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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

It was never done before! During Spring Agora Bergamo we presented all the past recipient of Local and Member of the month from Autumn Agora Kyïv. Among those there was Suzan Dilara Tokaç, from AEGEE-Eskisehir, who discovered she won the award for the Member of the Month of April live, during the closing plenary. She was nominated for her outstanding work in her local and her contribution as a team member for the first edition of the AEGEE Day. 

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself.

Suzan: I am Suzan Dilara Tokaç, a 26 years old devoted volunteer, activist, student, teacher, therapist, consultant, art-lover, environmentalist. Volunteering has been covering a great part of my life: since my early years I’ve been a part of different types of projects, international teams and groups. My first international project was about improving health conditions for primary schools supported by the European Union, in which I took part when I was 9. My elementary and high school years continued with various other events and activities. Then, in the very first day of my university I met AEGEE and I have been a member ever since (nine years!). My love for kids, their energy and enthusiasm to share knowledge led me to the department of teaching on the subject I like the most: English. After four years of studying, I wanted to go one step further, not only doing a postgraduate study but also doing it in another field. I’m almost done with my MA’s on Speech and Language Therapy program. I love dancing, it’s like a passion for me. Just like many of us, I like traveling, but sometimes I take it so far that I arrange all my plans according to my travel agenda. I am also a big collector, I keep everything from my travels: from napkins in restaurants to bills, tickets, vintage pins, coins, stones from the cities and sand and water from the seas.

What did it feel like to be awarded with the title of Member of the Month of April?

I have devoted a great part of my life to AEGEE. All my family and friends know that I have strong bonds towards the members and activities. My motivation has always been sharing, caring and leaving a remark on people’s lives and consequently on the Earth we are living on. Although it seems something small, the award makes all the effort and seconds I spent for this family priceless.

You were nominated also for your great contribution to your local, AEGEE-Eskisehir. What is the thing that motivates you the most?

Eskisehir means a lot to me. I was just a child the first time I entered this city and it made me the person I am today. I became a teacher, therapist, friend, lover, helper, trainer, traveler, student, and AEGEE’s role on this process is the biggest one. So, why not honour it?

Another reason to your nomination was the AEGEE Day. Why did you decide to join the team? How would you describe the Day?

Last year I was the Public Relations Responsible of 30 years of AEGEE, Night of Seven Antenna in AEGEE-Eskisehir. That experience was one of the best in my AEGEE life, with the concept, thematic part, shows and the fun. When I saw the “AEGEE DAY” project, I said ‘woooow! One step further!’ A celebration all over Europe, all over AEGEE with a great theme and team. I couldn’t resist to be a part of a project with such a rich and quality content. I am always open to new ideas, projects and innovations, so I am really thankful to be part of it and taking it one step further. 79 bodies joined us on the AEGEE DAY and I hope 2nd edition we will see three digit numbers. Our DAY, well WEEK is a better call, was very productive, educative and for sure borderless.

What are your future plans in AEGEE?

There is always future for you in AEGEE. You can always go one step further and I want to take them till 35 possibly. I want to bring life to one of my thematic project ideas. Also, work for our organization’s sustainability in the necessary positions in the name of projects, initiatives and creative ideas.  

Name one good thing and one bad thing in our association.

What I like the most about our organisation is that there is never a limit in AEGEE. Development, ideas, self-improvement, projects and activities are only limited with our imagination and motivation. On the other hand, as we always say ‘we are such a big family’ that we sometimes forget our neighbours. We are so focused on our own projects and domestic affairs that we underestimate the relations with other NGO’s, groups and associations. Of course we have other partners or collaborators but they are either too local based or mostly in Brussels that not many other AEGEEans are aware of their existence.

Let’s play a game. Describe yourself by using adjectives that start with the letters that compose your name… 

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Upbeat

Zealous

Ageless

Nutritious (for the one’s soul) :D

Dedicated

Ingenious

Loving

Adventurous

Romantic

Artistic

You can learn more about Local and Member of the Month here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

In this article we are talking about the various languages spoken among AEGEE members.  We know that English is the most common language in the world, but also other languages find some space in our Network, therefore  we have asked Erifyli Evangelou, a member of the Language Interest Group, to tell us something about the situation of the languages inside our students’ association.

We know for sure that English is not the only foreign language spoken in AEGEE, even though it represents the one we use to communicate among us in ninety per cent of the cases. There are other languages such as Spanish, not only inside Spanish Antennas but also diffused in many Locals, where there are many students who study Spanish for example. We can also consider German an other language you can find in many European countries. However, we do not have any statistics yet. That is why the Language Interest Group reveals to us their plan to make a survey about languages in AEGEE. In this plan, the Interest Group will answer to the following questions: which are the most spoken ones, where do people learn the languages and what do they do to improve them.

We also know that not all nationalities are able to speak English in the same way. According to the opinion of most AEGEE members, Italians and Spanish show the worst spoken English. Some AEGEEans say that the best English is spoken by Dutch guys. Dutch is a bit similar to English, being an anglo-germanic language within the Germanic languages, meaning it shares a common ancestor with languages such as English, German, and the Scandinavian languages. That’s why it shares many common words with English. At the same time, we do not have to be limited to these stereotypes linked to the language families in which English belongs, and Italian and Spanish do not.  We will have to wait, then, for the survey of the LIG in order to discover the answers to our questions. The same question presents and discussed in many lunches or dinners among AEGEE members.

The goal of the Language Interest Group is to raise awareness within AEGEE about the value of multilingualism, encourage and help AEGEEans to learn more foreign languages and discuss issues related to language policies, minority languages and language diversity. The group has different ongoing projects, like the European Day of Languages or the Travel Dictionaries Project. Furthermore, it is cooperating with Language SUs, giving workshops at Agorae and EPM and it is present at the Fairs. Additionally, it also has temporary projects like the AEGEE Day video or preparing language quizzes and games. In fact, with the help of some active members and many Antennas, the LIG has collected multilingual greetings from all over the AEGEE network. Every AEGEE member can watch our video here.

About the next plans, Erifyli tells us that the LIG is planning to create a multilingual European music playlist, so that AEGEEans can listen to cool songs in every AEGEE language. Furthermore, they are going to publish soon their Travel Dictionaries in many languages and if you attend Agora Bergamo it could be that you see some members of the LIG recording many different people saying something in their language.

Erifyli Evangelou gives some tips for AEGEEans who want to improve their English. In particular, the LIG encourages them “To go to many events and once being there, don’t be only with people who speak your language. Talk a lot to people from other countries, do not get frustrated if you make mistakes and be patient with yourself!” Other options to improve a language are organising a language tandem or other language activities in your Antenna or get involved in a European project, because there the working language is for sure English. “The most important thing is to get out of your comfort zone and not be afraid of speaking English! Only those who try, can succeed!” adds Erifyli.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

AEGEE was founded on the 16th of April 1985 and, after the special celebration organised last year, the Comité Directeur decided that it was time to established “The AEGEE day”. Over 60 locals celebrated this important day organising something, from a football tournament to barbeques, from round-tables to informative days. The first edition was very promising, and we asked the current Comité Directeur about some insights into it. 

Why do we celebrate The AEGEE Day?

The AEGEE Day is a project that we launched, because after the 30th anniversary last year we realized that there was going to be too long until the next celebration could be foreseen. The AEGEE Day aims at uniting the network to celebrate what AEGEE is about on the day of its foundation while reminding ourselves that there is something that unites us all.

Why was the 16th of April chosen as the day?

31 years ago, on the 16th of April, AEGEE was founded. The AEGEE Day therefore symbolizes the birthday celebration of our association.

When was this initiative created?

It was an idea that we started developing as part of our Activity Plan in September and presented during the Autumn Agora in Kyïv. In the last months, we have been consulting the members on how The AEGEE Day should look like and when we finally got a clear picture of what we wanted, we set up our road-map, followed by adding Suzan Dilara Tokaç (AEGEE-Eskişehir) and Federica Soro (AEGEE-Cagliari) to the team. The work is not done yet, because we are putting a big emphasis on the follow-up of the day,  gathering all the input that we have generated and presenting the results.

How can locals celebrate it?

This year we have chosen the topic of “Breaking Borders” as a way to symbolize what AEGEE strives for. On the one hand we wanted to include that our activities aim at breaking stereotypes, and on the other hand we wanted to represent the main character of AEGEE, which is its borderless principle. With this broad topic we wanted locals to be able to interpret The AEGEE Day in their own way, so they could celebrate it however they wanted. We tried to ease the organisation of the activities by providing implementation guidelines, but we have also been surprised by the creativity of the activities carried out.

Will there be some special celebration in Brussels?

In Brussels, we have prepared an activity together with AEGEE-Brussel/Bruxelles in the AEGEE house, including presentations and workshops delivered by members of the Comité Directeur. Besides that, on the 20th of  April, we will have a presentation towards Brussels-based organisations, Les Anciens and other guests to present The AEGEE Day project and the first outcomes of it.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona