From the 20th until the 23rd of November, AEGEE-Delft will host around 50 AEGEE members for their Network Meeting. Participants of Autumn NWM Delft will have the unique opportunity to be inspired while visiting a beautiful city with an intriguing past and a very positive outlook on the future.

Memories of a very successful Summer University gave AEGEE-Delft the motivation they needed to organise the Autumn NWM. According to its president, Lucas, they “had a great time. Not just because of the activities, but mainly because the group of AEGEEans was so much fun. Regardless of the event, the people attending make it worth the effort. AEGEE hasn’t let us down yet”.

‘Knowledge shared is knowledge squared’ is the motto that will unite the network in Delft. The event will serve as a forum where antennae will get together and share their best practices and members will be also able to improve their practical skills and learn new ones.

Different topics will be covered during the event, including EUth, strategic planning, fundraising in AEGEE and human resources.  NWMs involve many workshops and quite a few parties, but probably their strongest point is the capacity they have to strengthen the bonds within the network. It is a good way for AEGEE members that belong to antennas that are far away from each other to meet and make new friends. “When everyone from the network comes together, we share our culture and opinions. We learn what it really means to become united in our differences. Every time AEGEE organises a meeting, the bond between us Europeans becomes stronger. We are the youth and we are the future. Stronger intercultural relations now will mean stronger ones in the future” says Lucas.

The main responsible for the programme is Boudewijn Steenhof, who was Network Commissioner last year. He, together with the current Netcom Loes, will lead some of the workshops, as well as a panel about Ukraine. Comité Directeur member Réka Salamon will be in charge of the workshops on EUth, Agora/EPM and Strategic Planning. There will also be workshops on Fundraising, the Election Observation Project and the Action Agenda Coordination Committee. Lastly, participants will be given the chance to give their input and choose what topics they would like to discuss in an open space session.

But there will be more than workshops to the NWM. AEGEE-Delft is currently working hard to give participants all the fun they can handle. The social programme will start with a special party that will take place on the opening day. Attendants will also greatly improve their knowledge of foods and beverages from different countries during the European Night.

AEGEE-Delft President Lucas sees many advantages in participating in a NWM, both for newer members and for the whole organisation: “we wanted to let our newer members, who are the future of AEGEE, also meet the Network during the NWM. They can see how great all the people from the network are. Maybe they’ll become motivated like I was almost one year ago and help organise the future events that bring the network together”.

Written by Kimberly Townend, AEGEE Valencia

From the 21th of July to the 5th of August, 24 crazy participants were ready for a new adventure: discovering the “other side” of the Netherlands by joining the Travelling Summer University (TSU) of  Utrecht, Delft & Amsterdam: Discover Your New Partner in Crime. During these two weeks everyone found their partners, worked together on several tasks and got to experience the real Dutch culture.

The adventure started in Utrecht: the city that hosted the start of the Tour the France. The city was discovered firstly by following the Trajectum Lumen: a city tour passing by different light artworks in the city centre.  However, a different side of Utrecht could be experienced through the Underground Tour. In this tour an ex-homeless/addicted person told his life story while showing the places in the city where he lived and slept. The tour was not finished, because there was a possibility to see the ancient city in the DomUnder tour discovering the ancient ruins of the old city of Utrecht. By canoeing through the channels and climbing the Domtower, the city of Utrecht was discovered from all different views.

But there was more to discover than just the city. In a Dutch course the participants got an opportunity to improve their Dutch skills and practice their typical Dutch G (Gezellig!). With the help of these language skills the Crazy 88 was easy: 88 crazy challenges in which the participants could show their crazy and criminal side. Asking a stranger to marry them or ordering oysters at McDonalds, nothing was too much for the amazing participants. Also the trade game was a big success: the participants had to trade a tea bag for something of more value. Many people were surprised by the helpfulness to participate in the games stating: “This would be impossible in my country”. More Dutch experiences were given by typical Dutch dishes, a lecture on criminality in the Netherlands by a professor of criminology and typical Dutch games in the park.

After five fun days in Utrecht it was time to go to the next destination: Delft. And what better way to travel through the country than by hitchhiking? Although for many people it was their first experience with this way to travel, everyone arrived safely with nice stories to the university campus of Delft.

Here the participants had to face another Dutch experience: rain in summer. However, this didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the programme in Delft to the fullest. While discovering the beauty of Delft, people began to find their partners in crime and the group became closer and closer. In the days that followed a lot of games and activities took place. From being tied up to a partner, to pretending to be an airplane, everybody was in for anything. With the energy provided from tosties (grilled cheese sandwiches which are eaten a lot by Dutch students) the groups of participants tried their best to win the challenges and be their best at everything.

A trip to the political capital of the Netherlands was also on the programme. The Hague was popular and the rain decided to stop. This motivated some brave people to take this opportunity to swim in the sea when the beach near the Hague (Scheveningen) was visited. Others watched while drinking hot chocolate with their sweaters on. What a difference. After this little trip, the European Night was on the programme. Everybody put a lot of effort in cooking delicious food, teaching the toasting habits and motivating people into tasting their national dishes.  The night became one big party, the morning a little less. But despite the hangover, people worked hard to produce the best smoothie in a real smoothie competition. Strengthened by the power of the tosti some really delicious beauties were produced. The last night a real moonlight cinema was organised which meant being cozy in the sleeping bag while watching a movie in the open air.

After the relaxed times in Delft, everyone hitchhiked to the next and most famous location: Amsterdam. During the days in Amsterdam the participants got to see a different side of Amsterdam than most tourists do. The days in Amsterdam started of with a city tour which, besides the famous sights, showed locations of recent topics like the student revolutions and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). People were very impressed by the big rainbow flag which was hanging from a church, something that says a lot about the attitude towards LGBT people in the Netherlands. The whole city was full of rainbows for one important reason: the Gay pride. After some introduction and workshops on the topic, a nice sunny afternoon was spend at the Canal Parade, where different organisations showed their support for LGBT people in a boat parade. Although for some people it was kind of out of their comfort zone, it was a great party.

Amsterdam as its seen by its inhabitants was also shown in a tour of a local brewery, a red light district tour and a pub-crawl through the Jordaan, the old part of the city. Between the different pubs, there were several challenges which had to be completed. So once again the teams got ready for selfies with public toilets, sharing of clothes etc. Luckily by this time the group was close enough to not care about this.  Furthermore the weather had decided to be good for a change, so there was also time for chilling at the city beach.

The last night ended perfectly with a boat ride through the channels of Amsterdam. And what do you do when no music is allowed? Exactly,  – you sing yourself! All countries presented a famous song: a perfect way to finish a perfect Summer University.

For the organisers and participants one important goal was achieved: the real Dutch culture was discovered. The last night ended with a lot of smiles and tears: we all found a lot of new partners, but not only in crime.

Written by Diede Oudenampsen, AEGEE-Utrecht

Between the 4th and 7th of December 2014 AEGEE-Delft hosted one event with two names: “Europe and its Identities/How Divided is Europe?”.  This was part of the 2014 Franck Biancheri Year and organised in cooperation with the l’Assocation des Amis de Franck Biancheri (AAFB). Even though the event was more colloquially known as the Franck Biancheri Memorial Event, the memorial event was only one piece of it. The most important goal of Europe and its Identities was to pick up where Franck Biancheri had left off, namely by discussing topics that would greatly concern European young adults today, such as the conflict in the Ukraine or the implications of secession, such as Scotland almost did in September last year.

For several years AEGEE-Delft has worked on improving their supranational policies to engage more with AEGEE on a European level. The general idea behind Europe and its identities was to honour the memory of Franck Biancheri in an unforgettable way. Therefore it was thought to be important to return to the very first values of AEGEE. That is to create a platform, from which various European students could have an objective discussion about political issues regarding the future of Europe. Because of this, several provocative topics about Europe were chosen that could still be seen as highly debatable issues all over Europe such as questions concerning the size and influence of the European Union. According to AEGEE-Delft, people who live in a democracy would also be responsible for its every decision and should therefore at least be able to talk about the issues and the choices their democracy. One of the more intimate issues that was discussed in the Dutch city of Delft was that of racism, linked to the traditional celebration of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, Belgium and the Swiss city of Fribourg on December seventh. While a strongly vocal minority in the Netherlands sometimes violently tries to abolish this tradition, in which a white bishop brings presents and sweets to children with the help of his black assistants, others vehemently try to keep the tradition as it is. The skin colour in fact is what fuels the argument, since both parties have acknowledged that both the white bishop named, Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas, and his black assistants, all of which are named Pete, are treated fairly and would not be in a Master-and-Slave relationship. Considering the tradition, its alternatives and the option to abolish the tradition completely sparked a universal notion of tolerance. That is to say that against expectations all participants agreed that the discussion about the celebration was more ludicrous than the celebration itself. Regardless of this outcome the process of discussion gives a keen insight of how the other debates in Delft had been set up. That is to say by taking a national issue and presenting it in an informative way to a group of multinational members of AEGEE who then further discussed it and created a greater sense of awareness on a European level. Except discussing topics such as democratisation, conflicts and secession, AEGEE-Delft also found it important to be informative about such issues unless the discussion might turn into a prejudiced, verbal conflict. According to AEGEE-Delft most of the participants, three of which were Dutch and twenty-five of them were international, had been surprised about how little they knew about the majority of topics. To inform students about the issues facing the future of Europe, AEGEE-Delft reasoned, should be one of the principle roles of AEGEE regarding its future.Even though the FBY 2014 has come to an end perhaps more of Europe’s identities and future will be seen at the next Franck Biancheri Event in 2015. A special thanks to Femke Lokhorst, President of AEGEE-Delft 2014-2015, who helped organising this event. She has also written an excellent and informative article called “AEGEE-Delft elaborates on the discussion of our future Europe in “Europe and it’s identities/How divided is Europe””. It is indispensable for everyone who would like to know more about the Franck Biancheri Year event in Delft and for everyone who would like to organise one of these themselves in the future.

At the Spring Agora in Patra, another three contracts were signed to become twin antennea. From now on, AEGEE-Utrecht and AEGEE-Budapest, AEGEE-Leon and AEGEE-Catania and AEGEE-Napoli and AEGEE-Lviv are heading forward to a great time. But what exactly are twin antennae? And what are the advantages of having a twin local? The AEGEEan spoke to AEGEE-Delft and AEGEE-Passau, who have been twin antennae for about one and a half year now.

Every AEGEE-antenna can become a twin antenna. All you have to do is finding another antenna that wants to collaborate with you. The main aim of a twin antenna is to get closer and create a greater sense of friendship between the antennae, but also to help each other. Of course, this helps improving cooperation and communication within the AEGEE-Network. Being twin antennae creates the possibility to organise common activities, support each other and solve problems together, as forces and experience are combined. It basically means that two locals have a special relation. As AEGEE-Passau tells us: “It means experiencing cultural differences, but also working together, having tons of fun and making new friends.”

For the twin antennae AEGEEan spoke to, the idea of forming a twin local was formed at Agora Skopje. After meeting again at Agora Enschede, they decided to make a contract, which was signed at Agora Budapest. Last spring, their second contract was signed in Patra. It was AEGEE-Passau who was looking for a twin local and they decided to ask Delft. AEGEE-Delft: “The main reason to try a twin local agreement was the feeling that, while it’s amazing to meet new people all the time, a lot of the time you tend not to meet them again. Having a twin local ensures you that you can meet the same amazing people more often!”

So why did they pick each other? First of all, Delft and Passau had an exchange before, which was awesome, so they already knew they could get along with each other very well. But it is working out so well especially because the antennae have a lot in common, but at the same time differ at some points. AEGEE-Delft: “AEGEE-Delft and AEGEE-Passau are both quite active locals, with a nearly equal amount of members. The two cities are comparable in size, yet have a different focus in university. This makes it so that you meet people from a different background, yet you are still connected by being in AEGEE, which is a great thing.”

Having a twin local has many benefits and both AEGEE-Delft and AEGEE-Passau absolutely recommend it to other antennae. AEGEE-Passau: “You always have a place to sleep and you get invited to really cool events.” According to Delft becoming a twin local is a great way to forming a bond with people from other countries, and sometimes people even get romantic together. Besides, you can ensure cool activities for your members. Of course it also has more serious advantages. Twin antennae can learn from each other in different ways, as every local has strong and weak points. AEGEE-Delft: “You get to help each other with knowledge transfer and promotion of each other’s events.” AEGEE-Delft learned a lot about fundraising from Passau, and without AEGEE-Delft, AEGEE-Passau wouldn’t have changed their working structure. AEGEE-Passau: “We changed the working structure of our antenna a bit after we heard about the amazing committee system of Delft. Although there are still voices saying that we could have improved it even more, we are actually quite content with how well it works for us. They definitely gave us the first impulse.”

The AEGEEan also asked about their activities and experiences together. “We have at least one exchange in the semester, but we also try to have skype meetings with the current boards,” says AEGEE-Passau. AEGEE-Delft: “We have a yearly riverboat party and Christmas dinner together, which we usually couple with an exchange.” It was hard for both locals to pick one experience with their twin that was their favorite. AEGEE-Passau: “We just get along together so well and we always have a blast together. Every event with them is a fabulous experience, so it’s hard to tell which one is the best!”

So, it goes without doubt that Delft and Passau really like being twin locals. The AEGEEan asked them if they could mention one thing they find most special about their twin antenna. AEGEE-Delft really admires the overwhelming enthusiasm of AEGEE-Passau’s members. “They always have so many people joining the exchanges, they can always host a great number of people and the parties they organise are super!” In return, the most special thing about AEGEE-Delft according to Passau is that they work hard and are really successful with what they do. “They have so many great local events and we just love all their committees!”

Written by Isa Beukema, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Travelling to my first Agora in Skopje I did not know how things work during such an event.  I went to the AEGEE Fair because that seemed real fun even for an „Agora beginner” like me. People standing around and answering your every question sound like a good deal.  On my way walking amidst the excited crowd of the Fair, I met a smiling couple selling some kind of  little blue notebooks. They caught my attention and I queued.

A couple of minutes and some euros later I already held my own original AEGEE passport in my hands. I was not the only one who believed it would be a nice activity to collect stickers from other antennae and, in return, give a sticker from my antenna to them. This is how I crossed 12 borders in one hour. This almost sounds like a Guinness record. Needless to say, this little document also is a perfect conversation starter with pretty AEGEE boys  and girls who you otherwise would not know how to get closer to.

“Hello darling, nice sticker, wanna exchange?”  

You can try this trick yourself during the nex Agora, but before read some new things you probably did not know about AEGEE passport yet. Dane Linssen (AEGEE-Delft), the designer famous for his never-ending smile, will tell you how it all started.

How old is the idea of the AEGEE passport?

The idea of the passport apparently is some years old. Michele (Mickey) Turati from AEGEE-Brescia came up with it, but his local unfortunately did not have the resources to invest in it and put the idea into practise.

How did you get involved in this?

The idea stayed an idea for some years, and then Mickey told Network Commissioner Koen Berghuis about it. That is when the idea relived. Koen was wondering if maybe AEGEE-Delft would have the financial freedom to make such a big investment. So when Koen visited Delft, we had a beer together and he told me about Mickey’s idea. I was very enthusiastic of course and I worked really hard to make everything work. It was hard as I was short on time, just a couple weeks before Agora Skopje -and it was a very expensive idea, too- but it worked out!

It has become a huge success in a very short time. How many passports did you produce and how many have you sold so far?

We produced 500, and we sold them all! That is why we are working on a second batch of passports right now. We want to distribute them during the Agora Enschede and we are aiming to make new version better than the first version.

 Nice job, Dane! Is there anything you would like to add to the creation and designing of the passport?

I would like to add that the AEGEE passport is ultimately destined to be a gadget created by the network and for the network. I want to emphasize that AEGEE-Delft does not make a profit from the sales of the passports. Anyone’s input is always welcome and will be incorporated as much as possible. As a matter of fact, I am already working together with Andra Nicu from AEGEE-Ploiesti to get even better results.

If you like AEGEE passport or the possibilities behind it, choose it as Best Merchandise of the AEGEEans Choice Awards 2012!

Written by Kata Szabó, AEGEE-Piliscsaba