Agora Catania is starting in a few days and as always, the AEGEEan will try to help you better understand the Proposals which will be discussed during the Prytania. These following ones are proposed by the Mediation Commission, the Audit Commission, AEGEE-Aachen and AEGEE-Enschede.

Fixed term for the Mediation Commission

Proposed by Damien Lacatz on behalf of the Mediation Commission. This proposal seeks approval for the establishment of a set starting date for the term of the Mediation Commission, which now starts on the day following the end of Agora, implying that previous commissioners lose access rights due to confidenciality and thus making KT very difficult. If the proposal was to be approved, the MedCom would have a term starting on the 1st of December, allowing a timeframe for KT between the election date and the starting date. The proposal would end up in an addition of this provision to the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe, also granting the newly elected members access to all necessary data for Knowledge Transfer purposes.

Gathering of the financial documents of every European event

Proposed by Luca Bisighini on behalf of the Audit Commission. This proposal aims at making the work of the Audit Commission more comprehensive and more respondent to its features in compliance with article 27 of the CIA and articles 13 and 14 of the Financial Rules. The proposed change to the Financial Rules of AEGEE-Europe aims at collecting and checking the financial data connected to events and projects organised by locals (final budget, bank history, bookkeeping), in relation to every European event and project.

Modification of Locals’ Statutes

Proposed by Nils Barkawitz on behalf of AEGEE-Aachen. This proposal is based on the fact that to fulfill Antenna Criteria, a local should have Statutes compatible with the Convention d’Adhésion and the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe in both the original language and English to be presented to the Juridical Commission upon request or upon modification by the local, but nobody checks if changes were made during the last term. Thus the proposal is to delete from Article 6 (1).1. the expression “upon modification by the local or”.

Nomination of the JC member who is in MedCom

Proposed by Damien Lacatz on behalf of the Mediation Commission. This proposal’s aim is to introduce at Article 29, (4) of the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe a provision making it possible for the Juridical Commission to appoint a member different than its president, suitable for mediation and resolution of conflicting issues, to join the Mediation Commission.

Proposal to set all deadlines for publishing official documents at two weeks before the Agora 2.0

Proposed by Steyn ten Kate, Rik Smale and Timo Haarman on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede. Following a previous proposal during Spring Agora Enschede, this proposal aims at setting the deadline for the publication of all official documents of Agora two weeks before Agora. If approved, it would result in the addition of this provision to the Charter of Honorary Members and the Working Format of the Agora.

You can find all the proposals here.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Polar bears can not only be found in the Artic Ocean: in Aachen you can find many as well!
Board members of AEGEE-Aachen, Tim Mollenhauer and Katharina Hartz, tell us about the story behind their famous mascot, their ways of keeping members active, and much more!

The AEGEEan:  Could you tell us about the establishment and the current structure of AEGEE-Aachen?

AEGEE-Aachen board: AEGEE-Aachen was established 30 years ago. From then on we grew constantly, and today we count over 160 members working on many projects. One of our biggest projects at the moment is the orientation week for Erasmus students coming to Aachen for the next semester. However, we have much more amazing projects we constantly work on. For example, our Summer University “Extrem deutsch: How to say “Streichholzschächtelchen!”” which takes place in July, or our meeting with our great twin-antenna Lviv next weekend. Another project we are currently working on is our video project “Europe at Eye Level” where we interview people from all over Europe to get to know their personal stories regarding being a European citizen.

Which typical, local traditions do you have?

AEGEE-Aachen is a very tradition oriented local. The polar bear, our mascot, is pretty much present all over the network. For example, in our famous polar bear-costumes, in our bear-bags and bear-shirts and not to forget about our lovely stickers. The polar bear even has its own Facebook page!

What is the history behind the polar bear as your mascot?

Approximately ten years ago AEGEE-Aachen thought for the first time about having a mascot. At that time, real costumes were too expensive for our local, so we took an old, and rather undefined, costume from one of our members. The animal which was probably most similar to that costume was a bear and so our first mascot was born. In 2011, when the EBM in Riga took place with the motto ”Black and White” the board members of that year came up whith a very smart idea how our mascot could join the party even though its brown colour didn’t fit. They simply ordered a polar bear costume that was totally suitable to the party. Since then we never changed it back, so that the polar bear still parties with us on EPMs, and many other amazing AEGEE events until today.

AEGEE-Aachen organises a lot of different types of activities every year, like city trips, weekly meetings and tutoring workshops. How do you keep the quality of all these activities high?

Since we changed the structure of our working groups we have a committee that always has an overview over all our projects, besides the board. Moreover, we work on most of our projects during our working group meetings, which we have twice a month. In this way, people meet in one place for planning and stay informed about all the other running projects. Additionally, a big help is our well-structured Wiki and Google Drive cloud where we can look up nearly everything.

How do you persuade locals to join AEGEE at an European level?

Of course we advertise European events strongly in our weekly Monday-meetings and ask experienced members at the European Level to share their experiences with all of us.

How do you think it affects the organisation that a substantial part of the active members are Erasmus students?

Actually, not that many of our active members are Erasmus students so that it does not affect us that much. At the moment most of our new members are students in the first or third semester, who are going to spend some more years in Aachen. Because of this, the high fluctuation of Erasmus students is not really a problem for us. What we notice as an advantage of Erasmus student members is that they are highly motivated, Europtimistic and bring fresh and good ideas we did not think of before. And of course with their presence they contribute to this special “international AEGEE atmosphere”.

How do you try to keep members active within AEGEE-Aachen?

We try to keep our members motivated by organising engaging events and interesting projects in which members can participate, but also by giving our members space to realise their own ideas. Another thing that we focus on is improving the connection between old and new members. We do this by organising events that older members are still interested in as well, so that newbies can benefit from their experience. Connecting old and new members makes working together easier for everybody, and we keep having fun together and stay motivated.

If I had to describe my local in three words, they would be:

Polar bears, cheers!

Is there anything you would like to add?

Bear bags and shirts are still available! You are always welcome in Aachen – so come and catch some!

Written by Susan Nijsten, AEGEE-Groningen

From the 24th till the 27th of November, AEGEE-Aachen is hosting a Network Meeting (NWM). They will have a panel discussion within the context of Brexit, an education in cooperation talk, two days in the Eifel Mountains and a Christmas Party in November. To know more about this fantastic NWM, we interviewed Leonie Riebesam of AEGEE-Aachen

The AEGEEan: What is the focus of your NWM and how does it relate to the title?

Leonie: The topic is cooperation on different levels, e.g. within an AEGEE local or board, but also with the municipality, the university or other partners. A more special part of it is that we are organising a panel discussion about cooperation in Europe for our participants and other students in Aachen on the first day.

Can you tell us more about your schedule?

When the participants arrive on Thursday and come back from the city tour, we start with a nice opening ceremony with some speakers and art performances. Afterwards we will have a panel discussion on the topic “Hurry up Europe! Time for new cooperations”. The next two and a half days will be full of interesting sessions and awesome parties.

What are the objectives of the NWM?

Since cooperation is the theme of our NWM, we want to gather many ideas and experiences on cooperation with different entities, so that our participants can start working on the implementation when they get back. Of course, it’s a NWM, so there will be room to share experiences and knowledge, and get to know the other participants and their locals. And last, but definitely not least: have an awesome weekend full of fun!

What can you tell us about  the place where it will be?

Since it’s hard to find a place to sleep in Aachen, we decided to book a house outside of Aachen. It’s in the Eifel Mountains, directly next to a lake and perfect for team building during the NWM.  Plus, we have real beds there!

How big is the organising team and who is in it?

We started with only four people, but now we are seven. Damien Latacz, whom you might know as President of MedCom, is our Main Organiser. Other than that our President and two other board members are organisers. Also Lucia from Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT) and a new member have started helping the participants as incoming responsibles.

Who would be the ideal participant for your NWM?

A cooperative one [she winks, ed.]

What was one of the biggest challenges that you faced in organising this NWM?

Probably the biggest challenges will arise in the week before the NWM, so we can’t say yet. Until now, the most difficult part was getting interesting speakers for our panel discussion. But we managed it! Now it’s time to coordinate them to be sure that the discussion itself is interesting and that our participants can learn a lot from it. That also brings its load of challenges, but don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed!

Tips and tricks for future organisers?

For a NWM find a good topic that will give you the main direction for your plan. That way you can focus your effort because you know what to achieve for your participants. Start planning early and making a to-do list with an integrated timeline is a good way to keep an overview of your whole project. And don’t forget, that the main ingredient for success is communication!

Is there something that you would like to add?

If you missed the deadline to apply to our NWM, don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of other chances to visit the polar bears!

Written by Violeta Croitoru, AEGEE-Iași

You might have seen him on stage during the Agora in Bergamo, or most probably if you organised or attended a Summer University. Philipp Blum, 25 years old and living in Aachen, is doing it again. After a term in the Summer University Coordination Team as Publication and IT responsible, he is running for a second one aiming to cover the tasks of Information Technology and Materials. “Sometimes serious, but mostly a child” as he described himself, he is in love with with coffee, travelling, photography, design, coffee, music and much more.

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to run again for a position in the Summer University Coordination Team?

Philipp: Because the work was more fun than I thought, and it’s a really good feeling to help people to have the Summer of Their Lives. Also, due to the knowledge I gained this year, I could start to actually improve the functioning of the website right away instead of figuring out where the files are.

You said that there is always room for improvements. What would you change (or improve) for next term, provided you will be elected?

• Simplified (digital) guidelines to make it easier for organisers to see what should be done when.
• Easier overview pages that show if you forgot to fill something instead of yet another reminder email.
• A streamlined/shorter application process for participants.

Your team put a lot of effort in giving content to SUs. Do you think you managed to change the direction? Would you consider it fulfilled?

I wouldn’t consider it as fulfilled at all. Many people I spoke to still consider two (!) hours of content a day as too much. But if you want travelling completely without content, I wonder why you would need AEGEE for this. With simplifying the booklets and website for organisers, as well as providing more help, I hope we can show that two hours of content a day is not much at all and that it actually improves the experience of the participants.

I think that organisers felt that we made some “unfunny” changes, but I also believe they recognise our good intentions behind it.

You said that you “use the impact of the project to get more information about our members (impact measurement)”. Do you think it is SUCT’s responsibility to work on the general IM or should this be done in cooperation with/by other bodies?

I don’t think it’s SUCT’s responsibility to work on Impact Measurement per se, but the possibility to ask 3.000 people about their opinions shouldn’t be wasted. So if the CD, ACT, the Working Groups or someone else can actually use this data for improving AEGEE and/or Europe, I’d love to help with gathering the data. The answers might be more representative than our 2013 Impact Study [he winks, ed.].

Last year you and your team improved the website, making it mobile friendly. Have you already thought about how to upgrade it more?

Yes, there are things we definitely want to improve. This year most work lay in the re-design, which didn’t allow for much time to actually change the logic in the system. I would like to have visual landing pages for organisers, participants as well as the admins. That means that you have exactly one page you can always go to, and it will show you the status of your SU / application, and what is expected until when. So, for example, for organisers it would show until when it’s expected to submit the program, with a direct link to do so. No more combining mails with ten different links.

Another, more unclear aspect is the development of the OMS. If it’s actually coming, it requires a redesign of a huge part of the SU System – including all applications. It’s something that shouldn’t be done in the middle of the process, and will require quite some preparation. On the other hand, it will allow for new possibilities, such as developing native apps for the project.

We are witnessing a constant drop of applications and organising locals. Do you think it is something related with the Summer Universities’ appeal? If yes, do you have concrete actions in mind to reverse this trend?

I think it’s related to the fact that cheap travelling becomes more and more normal. People buy a 10€ flight with Ryanair, sleep at couchsurfers.. Travelling with AEGEE becomes less distinctive to normal travelling. But maybe that is just my imagination? Here lies another connection with the Impact Measurement we could do.

My ideas include a better, consistent level of content on all SUs, as well as a better fostering of expectations by Outgoing Responsibles. If SUs are advertised with “Cheap, drinking and girls on a beach”, of course participants don’t want to see the city and learn the local language. If SUs are only advertised with “All day classes”, you might want a bit more relaxing in your summer vacation. Of course, a big part of SUs is about young people relaxing and partying, but there’s way more to the AEGEE spirit than just this.

Besides, since I joined AEGEE all I heard was “shrinking” of the network and how to avoid it. First of all, those numbers are not the only thing that measures the success of our organisation, and secondly, the numbers aren’t shrinking that much (source). We still have 50% more applications than spaces for Summer University, and I would rather concentrate on strengthening the weaker SUs (which don’t have enough applications) than on the overall numbers.

How would you improve the cooperation with Working Groups and Projects?

Well, for some Working Groups there’s the need to start a cooperation before we can improve it. Seriously, it’s a shame if a WG can’t even provide a compulsory session. Luckily, not all is bad. For example, I am really impressed by the cooperation of the Civic Education WG in Warszawa, which provided the entire content of the SU, and I think it could be a great example for other cooperations. I am sad that the ES SU didn’t work out this year due to lack of applicants, but I believe there’s lots of potential here.

To improve, I would start even earlier with sending emails to Projects (etc.) and Locals with suggestions of cooperation, directly showing benefits of cooperation, so the local doesn’t decide to do it on their own before a request for cooperation arrives.

How would you reduce the waiting time during the online processes?

We could implement some kind of games on the website to speed up the waiting time. Tetris, anyone? No, to be honest, there’s not so much that can be sped up by the SUCT. All in all, I could imagine to shorten the application period a bit, but I think the overall process is already pretty quick.

A real speed-up would be if tasks by organisers would be done in a day, which is highly unrealistic. Because there are so many organisers from so many countries, and the fact that we’re all volunteers, we can’t just give one day to approve participants. Some locals meet during the week, others on weekends, some might have exam periods…

Another way to speed up the process would be to remove the role of the Outgoing Responsible, which would speed up the process by around a week. It’s an idea we talked about already, but we still believe in the important role of the Outgoing Responsible. As I said, I think a right expectation of SUs is important, so I would rather work on improving the work of the ORs than to remove it yet.

In the application process we often see that certain locals are very popular, while others struggle even to find participants and (in extreme cases) are forced to delete the Summer University. What are your thoughts on that? Do you have any idea to try to level this phenomenon?

It’s certainly true that the location is a major factor for a Summer University to be more popular. Not only because a well-known location attracts more people, also because of the costs of travelling there. Opposite examples are “extreme” destinations, like Transiberian Railway, or something new, like Ireland this year.

I think there are three aspect to easily distinguish yourself from the other SUs: 

• Do your SU in a time where there are not many other SUs. I heard enough people that wanted to attend a SU in September (because of their possible vacation), but there simply was no offer.
• Offer unique content. A city tour, beach party and small language course is nothing differentiating. Offer extreme sports, offer long travels, offer specific topics like photography or a larger language course – anything to separate yourself from the rest!
• Do something new, something more extreme. Why not have a SU solely on a boat? Why not go hiking for two weeks? What about including a flight in your Summer University or make Hitchhiking not a part, but the topic of your SU? (PS: If this has been here before, I’m sorry. I’m not as wise as Gunnar yet [he winks, ed.] )

You can read Philipp’s full application here. 

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

In February, AEGEE-Aachen paid attention to a very actual topic by organising a discussion on Brexit, with interesting results. As a reward, they were chosen as the ACTive Local of the Month. We spoke to them to find out more!

ACT: Congratulations! As we would like to know about this month’s winner, could you tell us a bit more about your local?
AEGEE-Aachen: We have about 120 members, of which around 50 are active. We also have a lot of secondary members all over Europe who fell in love with the polar bear spirit. We have three working groups which are responsible for Human Resources (HRWG), Erasmus students, and Public Relations (PRWG). The HRWG organises debates, members’ weekends, Local Training Courses and a lot more. For Erasmus student, we organise a tutoring program for incoming students and plan various events for them. And of course, the PRWG creates all our awesome stickers, t-shirts and other PR materials.

You organised a discussion about Brexit. Could you tell us a bit more about the activity?
We realized that people are keen on debating about what’s happening in Europe so we set up regular discussions every first Sunday of a month. We usually decide a topic in our Facebook group and the participants look up some general information beforehand to be prepared well. For February, our members selected the issue of the Brexit to be discussed. We decided to talk about the situation in the UK, not only because similar discussions are taking place in other European countries but also because of David Cameron’s proposals to the European Parliament and the pending referendum.

What was the result?
After an intense debate, most participants drew the conclusion that Great Britain is important for the European Union, hoping they will remain in the European Union. The debate Cameron started with his proposed requirements like an “emergency brake” could be helpful and good to seize a suggestion for future development of the EU. On the other hand, the idea of stopping the development towards the “United States of Europe”, thus seeing the Union as a federation with more liberal and powerful national governments, raised a lot of criticism during the discussion. Nevertheless, the participants felt this proposal could have a quite useful impact as the fight about how much the EU should grow together is already going on for decades and needs to be settled.

Why do you think the Action Agenda is important for the network, and what would you say to locals that are thinking about organising something related to the Action Agenda?
There are plenty of new ideas coming up. The structure provided by the Action Agenda is helpful not to lose track within AEGEE and integrate current activities. Locals can use the objectives of the Action Agenda as input and inspiration for events. Also, don’t be afraid of trying out new things or events with few participants. Even small events have their impact!

AEGEE-Aachen has certainly shown to the Network that it can be an example to other locals, what would you say to the locals that want to be as awesome as you?
Well, our biggest fortune is to have such a strong team spirit within AEGEE-Aachen. This also is of great credit to our Human Resources Working Group whose members organise fun events (hiking, cooking) for the AEGEEans of our antenna which really creates an intense bond among our members. Events like the members weekend mirror the polar bear spirit, this April we invited our friends from AEGEE-Lviv and we are pleased that our neighbours from Leuven, Eindhoven and Cologne are joining in, too! We are convinced that if you have a strong team, you’ll be a strong local so we steadily try to keep and improve this unique kind of camaraderie. Furthermore, our members are perfectionists, paying attention to the detail and not easy to satisfy. Combined with our common idea of a unified Europe all of these factors create an exceptional momentum we are very proud of!

Which sentence would describe your local and your event?
Hey! Wir woll’n die Eisbär’n seh’n! Ohhooohooo hohoooo!

Written by the Action Agenda Coordination Committee

Somewhere in Brussels, near the European Commission, you can find a house that looks just like most other houses in the city from the outside, but contains a lot of rooms, people and ideas on the inside. What house am I talking about? The AEGEE house, which the new Comité Directeur has been calling their home since the 1st of August 2015, when we moved in to start our work. “What is that work about?”, you may wonder, and probably other members wonder too. Read on to find out!

My task, Projects Director, could imply I am spending the biggest amount of time with the projects of AEGEE. Semi-correct. Projects in the sense of this portfolio mean not only the projects ratified by the Agora but also teams and groups of AEGEEans who gathered by the same or similar interest and would like to change something for the better in Europe and beyond.

In this sense I work with the thematic bodies of AEGEE: ratified projects (Democracy in Practice, Eastern Partnership Project, AEGEE Election Observation), unofficial projects (Europe on Track, Your Vision for Europe, Opening Inclusion, Footprint Project), interest groups (Language Interest Group, Culture IG, Health for Youth IG), and while working groups are also distributed among Comité Directeur members, I work with all working groups (Civic Education, Youth Mobility and Youth Employment). Another important part of my portfolio is internal education. AEGEE is a space for learning for thousands of members and truth be told, working in AEGEE-Europe made me realise we should put internal education as a top priority in the work of the CD and of the organisation. I am the contact person towards the AEGEE-Academy, which is independent from AEGEE, but our partnership contract bases the trainings of AEGEE on the Academy. I also work with the Events Quality Assurance Committee on improving our events in AEGEE (and reading super long answers to super long forms [she smiles, ed.]).

Besides the bodies I am responsible for, I am in regular contact with other bodies – because building the thematic work of AEGEE and our internal education strategy involves everyone. I am happy to work with our awesome Network Commission, the knowledge management of the Human Resources Committee and with the Summer University Coordination Team related to the thematic SUs.

In addition I am responsible for two external projects as well, one on the Quality Assurance of Trainings and the GR-EAT project, where I discovered a new field of interest in the topic of non-formal education and the VRC (validation-recognition-certification) processes by writing the guidelines of the project. The guidelines of GR-EAT can help other youth organisations with the recognition of volunteering and the skills you learn during your time in AEGEE!

Last but not least, our thematic work would only stay inside AEGEE if we were not doing our job as ambassadors. I also have a fair share of the external work as well. Being the main contact towards the Lifelong Learning Platform and being in the Management Team of IFISO (Informal Forum of International Student Organisations), the work brings both external visibility and useful practices for our internal work from other organisations. I had meetings with representatives from ODIHR, the Council of Europe, European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee just to name a few. AEGEE is doing great work in shaping society and even if sometimes we see ourselves doing too many different things, this colourful palette of activities is really impressive for many officials!

Besides the portfolio-related work I also checked some points in the Activity Plan we have drafted in the beginning of our term… when I had little idea about how demanding the projects portfolio is going to be [she smiles, ed.]. My Activity Plan points however show the attitude and direction I would like my work to improve AEGEE:  sustainability for our thematic work, better understanding of our history and previous achievements and failures, to offer a learning space to our members and create the strategy of the organisation together with the members and the needs of the locals.

Being the Projects Director means you can never finish reading all your e-mails. My life would get better if I had one of those pens you can talk to and it writes down what you are saying, do you know what I mean? I am trying my best to fulfill everyone’s expectations and wishes and I do not mind the sleepless nights or the usual 14 hour shifts in the office. Being a former project manager/coordinator myself I know the powerful drive that moves all these bodies who believe in their idea – and it is my primary role to give them the support, special contacts, necessary resources.

Being Projects Director also means you get to work with a lot of different teams and their dynamics, amazing ideas, all of them in need of different kind of support. I have spent the first four months of my term merely understanding the teams and learning the best way to support them. I am inspired by all of them, the ideas and energy they bring and the relentless work they do for AEGEE.

If you ask me some event highlights… well, countless. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to experience so many different places and meet so many different people. This is the thought that keeps me happy after long travels and happy to go to work the next day.

One special highlight could be – probably because I have just arrived back from the Network Meeting in Wrocław: the birthday party of AEGEE-Wrocław where past and present met and the people who kept the antenna alive got to celebrate AEGEE-Wrocław turning 25 with 50 new members. I was touched, remembering how it is to work so hard for a small local with no money and no fixed events, only a few really dedicated people. Believing in AEGEE and working the hardest you can in order to fight for what you believe in, this is the kind of AEGEE we should all be proud of and the AEGEE I want to see more of. Thank you AEGEE-Wrocław for an amazing Network Meeting and many inspiring moments!

Some funny anecdote of my life in the house? Just one? Living and working together, can you imagine how many funny moments we have in the house? Just to recall a few, I can spend whole nights drinking tea and discussing crazy visions for AEGEE with Aleksandra, burst out randomly singing a Justin Bieber song any time with Anna or get our quiet retreat and talk about literally anything and everything with Svenja. From early morning until late at night we keep each other company either in the office or in our room which is a safe haven for endless chocolate supplies and stuffed animals. We are adorable weirdos, aren’t we?

You can read her interview part one here and part two here.

Written by Réka Salamon, Vice- President and Projects Director 2015-2016

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

Surely all of you have already encountered the famous mascot of AEGEE-Aachen somewhere in Europe. Now, the German local became the Local of the Month. The AEGEEan talked to two of AEGEE-Aachen’s new board members, Leonie Riebesam and Malte Berrenberg, about the antenna, their recipe for success and their potential plans for an Agora application.

With around 120 members, of which about 50 are active, and also a lot of secondary members all over Europe, AEGEE-Aachen is quite a big and also very active antenna. In the city of Aachen, one of Germany’s most western cities, the local is mostly known to us for their awesome Erasmus parties and the Erasmus tutoring programme. Throughout the AEGEE-Network, the Aacheners are famous for their active participation at the local as well as European level, their sense of humour, and their mascot, the AEGEE-Aachen polar bear.

“Some people might think we have a good ‘sense of humour’ because we wear polar bear costumes. Maybe this is a good opportunity to set things straight here. We are not dressing up as polar bears, we ARE polar bears”, Malte lets us know. Aacheners seem to take things quite seriously when it comes to their mascot. Besides the fact that the AEGEE-Aachen bear is “super cool”, Malte answers, it is the members themselves and the amazing spirit within their local that makes AEGEE-Aachen special. “We really are a group of friends. Even though we can have really strong discussions and different opinions, we can always sit down, drink a beer and laugh together”, Malte states. “Our members are just super open and welcoming”.
And that seems to be quite appealing since the number of members that AEGEE-Aachen attracts is rather high for a German antenna. But also at the European level, the name of the city is famous. There are many secondary members all across the Network and many members working at the European level: the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT), the Network Commission (NetCom), the Mediation Commission (MedCom), and the CD are infiltrated by Aacheners right now. And two of those members that are currently taking part in some of those groups, namely Damien Latacz from MedCom and Philipp Blum from SUCT, even became Members of the Month in 2015. “Their enthusiasm and motivation to change things for the better and actually do something can really rub off on others”, Leonie tells us. “But we have many more active members that we are very proud of!”

Leonie and Malte themselves are quite active; they have just both been re-elected into their local board. In their opinion, the board members are a good mixture of people with board experience, with experience from other student associations, and new members. All of them are very motivated to spread the AEGEE spirit and Leonie is sure that “a great year lies ahead of us”.

For example, they want to repeat the last year’s awesome SU. Aachen’s Summer University has a long tradition, offering a German-course almost every year, often ranking quite high and therefore, proving that a language course is actually very satisfying for the participants. Moreover, they will have a Christmas party and they will organise a European Day of Languages event and a Local Training Course (LTC). Also, their constitutional drink and their birthday are coming up. “Most importantly we want to have more events with refugees”, Malte says. Already more than once they arranged meetings between refugees and AEGEE-members and still go on planning to keep this up.
One last idea might make the upcoming year especially interesting: Might AEGEE-Aachen apply for Spring Agora 2017? “We are thinking about it, yes. But before we apply, we want to make sure we are able to provide the best possible logistics for everyone”, Leonie reveals. “At the moment we are mainly doing research on possibilities, knowledge transfer with the team of Agora 2008, and preparing the concept”. The Network will have to wait patiently and the AEGEEans will need to cross their fingers for this idea to become reality.

Until then, the antenna will continue with its local work. The three working groups (WGs) will go on organising debates, members’ weekends, LTCs and at the moment, even an event for refugees to show them some German Christmas traditions (Human Resources WG), they will go on managing their tutoring programme and interesting events for incoming Erasmus students (Erasmus WG) and last but not least, they will also design awesome stickers and other PR material (Public Relations WG).
If you want to visit Aachen, do it! Right now, they are trying to set up a hosting database, but “as long as it is still in work, you can just send us an e-mail if you are coming to Aachen, and we will try to arrange something”, Leonie concludes. They are looking forward to it.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Rather often, the Member of the Month is someone the whole association has seen and heard about already. This might not necessarily be the case with our newest Member of the Month, Damien Latacz, a Frenchman from AEGEE-Aachen. He became a member less than a year ago, but already participated in many events. He is a member of his local’s board, was one of the main organisers of the Night of the Seven Antennae and is already famous for traveling Europe as much as his limited time allows. Read more about him in this interview!

The AEGEEan: Damien, please introduce yourself, your studies and your most famous character traits.
Damien: Hello, my name is Damien Latacz, 26 year old French guy now living in Germany for the last two years. I am doing a double master: metallurgical engineering in Aachen where I live and process engineering in France where my university was kind enough to let me go away. I am quite a cheerful person, and probably a bit annoying too!
I have two passions which are cooking and hiking. I spend hours every day trying new recipes and techniques. And every year I spend weeks alone in the mountains in my tent, preferably in winter because I love snow!

When and why did you become a member of AEGEE?
I became a member last June because one good friend of mine was in the board and told me it was fun. So I went to the weekly meeting to check it out, and it was indeed great. I had the opportunity to be a helper for our Summer University (SU) a few weeks after, which was a good way to get involved quickly.

Was it a surprise to you when you got the information that you were elected Member of the Month?
Yes! I thought you had to be already quite famous to be elected. But I am really happy, it is a real motivation boost.

Being quite a new member, you nevertheless were already active both on local and European level. What gave you the motivation to become so active?
Well, I like meeting new people, talking with them, sharing our points of view. It is the best way to improve yourself and discover something new. And I also love to organise events, there is always something challenging, something you have never done before, and you need to understand it and adapt.

And on the European level you have a chance to discover a new culture, another way of doing things, and you can have a voice in AEGEE. It’s not often that you get a chance to say what you think and try to improve your world on a scale as large as AEGEE.

It might be frightening sometimes, but it’s a rare opportunity, and that’s what gives me motivation: facing something challenging and just thinking “Okay, let’s do it!”.

You are a board member and even the Vice President. What exactly are your tasks in the board of AEGEE-Aachen?
My official position is Internal Relations and Vice President. We have Working Groups in Aachen, they do a lot of work. Part of my job is to help them and make sure they have everything they need, but at the same time make sure they follow the general goals of our association, which is a bit tricky sometimes. But in the last months I also spent a lot of time planning the Night of the Seven Antennae, now I can focus again on improving the structure of our local.

You were one of the main organisers of the Night of the Seven Antennae. What did you like best about the event?
When we knew we were one of the organising locals, we were really happy. For me the event was a bit of everything: celebrating the birthday of AEGEE, debating about our future in Europe, sharing our vision with other cities. I love the fact that it is possible to do an event that includes all of it.

We also had some really interesting speakers in Aachen, from the European Parliament for example. That’s what I liked the most, and I hope the participants did too: having the opportunity to talk face to face with these people, and just sharing our ideas even if we come from two different worlds.

Where there any obstacles during the planning process or the event itself? How did you manage to overcome them?
Oh, there were a lot of obstacles! And planning an event where seven cities spread across Europe have to gather at some point is not easy. What should we do? When? And of course how can we do such a live-stream?

But we managed it because we worked all together. All seven organisers talked a lot and we helped each other a lot during the previous months.

I think the key is not being afraid to ask for help or to take decisions even if it is risky. At some point it doesn’t matter what people may think of you, you just have to try.

What was your best AEGEE related experience so far?
My best AEGEE experience was for sure organising the birthday dinner of AEGEE-Aachen. It is nothing extraordinary but the atmosphere was amazing. 40 people from Aachen and some friends from other antennae were there. Of course I didn’t cook everything all by myself, I had some amazing cooks helping me, but sharing my passion with them, and watching everybody having fun, laughing and even dancing… It was really pure joy for me!

How often can someone expect to see you wearing a polar bear suit?
Not that often actually. I prefer wearing my usual French styled outfit and hugging the polar bears around me. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should: best hug ever!

What would you say to someone who has never heard about AEGEE concerning becoming a member?
Whatever you want to do, there is a place for you in AEGEE. If you like to organise events, if you want to change Europe because you don’t like the way it is, or if you just want to drink a beer with some new people, you can find it in AEGEE.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

The biggest events in AEGEE after Agorae and European Planning Meetings (EPM) are the Polish Network Meetings (NWM), which often gather more than hundred participants. This spring, AEGEE-Warszawa will be hosting the event from the 30^th of April until the 3^rd of May, being open to 100 participants. We spoke to main organiser Martyna Szustakowska and Network Commissioner in charge of that area Marta Wnuk to find out more about this Pandatastic Network Meeting. 

The AEGEEan: First of all, can you tell us a bit more about your local?

Martyna: Our local is 24 years old and we have around 120 members. We are quite good in PR-related activites such as our charity calendar, postcrossing and merchandise (our purple t-shirt and sleeping mask are quite famous). We also focus very much on the training of our members. We do so not only by organising Local Training Courses about the local and European level twice a year but also by holding a lot of workshops on different topics such as excel or body language. This year we also have the fifth edition of the project “Siegaj Wyżej”- a series of soft skills workshops open to all students. We’re all about  skills and learning. What is special about our local is our mascot Panda Wanda, who is married to the Polar Bear from AEGEE-Aachen.                                        

Why did you apply to organise the Network Meeting? When did the idea start?

Martyna: We wanted to organise some European event other than a Summer University for a long time, but we had some trouble to find a date that would work for us and the Academy so we had to give up on organising a European School. Then our event in cooperation with EurStory Project got cancelled after we prepared all the logistics for it. So, we thought a Network Meeting was a safe option.

Marta, what made AEGEE-Warszawa the best choice for this Network Meeting?

Marta: AEGEE-Warszawa was chosen, because we thought that the local is in the good moment of development to organise such an event. We saw it as an opportunity to open it more to the European dimension of AEGEE and show others how hospitable and ready for new challenges the antenna is. What is more, the city of Warsaw is easily accessible both for Polish-speaking locals and those who travel from other parts of Europe.

Who will be responsible for the organisation?

Martyna: Our amazing, highly motivated team. I’m the main coordinator but there are many more people who do their best to make this event special: Klaudia Chłopaś (vice coordinator), Ewelina Żurowska (responsible for PR and contact with the main partner Warsaw City Hall), Kuba Kostrzewa (FR responsible), Monika Ślusarczyk (photographer and graphic designer), Joanna Pankowska (responsible for Warsaw NGOs Fairs and Opening Ceremony), Marta Pąk (Incoming and Facebook responsible), Ewelina Rajzyngier and Anna Broczkowska (responsible for logistics during the event). I’m really thankful, both to my core team and every single person who gives a contribution to this project. They all are invaluable support for me.

What are the plans for the program of the Network Meeting?

Marta: There will be three paths, specially adjusted to the profile of participants, so both newbies and board members will find something suitable for them. There will be one full day of boards meetings, which allows board members to work on solutions for current problems and share best practices. The Network Meeting will also include a Presidents Meeting, sector group work of PRs, HRs, FRs, Agora follow-up and all other important issues that are relevant for the development of locals. There will be also two open space sessions, one dedicated to HR and one that will grant space to topics chosen by participants. This Network Meeting won’t lack a highlight on history, European projects and matters related to organisational improvements either, like Podio, IT tools, communication in AEGEE and the strategy for learning and training.

What about the social program?

Martyna: We cannot reveal the details but we guarantee our participants three unforgettable theme parties. There’s no better place to party in Poland than Warsaw so we will not let them down for sure. What else… We’re about to fix free entrance into some of the museums in Warsaw and we are planning to organise a city tour, too.

Why should people apply for NWM Warszawa? What makes you special?

Martyna: There’s a lot of reasons people shouldn’t miss our NWM. Firstly: great location, low fee (only 35 euro) and over 100 AEGEEans in one place! Secondly, our Network Comissioner provides three profiled paths of valuables trainings and workshops structured in parallel sessions. We cannot forget about the social part. Ask any participant of our SU or pre-EBM Lublin, because we’re quite good at that. Besides, the Network Meeting gives you an unique chance to meet Panda Wanda herself!

Marta: Applying for NWM Warszawa means granting yourself a truly unique experience. It’s a chance to take part in the biggest, yet very structured Network Meeting, meet people from all over Europe and engage with them in discussions and common initiatives. As mentioned above, we offer a variety of parallel sessions, so everyone will find something for them. And what is also worth highlighting, Network Meetings organised in this part of the Network always are full of AEGEE-Spirit, so a new infusion of motivation, inspiration and energy to act is guaranteed.

What experience with organising events does your antenna have already?

Martyna: We organise a Summer University year every year and Local Training Courses twice a year. Our last NWM was in 2011, and besides that we organised an Agora in Spring 2006, T4T in 2012 and a very successful pre-event before the EBM in Lublin 2014.

During Autumn Agora Cagliari you signed the twin antenna contract with AEGEE­ Aachen. Have they been helping you with this NWM or will they be involved in any way?

Martyna: Of course! Our beloved Bears not only support us with promotion of the event but I know they’re preparing a strong team of helpers too.

Network Meetings in Poland are known for having a lot of participants. How are you preparing for this?

Martyna: It’s quite a challenge for us but… this is what AEGEE is about, isn’t it? Our preparation consists mainly of providing a big gym and an energetic team of logistics and helpers.

Marta: Network Meetings that gather big number of participants are our local practise, so we developed an expertise in how to organise such events. Also, the main organiser, Martyna, was given knowledge transfer by organisers of the previous NWM in Zielona Góra, so she knows how to deal with all the arrangements. Moreover, we will have helpers from AEGEE-Aachen (twin antenna of AEGEE-Warszawa) and from other Polish-speaking locals.

Besides the NWM, you are also organising a Summer University. What is the plan for your SU, and how do you manage to combine it with the preparations for the NWM?

Martyna: This year we will have a Summer University together with AEGEE-Gdańsk and the theme is “Explore your SoUl on the Slavicshore” so get ready for some Slavic culture! As I mentioned before, there are a lot of active members in our antenna so we just created two separate teams. Of course, we support one another but we are responsible for different issues.

How is the cooperation with your NetCom team going?

Great! Marta participates actively in the project meetings and she’s actually one of the team members. She helps us not only with her experience in AEGEE but she provides a real contribution to this project too.

And the cooperation with the organising team?

Marta: I assess my cooperation with the organising team very well. Currently I live in Warsaw, so I have the chance to attend project meetings, supervise and advice being at the place, which makes communication easier. AEGEE-Warszawa has new motivated members that have creative spirit and willingness to deliver a good event. Martyna deserves appreciation for how she conducts the preparations in a very skilful, dedicated and responsible way.

Do you have any other big events coming up that AEGEEans shouldn’t miss?

Martyna: We are planning to organise a pre-event before Autumn Agora Kyiv. The last pre-event in Warsaw was legendary so we definitely want to repeat that. And again, our Summer University “Explore your SoUl on the Slavicshore” by AEGEE-Warszawa and AEGEE-Gdańsk. Don’t forget about it! (she smiles)

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen