Being part of the big AEGEE family makes you want to discover more, learn and share as much as you can. The same happened with Dermanşah, from AEGEE-Istanbul, and he is taking his knowledge to the next step by being a candidate for SUCT. We asked him some questions, and below you can find out more about his candidature.

The AEGEEan: Dermanşah, describe yourself in 4 words, using the SUCT initials. 

Dermanşah Hazar Ersoy Yalin: Solution oriented, Upstanding, Challenge oriented, Tolerant.

What does the Summer University Project mean to you?

For me the Summer University Project is something – does not matter if you are a participant or an organiser – that makes you leave your comfort zone sometimes by going to a country that you never imagined you could visit, by communicating with a mayor that you never thought yourself talking to or being the only one speaking your language in a group of people who are close to your age. For me the Summer University Project is an opportunity to learn a lot of things that you can never learn in any university, plus there’s no other way to learn things by having that much fun.

You’ve been organiser of the SUs of your local for the past four years. What gives you motivation now to be part of SUCT?

First of all in the past four summers, I always tried to take on different responsibilities in our SU every year and I always worked for organising a better SU. And apart from being an organiser I also wanted to be a participant in order to see this project from a “participant”’s point of view [he smiles, ed.]. And for me it would have been a miss if I didn’t see the “helper” point of view, which is between being an organiser and a participant: thanks to AEGEE-Beograd, last summer I also had opportunity to try that experience. At the end I felt like there are few things left that I haven’t done for this project and there is a lot of knowledge and experience I have gained so far. So when I connected these two facts I realised that member of SUCT is the position where I should be.

You mentioned in your programme feedback meetings with local organisers of SUs. How do you see this happening? How much time do you think it will take and what is the actual idea behind these meetings?

Dermanşah: It will happen directly and indirectly. Directly – we will have Skype meetings and also we might contact locals individually according to the evaluation forms. And indirectly – since locals in the same areas have usually similar issues, we might collect feedbacks through Network Commissioners. The reason is of course to help the locals in order to improve their SUs and it will take maximum until the beginning of application period of SUs for the organisers.

Tell us more about the increasing of number of participants on SUs.

Dermanşah: I think if thematic parts are properly implemented on SUs it will bring better fundraising opportunities to the locals and as a result of this we will have SUs with either lower fees or better facilities. As a candidate for member of SUCT I am planning to help the locals in the cases – which I stated above – with the whole team.

You mentioned the visibility of the SU Project and the cooperation with other student organisations. In your opinion, how will that be beneficial for the development of the SU project?

Dermanşah: Different student organisations have different perspectives. In this case with the cooperation by sharing best practices, contacts, different thematic contents etc. And increasing visibility of the SU Project among private companies will create better fundraising opportunities for the locals, because from my experience with local companies, they are quite interested in our work, on cultural integration and also having members from different kinds of disciplines.

Why should you be a member of SUCT and members should vote for you?

Dermanşah: As I stated on your third question, I have been very active on the local level and now I feel like it’s time for a new challenge for me, which is working on the European Level for the SU Project. On the other hand I always try to be a good team member and what I mean is that I never insist on titles, names, positions or anything but I am always focused on tasks, always try to help achieving team’s goals. Last but not least in the past three and a half years, after organising and attending many events, especially after being part of eight SUs, having several golden moments, feeling almost every emotion, now I feel like I gained a lot of experience and it’s time to pay back for the things I gained and that’s why I would like to help the locals and to offer the members the possibility to enjoy this project and experience as I did.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

As the time passes, we are getting closer and closer to Autumn Agora Catania. The candidates are getting ready and of course we would like to know more about them and the reason why they want to represent us. Lorenzo Ligas is one of the candidates for SUCT, this being his second time to candidate, but he says that “the decision to candidate again was quite natural”, so below you can find out more about his plans.

The AEGEEan: Lorenzo, describe yourself in four words, using the SUCT initials.

Lorenzo: Supportive – I am always willing to support and help team mates.

Unique – Can you find another #PRbear in the Network?

Creative – Writing, designing, managing social media is my daily bread. I can’t imagine my life without it.

Tenacious – Being a candidate for the second time, after the result of Autumn Agora Chișinău, and after a very active year in the association, it’s the proof that no matter how hard it could be, no matter the failures, I run for my goals.

What does Summer University Project mean to you?

Lorenzo: Summer University is love and passion for me. Being an organiser twice in Cagliari as PR Responsible and Content Manager gave me countless emotions, thanks both to my amazing antenna and to the incredible participants we had. I really think that through the Summer University Project young people can experience freedom. Especially for youngsters, it’s a playground where you have fun, get to know people in a very friendly and respectful environment.

You are no stranger to the Summer University Project, but tell us, why do you want to continue in this field and what gives you motivation?

Lorenzo: When I decided in 2016 to candidate at Autumn Agora Chișinău, I knew chances to be elected were low. At that time I had been in AEGEE for about eight months. Current SUCTies were really supporting, and I decided, even before the voting rounds, that in case of ‘’negative’’ results I would become a SUpporter. During this year thanks to Claudio, Lucia, Philipp and Ralitsa I had the chance to be involved in the project with graphics, PR tasks and being trainer in SUPS Skopje 2017. The decision to candidate again was quite natural I would say!

You mentioned in your programme that you would create viral contents. How do you see that helping in increasing the participation of members to the SU?

Lorenzo: As for any brand or company, the Summer University project needs to be more active into social networks. This could be done by both increasing the amount of contents in Summer University social networks and encouraging antennae and bodies to share and create their own contents. The more people you reach, the higher is the possibility to attract new members and to increase the participation to the events.

Tell us more about how would you motivate antennae to promote the SU Project.

Lorenzo: By increasing the understanding that thanks to the Summer University antennae could recruit a higher number of new members, as well as activate more members that are mostly active locally. I would like to share my experience as PR Responsible of two Summer Universities, create specific guidelines on how to promote the project during the different stages of the event: preparation, application period, during the event, after the event. Having an active promotion during the whole stage leads to visible results.

How do you foresee your cooperation with CD to promote SU as a project to possible interested companies (like Small Medium Enterprises or Start-Ups eager to have a large European project to promote their products/services)?

Lorenzo: As I also wrote in my programme, I would collaborate with CIRC for global fundraising and with the Netcom for local fundraising. My goal is to create a network of partners which could provide materials and goods to the antennae, as well as discount codes and services, depending on the partner. Agorae as well could be a good opportunity for partners of the project to distribute their sponsored goods.

Questions from the Network

In your programme you refer to a new format about the collaboration with SUpporters. How can they support you? In our opinion, why SUpporters are not so active right now? Can you explain to us how your new system will resemble the one of the subcommies?

Lorenzo: I think that it’s difficult to be active for the SUpporters because the current system doesn’t include higher responsibilities, or somehow an official position. My idea is to have a subcommies-like task force, with SUpporters divided into expertise (Project Management – PR – FR – Content) supervised by the SUCTies. In my opinion, giving tasks, deadlines, and higher responsibilities such as “mandatory” participation to the SUpporters work could lead to higher results as well as empowering possible future SUCTies.

You can read his candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu – AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Are you feeling excited about Autumn Agora Catania 2017? It is happening sooner then we think, but in order for everyone to have a great experience, there is still work to be done. The Chair Team is one of the awesome teams that is bringing their contribution to the Agora, and we asked them some questions so we could find out more about them.

The AEGEEan: Tell us about yourselves.

Chair Team: We are the Chair Team, and we are responsible of the content part of the Agora. In our term we set various open calls (participants, workshops, job shadowers, secretary assistants, etc.), we select participants, and we draft the Agenda. After months of working behind the scene, then we will spend three or four days during the Agora itself moderating the discussion and leading the sessions. Not only this, we have a person in charge of the IT, for presentations and videos, and a Secretary of the Agora with the essential role to take minutes. We are not alone in this and a strict collaboration with Local Organisers, Comité Directeur and Juridical Commission is in place. Our team is composed as following: Erika from AEGEE-Verona is the Chairperson, Elisa from AEGEE-Catania is the Interim Vice-Chairperson, Elena from AEGEE-Grodno is the secretary of the Agora and Jani from AEGEE-Maribor is the IT responsible.

Erika: Elisa is a very calm person and this balances perfectly other personalities in our team. Her approach and her juridical knowledge is an asset that is very precious when it comes to all the procedures of Agora, but it has already proved to be useful in the internal decisions of the Chair Team. Moreover, she promised me to find a boyfriend for me (and Jani can testify), so this is a plus. [she winks, ed]

Elisa: Elena is an amazing person, well prepared and full of energy! She has a lot of experience in Agora as she actively took part in ACT and she is a very sweet girl!

Elena: Jani is a real IT guy. When we get emails full of technical stuff,  he is the only one who can understand what is written inside. Without him, Agora would never happen!

Jani: Erika is a really hardworking person. When she decides to do something, she will put all her efforts to accomplish it. Many people don’t like her, but that is in human nature – they envy those who are better. She seems hard, but she is really a fair person. As a true Italian, she likes to cook and no food is better than hers (and Italian) – that’s why she is our Mama. One sentence to describe her: “I have no prejudices, I hate everyone equally”. [He laughs, ed.]

How do you see this term as a team? What do you want to achieve or change?

Erika: As a team, our personalities are starting to blend. In one way or another we worked together already for Agora Enschede, therefore now it is a matter of starting to build a working relationship in order to be perfectly in sync in Catania. For sure, we still are the blue-eyed Chair Team, and Jani will be renamed Ejani to have all four of us a five-letters name starting with E. We started to work as a team only at the end of June, and at the end of September we will already be in front of the Agora. Two months, with all the administration going on also, are not much to create a proper strategy for change or improvements. Moreover, now we are too early in the preparation to see what we can change in Catania, but some ideas are already on the plate. For sure we are working hard to improve our communication channels, introducing more and more infographics thanks to Elena’s VI approved touch. We will also tighten the relationship we have with the Human Resource Committee after the amazing Agora mentorship in Enschede.

Elena: As you can notice, we don’t have much time for preparations. But as all of us already were connected with Agora management in the Past, I am sure we will do the best. As Erika said already, we want to bring more info about how Agora works for the people that applied: this means more pictures, iconographics and Skypes. Agora is the most important place in AEGEE for our decision-making process and people who participate should have enough knowledge. We will put more efforts to help delegates, and all the other participants, to be more prepared.

Elisa: As Erika said, we are a good team! I worked side by side with Erika and Jani during Agora Enschede, even though I was working from the JC side; Although I’ve never worked with Elena before, she is a very organised and well prepared person, and there is never lack of cohesion inside the team. Moreover, we are going to appeal the Agora Audience with our eyes! However, let’s stay serious! The work in the Chair Team requires many hours, selecting participants, selecting workshops, answering questions, but it’s a stimulating job. We are working hard to give people the sensation to be an active part of the Agora, making iconographic (thanks to the work of Elena) and improving the communication from our side. We don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable towards the Agora, that’s also why we support the great job of the Agora Mentorship Project.

What are your expectations regarding Agora Catania?

Elisa: We have seen a huge number of applications for this Agora, so many people willing to participate to the most important meeting of our organisation. Many newbies have shown curiosity towards this event: I hope that this Agora can be an inspiration for people, above all the new ones, that are the future of our organisation. Of course, I wish that they will participate actively to all the Agora contents, that are always a growth opportunity inside our association.

Elena: Many content discussions with fruitful outcome! And, of course, that everybody will be on Plenaries and Prytania instead of the beach (#dreams).

Erika, you have the experience from Spring Agora Enschede in the Chair Team, how do you think that this will help you at one of the biggest Agora?

Every Agora is different from the previous one because all the variables (Chair Team, participants, locations, items to be discussed, candidates and proposals) change, therefore it is very hard to predict what will come next. Agora Enschede was definitely a good starting point. I had the opportunity to apply all the knowledge I acquired in the past years of the organisation and learn what the Chair should do more in depth, especially when it comes to actual chairing. In Catania my role will be different, I will be Chairperson, which is a whole new responsibility – albeit the work from Chair and Vice-Chair is not very different. I hope to be more relaxed, have more fun and learn from the little mistakes I made in Enschede.

Elisa, why Chair Team and not something else? And why Interim Vice-Chairperson?

I like the concept of the Agora itself. And having the opportunity to be the Vice-Chairperson in my city, chairing meetings, being (somehow) the soul of the Agora, it’s a big honour, if not a dream. Why Interim? Well, I was a JC commissioner at the time of the candidatures for Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson of the Agora, and the work with JC was still heavy at that time; I didn’t want to overcharge myself, risking to leave the work with JC without the proper conclusion and doing the work of Vice-Chairperson not in the owed manner. But when Erika sent the open call for Interim Vice-Chairperson, I felt it was my occasion to coronate my dream of leaving AEGEE with one of the most honorable task in AEGEE: being the Vice-Chairperson of the Agora, our main meeting, our parliament, where the most important decisions are taken; the work with the JC during the open call was a bit less heavy, as the Agora was passed and the CIA 28.1 was almost completed. What to say…I cannot imagine something better!

Elena, why did you choose to apply for Secretary of the Agora?

Minutes are a very important historical document, it’s a golden key to the knowledge from the past. People come to organisation and leave, but minutes as other documents stay here for us. The job of Secretary of the Agora is very often not recognised while that person is a keeper of current knowledge for the future generations. As a historian, I can’t miss that chance to be a keeper of AEGEE history. [she smiles, ed.]

That position is one of the most challenging for me, but I enjoyed taking minutes during a prytanium on Agora Enschede where I was a secretary assistant. So, maybe it is a challenge for myself. [she smiles, ed.] Moreover, as I adore to spend free time reading Agora minutes from the past, it’s a special pleasure to know that one of them is written by yourself.

And yes, when everybody has already forgotten about Agora, I will still be listening to speeches.

Jani, what are your fears regarding Autumn Agora Catania as the IT Responsible of the Chair Team?

From my experience from the previous Agora I would say the biggest fears are accessing OpenSlides and playing (too) big videos in OpenSlides. But we are working on these problems, we already found some solutions.

You can follow them here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj Napoca

Florian Hauger is a member of AEGEE-Heidelberg and the current president of the local. His experience in the local and as assistant to a Member of Parliament of Baden-Württemberg helped him decide to run for this position. We asked him some questions in order to find out more about him and his wish to become the next Secretary General.

The AEGEEan: Florian, can you describe yourself in five words?

Florian: Sociable, curious, passionate, caring and AEGEE-addicted.

You are the only candidate for the Secretary General. Why do you think is that?

I really do not know. Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe is an incredibly interesting and exciting job. On the other hand, it is probably one of the busiest and most time-consuming jobs in the headoffice. Balancing both in- and external tasks is quite a challenge. Maybe that is what scared people off. But previous secretaries Svenja van der Tol and Kasha Sokolowska proved that it is manageable by doing an amazing job. They are both AEGEEans to look up to and I am happy they convinced me that Secretary General is the right position to run for.

Why do you think that the position of Secretary General fits you best?

I have always been deeply impressed by the wonderful projects and events in our locals across the continent. There cannot be enough appreciation and support for their amazing contribution. Two terms in the board of AEGEE-Heidelberg taught me about the daily challenges of local frontline duty and how to deal with problems. Renewing the bond between locals and headquarter is the most pressing issue in the upcoming term. Apart from its internal and administrative tasks, the position covers external representation, too. As primary contact in the house, I could help our bodies to develop their ideas as well as making them recognised in Brussels. The hybrid character between grassroots and politics in Brussels is extremely tempting and probably one of the main reasons I decided to run for Secretary General instead of External Relations.

You mentioned visa issues and the political impact in your programme. How would you make EU politicians understand the meaning of the barriers for us, for AEGEEans?

Indeed. We should use AEGEE’s formal access to the European institutions to strive for our vision and promote improvements like visa affiliations. Many politicians do care about our work and the situation of young people in- and outside the European Union. AEGEE-Heidelberg just managed to get a visit from our Minister of Research to talk about exceptions for tuition fees for foreigners. I would like to use my political experience as MP assistant to promote AEGEE’s goals. Meetings and hearings in Brussels are great opportunities to make our ideas recognised in European politics. We should also not forget that we are not alone. As a member organisation, AEGEE enjoys the support of its influential umbrella organisations, such as European Movement International (EMI) or the European Youth Forum. If we want to have an impact in Brussels, we need to work together! I am not a wizard and won’t make promises but I will never quit fighting for our vision!

What will be the first thing that you will do in case you get elected?

We have four people running from my local in Enschede. We will probably need to kill a bottle of Bourbon in case all of us get elected. Hint: please vote Viola, Álvaro and Fabian, too! They are amazing! AEGEE-Heidelberg rulez!

Tell us the most relevant aspects of your candidature and why should people vote for you.

As stated above, I would like to renew the bond between AEGEE-Europe and its antennae. The passionate work of the locals is the backbone of our Network and deserves the best support from Brussels. I want to be there for the locals. Unfortunately, AEGEE is losing more and more members and locals every year. We should not panic but start to discuss new ways to get more young people excited about our amazing organisation. My local work in Heidelberg helped me understanding the importance of promotion and recruitment. If we want to raise our numbers, we need to raise AEGEE’s visibility – both on the local and European dimension of our Network. Let’s make people understand we are not AIESEC!

Due to my EaP background and the lack of candidates from outside the European Union, I’d also like to speak up for our members from non-EU countries. Although most AEGEEans enjoy visa-free regimes, many members from non-EU countries still need to apply for costly and time-consuming visas to attend AEGEE events abroad. I already stated that I will keep on fighting for youth mobility and visa affiliations. Everyone should be able to attend AEGEE-events. It breaks my heart that it is still not affordable for everyone. That is why I also strive for more social fund promotion in the Network.

Question from the Network

In the CD you share house and office with Financial Director, other members and President. The work of the CD is really dependent on the President and her vision of AEGEE. Which candidate would you prefer to work with, Reka or Loes?

Although I appreciate Réka’s long years of service, I support the candidature of Loes Rutten. She is kind, smart, lion-hearted and a true AEGEEan. I had the pleasure to work with her during the preparations for EPM Zagreb and appreciate her reliability, passion and creativity. We share the same vision for the future of AEGEE and how to get more people inspired about our beloved organisation. Furthermore, I really enjoyed reading her programme. Both of us value our locals’ hard work and agree that there should be more support provided by the Comité Directeur. Let’s hope we can take our ideas into action!

What is your experience in taking minutes in English?

Working in different European Bodies renewed my appreciation of proper protocols. Successful teamwork and transparent communication require conscientious recording. Especially my engagement in the EPM Zagreb Content Team was a great opportunity to gain some experience in minute-taking.

What is your experience in writing grants?

Two years of local board experience taught me that sustainable fundraising strategies are crucial for our development and progression. AEGEE-Heidelberg receives both institutional and public grants we need to apply for every year. Furthermore, we obtain generous support and partial coverage of our European events by the University of Heidelberg Students Council. The financial stability of AEGEE-Heidelberg has always been a team performance and I do not claim to be an expert on fundraising. I will do my best and hope I am going to make a contribution towards the projects’ funding.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Being the Financial Director for AEGEE-Europe is not something that everybody wants, unfortunately. But the ones that do want are extremely motivated. We have Teresa Carene Kiambu from AEGEE-Udine as a candidate for this position, and below you can find her motivation for becoming the next Financial Director of AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Teresa, can you describe yourself in five words?

Teresa: For who does not know me, my name is Teresa, but everybody calls me Terry. I am 25 years old and I come from Udine, a small city in the North-East of Italy, even if I have African origins. About myself I can say that I am ambitious, perfectionist, open minded, dynamic and a cheerful person. I love to make new experiences and to improve myself and the environment that is around me, so I hope that running for the Financial Director’s position will be for me a chance for adding something positive to AEGEE.

You started in your local as treasurer and then president. How do you think that this influenced you in deciding to run for Financial Director?

Since I was treasurer in my local, I dreamt to be Financial Director one day, because I really believe in the impact and in the power of AEGEE, but I didn’t have the possibility to run for it until now because I was focusing more on the local level and on the other responsibilities that I had. Being in the local board as Treasurer and then President and having to deal with many tasks, issues and experiences at local level, but also having the possibility to be part of the Audit Commission as SubCommissioner and of the Migration Interest Group at the European level, and seeing the good results I achieved with my mates at local and European level, despite some difficult moments; all these things, little by little increased my desire to become Financial Director. So, working in teams for so much time gave me the opportunity of experiencing teamwork, ripening the sense of responsibility, respecting deadlines.

You are the only candidate for the position of Financial Director. Why do you think is that?

I think that financial stuff has always been seen as something difficult and unintelligible within AEGEE and in the world. All things related to numbers, calculations, accounting have always been not appealing for people in general, and AEGEE as the mirror of the nowadays young Europe reflect this fact, the small appeal that finance has within people.

You have experience in the financial department, but mostly at local level and theoretical. How will the knowledge that you have help you manage some unknown situations at a higher level?

The theoretical knowledge I have about the financial subject is a strong foundation for the position I am running, as I will be engaged, in case I am elected, in accounting, budgeting, reporting. I have been studying economics for almost five years at University, and since I have started my master’s degree, I have been learning economics from the theoretical point of view but even from the practical point of view, as I attended some practical courses that gave me the opportunity to get in touch with some firms, analysing their balance sheets, budgets, reports and having to solve and give advice on some issues they had: in a few words, I can say I was engaged in consultancy manner and problem-solving processes, and this is a quite important part within AEGEE and the Comité Directeur, as AEGEE-Europe is comparable to a “firm”, where not every future situation is known in advance, but despite this, is faced. In fact, I know that not having been in the Comité Directeur before I will face some unknown situations, but it happened even at local level; this fact didn’t make me give up, rather made me understand that for achieving the best results you should fight and use the knowledge you have as a starting point. Let’s also not forget that I will be part of a team.

One of your direction in your programme is fundraising. How do you see fundraising as a candidate for Financial Director and for AEGEE-Europe?

To be Financial Director means to be the one who is engaged in the management and control of the economic flows, outflows and inflows. In fact the balance sheet, the budgets and the reports are documents that show people which was the performance of the entity they refer to. As I see the fundraising, it is a way of improving and increase the inflows, not only in monetary terms, but even in terms of having more opportunities for AEGEEans all over Europe, making some agreements and partnerships. In fact, AEGEE-Europe, meant as our European network, has the possibility to do all these things, as it is the biggest youth association and it is a huge network of young people spread in about 200 cities on our continent. Fundraising is also an instrument that can allow our network to do many other things and activities that we are not doing for now, or improve the ones that we have been doing for many years.

You are doing your master’s degree now, and next year by this time you will have to present your thesis, which is not something easy to do. In case you will get elected, how do you think that you will manage your duties as Financial Director and writing your thesis?

First of all, my idea is to write my thesis on my experience in AEGEE as Financial Director, in order to make a thesis that could be useful for some young people who are scared of starting the experience I have, to get them motivated and this can also be useful to make AEGEE well known. Secondly, we all know that being Financial Director, I won’t have so much free time but if I am running for this position now it is because I feel enthusiastic and ready for it. In fact I almost finished my exams, which were according to me the most important part of my master’s degree, so the thesis will not be a problem. If I don’t manage to write the thesis and being Financial Director at the same time, I will still have time to write my thesis after my experience in the Comité Directeur and finish my studies almost on time. It is worth to write my thesis not in the time I was thinking, but get the experience of being the one who can improve AEGEE and do something more for the association.

Tell us the most relevant aspects of your candidature and why should people vote for you.

My candidature is based on few important points as: continuing the job done by the previous Financial Directors, managing,  AEGEE’s money and finance in the best way that I will be capable of, having a good budgeting and planning scheme at the beginning of my mandate, so that everything will be clear from the beginning and we could save money; doing good fundraising and arising the awareness about the importance and how to deal with financial matters within the locals. Using few words, I can say that, on the one hand, I want AEGEE to be known and supported by more and more entities, so that will try to guarantee to AEGEEans many other opportunities that we don’t have within the association, and on the other hand, I would like to make financial matters less difficult to understand among the treasurers within AEGEE.

As conclusion, I would like to say that I am ready for being the Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe and work with other people in the Comité Directeur House. I am motivated and enthusiastic for it and I really want to work for AEGEE, for its improvement and wellness. I have the background needed for the position I am running for and the motivation. I have been in AEGEE for three years before taking this decision and I think that now is the right time for doing something bigger for and with AEGEE, to arise our power and influence within Europe and the world. Don’t forget I am perfectionist, so I will invest myself to be as perfect a treasurer as I will manage to be.

You can read is full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

For the Equal Rights Working Group Coordinator we have Viola Bianchetti from AEGEE-Heidelberg as a candidate. She is a person that sees a bright future for this WG, has some well defined plans already in mind and is passionate about it. Below, you can read why she wants to be the coordinator for the Equal Rights WG.

The AEGEEan: Viola, can you describe yourself in five words?

Viola: Curious, passionate, diligent, sincere, AEGEE-addicted.

Why do you think that this position fits you best and how will the knowledge that you gathered in your AEGEE and non-AEGEE experience help you in coordinating this Working Group?

In my view, a good Working Group Coordinator should master project as well as team management skills. I see the Coordinator as the person who should guide the activities of the Working Group, ensure efficiency and performance, but also build a healthy and productive team environment. I developed the first set of skills starting from my European Voluntary Service in the field of project management, and then inside the Your Vision for EUrope project. On the other hand, I acquired good team management skills while I was responsible for the photoblog Faces of Europe, where I had to coordinate a large number of team members and reporters. In regard to my knowledge about the topic, a Bachelor in Political Science and a Master (in progress) in Politics and Economics of South Asia provided me with a very good understanding of issues related to equal rights, not only in Europe but in a global perspective.

In your programme you mentioned that “Working Group could cooperate with AEGEE projects”. How exactly do you see this for the Equal Rights Working Group?

The most obvious example is Summer University: the ERWG could provide content to locals willing to organise a SU with a focus on equality and non-discrimination. I would also love to collaborate with the next edition of Europe on Track, which could be dedicated to the topic of equal rights, in its broader sense. Also, in case a new Yvote Project would be launched, the ERWG could cooperate on a conference on gender equality and/or LGBT+ rights in Europe.

How do you think that you will manage to engage locals in organising events related to Equal Rights Working Group?

First of all, I believe there is a general interest in the topic over the Network (otherwise the Interest Groups wouldn’t be so active and the Focus Area wouldn’t have been approved). I don’t think my task is that of forcing locals to organise events on a certain issue, but rather to empower them to do so if they want to. Nevertheless, I think some points are important:

a. Give visibility to the ERWG (e.g. during NWMs and Statutory Events, but also online, with an active Facebook page).

b. Inform locals about specific events or initiatives related to equal rights in their city or region, where they could participate or also cooperate.

c. Provide content for the locals, ranging from small workshops and fun activities which can be integrated in local trainings or events, to content support for conferences or bigger events. For the latter, involve also European partners to ensure high quality.

d. Help locals develop partnerships in their cities with associations dealing with discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, nationality and race (within the limits of the geographical and linguistic competences of myself and my team).

How do you see the evolution of the Gender Equality Interest Group and LGBT+ Interest Group in relation with the Equal Rights Working Group?

In my understanding, the Interest Groups have different aims and objectives than the Working Group, and they should not change their nature but just start cooperating with a new actor, i.e. the Working Group. The Interest Groups have the task of fostering discussion and of keeping our Network informed and aware, being in this respect an important ally of the Working Group. Interest Groups and Working Group could promote each other, pool resources (e.g. workshop outlines and toolkits), cooperate on specific initiatives, and in short form an alliance which would benefit both.

What will be the first thing that you will do in case you get elected?

Start recruiting the team!

Tell us the most relevant aspects of your candidature and why should people vote for you.

The two main points of my programme are: focusing on internal education and making the most out of internal and external opportunities. Concerning the first point, as the Focus Area and the Working Group are new, I would like to concentrate on informing our members and raising awareness about the topic. Concerning the second point, I think I have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of thematic work in AEGEE, and I can take advantage of the former and minimise the latter. On the one hand, it is important to cooperate with other AEGEE bodies and truly involve the whole organisation in this Focus Area. On the other hand, we need to reach out to external partners in order to educate ourselves, obtain (training) resources and gain more visibility. Only with the help of other NGOs committed to equal rights we can achieve a high quality level in our activities.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Less than a month ago, a new AEGEE Contact was born. This time in Sheffield, the UK. Four girls are behind this, they dream big and have already done some things with the brand new contact. We asked them a few questions so we can find out more about them and their plans.

The AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

AEGEE Contact in Sheffield: We are four girls from different corners of Europe – Hanna from Finland, Anne-Sophie from the Netherlands, Chiara from Italy and Oksana from Ukraine. We are all students at the University of Sheffield, which is offering us a lot of support. We are all here only for either a semester or a year, which is not ideal but we will hand over our antenna to the future generation with pleasure!

What other people are behind this new local?

Hanna, Anne-Sophie and Oksana have already been active in AEGEE – in Helsinki, Maastricht and Kyiv respectively. So we met through common friends – AEGEE networking does work in reality! Chiara is new to AEGEE and is inspired to experience Summer Universities. Although we all met less than two months ago, it already feels like a great team. We have also found enthusiastic new members who are eager to help us out, which is fantastic!

Why a contact for AEGEE in Sheffield even if it had struggles in the past?

Well, we felt like this city fits AEGEE perfectly! The students’ community is great here with lots of people from all around the world. We knew about struggles in the past of course, but we have gotten many positive reactions so far, so we feel like we can definitely make it. The good thing is that three of us were already quite experienced in AEGEE, so a lot of things were easier for us like presentations and promotion.

How many members do you have now and how did people in the city react to the association?

Last week, we had a meeting promoting Summer Universities and recruiting new members. It went even better than we expected, so by now, we have 14 members! There is a lot of activity besides AEGEE in Sheffield, as the Students’ Union here is exceptionally active so people never get bored. However, we do have something special to offer, so our aim is to expand and to prove that we can be a successful local!

What is your strategy to get the contact known in your city and get more people involved in it?

For now, we are focusing on the promotion of Summer Universities as we were lucky enough to jump onto the AEGEE boat when our fresh members can still apply for this great project. Therefore, our aim is to make new members that apply for Summer University and also are enthusiastic about becoming active locally. The strategy which worked best so far is to share stories about AEGEE among our friends in Sheffield, which motivates them to join and experience it all themselves!

What are your plans for the near future?

During the last weekend of March, we had a party to celebrate the birth of our contact – with the birthday cake of course! Some members from the UK antennas came as well, so it was a great chance to bring some AEGEE-spirit to Sheffield! Other than that, the next step is to get upgraded to Contact-Antenna at Agora Enschede and we are working hard on it!

We wish them all the best of luck!

You can find them on Facebook here!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Summer Universities… it all began in 1988 when AEGEE had the intention to promote the European integration. The project promotes cultural exchange, exploring the diversity of cultures in Europe, fighting for tolerance and guiding you in order to become an open-minded citizen.

Every year, more than 2000 young Europeans take part in Summer Universities from all over Europe, organised by more than 100 antennas. The project can be different in each antenna: It can be Summer Course, Summer Course Plus or Travelling Summer University. Summer Course is where the youngsters have about 14 hours of courses per week about specific topics like language, environment, politics. Summer Course Plus is pretty much the same as Summer Course, the only thing that changes is the hours of received courses, and for this one is about 20 hours per week. Travelling Summer University is the one that attracts a lot of young Europeans. It is more like a cultural trip to at least four different parts of Europe and it combines different cultures from the places visited with courses.

The project itself is one of the best ways to promote multiculturalism in Europe. Every year, hundreds of young people join AEGEE just because of Summer University. They enjoy the idea of spending two or more weeks somewhere they have never been before, with people they will meet for the first time, coming from different cultures, with different perspectives and new ideas.

This year, in 2017, the Summer University project is celebrating 29 years of thousands and thousands of happy people, great friendships, awesome memories and unforgettable summers. Every year, before all the work begins in organising this amazing project, main coordinators and people who want to get involved in organising this event are taking part in Summer University Projects Schools. This is an event to learn how to be the best SU organiser. This year not one, but five SUPS are being held around the Network. They already took place in Berlin, Las Palmas, Voronezh, Tartu and the last one will take place in Skopje between 23rd and 26th of March.

The people that are working for this project in order to make it great are the members of the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT): Project Manager & Treasurer – Lucia Gavulová (AEGEE-Bratislava), Content Manager – Claudio Gennaro (AEGEE-Agrigento), Public Relations – Ralitsa Mihaylova (AEGEE-Berlin), IT Responsible – Philipp Blum (AEGEE-Aachen) and the appointed CD member – Joanna Pankowska (AEGEE-Warszawa).

This year, 5 smaller SUPS were organised, and the SUCT told us that it was a risk they took “because we saw the decrease in the number of participants, high price, lots of time needed to be taken from daily schedule. Therefore, we made 5 SUPS all over the Network so that people could be flexible with travelling. It is also cheaper and in general more reachable. We have trained 75 future organisers and there is still one more SUPS to go, so we believe the impact is pretty big. With each participant that brings at least a tiny bit of knowledge back to its organisers’ team or decides to become a valuable helper, we have fulfilled our goals.” As for feedback, they said they got a really amazing response and “that is all thanks to amazing teams of trainers and local organisers who made it possible”.

This year you will have 65 chances to discover the AEGEE Spirit, to make new friends, to have an amazing summer and the time of your life! You can choose any of 23 Travelling Summer Universities from Castelló to Moscow, and 29 Summer Courses from Las Palmas to Samara and Tartu to Mağusa, in addition to three Summer Courses+. Check them here and choose your destination!

Even if there is a decrease in the number of SUs, it is not seen as a problem “since the number of organising locals is not significantly decreasing and since we still have more applicants than places available. This should change. Otherwise, the SU Project would face difficult times. The reasons behind this can be compared to almost all activities in AEGEE – less active members willing to organise, missing knowledge transfer and also the unstable political situation in some parts of Europe is not making things easier”.

Next year, the Summer University Project will celebrate its 30th birthday. There is already a team who is working for it and is going to prepare a programme for the next year. Lucia Gavulová told us that “we are starting very slowly, getting to know each other, observing what we want and what our ideas are. The SUCT and the CD had a live meeting to find the balance between our plans and to set up some initial timeline. We have to admit that at the moment this project team is not the most active in AEGEE and we would still welcome some help, so if you are interested, let us know”.

You can read more about the SUPS in the article written by Golden Times here.

You can find the Summer University on Facebook here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

2016 for the first time in our Network was celebrated one of the most beautiful days: AEGEE Day. It was something new, but we all know that AEGEEans are very sensitive to all this kind of celebrations, so it was a success considering that they gathered and celebrated it all around Europe. This year AEGEE Day will take place again. It will be a day to have a new team with beautiful ideas and desire strongly to contribute to the project.

If you are a new member, then you might be asking yourself “What is this day?”. Well, it is a full day dedicated to our association and celebrated by organising activities related to one or more themes all over the Network. The 16th of April is the day when AEGEE was founded, so it cannot be another day that would suit as good as this day. Nevertheless, the activities can be organised during a week, not depending on a day only.

It was actually also posted a guideline with ideas for the activities. So the only thing that members had to do was to pick a day between 11th and 17th of April, an activity or even more than one, and put it in practice.

On the 16th of April 2016, more than 60 locals all over the Network celebrated it, gathering AEGEEans and making them spend some great moments together again.

In 2016, the focus was on one of the most important things for the association: Borderless Europe. Thus, the activities were designed in such a way to break borders all over Europe, not only between countries but also employment borders, mobility borders, language borders, cultural borders, inequality borders and participation borders.

For each of this sub-topics, the activities were explained and were also assigned a level of difficulty, so 1 in green was “super easy peasy”, 2 in yellow – “doable”, 3 in purple – “getting a bit difficult” and 4 in red was “a challenge”.

There were a lot of activities organised last year, from all the levels of difficulty, and here we can see the impact that AEGEE Day had in the Network and how popular it was in different countries.

For this year, there is a new team, eager to work for this project and share their ideas with us all.

Suzan Dilara Tokaç, AEGEE-Eskişehir: I am a dedicated volunteer and adventurer. I am growing up every year with new opportunities that AEGEE has been offering. I was on the team last year and was impressed by the potential and power of our united Network so much that I would like to take it one step further.

Katharina Jiménez Weese, AEGEE-Bamberg & LIG: I loved the idea and the implementation of the AEGEE Day last year and with joining the AEGEE Day team I hope that I can contribute to making this year’s edition successful again!

Maria Mariș, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca & CEWG: I love the idea of AEGEEans doing the same things at the same time in different places!

Marta Pąk, AEGEE-Warszawa: I love celebrations, and AEGEE Day is a great opportunity to show that we have something to say and a lot to do and to recognise the hard work of our volunteers during the whole year.

Lia Touska, AEGEE-Sofia, appointed Comité Directeur member: I love the idea of AEGEE Day and that is why I helped the team last year, so now I am part of the AEGEE Day team.

Katharina said that they started working since December already and “since then we distributed the tasks, set the timeline, brainstormed about the theme and we planned the live meeting. As this year the AEGEE Day falls on the Easter week, there will be one week of celebration, starting on 16th April, the actual AEGEE Day.”

As well as last year, we found out that there will be a guideline for the activities, for which they will cooperate with European Bodies, and it will be involving the current and the new Focus Areas. Regarding the theme, everything will be announced soon.

Katharina also wanted to add that “although this may seem like a simple series of activities, the AEGEE Day is certainly a simulation of what AEGEE is built on, strives for and advocates since the day it has been founded. We are looking forward to all the nice activities that will be happening all around Europe!”

We wish them all the best luck, and let’s hope that more locals and more activities will be there this year for AEGEE Day!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

The month of November brought us a new Local of the Month: AEGEE-Manchester, a new local, managed to do beautiful things in the past year. We talked to Bryn, one of the founding members and the Human Resources Responsible, and asked him to tell us how few people can accomplish what they want if they have will.

The AEGEEan: First of all, congratulations! Tell us a little bit about how AEGEE-Manchester began to write history.

Bryn French: Both myself and Pablo felt something was missing in our lives in Manchester, and when we thought about it we realised it was our active lives in AEGEE! I was a member in Toulouse and Durham, and Pablo was a member in Alicante. We met up with each other and agreed to start AEGEE-Manchester! We got in contact with Domitille, who founded the European Union Society at the University of Manchester some weeks before, and everything went on from there.

How did the NWM that you organised at the beginning of November go?

In April 2016, Pablo was elected as Network Commissioner and we thought that if we have a NetCommie from a UK antenna, we’d better have a Network Meeting in the UK too. We had three people in the Core Team (me, Bryn – Main Organiser, John – Treasurer and Silvia – Incoming Responsible). We spent lots of time planning, but this really paid off during the event. There were more than 50 applications for the 26 places we had. Close communication with Pablo, our NetCommie, and between the three organisers meant everyone knew what was happening. The event took place between the 4th and the 7th of November. We had a variety of trainers and members delivering different workshops, a great European night and even some time to explore the beauty and nature of the local area. All the participants enjoyed the event and expressed how much fun they had.

How do you see the development of the local in the last months?

I think in the last months, while working on the NWM, different members have developed various skills, particularly regarding the soft skills of communication and organisation. We have improved links with the University of Manchester Student Union and found a great venue for possible future events with the Youth Hostel Association. We have improved our fundraising experiences and again raised our profile within the AEGEE network.

How do you keep you members motivated?

As a very small antenna, we work together closely. It is really a family feeling, where all the members know each other. Every member is able to contribute as much or as little as they feel like, depending on what is needed at the time and the project we may be working on.

The United Kingdom just has a few AEGEE locals. What is your impact on the community?

The majority of students in the UK have never heard of AEGEE. It is always a difficult job to explain what we do and to recruit new members. At universities in the UK there are lots of different societies and associations for students to be involved in and it can be difficult to make an impact. We have started to branch out and cooperate more with similar societies such as AIESEC and European Movement.

What is happening next in AEGEE-Manchester?

We have been thinking about the NWM for the last 6 months and right now we do not have a project in the pipeline. This is in fact one of our tasks for the first meeting back after the Christmas holidays. We are continuing to send our members to events (EPM, Agora, etc) and will continue to collaborate with other antennae in the UK. Promotion of the Summer Universities will take place in the Spring term like every year and this should help raise our profile within the University of Manchester.

How do you see the local at the end of 2017?

I would like to see fresh new members returning from Summer Universities motivated to make an impact on the European community at the University of Manchester and in Manchester in general; contributing ideas and projects for us to improve European harmony, particularly following whatever may happen nationally!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca