dish – draniki – the participants were granted with a top secret information, our grannies’ recipe for that popular potato pancakes, served with sour cream, mushrooms, roasted slices of meat and home-made cottage cheese.

Note that on this event the Belarusian national record of 2012 on high-speed draniki eating was cruelly beaten by hungry participants after our intense social program.

Myth #4: Participants were obliged to dance all night long to get the keys from their apartments!

Nobody said that being a “homo AEGEEan” is an easy duty to carry. Nobody promised that life is not so complicated.

However, our honorary participants managed to cope with every complicacy. They visited courageously three night clubs in Belarus as well as survived after European Night, Sauna and Farewell Parties.

Myth #5: Belarusians have invented a time machine!

During the event our participants could dive into different historical epochs. They were welcomed in Belarus by an enthralling performance of medieval knights, then they were transmitted to the cosy  “hata” (house)  atmosphere of the 17th century Belarusian village in a national museum of architecture and traditions at Strochitsy and city tours along historic sites of Minsk and Grodno, moving directly to Soviet times  and finally returning to the active and modern life of both cities.

Myth #6: Belarusian girls are the most beautiful in Europe!

Of course, this rhetorical question was not written by the antennae themselves, but whether it is myth or not you can judge only after attending our events.

Eight young, brave and fierce AEGEEans from all over Europe did not believe such absurd canards and attended our Maslenitsa event to say good bye to Winter and hello to Spring together with us!

What about You?

Written by MythBusters Katarina Chernyavskaya (AEGEE-Minsk) & Katia Surmach (AEGEE-Grodno)

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