Laura Garcia Rueda is a very energic and positive girl from AEGEE-A Coruña, she has a lot of experience on the local level ( she is currently the secretary of her local) and she has already worked with SUCT becaming a SUpporter for it this past year.

The AEGEEan : Can you introduce yourself for those who don’t know you?

Laura : I’m Laura from A Coruña, a beautiful city in the northwest of Spain. I studied oceanography and now I’m going to start my masters’ in environmental management. I really love music: Arctic Monkeys, Oasis, Blur, The Beatles… Brit pop and alternative music in general (also Spanish music). I like to go to music festivals and enjoy the beauty of music having a good time with friends. I’m a cinema lover, a supporter of my Deportivo de La Coruña, always with a smile in my face, positive, and someone who never gives up. Contact me if you are interested to know more about me.

What valuable lessons did studying the ocean give you, that you would apply in your work for SUCT?

After several years studying, I think I have acquired a working methodology that is very necessary when you have to get involved in a project like this. Not only the habit of studying and working that the bachelors’ can give you, but it’s the amount of teamwork that I have done which has prepared me to know how to work on a team. Taking care of the ocean, of the animals, the samples to make measurements is like taking care of all our organisers, you have to be concentrated, be very careful in order to have the best response from them.

Why did you apply for SUCT? Especially, can you tell us why did you decide to run as Project Manager?

I’ve applied for SUCT because for me the SU project has a lot of potential to make the association more known, get and motivate members. A unique experience which brings the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and, finally, develop more skills once you’re involved in AEGEE. I have chosen project manager because I consider that my experience (being main organiser, helper and participant of different SUs) has gave me a clear understanding of the project. Furthermore, after being participant in some training events (such as Develop Yourself 3 and SUPS in Skopje, among others), I have gained the necessary skills to be a good leader, be able to work within a team and manage it and also to solve conflicts.

In your programme you said that you want to improve the collaboration between SUCT and AEGEE-Academy, in which way?

As main organiser of a SU and having contact with many experienced members from my local and others, I could learn that there is a lack of good trainers and, for this reason, trainings in the Summer Universities. So, I would like to keep more in touch with them and, as much as we can, try to have some agreements to motivate more locals to ask for trainers and, also, more trainers to attend SUs and deliver sessions. We can also work together in the compulsory content for the SUs to make it more attractive for everyone and be able to give content and fun to the participants and organisers. If we are able to give that, the result will be that more people will want to join AEGEE after their SU.

How do you envision the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of SU? Not every day is the 30th aniversary of someone, so why not celebrate it?

I think is a good opportunity to make a great tribute to the Summer University Project and we all know that the current SUCT is preparing something special, so wait a bit and give me the opportunity to surprise you a bit! I can promise that it will be something unforgettable!

If you could choose just one big aim to improve SUCT, what would you choose and why?

The most important thing that SUCT needs to improve is being closer to the locals and other European bodies, in order to help them in a better way, and have more comunication with the European Bodies in order to have more quality in the Summer Universities. They were improving a lot in this sense but, as main organiser this year, I can say that there is room for more improvement.

What are your aims and hopes for SUCT?

I hope that we can continue doing a very good job inside SUCT, rather improving it, achieving all the proposals in ours programmes, or at least letting them have a start. Combining the knowledge, experience, motivation and good relation that we will have in our team, I think that we’ll be able to make a huge work, to contribute a lot in this project and to help organising, once again, the summer of the life of hundreds of young people.

Questions from the Network

You said in your application that you want to keep SUpporters and activate them more. Do you have a programme for that? What exactly, and how can they support you? In your opinion, why right now SUpporters are not so active?

About SUpporters, I was thinking about some improvents to include in our programme: organise more Skype meetings with them, use the survey to the Network that I also want to implement to make guidelines and useful documents in order to make those task more easy. They can support us in a different ways. Working as a team, sharing tasks, or they could even contribute with their own experience and knowledge, in case they have it. If they won’t have enough yet, the knowledge transfer will be fundamental in order to involve them in our work with more confidence. I think that now they are not very active because they are not enough motivated. We should motivate them more, being more communicative and interactive with them.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

Elena Panagopoulou is not new to the AEGEE world, she has a lot of experience both at the European and local level. She now decided to start a new adventure candidating for the Network Commission. Here are a few questions for her.

The AEGEEan: Please, introduce yourself.

Elena: I am Elena, born and raised in Athens, subsequently being a member of AEGEE-Athina for two full years. I got involved in AEGEE unexpectedly when, as I have said multiple times, I needed it the most. AEGEE has been giving me inspiration and a whole playground of possibilities and dreams, where I can unfold my creativity and passion for making the Network and the world a better place to be part of. Besides the dreamland called AEGEE, I am trying to finish my studies in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture, keep writing and exploring life and people. I am a neophiliac, a person who is craving for novelty, adapts in extreme situations and works constantly into bringing a change, shedding new light.

What is your previous AEGEE Experience?

During my very first moments in AEGEE I joined the Democracy in Practice project, since human rights education and raising of awareness of young people on hot topics related to their rights and how to act upon them, was something which has always moved and inspired me as a person. AEGEE is a wonderful platform for educating and creating active European citizens. In this sense, I was also part of HR of the Language Interest Group, which is creating guidelines and activities on the language perspective. Most AEGEEans are multilingual, isn’t it awesome? The field of human resources is kind of my specialty, as I have served my local from this position and simultaneously being a proud member of the Human Resources Committee. Effective HR is a solution on multiple “common problems” locals are facing and I have the experience to make them realise and work towards the solutions of their problems.

What would you like to do if you get elected ?

A change!! I want my locals to live and breathe for their Identity, AEGEE Identity, to work always answering their inner “why”. So many times in AEGEE we forget the “why”, why we are doing what we are doing. Keeping that in mind, my most significant goal is to make my locals realise their potential and explore various ways of solving their problems and opportunities. I am always a person who runs against the stream, and that is what I want to bring.

In your programme you’ve marked the importance of trainings, Can you tell us something more about that?

Many people join our brilliant association, because they want to improve themselves. To be the best version of themselves, and to learn in a different way from which they are accustomed to within the frame of their academic life. Learning with non-formal education tools is what AEGEE is doing for more than 30 years now, and this through its trainings and events. But we need to improve our trainings and give our members better chances of joining them. There’s an interesting idea that we can recruit the AEGEEans of the future, simply by pinpointing out the learning possibilities through our trainings. As a part of HRC, I’ve started working with the Network Commission and the Academy into figuring the best platform and interface of making the “training culture” more vivid and fully adopted. We are still at the very beggining, but I am really optimistic for the future. I am very happy that the new Focus Area of Youth Development will start its three-year journey this summer. For me this a clear indicator that AEGEEans have realised how much we need the trainings.

Question from the Network: What is the area of the Network you would like to work with?

I want to be elected because Agora will believe in me and my programme, because people will feel touched by what I want to accomplish and be willing to be on board with me. On that regard, I could work with any local, from the so called Nordic Stars or British to Greek, Turkish- speaking or even some Italian ones. Or maybe German, Balkanic, Russian. I don’t know. And it doesn’t matter, since actually I am really intrigued into working with any single antenna, because each one has its own uniqueness and need to be served, and I cannot wait to embrace the challenge. As you can see in my programme, I will focus into creating an Identity culture within my locals, a connection with AEGEE’s values and collaboration with local communities, in order to bring a better and more efficient impact.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

Veronika Chmelárová or, as she likes to be called Veva, is a young, but a very determined girl. She is currently a subcommisioner for the Juridical Commission of AEGEE-Europe and the president of AEGEE-Berlin. Her passion for law and love for the JC motivated her to run for it. Here she answers some questions regarding her candidature.

The Aegeean: Tell us something about yourself.

Veronika: I always found this question very hard to answer, but I will try my best. As you know my name is Veronika, but no one ever calls me differently than Veva in my antenna. I was born in Slovakia but partially raised in Germany, where I also moved later on and began my law studies. I became an AEGEE member two weeks after that, so that is my student life. I do not know how other people see me, but I consider myself very ambitious, focused and also very stubborn, although I am trying to work on that. I am also very pragmatic and realistic, but sure, like all of us, I do have my crazy times. Now you maybe await me to list you my hobbies, but I have to leave something a secret for the small talks on the Agora. [she smiles, ed.]

Why should people vote for Veronika for JC?

Although I was not born in Germany, I am pretty German when it comes to working. I am a perfectionist in the depths of my heart and that is what the JC work is about. You are searching for the tiny details which can make a huge difference in the result. I am aware that I am not a robot, but I am always doing my best in solving these legal issues in a proper way. I am very motivated and love the work that JC is doing. Also, I already have some experiences, as I have been the Subcommissioner of the JC for the past 9 months. Of course, there is still a lot to learn and improve, but I am more than eager to learn all I need in order to perform greatly.

Can you describe your experience as a subcommie for the JC?

I became a subcommissioner with the rest of us in September 2016 and have tried to support our commission in all ways possible since then. I corrected the status of four locals, lead the elections of the speaker team of EQAC, put together a list of motions as it was requested on Agora Chişinău together with the other Subcommies. On Agora Chişinău, I was helping with the registrations of the delegates and later on elections, and on this Agora I will be, together with the other attending subcommissioners, responsible for the JC stand at the Agora Fair.

According to your programme, you want to increase the speed of JC activities, how?

I believe more Skype meetings are needed in this matter as the communication through email can be very slow sometimes, or you will miss the message that was there but needs to be confirmed by all the commissioners. Also, some internal agreements on deadlines and the set time of an answer could not hurt. Of course in delicate cases, where a lot of research is needed, you also have to count on the JC to take the time to do it properly, but those are extraordinary cases for which extraordinary methods apply.

Tell us something more about your idea to bring the members closer to the CIA.

More and more members made me realise that the CIA is seen as some kind of burden, which hinders them to be creative and executes their ideas. Sure AEGEE is not about only CIA, but it is a crucial document on which our association is based on and it is important that it also is perceived as a basis for your own actions. Creating workshops on how to work with this document, or about its history and evolution might be very helpful in this case. Not all AEGEEans are interested in law and explaining all the complicated-looking rules with simple exercises in a one-hour workshop, where you can learn about the basics of it without reading the almost 100 pages of general rules plus Working Formats, can make it easier for them.

Here you can read her full candidature. 

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

It is already that magical season of the year! No, we are not talking about Spring and the rebirth of nature. Of course we are talking about the RTC season. RTCs (Regional Training Courses) are meetings among members and their aim (according to what is written on the AEGEE Europe member’s portal) is to prepare them to take responsibilities in board positions. We have asked for some opinions of the organisers of three RTCs all over Europe from the antennae of AEGEE-Lviv, AEGEE-Touluse, AEGEE-Pisa and AEGEE-Firenze.

All the hosts are very excited and for them this is a great opportunity to grow as antennae. AEGEE-Toulouse told us that “this RTC is one of the only events that will take place in France this year, it happens before important elections for us, so it is a great occasion to discuss the importance of Europe in French people’s life. We have 15 participants, our members will host them to allow the fee not to be too huge (because hostels are incredibly expensive in Toulouse). We really want to make this RTC unforgettable: we willl be chasing a treasure during our visit of Toulouse. The sessions will be, among others, about how to organise local events such as the European Student Festival of AEGEE-Toulouse, and about EVS!”.       

In addition, AEGEE-Lviv said RTCs are also an opportunity to create strong relationships between antennae from different countries that are part of the same Network. “Since we have become one network with Polish antennae, we planned to organise a regional event. By evaluating the abilities of our antennae we decided that an RTC would be the best option. Together with the other locals, we decided that the HR topic would be the most interesting for everyone. Due to a lack of applications, however, we decided that we would organise an LTC for our members and invite foreigners to it. We will make typical LTC sessions, but HR will still be a leading topic.” 

RTCs are also an amazing way to became closer to another antenna. For instance, AEGEE-Firenze and AEGEE-Pisa have decided to organise an RTC together. “We decided to apply for hosting an RTC because both the boards of AEGEE-Pisa and AEGEE-Firenze knew that the new members needed an opportunity to learn more about AEGEE, the possibility to join the board, organise international events and the overall structure of the association.” They also gave us some spoilers about their programme: “We will start with a double session about the structure of AEGEE: one for the newbies, one for more advanced members. Then we will talk about the organisation of European events, teamwork and conflict resolution. The next session will be about managing a local: recruiting, fundraising, how to organise thematic activities and management of a local in general.

The “European events organisation” workshop will be held by AEGEE-Pisa founder, honorary member of AEGEE-Firenze and current member of Les Anciens Paolo Santoni: “This is going to be a huge opportunity for all the participants. But let’s talk about the serious stuff: the programme will be filled with the Regional Night (which, with all the nationalities of the participants, will actually be a real EN) and we are organising games and party also for the second night”.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

“Lost between Europe and Africa, it belongs to nowhere. It belongs to nowhere, never having belonged to nowhere. To Spain and the Arabs and the Phoenicians more than anything. But as if he had never really had a destiny. No fate. Left out of time and history”

David Herbert Lawrence, Sea and Sardinia, 1921

I wanted to start with this quote because it is not easy to describe Cagliari, the capital city of an amazing jam in the Mediterranean Sea, the island of Sardinia. It is the result of many influences by different populations who ruled the island: Phoenician, Arabs, Romans, Pisans, Spanish and of course Savoy are just examples.  Cagliari is one of the most important harbours in the Mediterranean Sea and situated in South Sardinia, pretty close to Africa, especially to Tunisia. The weather in there is incredible. In fact, it is so sunny that locals call it CA(g)LI(ari)FORNIA. Here are ten things to do, eat and visit in this city.

Poetto Beach with a view on Sella del Diavolo

1) Poetto – You cannot say that you visited Cagliari properly if you did not go to the beautiful beach of Poetto. Poetto is so close to the city that you can actually reach it by a bus from one of the main squares of Cagliari, Matteotti’s Square. It stretches for about eight kilometres and it is said that it is the longest beach in a city after the one in Rio de Janeiro.  You can enjoy your time there looking at the beautiful blue sea and eating a sandwich with horse meat bought in one of the “paninari” or “caddozzoni” [that can be translated with very dirty people, ed.], as people from Cagliari call them, and of course drinking an Ichnusa, the traditional beer of Sardinia.

2) Sella del Diavolo – There is a small story hidden behind this beautiful hill near at Poetto’s beach, that is also one of the symbols of our city. The legend tells that Lucifer and his demons wanted to rule Cagliari’s Gulf, but in a battle Lucifer fell off his horse, lost his saddle that turned into stone and became the Sella del Diavolo, Devil’s Saddle in English. You should climb it because the view from there will be one of the greatest experiences of your life, plus you will see Poetto with its all beauties.

3) Viale Europa – It is a really long street and it is close to Monteurpinu Park (one of the biggest parks in the city). There you can enjoy the beautiful skyline of the city and if you turn around you can also see Poetto. It will take your breath away.

Flamingos, with Cagliari’s skyline in the back

4) Fenicotteri – How not to mention flamingos? People from Cagliari are very proud of them. To find them, you have to move just a little bit from the city and go to Molentargius Park, which is really close to Poetto’s beach. Rent a bike and enjoy your time there. I suggest you bring your camera so that you can keep memories of this beautiful experience forever.

5) Pizzetta Sfoglia – Finally, I introduce you just one of the many tasty dishes from the island. Pizzetta sfoglia is basically a small pizza made with puff pastry and filled with tomato sauce and sometimes capers. We usually eat it in the breakfast or as a snack in the evening. Like Ichnusa and flamingos, people from Cagliari are very proud and jealous of Pizzetta Sfoglia. Try it, it is delicious!

Carlo Felice’s statue in Piazza Yenne

6) Piazza Yenne – Piazza Yenne is the centre of Cagliari’s movida. Especially on Friday and Saturday, you will find lots and lots of inhabitants having their happy hours or just talking and sitting in a bar. I suggest you take an appetiser there, you will enjoy the view of Castello (one of the historic neighbourhoods of Cagliari), the harbour and, of course, our beloved Carlo Felice’s statue. Carlo Felice is the symbol of the city and when Cagliari FC was promoted to Serie A [the major football league in Italy, ed.], last year he was dressed in red and blue, the colours of our team.

7) Marina – Moving a little bit forward from Piazza Yenne, you will find the neighbourhood of Marina. Marina is really beautiful, there you can find amazing restaurants with typical Sardinian cuisine and small shops that sell souvenirs. They might not be cheap, but eating traditional food is an experience you cannot miss when you are in Sardinia, it will be totally worth it.

Cagliari’s Cathedral façade

8) Castello – Castello (or Castle in English) is the neighbourhood of Cagliari. In fact, in Sardinian language, Cagliari is called Casteddu which means Castle. In Castello, you will find the most important monuments of Cagliari: the cathedral, the Vice Regio Palace, museums, etc. I suggest you lose yourself in small and beautiful streets with full of the magic of this neighbourhood and of course, go to Bastione Santa Croce to enjoy the beautiful view on Cagliari.

Bastion St. Remy

9) Bastione St. Remy – It is one of the meeting points of young people in Cagliari. The view from there is totally worth it and breathtaking. You can go up by foot or with the elevator. You will see its main entrance from the shopping streets via Garibaldi and via Manno, it is situated at the exact crossroads between these two streets.

10) Lose yourself – Just like I have read in other articles of the Travel Guide series, I suggest you lose yourself in this beautiful city to see and taste everything it offers. Cagliari might not be a big city or famous like other beautiful cities in Italy, but it is unique.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

If you want to tell 10 things to do, eat and visit in your city (even where there is no AEGEE), you can fill this form or contact us at aegeean@aegee.org. Let’s create a small travel guide for AEGEE people!

In late 2016 I started thinking about applying to a New Year’s event and, even if they were a lot and all really amazing, I did not really need to get through all the options that AEGEE offered this year because I knew from the start that I wanted to go to the one taking place in Skopje. I decided to apply to “Win Up: It’s Snow Time Deluxe Edition” because the programme was incredible, with lots of fun activities, but also because I had heard beautiful stories about it so I wanted to experience it at first hand.  

The event took place in the Macedonian capital city from the 30th of December 2016 to the 5th of January 2017, even if my first day was the 31st of December. In fact, on the 30th of December in the early morning, me and two other girls from AEGEE-Cagliari took the plane from Cagliari to Milan and then from Milan to Sofia. We waited seven hours in a bus station and at midnight finally we found a bus. The bus was really small and the luggage was placed in a small cart trailer, but after this long trip we finally managed to arrive to Skopje in the early morning the next day.

They took us in a wonderful city tour showing Saint Mother Theresa’s House, the Old Bazar of Skopje –  which is the second biggest bazar after Istanbul’s one from the time of the Ottoman empire, the Fortress of Skopje, the Holocaust Museum and the beautiful city centre, where we closed the day ice skating. Afterwards, we suited up for the NYE party, which was really amazing. Before it started the organisers held a workshop about alcohol and during the celebrations in a room close to the dance floor they prepared for us some typical food and chips, pretzels etc.

On the 1st of January, the organisers took us to the wonderful Vodno Mountain, where some of us climbed the mountain to reach the top, while others took the cableway. The view from the top was incredible, and it was one of the greatest experience I have ever had in my life.

Then we joined a workshop about Orthodox Christmas. The organisers offered us some Rakija and a typical cake and showed us some pictures. One of the traditions is a bread which has a coin hidden inside, and the one who finds the coin will have a lucky year. After that, we went to the city centre to play to an alcoholic treasure hunt. We were separated in different teams, each one with a team leader. We had to execute some tasks to have clues and each task earned you some points. Imagine what inhabitants could have been thinking seeing a group of more than 30 AEGEEans running around in the city centre of Skopje. The following day we changed location and we moved to Bulgaria, in Bansko. The journey was quite long so we just had the time to accommodate in our rooms and enjoy the first part of the European Night.

On the 3rd and 4th of January some of us took the chance to ski down the incredible Pirin Mountain, or to enjoy the beautiful Bansko and the Hotel SPA; while part of the group went to Sofia to spend the day there instead. We also enjoyed European Night part 2 and 3, since AEGEE-Skopje’s crew decided to separate the European Night in three different nights. I think that this was a smart decision, because we could appreciate more the alcohol without getting totally drunk and I have noticed that we put more passion in the presentation of our countries. Monika Borovcanska, one of the organisers, told me that the decision to split the European night in three parts was made “so that we would have three special nights. The result was amazing. In this way we avoided food/drinks leftovers and it was more exciting for everyone. Those who were supposed to present their countries put a lot of effort into doing it in the best way. All of them had the possibility to be better heard by everyone, since the whole concept was like a Treasure Hunt. There were five groups and five rooms with different presenters. All of the presenters had around five minutes to present their countries to the groups, that were coming one after another”.

On the last day, the 5th of January the group split in two; some of us went back to Skopje, while the others went to Sofia, because we had our flights back home from there. Organising an event in two different countries might seem difficult, but it was a desire that Monika had for some time now: “Organising an event in another country is always a challenge. However, skiing in Bansko is something that I have been doing for the last ten years, so I can say that it was easy to get in touch with some contacts.

The Bulgarian language is close to the Macedonian, so the communication was not a problem. An event in there has been my wish for some time and finally it happened”.

I have seen a lot of amazing things during this event, like the beautiful monuments in both Skopje and Sofia and, finally, real snow.

I come from an island settled in the Mediterranean sea, so for me it was surreal to be in a winter wonderland. But I have also learned a lot through the workshops and talking with people who have different cultures than mine. In the end, I can say that this event was really deluxe, they treated us like princes and princesses, we slept in real beds during the whole event -and for an AEGEE event is not that bad-, we ate a lot of delicious typical things and the social programme was insane. We definitely perceived the passion and committment that the organiser put into this event.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari