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Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

AEGEE-Istanbul is located in a city historically considered as the door of the East. That is reflecting in the name (EurAsian Cooperation) they give to the Network Meeting they are organising from the 23rd to the 27th of March. We interviewed Ahmet Hallaçeli and Dermanşah Yalın from AEGEE-İstanbul to know more about their event. 

The AEGEEan: Tell us more about your local.

Dermanşah: We have very motivated and fresh members and also experienced members in our local. Therefore, having this combination gives us inspiration and energy to organise events as much as we can.

Why did you decide to apply for the NWM?

Ahmet: In the last year, we arranged three cultural exchanges with AEGEE-Athina, Thessaloniki and Skopje and we organised a Summer University with Skopje. By these interactions with nearby locals we learnt many things and decided to increase this kind of events. We consider this NWM to be a great opportunity to strengthen the connections among the network.

How is the cooperation with your Netcommie?

Dermanşah: We have a very good connection with AEGEE-Athina and of course with Danae too. She is not only a great NetCommie, but also a great friend of AEGEE-İstanbul. Whenever we want to organise an event or apply for a project she supports us all the time and this makes us feel better. [he smiles, ed.]

How many participants do you expect to have? Only from your area or from other parts of the network too?

Ahmet: We expect to have 30 participants from all networks. Participants from our network have priority but all AEGEE kids are invited!

What is the Name of your NWM? Can you explain it?
Ahmet: EurAsian Cooperation. Our network includes AEGEE locals both from the Asian and European continent and Istanbul is the centre of this gathering.

What are your plans for the social program?

Ahmet: We are planing to have a small city tour to The Historical Peninsula and arrange a treasure hunt session along the Bosphorus, where participants will relax and enjoy the gorgeous view of Istanbul. And of course there will be a lot of surprises.

What are AEGEE-Istanbul upcoming projects?

Ahmet: Recently, we arranged a triple exchange with AEGEE-Berlin and AEGEE-Novi Sad. We will meet in Berlin, on March the 4th, and 10 days after that we will meet in Novi Sad. After the NWM event we are going to host our German and Serbian friends in Istanbul.
Last November, we started to arrange a series of sport events called “Run AEGEEan Run”. We are planning to have the second part of this event in April. Last time we ran from Asia to Europe through Bosphorus; there will be great special events like that for our lovely participants again! And of course we will organise a Summer University.

You can find more information in the event of Facebook. You can apply here and here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

From the category of Candidates for Agora Asturias 2015, we bring you another candidate who has big plans for the Network Commission. Özgün Kaplama, AEGEE-Istanbul, is a very motivated AEGEEan who will not give up easily and has an addiction for the organisation he has been working for since 2011, both on the local and European level.

The AEGEEan: The clock is ticking. Are you all set for the Agora?

Ozgun: Yes! Everything is ready and I’m waiting now for Agora time.

Why should we vote for you?

I am a well experienced member of AEGEE and I know this organisation very well. I can be very useful in improving the local’s activity, therefore I have prepared a strong plan for that. If I must say something about my region, I must say that I know its major problems and I also know how the system works in universities, municipalities, the private sector etc.  Regarding my experience with AEGEE, I have worked both on the local and European level. I also keep my motivation alive and all the things I believe in. One of my major qualities is that I never give up. If selected, and in case I will encounter a failure, I will push myself for always trying again, because it is a social leadership position and a leader must keep his/her motivation alive all the time especially during though times.

One of our readers asked: Can you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature?

I want to work on the Turkish speaking region, therefore I’ve prepared my programme for this area. One of the most important aspects, why which I chose it, is that I know the area very well, I am familiar with the key institutions and their thinking style. I am aware of some problems such as cultural differences and visa regulations, a reason why most members can’t feel as part of a huge family, even the active ones. This must be normal, but I don’t want people to accept this. I want to make a bridge for this integration and realise a big impact. I don’t see this responsibility just from the  AEGEE perspective, it is also important for the member’s future life. AEGEE members must be important actors in the business area with their experiences, leadership skills, team work and personalities. Members must be active in politics with their visions, points of view, brilliant ideas… Members must be active citizens in society with their hearts, cares and social responsibilities. I want to be a part of that change.

How would winning the elections affect your activity in your local?

It will affect it, of course, but not in the negative sense. If I would be elected, I will be working with locals very closely, therefore I will also be working with my local too. Working with the European bodies of AEGEE will affect, in a positive way, my local and this positive impact will continue if I will win the elections. I want it to continue.

How would the loss of the elections affect your activity in your local?

I will be very sad, of course, but as I’ve mentioned in the second answer, self-motivation is really important for this type of situations. I saw a lot of people who, when they didn’t get elected for a mission, they chose to not be active in AEGEE anymore. I consider that a bad decision, because with this attitude they are showing how they can handle their emotions. So, if I lose the elections, I will continue my journey in AEGEE because I love AEGEE as a whole organisation, and not just for a title.

Which are your nearest plans for AEGEE?

I’m planning a two days round-table discussion event about education in Istanbul with the Education Working Group and the EurStory Project. We must talk about the education system in Europe. It will not be just about education, it will be about life as well, as you know that one of the focus areas of AEGEE is youth unemployment, so I think this is one important subject at the moment. You can visit our table at the Agora Fair for detailed info.
I also want to organise debates about world politics in AEGEE.

What do you do when work becomes too stressful?

I face stressful times all the time. I live in Istanbul, the major stressful factors come from traffic jam to population and it gets very hard sometimes. If I get into this position of stress, I wait a moment and try to focus my brain to work. After I do that, I remember my motivation and my aims for work and this helps me to keep my strenght in order to return to work. Business life teaches me great skills for tackling stress.

How would your best friend describe you?

I don’t like the “best friend” term, but my close friends describe me as creative, emphatic, friendly, funny and charming. Charming is an interesting characteristic, but last month one of my friends told me that and so I want to add it to the list. [he laughs]

Who is Özgün Kaplama?

I was born in Istanbul, and graduated Public Relations & Advertisement. Currently I’m continuing my studies in Fine Arts. I attended many national and international events. On the other side, I am really interested in business life and international politics. Also, I am trainer of youth politics and career managements. I’m working on the youth marketing sector for about five years now. Before that I also worked for some national TV channels.

I joined AEGEE in 2011 and I consider myself addicted to this organisation. I think it is not only about students, it is also about creating big perosnalities for society, because as volunteers we have responsibility  to society for a better life. I believe this and I’m working on this motto. As a person, I am motivated, understanding, flexible and of course (for my job) a creative person. I like working with people and in teams, because I believe in team power. Nobody can win alone. I also know the importance of listening to people. When you talk you repeat what you know already but if you listen to people you can learn interesting things. I like helping people in order to help the improve themselves. I think this is a responsibility of every person to society.

Written by Gabriela Cioată, AEGEE-București 

In May the honour of Local of the Month goes to AEGEE-Istanbul, an active AEGEE body, full of enthusiastic fresh and experienced members. Read more about AEGEE-Istanbul in this article…

The AEGEEan: Before we start talking about your successful Network Meeting (NWM) in Istanbul, can you tell us more about AEGEE-Istanbul? What are the things well-structured  for AEGEE-Istanbul?

AEGEE-İstanbul was founded in 1992 and signed the antenna contract at Agora Praha. We celebreated our 20th Anniversary with a beautiful ball. From the very beginning, in 1996,  AEGEE-İstanbul campained for Turkeys’ inclusion in Socrates, Leonardo and Youth programs. In the end AEGEE-İstanbul managed to do it all. But probably the most popular AEGEE-İstanbul event was the Autumn Agora İstanbul 2010. We also had a twin antenna project with AEGEE-Beograd. And we are planning to establish a new twin antenna project with a surprise antenna! We have a nice office at İstanbul Technical University and where we are having our meetings. Almost every day we have our project and working groups (WG) meetings. Recently we organized the Spring NWM with a dedicated organisation team. Furthermore, what I can say about AEGEE-İstanbul is that every Friday we are making a presentation of AEGEE to the people who want to join us.

What project and working groups do you have in your local?

We have Public Relations WG, Education WG that is currently giving French courses thought by one of our member, Summer University Project Team, who work with great effort. Besides we have Yeni Nesil Yolda ( Young Generation is on the Way) Project Team. With this project we are making agreements with high schools and holding seminars that present what kind of opportunities pupils will gain when they begin university and we are presenting AEGEE, Erasmus, Youth in Action Projects, European Voluntary Service (EVS), Socrates and Leonardo in order to make them aware of Europe, of ways in which they can gain their mobility, before the university. We also have Turkey- EU discussion session in our local and at our weekly meetings we are having discussion sessions on topics that we choose during the week on purpose to keep our Active Citizenship part alive.

Do you also promote the European projects or working groups of AEGEE to your members in order to make them become more active in AEGEE?

During our Local Training Courses and presentations for new member, we are giving detailed information about European level of AEGEE, how they can join projects and working groups and we are also advising our members one on one depending on their personal interests. We are promoting European level events, projects that are announced, on our mailing list to make sure that our member don’t miss out on them. This year we were the partner for the Youth in Action (YiA) project organised by AEGEE-Köln. In December the ‘Europe on Track’ final conference was organised by AEGEE-İstanbul and the Visa Freedom WG also made a fruitful session gathering information about EU- Turkey relations and visa problems. And lastly there was the NWM.

Spring NWM

Can you describe to us what makes NWM-Istanbul different than the other NMWs of the Network?

In the past the NWMs in our area were not that international, especially the ones organised by Turkish speaking locals. A high percentage of the participants were mostly from Turkish speaking locals. But this NWM had a lot of participants from locals from the  Caucasus area and also the rest of the Network, from AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg to AEGEE-Zaragoza. This is why Spring NWM-İstanbul was different than the other NWMs in our network. Also the thematic part was very successful. Tika Kukhianidze and Beata Matuzska worked really well on that. We focused on problems of the locals and on creating permanent solutions for these problems.

So, what or which project(s)/ event(s) is the next stop? Can you tell us about the future plans of AEGEE-Istanbul?

During our LTC, our members came up with an idea for a new project named “PRESS the Button”. Since we are having a lack of freedom of speech in our country, this project will be a way to raise our voice. And also we want to spread it to our Network. On the other hand we are planning  to establish a new twin antenna project with a surprise antenna. We will keep being partner for YiA projects for the next year. An Exchange with AEGEE-Thessaloniki  and AEGEE-Köln is in progress as well. And of course we are working on our SU project with great effort.

Besides talking about AEGEE-Istanbul, The AEGEEan also talked with Meltem Darakci about the success of the Turkish antennae.

Meltem and her sub commissioners

Firstly, can you tell us more about how you feel as a new elected Network Commissioner (NetCom), Meltem? Then, would you like to give us a hint(s) about AEGEE-Istanbuls’ success, you being board member of AEGEE-Istanbul?

When I was elected it was a great joy at first and then I began to feel the responsibility of being a NetCom.  Now, we, the whole new elected team, warm to our work and are getting ready for a fruitful term. It is all about our members. We, as AEGEE-İstanbul, put an emphasis on spreading volunteering ideas and AEGEE spirit to our members. Because when you organize any kind of event or project, you need to have a dedicated team/ members. Otherwise a local can not move forward… I can say that this is our certain achievement.

In 2013, Eskişehir, Ankara and now Istanbul were honoured as local of the month from the Turkish speaking and Caucasian network. Would you like to share your feelings about that success, as being their Netcommie?

Our Network is implemeting indeed good  thematic events, projects based on active citizenship. AEGEE-Ankara and  AEGEE-Eskişehir are very good with their thematic parts. And that is the result of it. Thanks to Tikas’ and the locals’ effort at the Agora Rhein-Neckar four of our contact antennae upgraded and more will come. That also motivates me a lot to put my all effort to support locals and develop them more. Most importantly that is pushing all of us, members, locals, the Network to prepare even more successful events, projects, cooperation.

Written by Erman Berkay, AEGEE-Mağusa

One of the most active bodies of AEGEE-Europe will welcome new members to their team and again NetCom has motivated and talented people as candidates. We have talked to one of the NetCom candidates, Meltem from AEGEE-İstanbul, about her motivation to become a Netcommie, her plans, goals and much more…

Can you tell us how your life is going like recently ? Will we see you present at the Agora?

Currently I am a third year bachelor degree student and studying Industrial Engineering. At the AEGEE part of my life, I am Secretary of AEGEE-İstanbul and subcommie of Tika Kukhianidze and I am also the coordinator of spring NWM-İstanbul and working on thematic part as well. In brief,  I am trying to balance my  AEGEE life and my studies just like most of the AEGEE members. And yes I will be present at the Agora.

You are already a subcommissioner, what was your motivation to become one in the first place?

After getting into AEGEE and later on attending my very first NWM I began to be interested in NetComs’ work  and duties. After then, to share my experiences I gained in AEGEE and to support locals work and of course to support Tika with her duties, I wanted to be a subcommie.

Meltem with AEGEE-İstanbul and Europe on Track Members

As a subcommie have you had any difficulties in your work and if so what they were precisely?

Deadlines. The most challenging problems are the ones that you can do nothing to solve. Otherwise there is always a proper way to solve every kind of problem.  For example some of the locals were facing  problems with their universities and their geographical regions. At that point there is not much you can do and that was the situation I had difficulties with in my work.

Regarding your experience,what difficulties are locals in AEGEE having?

AEGEEs’ biggest power, but also its biggest problem is its human resources. We  are having problems with defining AEGEE precisely and with expressing ourselves. That is simply a negative effect to our PR and that naturally turns into a human resources problem too. Getting those new members who will be active and involve in AEGEE is hard because of this reason. Hence I can say that human resources is  a big issue for locals in AEGEE.

Do you have any suggestions that you would like to share in order to conflict the problems with locals?

Knowledge transfer.  Any kind of training courses or meetings are crucial to develop locals, knowledge of the members and also the network, because there is not a book that you can read that can teach you how AEGEE works.  You can only learn by experiencing it. Only if you become a part of it and contribute you can understand what exactly it is. If we can transfer the knowledge that we all gained, AEGEE can be active for many years more. Locals have a big issue at that point because every step begins with becoming a member of a local.

What do you think about the mentor system that you stated to be created among locals?

Apart from the mentorship system project of NetCom, what the mentor system I think is about is mentorship for specific goals like projects, events, LTC’s or even RTC’s among locals. Because for locals it is quite possible to hesitate about being a mentor of a local for a full term. Also most of the time the human resources cycle of locals don’t have a long term as well to put all their effort and motivation  in supporting a local. This works the same with organizing an Agora and calling for helpers  from other locals. I believe that can link locals among each other and can motivate them.

Can you specify a little about your expectations from your subcomissioners team, if you get elected?

Not having a “subcommie team” but having a “team” that will work all together and support each others work. Especially I wish to have contact with every  local one by one and that only can happen with an efficient subcommie team.

Written by Deniz Özhan, AEGEE-Eskişehir 

Covilhã is located in the mountainside of the biggest mountain in continental Portugal: Serra da Estrela. The mountain has the biggest natural park in Portugal and one of the most beautiful landscapes in the interior of Portugal. During the winter there are many events such as snowboard competitions and the famous “Carnaval da Neve” (Snow Carnival). People can either do winter sports or just stay in and enjoy a hot chocolate in front of the fireplace in one of the many rural and cosy coffee shops. But this is not only a winter town. During the summer, the mountain also has a lot to offer – beautiful waterfalls, lagoons and hiking courses. It is the perfect place for rock climbing lovers!

Covilhã is also known for its university – it has highly active student groups and the university itself has a strong bond with local enterprises and even some international ones. As a small city and university in the interior, it is hard to make a stand against the bigger universities in Portugal, but thanks to student projects and the always supportive university administration, it is making major improvements. “The best fragrances come in small bottles. It’s exactly like Covilhã. Small town, but so much to offer”, this is how the Erasmus friends of the founders of contact Covilhã described the city. Exactly for being such a small city, Covilhã offers foreign students the chance to get a real contact with the locals. This is the place where Erasmus students do not tend to walk in groups of people from their own countries, but in big mixed groups of Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Estonian, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian and Turkish people. Covilhã becomes a melting pot of tolerance, friendship and diversity where we all turn into a big family.

Picture courtesy of Francisco Esgalhado

It is guaranteed that no one could ever leave this town without experiencing the true meaning of saudade, a feeling that comes in the process of looking back and remembering the times spent in this special place, between the mountains of Serra da Estrela.

The city sounds perfect and has only missed one thing up until now: AEGEE. A group of students from different areas of interest. At the moment, they are a team of 20 creative and responsible people interested in taking part in this project. A team formed by students of Political Science and International Relations, Informatics, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, all together for a reason: AEGEE.

The AEGEEan had a chat with Joana Vaz from Covilha about the project of bringing AEGEE to their city.

The AEGEEan: How did you hear about AEGEE?

Joana: After participating in a formation organised by AEGEE-Istanbul, within the Youth In Action programme, I thought I could build a team, bring AEGEE to my university and help other students to develop their skills in order to be more capable, competitive and active in this world. Sometimes the hardest thing is not to fight, but to find something specific to fight for. Where should we start? What are our limits? If there are limits, is it possible to overcome them? Am I alone in this? Participating in associative activities helps us to get a deeper view of ourselves, contributes to the creation of an entrepreneurial attitude, stimulates the initiative capacity and encourages us to take risks. More than taking chances, it is important for us to learn how to create our own opportunities. Furthermore, we live in a global village. Despite our different backgrounds, we all share the same piece of land. We dress in Chinese clothes, drink German beer, eat Italian food, watch British news and American films. There is no way to deny each other anymore. Truth be told, future depends on us. We are responsible for building a culture of peace with structures that are strong enough to last and only by experiencing tolerance in intercultural activities we can make it possible. These kinds of associations have a huge importance on the subject as they are an expression of life in community that protects the practice of democracy and citizenship, and develops solidarity within society.

Picture courtesy of Ricardo Casteleiro

How did you get the idea of bringing AEGEE to Covilhã?

There are only two AEGEE antennae in Portugal, which we think is not enough. Especially in this hard period of crisis and with the increase of unemployment, formal education seems to be insufficient for young people to succeed. More and more employers demands us to be different, active, flexible and dynamic. Having a leadership skill is not a feature anymore; it is an absolute need nowadays. We think that having this door to the world in such a small city with lots of students is an awesome opportunity for them to broaden their views, share international experiences in their area of studies, building themselves as global citizens and in the end they can even make the world a better place!

For how long have you been trying to get AEGEE to your city?

It was not as hard as we expected. Actually, the university was super receptive and people are getting more interested in AEGEE day by day.

So how has the university been involved?

Thankfully, our university has been fully cooperative and although a bit slow in response, it has attended to all our needs. All other student organisations have shown support, congratulated us on this new project and even invited us for partnerships and future cooperative activities. We have a strong and very active student core and our university does whatever is possible to help us.

What lies in the future of AEGEE in Covilhã?

We are just starting this amazing adventure and we are eager to learn more about everything that relates to AEGEE. Let’s say we will start from the beginning. The first step is taking part on our first international activity as members of AEGEE, by attending the next Network Meeting and getting to know our closest friends from Spain and France. Also, we are organizing a meeting with AEGEE-Valladolid in our city so they can share in a more close way their experiences and thoughts, creating strong bonds with our other two national antennae and putting some other great ideas to practice. One of our goals this year will be doing a project within Youth In Action, so students with less possibilities can also be a part of this. The subject of the project is still a secret, all we can tell you is that in a close future, our academic and AEGEEan community can expect some fantastic ideas prepared just for them!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

If you have not heard about the Member of The Month articles that The AEGEEan publishes every month, then it is about time you get to know it better, and what could be a better way for that than looking back at the 12 members who stood out from the crowd in 2012.

Jana Pokorna – Member of the Month in January

Being very active on the European Level in projects such as the Visa Freedom Working Group, Jana Pokorna, from AEGEE-Praha and AEGEE-Istanbul, was the first Member of the Month last year, in January. In a close interview with Jana, The AEGEEan got to know and had the chance to share with you her passion for Turkey,  her mentality as being German and her AEGEE experience of course.

Moving on to February, three members became Members of the Month for their great contribution to the EBM reform. So, if you are heading to Valletta next month, or you are just curious to get to know some more information about the EBM, then look into the interview here.

In March, it was time to go to Spain where Sandra Tena from AEGEE-Castelló was chosen as Member of the Month because of her involvement in the organisation of  European School 2. Similarly, Didi Jaskólska from AEGEE-Turun became Member of the Month in April due to her work, organising the much-talked about NWM Turun, which seemed like a mini EBM with its 200 participants.

 

Sylwia Ksiazek Member of the Month in May

And we stay in Poland to find the Member of the Month of May Sylwia Ksiazek who informed us about her experience with organising another important event, namely the Training4Trainers. In the neighbouring Ukraine, we find the Member of the Month of June – Former AEGEEan Magazine proofreader and, more importantly, former Network Commission speaker, Olga Iatsyna. In the interview Olga tells The AEGEEan with joy: “While reading my nomination I could not get rid of the feeling that it is about somebody else, but not me. I simply cannot be so nice! Many times proofreading interviews of former Members of the Month I read that they never expected this nomination…”

And the surprises continued in July when one of those AEGEE members who always has many participants in his Agora workshops, Fabian Brüggemann became Member of the Month. When asked whether or not he was expecting the nomination, he said: “No, I seriously did not expect it. It was a nice surprise, having been approached by Ada and being told I had been nominated for this month. “

Maurits Korse Member of the Month in August

Summer equals Summer Universities in AEGEE and that was of course the focus of the nominations when finding the Member of the Month in August, who finally became Maurits Korse. In his interview, he gave the magazine a deeper insight into the work of the Summer University Coordination Team.

The next person’s antenna was the first antenna to be honoured by being Local of the Month back in 2011, but it was also without any doubt that Armenak Minasyants deserved to become Member of the Month in September. After Armenak, the focus was again on Summer Universities when choosing the Member of the Month in October. It was awarded to Hara Kogkou who has been part of SUCT for two years, and who is editor-in-chief of the SU 25 years anniversary booklet these days.

 

Then, in November Amandine Scocard from AEGEE-Paris became the honorary Member of the Month. At Agora Budapest, she provided The AEGEEan journalist, Olga Volovyk with the opportunity to video interview her about the work she does for AEGEE.

 

Sygrit Andringa Member of the Month in December

Last but definitely not least, Sygrit Andringa received the well-deserved title of being Member of the Month of December. In her interview, she gives a close insight into the life of the chair team and she talks about what goes on behind the scenes of the organisation of a statutory event.

 

Congratulations Jana, Thomas, Katja, Patrick, Sandra, Didi, Sylwia, Olga, Fabian, Maurits, Armenak, Hara, Amandine and Sygrit and thank you for contributing with so much hard work in 2012 to AEGEE. We hope that it will continue many more years.

 

The team behind The AEGEEan listens to your sugggestions every month, and every team member votes to your nominees so as to find the Member of the Month. Your ideas are important to the success of this process, and it is always a joy to hear stories from active AEGEEans and their achievements within the Network. We cannot stress enough how much your nominations are appreciated, so keep sending us your suggestions, active AEGEE members, for Member of the Month right here.

 

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

 

 

 

 

The participants of the Pre-EBM “Passing through the legends in Turkey before fighting for the future” got to experience all types of weather during their preparation for the EBM

Upon arrival to Istanbul for the Pre-EBM                                                                                                                              

it seemed like summer – 15 degrees, the sun was shining! Maybe for some this might not sound as much but the majority of us arrived from countries with freezing temperatures below -10 degrees. The weather was far from the only enjoyable thing in Turkey. AEGEE-Istanbul had arranged the best food that I have personally ever had in any AEGEE event, and buses drove the participants everywhere. Furthermore, the organizers and helpers from their lovely Twin-antenna AEGEE-Beograd were always present to help with answering questions and waking up the participants with smiles.

The participants doing Melon-Sandía on the boat, captured by AEGEE-Rotterdam member Sybren Porfírio

Little by little the weather then changed into what seemed more like fall: with rain and wind, just as we were going on a boat to watch Istanbul from another side. But in the end it did not really matter because beautiful moments such as the rendition of the Titanicmoment that was made by Chair person Yvonne Antonovic and organizer Tunc Ciftci which spread joy and laughter among the boat where AEGEE people were warming each other with hugs and by doing one of the most popular energizers from Spain – Melon-Sandía – Yes, on a boat! When in the end it got too cold, people moved downstairs to enjoy the famous Turkish tea.

Can Bezgen performing with his band captured by Anıl Gökmen

The fun continued and next step in the program was getting on the road towards another Turkish city. Many people will probably find it very strange if you tell them an anecdote starting “Yeah, so we went partying the last day we had in Istanbul, had a really nice time, and then went back to the hostel, took our suitcases and headed towards Çanakkale at 3 AM,” but that is exactly what we did after three days of sightseeing and partying. As soon as we arrived in Çanakkale, as you can imagine, everybody was exhausted after being in a bus for five hours and then afterwards on a ferry for approximately 30 minutes, but on the other side awaited us happy AEGEE–Çanakkale people with loads of energy and motivation to make sure that their participants were having the time of their life. The weather was still not helping  as we slowly moved towards a very cold wintry one, but this allowed the participants to get enough rest before the legendary European night would begin. AEGEE–Çanakkale had arranged it to be at a club just for the Pre-EBM’ers and live music was provided by the band of AEGEE–Çanakkale member Can Bezgen’s band: “Batı Yakası” who were doing covers of famous songs like “Yellow” by Coldplay and much more melodies that made the audience sing along. This is a band with many ambitions of entertaining AEGEE members in statutory events, and there is no doubt that they have the skills to make the people dance and sing; hopefully they will reach their goal of playing at the Agora Enschede.

 

Models for the fashion show captured by Melda Çalışkan

In order to write about every single amazing thing that happened in the pre-EBM I would have to write a novel rather than an article but there are two more important things worth mentioning. AEGEE–Çanakkale provided a workshop about the importance of sign language, which was a very clever way to organize a workshop on an interesting topic that required high interaction but also entertained the participants at the same time. Then, next stop was in an old church in which AEGEE–Çanakkale had been innovative with an idea of another way to keep up the energy during the event was through organizing the FIRST EVER fashion show in Çanakkale. It was set up just as the American TV show “Project Runway”, just as a Turkish version, of course!Designers were chosen who then picked their models and together the teams started creating outfits for different themes such as; love, fighters, and party clubbers. Professional photographers made sure to capture every moment from the designing process to learning the choreography to the actual final showdown which included runway shows coordinated by a beautiful presenter, and music and cheers from the engaged audience filled the old church with noise.

The organizers were put on a test towards the end as the weather changed into conditions that reminded the participants of being on the North Pole. There was snow everywhere, which was not a problem until the electricity went out in the whole town, but again it was not as big of a problem because candle lights kept us warm and the bus that was scheduled to take the participants to the EBM at 3 AM arrived three hours earlier after great coordination by the organizers and the participants headed towards Izmir.

In the end the organization from the Turkish locals amazed me because their energy, smiles and hard work made the participants have the time of their lives and I am sure that every single participant has the eager to return to Turkey as soon as possible. The best way to put it into words is to look at the quote by Polish participant, Natalia Walczak; “It was a very food-centered event (and I loved it). I hoped it would be good, but it was much more than I expected. Thank you!”

Written by Patricia Anthony – AEGEE-København

Photos provided by Melda Çalışkan, Brian Zammit, Anıl Gökmen and Sybren Porfírio.