When we were taking office last August, we knew, all the 11 of us that we were assigned to handle a ship against all odds. The Action Agenda Coordination Committee was facing a wave of suspicion and doubt among the Network, due to the lack of connectivity people felt with it or maybe due to the very nature of our work, which is defining, analysing and decoding the Strategic Plan and the Action Agenda of the organisation.

Erifyli Evangelou: “ACT helped me discover how diverse our Network is”

Let’s pick it from the start though. The Action Agenda almost monopolises our work, since we have to make sure as well as strive during our term that the Focus Areas of the AA are actually respected, promoted and developed throughout the Network and its activities. For us, it could be either sticking to the basics and managing things behind our computers’ screens, or getting out there and try to infuse the Action Agenda into people’s minds, helping the locals understand it is not about “filling in an activity report” but more of a “promoting ideas that define AEGEE and feeling proud of it”, and that is what we decided to do. A group of people, of whom the majority did not know each other and most of them were rookies in the Committee. We sat down and decided to turn things around by devoting ourselves to the Action Agenda and the promotion of it, utterly aiming at establishing an honest relationship with the locals that could help fostering the dialogue with them.

Elena Efremova: “I had the best time with an awesome team”

The Network Meetings posed a great chance for us and we really took advantage of them during both seasons. Autumn Network Meetings we filled with those “ACT workshops”, which in the beginning no one knew so much about and did not know what to expect. After many hours of workshops, games, interactions and many laughs, each ACT trainer left his/her respective Network Meeting with a taste of reward and accomplishment, shown by the appreciation of the locals. We tried to show up at most places possible. Overall, both Autumn and Spring NWMs taken into account, we have managed to hold workshops in Zielona Gora, Moskva, Leiden, Aachen, Nijmegen, Bamberg, Beograd, Novi Sad, Barcelona, Bilbao, Torino, literally spreaded out as ACTies all around the map of Europe. After all, Network Meetings are the definition of active communication and contact with the locals, thare is where the bonds between AEGEEans are formed and strengthened and, if not anything, it was our honor to have served that goal.

Not to mention the EPM in Zagreb in February which was a total crash-test for our body. Our ACTies gave everything they had during the stressful, endless days of the EPM, drafting the newest Action Agenda. Managing to get together so many people in rooms to start the interactive discussions which eventually formed the newest Action Agenda is regarded as an accomplishment, especially after getting the positive Network feedback regarding the new Focus Areas.

Juragis Garcia Perez: “We became a group of friends able to deal with anything”

Our field of work was not however strictly limited to those actions. While out in the battlefield, we still had to do a lot -and I mean a LOT- behind the scenes so as to really achieve our goals. We established collaborations with fellow European Bodies and a regular and fruitful cooperation with the Network Commission and the CD of course, out of which Tekla Hajdu’s work must be highlighted. A dialogue with the Working Groups which made both parties really get the meaning of our interests came also along the way. Moreover, AEGEEans may have also noticed that the Action Agenda is now available in numerous languages, and that was something we wanted to do all the way from the beginning of our term. Having translated our “code of honor” in your mother tongue gives you the opportunity to get the ultra-essence of what you should be dealing with. The list can go on forever, though I cannot help but mention the “ACTive Local of the Month” awards our dear Elena has been handing out to every local contributing the maximum to the Action Agenda each month. These awards formed an urge to contribute to the Focus Areas spread among the Network and helped our work as well as the general aim foster.

Cristina de la Parte Rodríguez: “My whole perception of AEGEE changed through the ACT”

Our terms’ epilogue will be ACT’s presence in AEGEE’s most successful project ever, the Summer Universities. You might be wondering, can a body like ACT be integrated into crazy summer parties and amazing vacation time? The answer is yes and be prepared to experience it during Beograd’s (SUrbian Spirit: Tales of Wilderness) and Niš’s (Letters from Niš) Summer Courses which are about to happen this August. I personally express my gratitude for those two locals that believed in ACT because together we are turning this project into reality, but most importantly I promise to all of you who are attending these two events will be an unbelievable experience which will only make us wiser. 

Finally, I would like to highlight every ACTie’s personal commitment and promise to all the Network that ACT will continue its being with passion, devotion and hard work, aiming at developing the already amazing relationship we have established with the Network’s locals even further during the next term. Thank you for your trust.

Written by Constantine Bakiris, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

At the upcoming European Planning Meeting (EPM) in Zagreb, you will hear more from one of our committees, namely the one that is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Action Agenda and will be supporting the drafting of the new Action Agenda. Who are we talking about? The Action Agenda Coordination Committee, also known as ACT!

Live Meeting in Brussels

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) was officially established as a supporting committee of AEGEE-Europe at Spring Agora Enschede 2012. Our most important task is to have an overview of the implementation of the Action Agenda, which is one of the most important documents created within AEGEE and consists of objectives (goals) that we set for each of our Focus Areas. These objectives have to be implemented by the whole Network, so both locals and European bodies. Do not worry though, because our committee is there to give support!

This year we have 10 team members, who all cooperate with a member of the Network Commission.

Speaker Team:

NWM Barcelona

Svenja van der Tol (Loes Rutten’s couple)

Miljana Vulevic (Mareike Ritter’s couple)

Constantine Bakiris (Aleksandra Mojsova’s couple)

Team members:

Theodora Giakoumelou (PR-responsible and Pablo Palazon’s couple)

Elena Efremova (ACTive Local of the Month responsible and Stanislav Mahula’s couple)

Borja Torres Fuentes (Alejandra Piot’s couple)

Cristina de la Parte Rodriguez (Alin Georgescu’s couple)

Erifyli Evangelou (Spyridon Papadatos’s couple)

Juragis Garcia Perez (Kristina Reshetova’s couple)

Marco Daniele (Gabriele Scollo’s couple)

We are true believers in the importance of having a goal and going fiercely towards it, which is one of the reasons we are gathered in this committee. Throughout our term, new ideas just keep popping up and we can have endless meetings on Skype to discuss them. Although we have a lot of work to do, it is always fun working in this team. Laughs, teasing and internal jokes make everything feel easy peasy. No matter the tasks we are dealing with, the good chemistry, spirits and friendship between us turns our tasks into a hobby.

NWM Beograde

This year we have many ideas to implement. First of all, we have a goal to increase the awareness about the Action Agenda (AA) and Strategic Plan (SP) all over the network. That is why we try to promote the new idea of Action Agenda ambassadors, who are people within a local that are responsible for the implementation and promotion of the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan. Besides that, we plan to have regular meetings with our locals on Action Agenda related topics. Moreover, during the Autumn Network Meetings, we delivered seven workshops on the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan and we plan to continue giving sessions at the upcoming Spring Network Meetings!

Secondly, we try to establish close cooperation with other European Bodies of AEGEE-Europe. This year, we give locals the opportunity to cooperate in the organisation of a Summer University (SU).  Moreover, in cooperation with the Language Interest Group we translated the AA and SP into different languages.  Together with the Working Groups, we are also writing articles about activities that were connected to the AA. And last but not least, cooperating with the awesome people of the Network Commission enables us to receive all the information we need and give our very best to the locals.  

Renove VI

Lastly, we have an idea to set up Standard and Reward Systems. We want to make a set of parameters that clarify which activities exactly fulfil the Action Agenda. That way, locals will know our criteria and be able to address them when planning their activities and we will have a set of standards that will ensure a fair and unified assessment of all activities in the Network. As for the Reward System, we want to give out some prizes to the most deserving locals that gave their contribution to achieve the goals we have all set for ourselves in Leiden.

It is easy to dream what you want to be and achieve, but if you do not have something or someone to measure your progress, remind you of your promise to yourself – your goal – and help you go forward, you will fail. That is what ACT does for AEGEE. If we drafted an Action Agenda during the EPM and the ownership over it was left to the already overburdened CD and dispersed among other bodies, we would be in trouble because – structure works best. Having one committee to take care of the measurement and implementation is the way to go and improve, year after year.

LTC Grodno

ACT is vital for the existence of our organization since it specifically deals with the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan, which constitute the formula and the aim and goals of our activities. An organization that respects itself and takes seriously the steps it follows, the aim and the vision it applies to its members, has to have a Committee dealing with the stuff ACT does.

This year, we set a difficult but serious goal; to make every single member of AEGEE understand the meaning of the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan by actively participating in their draft and implementing them during their activities. If we want AEGEE to have a bright future, we need everyone to realise the true vision and importance of the organization’s ethics, found in the AA/SP and implement them in their local’s reality.

More information about Action Agenda and Strategic Plan is here and you can get more information on what ACT does from our new video!

The month of the European Planning Meeting has finally arrived, and in a little less than three weeks we will gather in Leiden, Netherlands, to discuss one of the biggest issues that Europe is facing right now. Many locals have been taking action already, organising a number of activities related to the migration situation througout the Network. We spoke to three of them to find out more about their activities.

In Ploiești, Romania, AEGEEans organised a conference in collaboration with the European Parliament Information Office carrying the name “European democracy promoters”. A report of the conference was sent to the Romanian European Parliament Information Office, and a while after, AEGEE-Ploiești was represented in Brussels at a meeting with three of the Romanian Members of the European Parliament. We spoke to main organiser Alin Georgescu to find out more.

ACT: What inspired you to organise this conference?

Alin: Well, the idea came up when we realised that we know nothing about refugees. What we read and see in mass media is 80% misinformation and most of the young people in our community do not really understand what is happening.

Can you tell us a bit more about your event?

We decided to organise a conference divided in two parts. For the first part of the conference, we invited a specialist, Prof. Dr. Dumitru Codita, to talk about the International Migration Convention and to make us understand what it is like to be an asylum seeker, and what rules and legal instruments would apply to you. For the second part of the conference, we invited Mr. Matei Barbulescu, a young freelance journalist from Romania, one of the few independent journalists in Romania. He shared his experiences travelling in two weeks from Greece to Germany with a group of refugees from Syria.

What was the highlight of the event?

The story told by Matei was very interesting. He told us how he met the refugees, how his journey went untill they reached Germany and which problems they faced. He was actually living like a refugee for two weeks. Even though he could pass the borders legally, he decided not to do so and to run and hide with his companions instead. His story made us understand the topic a lot better. It’s really different when you talk about a subject without having personal experiences, than when someone that actually was involved and lived like a refugee for two weeks is telling you about it.

What are the next plans for your antenna?

Due to the changes that Europe is facing, we want to work more on the topics of human rights and security issues. So, in our future activities we will include those two topics and try to have a bigger impact, both locally and Europeanly.

What would you like to tell EPM participants?

We are waiting for the results of this EPM, and we hope that we will work together for a better Europe!

AEGEE-Aachen members have been discussing the situation already since August and so far, two events were organised: a meeting where members got to “hang out” with the refugees and a Christmas party for refugees. We spoke with Malte Berrenberg, the main organiser of the events and board member of AEGEE-Aachen.

ACT: How did you come up with the idea to organise something related to the current situation with refugees?

Malte: We have monthly discussions about European politics. Last summer for example, we talked about the refugee crisis and the possibilities to help out refugees in Aachen. We concluded that there are many many things we could do, but we did not exactly how to start. The idea to organise a first meeting with refugees who are currently staying in Aachen came up, with the aim to let them tell us themselves how we can help them. For another meeting about the topic, many of our members showed up, so we were sure that we have support for the activities in our antenna.

Can you tell us a bit more about the meeting with refugees you organised?

For the meeting, taking place in November, we invited about 40 refugees and there were about 25 people from Aachen. The aim of the event was to get to know each other better, which is why we decided to play boardgames together. We also provided some nice snacks and drinks.

You also organised a Christmas Event. Can you tell us more about that?

A christmas tree, fairy lights, gifts and a lot of food – these traditions and cultural practices seem strange for many refugees spending their first Christmas in Germany. Therefore, we came up with the idea to introduce refugees to the ways we celebrate Christmas. Our aim was to focus on the similiarities between Christmas and festivals that the refugees knew, as cultural exchange is the key to a succesful coexistence. Our event was attended by 14 syrian refugees, for which we prepared typical German Christmas pastries.

What were the most memorable moments of the events?

Even though I was busy organising the meeting, I still have a  quite memorable moment. An older guy showed me some pictures of his family (he has seven kids) who are still in Homs, Syria. The situation of many of these people got pretty real for me at that moment and I did not quite know what to say. Also very memorable was that we found out that a lot of the guys did definitely drink alcohol (something we did not expect in this extent).

At a certain point during the event we were all sitting together and exchanging stories of childhood and everyone was laughing: it was an overwhelming moment reminding us how similar humans are.

What are the next plans for your antenna?

The next event we are planning is an Arabian night, for which we will invite some Syrian refugees to cook, sing and dance for and with members of AEGEE-Aachen. Also we will soon talk to another asociation in Aachen, which is also working on the social integration of refugees in Aachen. Our hope is that together we will be able to have a bit more impact and work a bit more efficient. Other than that, it might also be interesting to tell that the university is working on the cooperation on refugee aid between their asociations. They have employed Imen El Amouri, member of AEGEE-Aachen, to coordinate the different student organisations.

What is the message you would like to send to EPM participants?

This so-called refugee crisis seems a huge and unmanageable task to many people, but if we all do something small, we will see that we can handle it! Try to become friends with a refugee, organise a meeting between locals and refugees, spend one day a month with people who fled to your country or do anything else  concerning this crisis! Doing so, we will see that it is not only possible to integrate a lot of people, but that they can even enrich our society. People who fear other cultures will lose that fear as soon as they start getting in contact with people from those cultures.

The third local, AEGEE-Peireias, organised an event on this topic last month only. They were so inspired that they decided to go a step further and organise a Summer University on this topic too! We reached out to Mara Poniros, the main organiser of the event to get to know more.

ACT: What inspired you to organise this event?

Mara: The idea dawned on me when I realised that I would have to spend almost a month back home (I’m studying abroad). I thought to myself that instead of sitting around, I should do something more productive, like organising an event for my local. That’s how it began. My board embraced my idea, so we organised the event together. Both themes that we picked, the debt and refugee crisis, are pressing issues in our country (Greece), and the need to further explore and discuss them is urgent. I would personally say that what inspired me the most was the human factor. We tend to talk in numbers about the refugees and in economic terms about the crisis, but it’s important not to forget that these numbers have faces. We are talking about real human lives.

Can you tell us a bit more about the event?

The event lasted four days, with two full days of workshops, lectures and interactive discussions dedicated to one of the two topics. Regarding the refugee crisis, we first focused on the facts and then touched upon various correlated issues, while making critical judgements. We then gave the floor to one AEGEE-Athina member, Aristea Bismpiki, who has volunteered on the island of Lesvos and shared her experiences with the rest of us. Last but not least, Romy Cartiere from AEGEE-Amsterdam, one of the Content Managers of the upcoming EPM, introduced us to what will be done during the EPM.

What was the highlight of the event?

I think it was during and right after Aristea’s speech, when most of us, both organisers and participants, expressed our interest to actively volunteer for non-governmental organisation welcoming and assisting refugees, which is where the idea for our Summer University was born.

What are the next plans for your antenna?

We are really looking forward to our Summer University where we will volunteer on the island of Lesvos that has been experiencing a lot of incoming refugees. We hope we will be able to assist the incoming refugees and make them feel welcome.

What is the message you would like to send to EPM participants?

We hope EPM participants will implement all the amazing ideas they are going to get during the EPM in their local communities and our AEGEE network.

We as ACT also hope these three stories will inspire more members and that we see great initiatives as these spread through the Network in the future!
Written by Miljana Vulevic, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) was officially established as a supporting committee of AEGEE-Europe in the Spring Agora Enschede in 2012. ACT’s most important task is to help the Network implement the Action Agenda. The Action Agenda is one of the most important documents created within AEGEE. It contains actions to be taken by locals in order to progress in each of the four thematic areas AEGEE is currently working on -Spreading Europtimism, Youth Employment, Youth Mobility and Civic Education.

Becoming an ACTie is a great way to actively help AEGEE make a greater impact on the aforementioned areas. Marcos Mato from AEGEE-Leon, PR responsible and member of ACT, has had a very fulfilling experience as an ACTie, “I really recommend every member of a local to join a European Project or Body, it’s really nice to work on achieving the same goal with people from different countries” he says.

ACT works in close cooperation with the European Level bodies of the Network, particularly with the Network
Commission. Each member of the Committee is in charge of a part of the Network, working directly with the relevant Network Commissioner to maintain a direct approach to locals. Direct contact with locals is crucial to the fulfillment of ACT’s objectives. “We are trying to establish and maintain a direct contact with locals because we know that nothing beats one-on-one communication. Sometimes locals need some small adjustments to turn their existing activities into ones that fulfill the Action Agenda; we help them with this” explains Miljana Vulevic, ACT’s Vice-Speaker.

ACT is currently working on improving the exchange of best practices among locals. “During our meeting in Brussels, we came up with the idea of making a Best Practices Collection, a publication where all the extraordinary events that do fulfill the Action Agenda will be gathered and sorted. We also have a Facebook group, ACTive AEGEEans, which serves as a platform for discussions, exchanging best practices and seeking advice when needed” Miljana states.

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee is very optimistic about the upcoming period. According to Marcos Mato, PR responsible and member of ACT, “EPM Leiden is going to be really special for us. There, the Network Commission, working groups and ACTies will meet. We are waiting for it to share ideas and start to work in the same direction. I really feel that after this EPM, AEGEE locals and members will start a new, more efficient age”.

2015 has been a great year for ACT, but there is a lot more coming in 2016, “We’ve recently welcomed three new motivated members into our team. Now that there are 11 of us, we are working full capacity; our team is stronger than ever and anxious to face new challenges. Look out for ACT in 2016, we have many great surprises in store for you!”, Miljana exclaims.

Written by Kimberly Townend (AEGEE-Valencia)

During the European Planning Meeting (EPM) in Burgos last February, attention was paid to the topic of Europe and Russia. However, another topic of this EPM was the drafting of the new Action Agenda 2015 – 2016, which will be presented at Spring AgorAsturias. An important matter, but probably also a very unknown one, since the Action Agenda is one of the most important yet also unfamiliar documents.

Together with the Strategic Plan, the Action Agenda defines AEGEE’s long-term goals and the ways to reach them. To do this as efficient as possible, the objectives in the Action Agenda should be as clear and reachable as possible in order to not end up with a fulfillment rate of less than fifty percent, as happened last year. An important task, which the participants of the EPM eagerly took on, leading to interesting discussions and a lot of new ideas.  Being responsible for the implementation of it, the Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) helped to draft the new Action Agenda.

So, what did they do?

The main task for the members of ACT was to facilitate the Action Meetings together with the members of the Comité Directeur. In these sessions, participants got together to think of new objectives for the four Focus Areas of the Strategic Plan (Spreading Europtimism, Youth Mobility, Youth Employment and Civic Education). Before they started working on that however, an overview of the fulfillment of the current Action Agenda (2014-2015) was presented, which already looked quite good compared to last year’s Action Agenda! Afterwards, the drafting process started and the participants discussed, drafted, voted and finally created new objectives and activities related to it.

What will happen with these objectives?

The draft of the new Action Agenda will be presented at the Agora, during which participants will get the chance to ask questions and make amendments – just like they were given the chance on the Forum. Once everyone has had their say, it will be put up for approval by the Agora, after which it will officially be effective after the 1^st of August of this year.

How will locals be prepared for that?

First of all, just like this year new guidelines will be written that will carefully explain how the new Action Agenda can be implemented. This document will also contain concrete examples of activities that can be organised by locals that want to contribute to this Action Agenda. Secondly a new instruction video will be created, providing a basic explanation of the Action Agenda 2015-2016. Finally examples of activities that contribute to this Action Agenda will be shared on a weekly basis in the ACTive AEGEEans Facebook group.

Through this means, both the current and future Action Agenda Coordination Committee will coordinate the process from the draft of a new Action Agenda to the ACTivities organised by locals in the upcoming year.

Written by Marijn Scholte and Svenja van der Tol, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

Since the new Action Agenda Coordination Committee started working after Agora Patra, one of the main aims of the body has become spreading knowledge about the strategic work of AEGEE-Europe. This means giving a lot of attention to promoting the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan, and a good way to do it is, why not, rewarding the antennae fulfilling the objectives set in the Action Agenda.

The Strategic Plan and Action Agenda are two of the main documents of our organization, written and approved by the AEGEEans, which give us a path to follow regarding our thematic work. The first document, the Strategic Plan, contains four Focus Areas (namely Spreading Europtimism, Youth Employment, Youth Mobility, Civic Education) and gives us a general approach to the topics we will be working on in the upcoming three years (Strategic Plan 2014/17); while the second, drafted during the EPM gives us an insight of the specific aims and objectives we should be fulfilling within a year (Action Agenda 2014/15).

These two documents are one of AEGEE’s biggest achievements on structured thematic work, because they unite AEGEEans in the work they do. Without these documents, every member would follow their own way and our work would not have so much impact. Besides that, the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan also unify the Vision and Mission of AEGEE, because at the end, they are based on them.

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) helps the antennae implement the Action Agenda. It promotes the document, tracks its fulfillment and exists to connect bodies and locals; and more than that, they’re a team of people (the ACTies!) always willing to lend a hand and help with what sometimes has been called one of the less understandable documents of our organization. To do this, they presented the Guidelines to the Action Agenda after Agora Cagliari, which is a set of guidelines with examples to every aim and objective of the Action Agenda, easing the transition of a merely vague sentence in a document to a speech, a set of conferences, or even a whole event (Guidelines to the Action Agenda 2014/15).

And of course, with the will to reward those who put an effort to the fulfillment of the Action Agenda, ACT, in cooperation with the AEGEEan, has created the Active Local of the Month award! With this new award, ACT intends to spread awareness about the Action Agenda, as well as increase the implementation of it and motivate people to organize more thematic events. And even more, with the example of good practices, they want to show other antennae that great thematic events can be easily organized! It’s not hard to organize something implementing the Action Agenda. You can find a lot of examples in the Guidelines for the Action Agenda and you can also, of course, use your imagination. If you’re still doubting about it you can also ask our first Active Local of the Month, AEGEE-Heraklio, who organized a conference on the rights for deaf people and sign language in Greece.

Do you want to organize something related to the Action Agenda but you don’t know how? You can ask ACT to help you! See who is your responsible at ACT’s About Page and make sure you include your activity in your next monthly report!

Will your local be the next Active Local of the Month?

Written by Ruben Navarro, AEGEE-Tarragona

After the Open Call held last May, a new Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) was selected. Despite having been announced only in August, the team has already started to work on new projects and on finding ways to bring the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan closer to the Network. Members of the Speaker Team, Ruben Navarro and Monika Duda, talked to us about the program of the Committee, including a special focus on the PR of the committee. 

Ruben Navarro

The AEGEEan: Can you please introduce yourselves and your team?

Ruben: My name is Ruben Navarro, and I’m a member of AEGEE-Tarragona, a small antenna in the north east of Spain. I’m 22 years old and a student of electronical engineering. And, of course, Speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee since the beginning of August.

Monika: My name is Monika Duda, I’m a member of AEGEE-Zielona Gora, but I’m also active in another local, namely AEGEE-Wroclaw. I’m 21 years old, student of Mechanical Engineering at Wroclaw University of Technology and Vice-Speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee.

The rest of the team is formed by Doriana Chirilă (AEGEE-Cluj Napoca), Etibar Aliyev (AEGEE-Bakı), Katharina Krüll (AEGEE-Passau), Maksym Kovalenko (AEGEE-Kyiv), Mert Gökçüoğlu (AEGEE-Ankara), Silvija Perić (AEGEE-Zagreb) and Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen).

Ruben: I decided to apply because I believed (and still believe) that the Action Agenda is one of the most important documents we, in AEGEE, create. Defined by our Mission and Means, the Action Agenda creates the basis of the thematic work of our association. Taking that into account, I consider the body taking care of its realisation one of the most important in AEGEE and I thought I could make a change to it.

Monika: I do believe that the Action Agenda, along with the Strategic Plan, is one of the most important documents in AEGEE, because it compresses the Mission of our organization into specific actions. The vision of AEGEE is very close to mine too. I got familiar with the Vision, Mission, Means and the Statement of Principles on my first Network Meeting, so I decided to do my best to contribute to them, which lead to my decision to candidate.

ACT works to help fulfill the Action Agenda, not by doing the thematic work ourselves, but by coordinating the antennae, Working Groups and other bodies, suggesting them ideas to implement it and encouraging them to do so. To do so, we actively collaborate with the Network Commission. To make our work more efficient, each member is in charge of a part of the network, working directly with the NetCommies to have the most direct approach to the locals as possible.

Our knowledge transfer period felt short (too many things to learn in a few weeks), but we can say that we’re happy with it. There weren’t too many instructions, so we can think of our own ideas and plans. Moreover, we are still in touch with the last Speaker Team, so they can help us whenever we need it.

We’re working on many things, such as the creation of new Guidelines, which we want to be completely different this year. We’re also working to establish a collaboration with several other bodies to make not only our work but also the Action Agenda more visible. We’re working on our PR strategy and writing and creating workshops about the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan. And many, many more things!

Right now, we’re mostly focused on the preparation of Network Meetings, writing the new Guidelines and our first team meeting in Brussels (which is going to take place from the 3rd until the 5th of October). After Autumn Agora Cagliari, we’ll start working even harder, trying to collaborate much more with the locals and continuing to improve the work of the Committee.

Monika Duda

It is often said that the Network is rather distant from the work of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee and the Action Agenda in general. How do you plan to deal with this gap?

That’s, unfortunately, completely true. The Network is sometimes unconscious of the importance of the Strategic Plan and the Action Agenda. Therefore, we’re working and planning to have a really strong PR management and we’ll also try to provide workshops for antennae about the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan, along with taking the advantage of a very active team spreading the word of the Action Agenda too. It won’t be an easy job, but we’re ready to put our energy and time into it as much as we can!

Want to stay updated about the work of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee? Follow their Facebookpage!

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

In a recent interview with ACT members Nicola Guida and Anna van den Berg the new team was partly introduced to the Network. However there is much more news on the team than Nicola and Anna and The AEGEEan got an update on the entire new team.

Let us introduce you to Ana Potocnik from AEGEE-Ljubljana. She joined ACT because of the idea to be part of the team of Network Commissioner Antonija Parat and work with her locals, “I wrote her an email, asking about how I could get involved in her team after the open call for ACT members was distributed. There I saw the perfect opportunity to work with locals, help them organise quality events, connect them with European level and contribute to the Action Agenda and long term plans of our organisation.”

Danae in Zaragoza at the AEGEE fair representing the Human Rights Working Group

Danae Matakou from AEGEE-Athina, who recently turned 20, has been in AEGEE for about one year and half. She just loves everything about AEGEE and what it has to offer: from traveling, to meeting new people, to organising events or getting involved in European actions. Becoming a member of ACT Committee was something that she was and still is very excited about as she considers the work ACT aims to do very interesting and important because it tries to help the local actions and event have a bigger impact.

For Anita Ruszcsák from AEGEE-Budapest, also 20 years old, joining ACT was something she was sure she wanted to do because of the idea of working together with others in a small but efficient team on thematics in AEGEE. She has been a part of the Education Working Group (EWG) for some time and has even started a local EWG in AEGEE-Budapest. Being a member of ACT was her way of becoming even more involved in AEGEE’s European level.

The team met for the first time during Agora Zaragoza and Nicola says about the experience “Meeting face to face is definitely important for a team, it makes you understand who is there at the other side of the monitor reading your e-mails or messages. It allowed each of us who were there to share our enthusiasm and after that we are even more willing to give our best in ACTivating the Network. We tried to finally set the aims and the objectives of our committee, deciding on the concrete things we are now doing. We also had the chance to discuss the relation between the ACT and all the other bodies of the network during the progress meeting opened to other members as well.”

The team is currently working on the elections of a new Speaker team, but there is no set date yet for when it will be elected as they are working on many different matters also. At the same time, the ACT-team is still looking to grow and add 3-4 new members. Mainly because a few Network Commissioners do not yet have an ACT subcommissioner working with them to assist in working with locals on achieving goals in the Action Agenda. For example Holger Schmidt, Meltem Daracki and Mateuzs Dokurno do not have any ACT subcommissioner yet. However, it is possible to join the team regardless which country you are from and the deadline was December 11th but maybe it is still possible to join.

Survey

Nicola in Zaragoza – Photo courtesy of Golden Times

The team has recently drafted a survey for the Network to complete. There are two main objectives to be achieved with it. First of all the current Strategic Plan is soon going to end (the Action Agenda that will be drafted at the EBM in Lublin will already be based on the new Strategic Plan 2014-2017 which was approved in Zaragoza). But as Nicola says: “We need to evaluate [The Strategic Plan] in order to understand how large was the thematic impact of AEGEE, in which percentage the concrete objectives we set for the previous Action Agenda have been fulfilled, and according to the results what we have to keep, what to improve and what to change. In simple words, three years ago we told ourselves we wanted to do this and that, and now we have to see what we actually achieved”.

Secondly, the data gathered from the surveys will help the team evaluate the implementation of the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan. The team will look at how successful the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan were, what the problems were and how to improve these in the future. It will also help create a database of examples, best practices just inputs of any kind of thematic activities for small, medium or large locals that later on can be shared with the rest of the Network. “We also hope that by seeing what is going on in different parts of the Network people get interested in joining a project another local is currently working on while their antenna is not. We are a large organisation and sometimes (quite often) it is really difficult to know what is going on in most of the other locals and to coordinate and collaborate between each other, that’s why the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda are so important,” Nicola explains.

So at the moment ACT is focusing on sending the survey to the locals, expand the team after an Open Call for new members, and elect the new team. Once there will be a new speaker team and new motivated and active members the team will take even more action. In terms of the preparation for EBM Lublin nothing is decided. Besides the usual stand at the fair what the ACT team expects is to prepare for the big event together with Miguel during their upcoming meeting in Brussels in January. Analysis of the survey will enable the team get a better insight in what aspects there has to be focused on during EBM.

And finally: if anyone has any good ideas or comments, or if you want to help the team improving the Action Agenda even more, the team asks you to please approach them. All questions, comments and ideas are welcome.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

 Nicola Guida (AEGEE-Napoli) and Anna van den Berg (AEGEE-Groningen) are part of the new Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) team. Besides being members of ACT they are also subcommies of different Network Commissioners, so even though they had many tasks at Agora Zaragoza, The AEGEEan managed to catch up with the two of them.

Anne (To the left)

Why did you decide to join ACT?

Anna: At the EBM in Valetta, I got to know a lot about the Action Agenda and everything AEGEE stands for. All the meetings at the EBM really got me thinking more about the Network, and how much we could achieve as AEGEE and that was when I decided to join the ACT.

Nicola: I also got really interested in the thematic side of AEGEE during the EBM. There I had the chance to actively discuss with other members on a huge variety of topics. In the sessions I got input on how we as a young students association can contribute to society as a whole. At the same time I learned a lot about the Action Agenda and the Strategic Plan: I finally understood the importance of having common guidelines in order to enhance the cooperation between the local and the European Level and to have a more effective impact inside and outside our Network. On the other hand I realized that many people know nothing of those tools and I wanted to try to change it somehow. When I saw the open call to become a member of the ACT, I understood it was the perfect chance to contribute.

We were informed that the work was a bit difficult in the beginning due to the lack of Knowledge Transfer, are things improving now?

Anna: I think for us it’s quite hard to identify all the things that we have to do. A lot of the members are really busy with other AEGEE stuff, and it’s pretty hard to get to do all the things we want to do. But I am confident that this will improve once we get to know each other better!

Nicola: Definitely. We managed to get some coordination between each other, thanks to several discussions on the mailing list and a fruitful Skype meeting.

How would you like to improve the work of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee?

Anna: I would like the ACT to have more to say in the Network. Right now, it’s more like we’re only working in the team and not so much with all the members of the Network. I think the fact that we are working with the Network Commission (NetCom) right now is already a very big improvement.

Nicola: I think it’s important for the ACT members should be as close as they can to the locals, keeping a constant communication with them and doing their best in making people understand how much the activities and the events they organise can improve by adding thematic parts.

Nicola by Sybren Frederico Porfirio

Why do you think that there is a lack of knowledge about the Action Agenda in the Network?

Anna: I think this is due to the fact that the ACT only works with very active AEGEE members, especially board members. The rest of the Network doesn’t get to see so much of us because there is so little we can do at this moment, but I also feel that this is the biggest point of improvement.

Nicola: Well, I’ve been in the board of my local for one year and what I can tell you is that there are so many things to take care of – fundraising, getting new members, making them active, organising events – that it is really difficult to find the time to actually get interested in the Action Agenda, something that (apparently!) does not have a significant importance in your daily work.

How would you like to help antennae know more about the Action Agenda?

Anna: Right now we are working on a survey for all board members, so we will know how much they know about the Action Agenda and improve their knowledge. This way, they also know they can ask us for help if needed.

Nicola: First of all explaining to them what Action Agenda is, then helping them getting ideas on how to contribute to it and making those ideas happen by providing them examples of thematic events organised by other antennae.

At times there have been antennae saying that they find it difficult to create an event (on the Intranet) because they have no clue how it relates to the Action Agenda or in worst case say that it doesn’t relate at all. Do you think there is a manner to change this?

Anna: I think the best way to change this is to make the boards more aware of what the Action Agenda is and that we are here to help them if needed. Also, we can of course keep track of the antennae in our regions to see what kind of activities they are organising.

Nicola: Of course. In my opinion the main problem is that people actually don’t know anything about Action Agenda and Strategic Plan and the only moment they face them is when the deadline for an activity plan, report or submission of events shows up. Inevitably they cannot but read them superficially and then get totally confused. We as ACT members should directly get in touch with the locals in Network Meetings (NWMs) or via internet and make them aware beforehand.

The CD and Events Committee would like to improve the quality of European Events, would you like to help in that process as a member of ACT? (And how?)

Nicola: Only sharing information about Action Agenda and Strategic Plan, so the serious thematics in which AEGEE is involved, would already be an important contribution in my opinion.

In addition we could try to push directly on locals by being more demanding on the contribution they have to give to the Action Agenda in order to get the criterion, but I think the first and most important step is the communication: how can people improve events if they don’t know what they can or should do?

We think this is a good question and we support the way these ACT members are trying to solve the communication gap, by presenting at different workshops related to the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan during Agora Zaragoza and upcoming Network Meetings.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn

Feature picture courtesy of Golden Times

“Getting Employed – The non formal way” is the name of a youth exchange which took place in Lyon, from 20th May till 27th May 2012, thanks to AEGEE-Lyon and the support of the Youth in Action program, Lyon Town Hall and the program “Prodige”.

This Youth Exchange “Getting employed – the non-formal way” was about offering a space where
participants were invited to be critical and analytical about youth unemployment and volunteering in
Europe and to learn some tools how to behave as European citizens dealing with a common issue for whole
Europe. Moreover, it was to explore the concept of European citizenship because participants were
coming from EU and non EU countries.

It was possible to gather people coming from countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia and France with different realities and cultures who could present and talk about their countries’ situation on different levels (social, cultural, economical), which helped to increase our awareness about these issues.

As soon as all participants arrived in Lyon everything seemed very well prepared. Fortunetely, it was not just an illusion. The opening ceremony took place followed by team building games and group dynamics, in order for participants to get to know each other. As it started, it was noticeable that coming from different nationalities, different cultures and having different ideas, our only big aim was to widen our knowledge and have a good time together.

In the upcoming day people who participated met a group of active members of French association who shared with them their knowledge about volunteering, the way the association works, its tasks and so on. This helped to get an insight into how an association working on the cultural field is functioning, and to introduce them to a new form of volunteering.

Another memorable moment was when every night a group coming from different country had to present their country. It was organised in such a way that other people had the possibility to get a lot of information about other countries such as economical problems faced, youth unemployment rate, traditions, culture, way of thinking, food, drinks, dances etc.

And for sure, during those days what could not have been missed was the city tour of Lyon.

Unfortunately, days were passing so fast and time to leave came. It was a sad moment to say goodbye
to everybody but the hope that everybody will meet each other  again somewhere in Europe made it somehow easy. In the end of this event we realized that this Youth Exchange was the right one because it helped everybody to understand how to promote different kinds of voluntary work and to identify which skills required by the labor market are provided by Non-Formal Education and volunteering better than by formal education.

Furthermore, it helped to promote voluntary work in the local community and non formal education as
an alternative for gaining skills valuable for professional development.

“Anyhow, after this great experience I believe that we should continue working with AEGEE on this issue and promote it to our members because resolutions are always between us not somewhere. All together
we could always generate new possibilities and alternatives to change our world where we live and make it better. We can shape Europe.”

Written Erald Aga, AEGEE-Tirana