Hello again, AEGEEans, we continue discovering the hidden Network! As we mentioned in the last article, it seems that the situation of the pandemic problem due to COVID-19 is starting to get controlled in the majority of the countries in the world but during the year there will be a lot of restrictions to travel. So, we thought of making these two posts with the aim of promoting local, regional and national travelling in order to help our economy and avoid any kind of problems or restrictions in other countries due to the COVID-19. 

A hidden adventure in the East of Germany: Zentendorf! (Antonia von Richthofen, AEGEE-Brussels)

Zentendorf is a small village close to the German/Polish border (and to the AEGEE local in Dresden). But behind the residential area there is a true treasure isle: the “cultural island of hermits” (rough translation). This colorful park consists of a large range of creative, wooden creations. Houses, labyrinths and crazy climbing contraptions offer a day full of exploration and fun for everyone of any age! Go, visit Zentendorf and experience the mad architecture of some crazy germans.

Malvern Hills United Kingdom. (Macarena Escobar, AEGEE-Salerno). 

We know them as the inspiration for the Lord of the Rings trilogy but this area has been designated as a biological and geological site of Special Scientific Interest, and by Natural England as National Character Area 103 and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Malvern Hills are home to a wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activities, including walking, mountain biking, horse riding, orienteering, hang-gliding, paragliding, model aircraft flying, fishing, climbing and diving. 

Mare Chiaro, Posillipo (Naples). (Tullio Pacelli, AEGEE-Napoli)

Mare Chiaro is a wonderful old fisherman’s village situated on the coast of Posillipo. This area in origin was outside the urban area of Naples but in the time had been included in the city and currently it’s one of its neighborhoods. Thanks to the morphology of this area it was not possible to build too many structures and due to this reason all the coast has preserved all its natural beauty. The coast offers many places to visit: You can go for a nice walk in Virgiliano park, the second big park in the city and enjoy the view of the Gulf of Naples and Bagnoli; you can visit the National park of Gaiola where there are the old ruins of the Greek’s settlement of Pausilipon. 

Sazova park. (Selin ünen, AEGEE-Eskişehir.)

Welcome to one of the most peaceful place in Eskişehir. This is Sazova park, we can say it’s the Turkish version of Disneyland. You can relax here with the sounds of swans and watch this perfect view. In addition to this you can find science parks across this dream land. We would really love to see you in Eskişehir. 

Kazimierz Dolny (Poland) . (Monika Mojak, AEGEE-Warszawa)

Kazimierz Dolny is a little town in Eastern Poland, located along Vistula River and is considered as one of the most charming places in Poland through beautiful square and streets with historical townhouses, Romanesque castle ruins, romantic atmosphere of this place, long history and rich nature, which makes it a perfect travel destination for everyone that enjoys places with aura of mystery.

The town is known for its strong connection with art and as a center of art activities for many artists, who came to Kazimierz Dolny to find inspiration for their artwork. You can see small galleries and art studios in almost every corner of the town. 

Moreover, every year in August, Kazimierz Dolny hosts a famous Film and Art Festival- “Two” Riversides (“Dwa Brzegi”), which is artistic and cultural event drawing all cinema lovers and promoting movies and other forms of art activities. Due to unique landscapes and architecture, the town and its surroundings have been a background for numerous movies and tv series.

Izmir. (Melis Kılıç, AEGEE-Izmir)

Places to visit around Izmir have great richness in nature, culture, history, and gastronomy. The history of İzmir dates back to 8,500 years ago. At the same time, it carries the traces of different civilizations, nature and peace with the city center as well as its surroundings.

Karaburun is one of the quietest and most peaceful resorts of Izmir and is located on the peninsula that bears its name. In the Karaburun, which has dozens of unspoiled beaches and coves with its crystal clear ice-cold sea, the Aquarium Bay, Boğabağı Bay, Kaynarpinar, Mordoğan, Ayıbalığı and Ardıç beaches are among the holidaymakers’ route. If you come in the harvest of daffodil flower, do not forget to smell the flower.

Pink Lake, Grigorieva (Ukraine)  (Ruslan Kvitnevyi, AEGEE-Lviv)

The Pink Lake is located in Grygorivka village, Kherson Region in Ukraine. Locals call this lake the Ukrainian Dead Sea. It is truly a natural miracle as the waters of the lake have a tender pink color. The percentage of sea salt in the water reaches 35%. Rich in sulfur and an array of other minerals, these waters are considered to have endless health and beauty benefits. This is also a popular summer destination for many Ukrainians, that is why it’s better to visit this lake in mid or late spring or early fall to avoid the crowds of tourists and enjoy the beauty of this natural miracle. The Tunnel of love is a section of an industrial railway located near the city of Klevan. It is a railway surrounded by green arches and is 4.9 km in length. It is known for being a favorite place for couples to take walks and a super Instagram-able place.

And that’s all! Thank you everyone for collaborating with this beautiful article and that some of you shared more places we couldn’t fit in this article. As you see, there are many many amazing places to visit closer from you than you think, so this SUmmer, discover the hidden Network, and visit your country!

A Summery University is a unique experience also because participants can discover “hidden” places thanks to the local organisers. We asked some AEGEEans to share their favourite landscapes that are not so far from the place where they live. Read on and discover the hidden network!

It seems that the situation of the pandemic problem due to COVID-19 is starting to get controlled in the majority of the countries in the world. But the fight against the virus is not over and we still need to put a lot of effort in order to continue in this good line. We all know that some of the consequences will remain at least until the end of the year. This year is going to be difficult and is going to take time to increase the possibility of travelling to other countries. Borders probably will be closed or there will be a lot of restrictions.

When someone asks you about where you have been travelling, how many times did you answer “Actually I have travelled more around other countries than around my own one”. It’s really easy, sometimes it seems easier or more interesting going outside of your country or region. But, if we think about it, there are many amazing places closer to us than we think. So, this article is going to be about this topic, awesome places that are very close to our members and that are worth visiting. Let’s promote this year’s local/regional/national travelling! Not just because of the possible restrictions of international travelling, if not, also, as a way to help the local/regional/national tourism economy that is going to be really affected during this period without almost any international tourists. 

Let’s travel first to Castilla y León, one of the biggest regions in Spain. Full of history. In Leon, one of the cities, there are lots of caves dug by the water millions of years ago. Valporquero is the most famous, but Llamazares and Valdelajo are also worth the visit. In Valporquero, there’s also the possibility of practicing underground canyoning. (Pablo Gutierrez, AEGEE-León) 

Combarro: it is a small little neighbourhood within the galician village of Poio (In Spain). It’s famous for all its horreos, which is a typical Galician building in which the farmers used to store the wheat and corn safe from rats. It’s totally by the sea and it’s also full of cruceiros, which are a symbol of Galician culture in relation to fishermen’s traditions. (Asier Rodríguez AEGEE-Bilbao)

Sanabria Natural Park, in the Northern region of Zamora is considered one of the richest environments on the iberian peninsula due to its diverse nature and fauna. Sanabria is the place where you can also find the largest lake glacial origin of Spain and third in Europe and altogether belong to the Meseta Iberica Biosphere Reserve, a unique space that extends to Portugal as well. (Saúl Furones AEGEE-Burgos). 

Marie-Claire from the AEGEE Sustainability Committee took advantage of the current situation to explore the forest and hilly area in her neighborhood during all different day and night times. This is in Switzerland, Olten. 

The Skopje Aqueduct is an aqueduct and archaeological site located in the neighbourhood of Vizbegovo 2 km northwest of central Skopje, North Macedonia. The Skopje Aqueduct is the only aqueduct in the country, and one of three largest and well preserved in the former Yugoslavia. The aqueduct was used to bring water to the center of Skopje and it was in use until the eighteenth century. (Marijana Asprovska, AEGEE-Skopje).

Juliya Gospodinova from the Sustainability Committee and AEGEE-Stuttgart sent us some pictures from a Region of Vratza in Bulgaria. 

Pitigliano (Italy): Tuscan Treasures. Carved from volcanic stone, the town of Pitigliano is located south of Montepulciano, and not too far from the thermal mineral waters of Bagno San Filippo. The cliffs of Pitigliano, Sovana and Sorano protected the remains of the many peoples who called the Fiora Valley, and its protective peaks, their homes since 2300 BC. (Stefano Morini-AEGEE Torino). 

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is one of the public gardens in Paris. It’s located in the north east of the city. Even though the garden is quite known by the Parisians, it’s still a preserved place from the tourists. It was created in 1867 by Jean-Charles Alphand, under Napoléon III. One of the particularities of the park is the beautiful artificial lake overhung by the Gazebos Island. The geography of the park is totally artificial and was created by Alphand to please the romantic souls of the 19th century. It’s a perfect illustration of the Romantic Movement. (Lila Quaile, AEGEE-Paris)

The Pont du Gard is a roman aqueduct located in the South of France, near Nîmes. It was built in the 1st century to bring water to the city of Nîmes. It’s the one of the only parts remaining from a 52km in length aqueduct. Nowaday you can take a walk on it and admire the view. You will see a typical landscape from the region called “Garrigue” which is a mix of small trees like olive trees, bushes and limestone rocks. It overhangs a river called “Gardon”. During the summer you can swim and rent kayaks or canoes. There is also a museum that goes along with the monument, describing the construction of the aqueduct and the roman civilization in the region. (Lila Quaile, AEGEE-Paris)

Koufonisia are the islands of Pano and Kato Koufonisi, which belong to the Small Eastern Cyclades. Pano Koufonisi is characterized by picturesque Cycladic streets, freshly paved houses and the characteristic white windmill to the left of the waterfront. A place suitable for hiking, as all distances can be easily covered on foot. It takes about two hours to walk all over the island and return, which makes the car unnecessary. Kato Koufonisi is uninhabited, ideal for camping and alternative holidays. Koufonisia is the ideal place to recharge your batteries, eat good food, enjoy the Cycladic tradition and beautiful beaches! (Erifyli Evangelou, AEGEE-Athina)

We would like to thank all the persons who collaborated in this article and sent their special places. Some of you people sent that many places that we couldn’t put all of them, but we are so grateful for your enthusiasm! Actually, we will make a second part mentioning other places!

This is just a short view that we have amazing places really close to us, so if this summer you can not travel to other countries, just take a map, and see the amazing beauty you have around you. See you in part two of this article! 

In March 2020, the world started to be in a State of Emergency due to the pandemic problem, COVID-19, also known as “Coronavirus”. It’s a big rate of contagion and danger, putting almost all the world in quarantine, being at home, not going outside at all except for things like buying groceries and medicine.

It has never happened before, like…really never!

All our lives have changed: kids, youngsters, adults and elder generation..all generations have to adapt their normal lives into a new routine, basically into 4 walls. “What am I going to do that many hours at home?” “Will I get crazy?” Those are some of the questions that probably everybody asked themselves at least once during the lockdown. 

To answer those, we have asked around our AEGEEan friends, how they are going to spend so many days “locked-in”. And actually, what we have seen so far, people are not changing their habits that much even though they have to stay at home. Most of them shifted to their jobs or studies to the home office and studies as well: they are still being engaged with online lessons, homework and course assignments, so at least part of the day is covered by those things. 

Digital drinking is a new trend!

Thanks to the era of technology, we can have a lot of things closer than we think: starting with our friends, all the people we have interviewed are doing a video call with their friends or family almost every day. For example, Edoardo Giordano (AEGEE-Torino) meets with his friends to take some drinks as they used to do in person.

Work hard – play hard

Also, you can have an entire workout “in-house”: many people are keeping their fit lives, followed by online live tutorials and videos. For instance, Esther Rodríguez from AEGEE-León does a small workout every day to get out the stress of being at home and in front of a computer all day long. Or take an example of Edoardo Giordano (AEGEE-Torino), who started to follow an Instagram account where the person persistently displays cool full-body workouts and meditation practices.

Pick up some cool hobbies! Come on in!

This situation is also an opportunity for many people to start learning cooking, try out a variety of dishes and different diets from all over the globe. You should not restrict yourself only with more healthy ones, but also allow yourself to chillax and have some sweet teeth. As a matter of fact, after this quarantine, many people will have better cooking skills. For example, Francesca Albanese (AEGEE – Salerno) is cooking fresh pasta, pizza and all kinds of desserts with her parents. Buon appetito!

Head Held High!!!

So, as you can see, it is not an easy situation, and of course, there is no comparison with the life outside, people are keeping a routine and a quiet normal life. Many activities that we can not do, many places that we are eager to visit, many projects we are passionate to do, many people we craving to see, hug and kiss. Again, we have asked our fellow AEGEEans, which things they are dreaming to do after the quarantine. 

In general, as young people, we all agree on the same thing: hanging out with friends, as for example Zeynep Ozan (AEGEE-Ankara), Maide Özcan (AEGEE-Isparta), Isabel Santos (AEGEE-Valladolid), Can Aydoğan (AEGEE-İzmir) answered. Julian Van Loo (AEGEE-Delft) promised to throw a big party and Laura García (AEGEE A-Coruña) who will definitely go to the restaurant and grab some the Spanish tapas. 

We have many people who are missing nature, like Isabel (AEGEE-Valladolid) who wants to see a sunset in the wild and Dani Cervera (AEGEE-Las Palmas) who after lockdown will run his way down to the beach. Antonio Castiello (SUCT, AEGEE-Salerno) will be going also to the beach with his guitar and friends or Pablo Guitierrez (AEGEE-León) and Sara Bordonado (AEGEE-Valencia) would like to go to the mountains for hiking and spend some time up there. Zografia Lepoura (AEGEE-Athina) wants to go somewhere into the woods or to the beach alone and lie in the grass with the sun on her face. 

Of course, we can not miss the thing we like to do the most in AEGEE: Travelling! We have the example of Federico Melella (AEGEE-Salerno) that will make a trip to Milano to visit some friends or Maide Özcan (AEGEE-Isparta) that is thinking about planning a trip to the UK. Kaan Sertok (AEGEE-İzmir) wants to go camping and is planning a trip around Turkey wherever his legs will lead him to! Jessica Kurzawa (AEGEE-Amsterdam) is hoping she could her flight to Indonesia and surprise her old friend. 

All in all, we will go through this together!

We all agree on one fact, that is, during this quarantine, we realise the importance of the small things, the importance of the bonds we have with our friends and family. How much we actually miss them, and to appreciate the time we have them in our lives. For example, Vicente Rerades (AEGEE-Alicante) and Hannah Sonntag (AEGEE-Nijmegen) have said that they will hug more the people they care about. Most of us have come into the realization that with the smallest things of life, we also can survive and find some happiness even behind the curtain of isolation.

Do you believe in Europe? Do you see problematic issues in your society and do you think you can be part of the change? If yes, the Summer University (SU) “Call Upon Young Europeans” is a perfect summer event for you.

This SU takes place between the 20th and the 31st of August. It is a perfect mix between a summer course, focusing on learning and understanding, and a summer university, focusing on culture and having fun. The training will merely take place the first five days in Toulouse, organised by AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon, and will be provided by trainers from Your Vision for EUrope. Afterwards the group travels to Barcelona.

The SU will be focused on European Citizenship and Europtimism and allows for in-depth understanding of these issues through non-formal education. There will be extensive use of interaction between participants. The training will firstly give an introduction to the EU: by interactive workshops, participants will learn about the EU institutions, EU history and the place of Europe nowadays in the world. During the SU, a simulation of the European Council will be conducted. When the required knowledge is ascertained, the training will address issues like the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the EU.

In today’s society, people lose faith in the European Union, and not without reason. The EU is at a crossroad, and its future is at stake. Therefore special attention will be given to identify and discuss factors that endanger the European project and how to tackle and prevent them. The Summer University will enhance understanding and create open-minded citizens, but will specifically focus upon the opportunities offered to European citizens, to all be active citizens and changemakers by spreading Europtimism.

AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon have taken up responsibility to be active and responsible in society by organising this SU. They will do their ultimate best to make this the best SU ever. Even more, they applied for and got selected as an Erasmus+ project. Erasmus+ is a EU programme to support education and training for youth in Europe. All AEGEE-locals are encouraged to organise Erasmus+ projects, which are perfect opportunities to propose an educative and innovative project and to be active in society!

This SU is a positive sign in the current state of Europe. A dynamic energy is rising in France and has led to the awakening of AEGEE locals in this country. Especially in the context of the recent elections in France, it is not an easy job promoting the EU in France. It can only be encouraged. Therefore the project team of Your Vision for EUrope is happy to support the organisation of this SU. Your Vision for EUrope is a project initiated by AEGEE-Europe to facilitate discussion on European politics and make the voices of young Europeans heard. Their activities aim to raise awareness of European affairs and stimulate debate on topics relevant for young people, and therefore match the theme of this Summer University.

The Erasmus+ programme allows for 15 participants selected from the partner countries, being five participants from Italy, five from Spain and five from Romania. This selection is not bound to the regular Summer University application procedure. Ten other participants will be selected from all other countries over Europe, and this will be done through the regular SU application procedure. Find more information on how to apply for this SU here: http://yourvisionforeurope.com/su-call-upon-young-europeans-aug-20th-31st/.

Written by Elinne Mertens, AEGEE-Leuven

Joining a Summer University is not all about the places you visit and the activities you do. It is also important to get to know the organisers of your SU. They put a lot of effort into organising an SU and you will spend a lot of time with them during your SU.

In this video, organisers from Tilburg try to introduce themselves. They use examples of making sustainable decisions in your life. Green SUs try to promote sustainability in various ways which can be really easy for you to implement in your life.

Showering

Do you realise the length and impact of your showering sessions? Standard showerheads use 15 to 25 litres of water per minute which results in 120 litres of used water for an eight-minute shower. By teaching people about their everyday habits like showering, they can realise their daily impacts on sustainability. People are mostly willing to be sustainable but do not realise the things they can do to act upon it.

Transport

During a green SU of Tilburg and Leuven, bicycles will be the main means of transportation. In the Netherlands, people use bikes a lot since they get used to riding a bike as children. They also have special bike lanes so people can ride a bike safely, which encourage the use of a bike. In some other parts of Europe, bike lanes are not that common or do not exist. This makes it harder for people choosing to ride a bike. In regions where riding a bike is harder, you can encourage people to use public transportation. Dutch municipalities are increasing their demands on public transportation services to increase their sustainability efforts. Trains of NS in the Netherlands, for example, are running 100% on green energy that derives from sources like windmills. This way you can travel on a very sustainable way. Another option for transportation is hitchhiking. Since you are sharing a ride with other people, you reduce the impact on the environment instead of, for example, taking a car by yourself. Hitchhiking can be a lot of fun and it is a way of meeting lots of new people.

Personal sustainability

Now you are thinking that you do not want to shower for a short time or take a train or bus or even hitchhike. Did you know that meat consumption is one of the biggest influences of climate change? Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction. By just eating one hamburger less you can save water equivalent to two months of showering.

At the end of a green SU, you will experience all kinds of sustainability initiatives and learn what you can do for the environment. So take over some of the things you learned at your green SU and start making the decisions in your daily life to be more sustainable.

Written by Gökhan Sancak, AEGEE-Tilburg

Summer seems distant, but AEGEEans, as busy bees, are already in the process to organise Summer Universities. The Summer University Coordination Team gave the future SU organisers the possibility to collaborate with AEGEE bodies and give their Summer Universities a content twist. We asked the bodies involved to give us some more information about how they envision the collaboration. In this second article we will understand more about Drink-wise Project, Language Interest Group, Mediation Commission, Action Agenda Coordination Committee and The AEGEEan.  

Drink-wise is the latest addiction to our pool of projects, and it aims at highlighting the cultural diversity and richness of our drinking traditions, but also promotes healthy drinking habits. And what about the European Night? If you are afraid that collaborationg with them will prevent you from having any form of alcohol in your Summer University, you cannot be further from the truth. Adonis Meggos, the project director, sais that “Drink-wise does not mean that you are forbidden to drink, but to drink with caution. We are a group of drink lovers. But there is not only alcohol. Juices, Smoothies, Coffee and Tea are all welcome! We love to explore all those different tastes all over Europe. To enjoy the traditions of drinking cultures, of course, but also to know our boundaries”.

You can contact them at drinkwiseproject@gmail.com

There are no better places than AEGEE events to test the knowledge of your foreing language(s). The Language Interest Group, a “diverse team of language-enthusiast AEGEEans”, using the words of their PR responsible Eryfili Evangelou, proposes a Summer University related to languages and adds that “the idea of a collaboration with us is easy to implement and can be added to an existing concept”. Not only learning languages, but also speaking about multilingualism in Europe, or the issues related to language policies, minority languages and language diversity. Eryfili continues explaining that the Interest group “can provide you with material and guidelines for the content and cool language related activities during the social programme. The main topics of the SU could be Multilingualism in Europe, courses of the local language or English, and can be adjusted to your needs and wishes!”.

You can contact them at lig@aegee.org. 

The Mediation Commission is the body that helps AEGEE in solving the disputes that may rise. After some successful sessions during NWMs, the commission decided to take them one step further having a Summer University in team management and conflict resolution. Damien Latacz, president of the Mediation Commission, says that the main topic will be “of course conflict solving, but going much deeper than what you would probably think, not just the basic workshop we all did at some point. From the differences in understanding between people and cultures, to how to react in front of conflicts and challenges. We want participants to actively think about emotions and communication. But because introspection is quite demanding… some good fun between session to relax is also needed!”. And if you are looking for yet another reason for choosing the Mediation Commission as “partner in crime” for the Summer University, Damien jokes: “Well… there would not be any trouble organizing something with us, because we would solve conflicts right away!”.

You can contact them at medcom@aegee.org. 

Acties during their team meeting

Act (Action Agenda Coordination Committee) Vice Speaker Miljana Vulevic, when asked why locals should cooperate with them answered: “Because we solemnly swear we are up to no good!”. With this Harry Potter joke premises, resisting them might seem hard, but she continues: “We are cool people, always ready to help and find a solution to whatever. Most importantly – we care. Choosing ACT means having a reliable partner willing to give its best to deliver an unforgettable, life changing SC”.  The main topic of the Summer would be project management, with a little twist: the implementation in an AEGEE context. “As complex as it sounds -Miljana says- it is a quite simple concept really! You have a “layer” of Project Management that teaches you the skills you need to create excellent projects in your local and another “layer” of introducing and discussing Focus Areas they will use as content for their projects. It is actually not a Summer Course, it is an AEGEE cake. Who says NO to a cake? Imagine all those applications!”.

You can contact them at act@aegee.org

Media and press are increasingly important in modern society, thus making more vital to have informed and prepared readers. The AEGEEan proposes local organisers to help their participants to get familiar with the journalism and writing world, by organising workshops about basic writing, editing and proofreading, about the different types of journalism, media platforms, the history of journalism and storytelling. During the leisure time some ad hoc excursions can be organised, for instance to houses of famous writers. Members of The AEGEEan will be there to help you in doing the lectures, but this can be a perfect opportunity to bond and create a network with several youth organisations that deal with press and citizen journalism.

You can contact us at aegeean@aegee.org

You can read about the other bodies you can collaborate with here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Summer seems distant but AEGEEans, as busy bees, are already in the process to organise Summer Universities. The Summer University Coordination Team gave the future SU organisers the possibility to collaborate with AEGEE bodies and give their Summer Universities a content twist. We asked the bodies involved to give us some more information about how they envision the collaboration. In this first article we will understand more about Civic Education Working Group, Your Vision for Europe, The Academy, Human Resource Committee and Youth Employment working group.  

Even if summer is the season for relaxation, vacations and parties, a content Summer University is still possible. The Civic Education Working Group launched the motto “a SU that matters” last year, and a lot of locals followed them organising a Civic Education-themed Summer University. This year, the Working Group proposes to organise an event related to Civic Education, intercultural communication, environmental sustainability, human rights or active citizenship like LGBT, Democracy, Refugees/immigrants, Green SU, Climate change, Intercultural communication through music, Volunteering, European Citizenship, Debating SU, Sexual Education and much more.

Last year, 17 Summer Universities were organised in collaboration with Civic Education or on a topic related to it. We asked some of those locals to explain why you should think about it. If you think that a SU with content might be boring, you may be thinking it twice if you consider that last year AEGEE-Udine placed its SU in the first place with their The Dark Side of the Boot SU.

AEGEE-Udine Summer University The Dark Side of the Boot

Stefano Dal Farra, main organiser, says that they chose “this topic for our SU last year because we thought that, in order to create an amazing SU, participants had to know the real Italy, the real conditions in which we are living. We did not want them to see and experience Italy perceived from an idyllic point of view, as if they were seeing it from a postcard. They had to experience the reality of our country, and that meant making them realise and see Italy for what it is right now, with all its problems”. One of the problems in Italy is the refugee crisis and a lot of activities were done with refugees, in the places where they are being hosted. “Participants met them, played volleyball with them, had a human library and an open table with them,  learnt Italian with them, volunteered for them. All these activities helped the participants to clear their ideas about the refugee crisis in Europe, to really understand the causes that are behind it and to meet them, to talk with them, and to understand that they are normal and common people like us, who had to leave their countries because of the war or because of the difficult living conditions”, concludes Stefano.

AEGEE-Leuven and AEGEE-Tilburg Summer University Burgundian Bicycles Vol III: Biking through SUmmer

AEGEE-Leuven, together with AEGEE-Tilburg, organised the Summer University Burgundian Bicycles Vol III: Biking through SUmmer. Elinne Mertens from AEGEE-Leuven told us that they collaborated with the Civic Education Working Group “because all people should (learn how to) act as a responsible citizen, which is exactly what civic education is about. Besides, our European Citizen Initiative is about Civic education and a SU on it can help us reaching the goal of one million signatures and will make people aware of what Civic Education is, also raising the understanding about it”.

CrEATe the Peace with your heART was the Summer University organised by AEGEE-Eskişehir last year. Tuğçe Demir, Treasurer and External Relations Manager of the Turkish local, said that “Civic education is a theme that appeals to everyone and it is very common nowadays”. Positive with the previous experience and the active participation of their participants, AEGEE-Eskişehir decided to choose the same path for their Summer University 2017 as well: “This year we will work on the subject of volunteering under the name of green water and Civic Education. One of the biggest reasons is that the NGOs in our country and the world are working on this issue, but can we give a sense of volunteerism at a sufficient level? We have chosen this theme in order to be able to give and to allow participants to look at it from different perspectives”.

You can contact them at su@civiceducation.eu. 

Your Vision For Europe Project team members

Your Vision for Europe is a project which aims at spreading Europtimism in- and outside the AEGEE-Network, but not only. According to Elinne Mertens, member of the project’s team, they give “tools to encourage young Europeans to think about important European topics, to discuss them with others and in that way, to formulate and express their vision for Europe – an informed and critical view on certain European topics”. During the Summer University, with the help of the project’s team who will act as trainers, participants will develop critical thinking stimulating opinion-formation. They proposed a variety of broad topics as explained by Elinne: “We have proposed some broad topics – more specifically bridging Europe, envisioning Europe, peace building and conflict resolution, refugees and policy and advocacy processes – that can be specified more in different sessions according to the wishes of the SU organisers. Other topics can be proposed too, we are very flexible. Just tell us on which topic you want to stimulate ‘visions for Europe’!”

You can contact them at yourvisionforeurope@aegee.org. 

The Youth Employment Working Group works in the frame of our focus area and it aims at providing participants with the necessary skills and trainings to have a smooth transition from the educational system to the job market. To do so, the working group proposes several workshops on entrepreneurship, but also some visits to companies and activities on self-presentations. At the end, participants should acquire the skills to use and present their “AEGEE skills” on a professional level; the process of becoming an entrepreneur; resumé writing, Motivational Letters, Interviews and so on.

You can contact them at yewg@aegee.org.

The Human Resources Committee and their members want to stress the importance of volunteering and  the possibility it gives to people to develop themselves as human beings. Summer Universities represent a perfect opportunity to develop our members’ skills in a friendly and rather unconventional environment. The workshops they propose are studied to push participants out of their comfort zone, to think about their gained skills and experiences and to reflect about the value of volunteering and the importance of its recognition.

You can contact them at hrc@aegee.org.

The Academy is a partner association that “works” as our pool of trainers: for this summer they proposed to the Summer University organisers the HRESSU (Human Resources European School Summer University). The Secretary Eugenia Casariego has no doubt about why a local should choose them: “Training and Non-formal Education are the best choice for this awesome summer: fun, learning, skills development, and workshops delivered by experienced Trainers, so they will not be the typical workshops you have been through in many other events”. The topic, Human Resources, is very important for locals and bodies that rely massively onto that. “Thus, -she continues- developing skills to support, empower, train, motivate and retain members are key in the functioning of a successful local or body”.

You can contact them at board@aegee-academy.org.

Here the other bodies you can collaborate with.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

There are many after movies about the Summer Universities that can be watched on the internet. The video clips represent a way to show the SU events to people who could not attend such an event, and give them an idea of what they had missed. We present you the best after movies of 2016 with links, so that you can play and watch each video at your convenience.

6. AEGEE-Alicante: Feel the Mediterranean Soul.

AEGEE-Alicante organised an SU in the cities of Alicante, Elche, and Altea. The AEGEE members participated in cooking and dancing workshops, and they also enjoyed some time in Aqualandia, one of the largest Waterparks in Europe, all of which can be seen in the after movie.

Despite presenting a wide variety of the activities included in its programme, AEGEE-Alicante’s after movie largely consists of panning pictures and a succession of shots of the same landmark that feels rather repetitive. Because of this, we sadly had to put this video in the sixth place of the top. You can watch the video via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHM6WWxTCL4&feature=youtu.be

[The content of the previous paragraphs was, however, accidentally based on an unofficial or the incorrect aftermovie that you can see, here. Our apologies, W.L, E.i.C.]

5. AEGEE-Barcelona BarceYOLOna: The Catalan Adventure (vol. 2).

AEGEE-Barcelona’s SU took place in Barcelona and its surroundings. Elements of their programme, which can be seen in their after movie, are represented by the city tour on a bicycle and the hiking near the sea.

The most amazing items of this after movie are its handheld camera work, which makes you, as a viewer, feel like you are a participant in the SU, despite the fact that the camerawoman, occasionally, turns the camera to herself. The time stamp at the bottom left corner of the video puts emphasis on the feeling of authenticity, while the underwater camera work looks very impressive.

However, one of the major points of criticism towards this video, is related to its size. With a total length of 03:59, the after movie pushes the attention span of a viewer of a trailer. Nevertheless, this is a magnificent after movie. Check it out via the link: https://vimeo.com/176235122

4. AEGEE-Ioannina: BLUEstories II: SUspicious Minds.

AEGEE-Ioannina’s SU, “BLUEstories II: SUspicious Minds”, is the event where the participants felt the vibes of the Greek spirit and collected the clues for “the adventure of their life”, by visiting Ioannina, Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zante. In the after movie, you can see that the participants enjoyed rafting a lot and spent some time in long excursions.

During the event, the AEGEE members also learned some steps of Greek traditional dances. Greece can show not only the beauty of its beaches, but also one of its amazing resorts. The main part of the international event was represented by the boat trip around some of the Greek islands.

This video, however, has one minute dedicated to one activity only, rafting that is, and as for the rest, it displays just a few other activities that were part of the whole programme. It seems like the participants just swam and went rafting for two weeks. That is the reason why we put the video in the fourth place. You can watch the after movie by accessing the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHWsNFJtaZg

3. AEGEE-Las Palmas: 5 continents in 1 island.

AEGEE-Las Palmas organised a Summer Course which lasted from the 20^th of July until the 3rd of August.
The participants admired some breathtaking places, such as: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Agaete, Arucas, Firgas, and Galdar. Moreover, they recharged their batteries with positive energy, attended cultural activities, practiced different sports, and had lots of fun.

The after movie could be really appreciated, as the AEGEE members can see how much fun the participants had at the parties that were taking place on a long motor boat. The most beautiful part is represented by the shooting on the hang-glider, which allows us to see the landscape of the Spanish island from a different point of view.

While the shooting with the GoPro camera shows the bright, light blue sea, the video editor chose to accompany it with a kind of monotomous music that one might find in a dark, dim-lit nightclub. Maybe some variety with ‘Tropical House’ or ‘Dance Hall’ could be suggested? Check it out via the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVkRT7RObaQ

2. AEGEE-Patra: From SUnrise till midnight.

AEGEE-Patra proposed a Travelling Summer University in Peloponnese, Greece, the land where legends and myths were born, and that is fully connected with an important part of the rich Greek history. The video points out several moments of the TSU, by displaying several photos which present not only the Peloponnese beaches, but also a crazy group of people who wanted to have a lot of fun.

Unlike the aforementioned after movies, when it comes to this particular one, the editor added more than one song on the background, in order to draw one’s attention while watching the video. Greece is not just a country where one can admire many famous sites in the history of art, but it is also the right place to be when it comes to parties. The best part of the video, in my opinion, is the moment when the organisers together with the participants dance in the bus.

The intention of the video, particularly, consists of underlining the very good “feeling” among the participants and organisers. During every SU, there are some hours when the organisers need to sleep, and as this SU does not make an exception, the antenna is proud to show us the “human side” of the organising team. More than one minute of the video is filled with footage taken on the bus, but considering that it was a TSU, this aspect can be overlooked. However, the after movie is a bit long, which is the reason why it did not win the top spot. You can watch the video via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-FUl_bFxp4

1. AEGEE-Cagliari: Bigger, Better, Stronger: Sardinian Challenge.

AEGEE-Cagliari organised an SU, based on sport and boat trips, in order to provide twenty-five young people from all over Europe, with an unforgettable, educational vacation. AEGEE-Cagliari’s after movie begins with Nicola Motzo, who walks around the participants during the Ice Breaking games and presents some of them with the help of a selfie stick. This brief, but personal, introduction of the participants is something which distinguishes this after movie from the previous ones.

Everyone can see some of the sport activities that were performed during the event, but also the parties inside the café bars and in front of the sea. Some seconds are reserved to my birthday, accompanied by the soundtrack of “Ghostbusters”. Another moment to point out is the funniest part of the video, when pranks are being played on the participants, the organisers, and also, the President of AEGEE-Cagliari, during the night, when everyone was sleeping, or just before some activities of the social programme.

In the video, it looks like the participants and the organisers have met long before the event. The magnificence of the Sardinian beaches is known all over the world, even though the video does not exalt them so much. The event lasted from the 31st of July until the 11^th of August. The title of the SU was inspired from some words in the song “Stronger” by Kanye West. You can watch the video of Fabian Raab, Drivers Responsible, via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGLZFbdUwo4

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

Exactly one month ago, I was enjoying the last days of my first amazing Summer University here in Brescia. Even if I’m just writing about this, it still feels strange… I joined AEGEE-Brescia only shortly before; in May after a pre-Agora event. It felt great to host foreign people from various countries in my hometown; I liked overcoming the initial shyness and having fun during the parties that we had.

Even with these premises, I wasn’t prepared for what was coming! We started planning the SU in every detail (activities, compulsory sessions, booklets and more), and, after a couple of months we were ready to again host twenty-five BEAUTIFUL people for two weeks, that would be rich of events and fun. Here’s my personal review of the best moments in our “Be Green Go Extreme, Just Survive Vol II” Summer University. Enjoy!

In fourteen days, we definitely had many activities, but some of them really impressed me. As the theme was linked to extreme open air activities, we pushed the adventurous spirit of our participants and, luckily, they didn’t disappoint us! In the beautiful location of Lake Iseo, we went kayaking and paddle boarding for a whole day… it was amazing! You might be thinking about a boring group just floating around but, hey, we’re talking about AEGEE people, right? Everyone had fun with some small competitions, games and demonstrations. The best, anyway, was paddle boarding. If you have ever tried that sort of board, you know how unstable it is. Somehow this gave us a nice idea: GLADIATORS FIGHT!!! Someone came out as a winner and others were left without regrets! We may have looked like mad people, but who cares?!

Another activity I really enjoyed, was climbing. We brought the participants to Riva, at the northern tip of Lake Garda, for two days, in order to enjoy some hiking, climbing and, of course, sunbathing. The beautiful mountains surrounding the lake hide amazing vertical rock walls where you can climb safely, which attracted climbers from everywhere… and we couldn’t help but join them! Even though someone had already tried it indoor before, it was a tough challenge! However, everyone enjoyed the activity and reached the top. We also had some super funny moments when a participant got stuck in the only bush growing on that wall (still wondering how…) and another one did a kind of somersault while climbing down. The most surprising thing? Seeing people from the Netherlands, who had never been to the mountains before, climbing up like professional climbers. Go Extreme!

But how can we not mention the most famous event: the European Night! We all know how important it is to show that we respect other countries by tasting what they’ve brought, sometimes it’s food, sometimes it’s something to drink. From now on, we all know how it goes…. By the way, it was an amazing night, our participants cooked many incredible dishes and told us amazing stories about them. The most remarkable thing was not the European Night per se, but what was going to come the following day!

We decided to use the beautiful mountain location where we were, to go for a six-hour-hike (20 km). After realising that maybe (maybe!) it wasn’t a good idea to propose it after the European Night in August in Italy, we offered an easier option for those who didn’t feel like it: a shorter trail in the shady woods. As we felt like their “worried parents”, we tried to do our best to discourage them from choosing the first option and, well, the next day, all the participants amazed us once more: they all got up at 8 a.m. and chose the longest path! But this is not all, they were all very excited and this time it was the Estonian moment: Estonian girls ran (we say: ran!) to the top of the mountain, arriving there well before many organisers and helpers. If you’re wondering: in Estonia, there are no mountains…

It happened again the following day when we went for a via ferrata. What is a via ferrata? Being secured with a rope to an iron cable that goes along otherwise inaccessible mountain trails, walking on rungs of metal secured over a stream or holding on to iron chains through canyons… This is what a via ferrata is, and you know what? All our participants chose the difficult way… No doubt they would make it!

We could go on like this for long, telling you how cool our participants were and how much fun it was to spend time all together hiking, playing some games or, simply, chilling out somewhere. We couldn’t wish for a better group; we couldn’t wish for a better Summer University!

Manuel Volpi, AEGEE-Brescia (Special thanks to Giulia Guerini, AEGEE-Brescia)

I’ll never forget the view of the port of Vigo outside the train’s window. It was simply beautiful with the sea, the morning light. I had just woken up in that instant to this palette of amazing colours. But my story began before that moment, more or less one month before… [This article is sponsored by Interrail]

When AEGEE gave me this amazing opportunity to travel with an Interrail ticket, I was so excited for this great experience. After ten months working hard on the Summer University Project I had the possibility to see its the local management with my own eyes.

My Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT) trip was taking shape slowly, mostly thanks to Interrail.

At the start of my trip, the procedure was not so clear in my head, even after the arrival of the Interrail ticket. Do I need reservations, which trains should I take, by which train companies, will it all be possible, or impossible?!

I felt so stupid and, because I’m not so good at making decisions, I chose my trip very late. I made my reservations on time, but too late for them to be shipped. There was however the possibility to write down the address of some hostel and have them sent there, so I decided to put down the address of the hostel in Madrid, the city where my Interrail trip would begin.

With one fewer task and with one additional concern, I said “Goodbye Italy” and flew to Spain.

When I arrived in Madrid, it was great to understand that the procedure to buy a ticket was not difficult. I bought my ticket to Alicante in two minutes; I was so happy that day!

But after two days in Madrid, I was becoming anxious and nervous because my reservations had not arrived on time at the hostel, so the only solution was to call the mailing company for an explanation of what went wrong.

The final answer was: the tickets were somewhere near the airport of Madrid, and with the help of a Spanish friend we went to pick them up. The problem turned out to be a case of “Destinatario desconocido”, or ‘unknown recipient’. Today, I still wonder why this was such a problem, but, in the meantime my mission was accomplished, and I could finally start my Interrail trip!

Another fantastic discovery was that with Interrail tickets many doors open.

The partner company of Interrail in Spain is Renfe, and for certain trains you do not have to pay for tickets: I cannot deny that I felt privileged a couple of times.

After Madrid, my second ‘Spanish step’ was Alicante. I have been in Spain more than once before, but I really did not know how trains and train stations are organised: passport controls before reaching the train etc. Yep, I am Italian and, for me such great organisation was wonderful. In Italy, it is a mess and I usually am ready for the worst, like waiting an hour-and-a-half for a simple regional train. I slept three comfortable hours on the train and before I knew it I reached hot and sunny Alicante.

I spent three amazing days in Alicante with beautiful people and the organisers of a great event. I have really good memories of my stay there, plus a bracelet! Yep, a bracelet! Because, more or less at the beginning of this amazing SUCT trip, I decided to buy a bracelet in every place I would visit. This way I would have an unusual souvenir at the end of my adventure.

And agan I was at the train station in Alicante.  Another train, another group to meet. Destination: Valladolid.

I went there some years ago, but this time, I found a great city, full of amazing buildings and new people to know. But my most memorable event from this part of my trip was when I arrived at the train station in Valladolid and I needed to take the next train to Vigo. It was during the night. I was a bit scared, alone, and not in my native country. I spent some hours at an empty station, until the train arrived.

Near my seat there was a woman of about fifty years old and, in front of me, an old man. The woman started to talk to me about the train timetable, delays, a new connection, and, only at the end of the conversation, she understood that I was not Spanish. I was so proud of the Spanish I knew and that I managed to make a good impression on her! When I said that my destination was Porto, instead of Vigo, she told the old man that I would help him to find his train. The man started to talk in a strange language: a mix of Catalan, Portuguese, Spanish and French… I really didn’t understand him! The woman confessed to me that it was also hard for her to understand his strange language, which struck me as funny. In the beginning, I was so scared to travel during the night alone, and in the end I felt very comfortable there and I fell asleep.

I woke up in Vigo. The train to Porto would leave in ten minutes, and I needed a ticket. I told the man and his family to hurry up and I ran to the ticket office. In one minute, I had my ticket and, some instants later, I was on the train with the man, his strange language, and his family.

The sun was rising over the port of Vigo, and that image will be forever in my eyes.

I am currently in my room, remembering this amazing adventure, which, to me, was momentous. I grew up during this experience. Travelling is seriously the best way to improve yourself, to face your fears and concerns. “No one realises how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow” (Lin Yutang).

This is a three part article; for part one, click here, and, for part two, click here.

Written by Carolina Alfano, Summer University Coordination Team