It’s the closing plenary of Spring Agora Enschede 2017 and the next Spring Agora hosting local has been announced: it is AEGEE-Kraków! We reached out to them and spoke to Magdalena Barwinek, current president of the Polish local, to ask them more about their reaction to the good news and some sneak peeks. 

The AEGEEan: Why did you apply to host Spring Agora 2018?

Autumn Network Meeting 2015 in Kraków

Magdalena: Our local has lately become more and more interested in the topic of European citizenship, so that we have opened up to the international events of AEGEE. Since the moment when 40 members of AEGEE-Kraków attended the Spring Agora Bergamo 2016 (what was the biggest delegation in the history), the idea of organising Agora in Kraków started to go around in the heads of the most experienced members. The topic of hosting the biggest AEGEE event has been present in our local since I remember, but nobody had been brave enough to discuss this issue in detail and to research our logistical potential. Finally, the departing 2016/2017 board made the decision of Open space on the topic of hosting the Agora. Within few hours of discussion, we took into consideration all the pros and cons and the result was surprising. All the 37 members that gathered voted ‘for’, nobody hold off, nobody was against. This result confirmed the Board’s belief, that hosting Agora was a secret dream of all our members.

How did you react when you first heard the news that you were accepted?

With the members who had the input into writing the application form, we have the conversation on Facebook. I remember how excited we were the day before the announcement. “The day” someone woke me up half an hour before the news was supposed to come with the information that the e-mail from CD had been already sent to me. I logged in right away, but there was nothing new, so I started to refresh the page every few seconds, whereas the other people were waiting impatiently on the Facebook conversation. As I finally received the messaged, I shared it immediately with the possible core team and the reactions were more than adorable. People started to shout at their lectures, at work, walking on the street… The witnesses of these reactions could have possibly thought that we are crazy, but this is the quintessence of how badly we wanted to organise Agora!

How would you describe AEGEE-Krakow?

40 AEGEE-Kraków members at Spring Agora Bergamo 2016

AEGEE-Kraków specialises in non-formal education. We annually organise around five local projects related to developing soft and hard skills. One of the most recognisable projects is Free Language Conversations – each semester we give students the opportunity to learn a foreign language on a chosen level, free of charge. The tutors are either philology students, foreigners or any other people who speak a certain language fluently, willing to share their knowledge and gain experience at the same time. Twice a year we organise LTCs, that provide our potential new members with the knowledge about project management. Then, they get the chance to broaden their knowledge at our Management Training Course, the second level of LTC. Mentioning the other projects would take too much space, so anybody who is interested in our local activities – I recommend following our fanpage on Facebook. What I want to add about AEGEE-Kraków is that we are always trying to find a balance between hard work on the projects and the social factor of being AEGEEans. Therefore we often organise trips together to integrate or members, we keep on searching for common activities and we are very open to all kinds of exchanges with other locals. What I really love in our antenna is the Facebook group called ‘SNAP’, which aim is to post your ideas for funny and odd activities. The other members have to make up a quick decision if they want to be your companion. For instance, If I’d had an idea to hitchhike towards Berlin after our General Meeting, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have to wait more than a few minutes to find several people backing up this idea.

Who will be in the core team of Spring Agora Krakow?

AEGEE-Kraków loves hitchhiking! This time 21 members used this way of transportation to reach Triest in Italy.

As I mentioned before, there is already a group of people who were involved into the preparation of our application form and possibly they will be the members of the core team as well. If it comes to the main coordinator, as the board of AEGEE-Kraków we decided that all our members should have a real influence on this choice. So we announced an open call for this position and the coordinator will be chosen by the Plenary Assembly a few days after Agora. Having regard to the high rank of this event, we came to the common conclusion that this is the most legitimate way to select the leader. Who exactly will take the key positons in the core team is up to the future coordinator – the board will not interfere with her/his decisions. Nevertheless, we have been observing the predispositions of our members, both the experienced and the new, ambitious ones, so that we will be always ready to suggest the candidacies if the coordinator wishes to.

Does AEGEE-Kraków have any past experience in organising an event similar to the Agora?

AEGEE-Kraków has never organised an event as big as Agora, but we succeeded in preparing smaller, international events. In November 2015 we hosted 150 participants of Autumn Network Meeting – Awaken The Dragon. In April 2016 we were responsible for the logistics of 2^nd Youth 2 Youth Summit, the international conference for 100 participants related to the topics of corruption, lack of transparency and accountability and their implications on our lives. We also organised smaller events, as the AEGEE Eastern Partnership Youth Convention in 2015 and Y Vote Convention in 2014.

What do you have in mind for the facilities and the programme?

Current President, Magdalena Barwinek and ex-President, initiator of Spring Agora Kraków, Karolina Lapczyk.

Our aim is to find a place for assemblies at walking distance from the gym, very close to the city centre. We would like to use the public or private transportation as little as possible to let the participants explore the city – walking is the best way to discover the charme of the old streets in Krakow. As I attended few international events of AEGEE, I realized that there are few factors (beyond the substantive value) according to which the participants evaluate the event in general. They expect to eat well, to take a warm shower without standing in a long line and to have a steady access to the sockets and WiFi. The organisers have to bear in mind that if they do not provide the participants with those basics conveniences, even when the content is fine, people will not be fully satisfied. So we will do our best to find the proper facilities that suit these requirements.

What will be your biggest challenges in hosting the Agora?

The biggest challenge will not be organising Agora itself, but planning the activity of our whole local for the period of preparation to this big-scale event. The key to make AEGEE-Kraków still exist after Agora is to preserve the smaller, local projects and let them function within the whole “Agora preparation” period. The challenge therefore will be to divide the workforces wisely between the big, time-consuming project and the smaller, local ones. Thus, we keep in mind that an intensified recruitment process needs to be implemented in order to increase the number of our active members.

What makes Kraków attractive to visit?

Mariacki Church.

Around 20% of the people living in Cracow are students, what makes the city lively 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The historical city centre comes from the XIII century and was successfully developed within the following centuries, so that we can see a variety of architectural examples in one place. One of the most significant ones are Mariacki Church – gothic basilique in the north-eastern corner of the Main Square, Sukiennice – the Cloth Hall in the heart of the square that replaced the wooden market stalls in XIV century and the Wawel Castle, a residence of Polish kings by the Vistula river. Those examples are the absolute must-see, but there are lot more wonderful places to explore. For this reason we recommend to commit to at least one extra day beyond the official timeframe of Agora to explore the city. With a clear conscience we can assure you that in Krakow you can find everything you would expect from the hosting city of Agora – beautiful architecture, friendly people and exciting nightlife without spending a fortune! Moreover, our city is easily accessible from lots of European cities, so there is nothing more to add apart inviting you all to Spring Agora Kraków 2018! You can all feel more than welcome!

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari and Maria Zwartkruis, AEGEE-Utrecht

Last November, AEGEE-Kraków organised 2 workshops: Social Engineering and “Soft skills – key to success”. It was directly connected with the Youth Employment Focus Area (Objective 1). For this reason, they were chosen as the ACTive Local of the Month. We spoke to Karolina Lapczyk, President of  AEGEE-Kraków, to find out more!

ACT: Which emotions did you have when you discovered that AEGEE-Kraków was chosen as ACTive local of November?

AEGEE-Kraków: Seeing the mail with the title “You are … ACTive local of November. Congrats!” was one of the best information for us, especially reading it at our board meeting. We were pretty surprised, in a positive way of course, and happy that our work has been noticed and appreciated. This motivated us to act even more vigorously.

Why did you decide to organise these activities?

Those two activities were organised as a part of our annual project “Let’s get better”, which aims at arranging the workshops and trainings with professionals, not only for our members but for all students from our city. Our local is strongly focused on self-development because we deeply believe it is a key to success. Nowadays, employers require a great extent of abilities from the future workers, including soft and hard skills. By studying at universities we can get higher education but it is not enough, students still need additional trainings, which we try to provide them for free to increase their chances in the job market.

What was the result of your activities?

Both workshops were visited by 15-20 people. It was very nice for us to see people satisfied, motivated and asking for more trainings like this. There is a big demand for more practical and useful activities so all year long we try to give students what they need the most.

How do you inform your members about the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

Twice a year we organise a meeting for new members in which we introduce AEGEE, how we work, on which important issues we are focused. In addition, at every Local Training Course, we try to bring the Strategic Plan closer to our members. During the year, the special occasion for repeating and updating information is a meeting before the Agora.

Do you have any other activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

We organised a few projects focused on self-development which aimed at raising the qualifications of students in the job market. For example Excellent Speaker, PR Camp or Design IT. Our great pride is the ‘Free Language Conversations’ project, which takes place every semester, and because of it around 500 students can learn 12-15 foreign languages for free, including unusual ones like Arabic or Chinese.

Moreover, we are interested in Civic Education, therefore we run the International Politics Working Group. The members of the group have possibilities to discuss the most important news from all over the world and organise various conferences and meetings with experts.

In addition, at the turn of March and April we are organising the conference “Running out of democracy in a democratic union. How to bring the EU closer to its citizens?”, which aims at covering the problem of insufficient participation of the European society in the decision-making processes across the European Union.

Why should other locals organise activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

If we want to build a strong and still growing network, the most important thing is to have people who believe in the ideas behind the organisation, identify with the organisation itself and of course with its objectives. By organising such activities we can attract new people who share our interests, have similar goals, and it is highly possible they will become the most motivated and involved members. However, exactly at the same time, we can give our active members opportunities to develop, become more aware of the chances that they have and encourage them to become even more active. To make it happen, people need to feel that being in AEGEE brings some special value to their life. We believe this value is a unique combination of development, fun, friendship, travelling and passion. That is why we organise a lot of different activities, including the ones related to Action Agenda and Strategic Plan.

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

Ask your members what are they interested about and which kind of project they would like to organise. Make sure you have a common objective which is satisfying for all people involved, only by this you can organise an amazing activity while having a lot of fun! Also just be reasonable – if your local is small, it may be hard to organise a huge conference (although it is not impossible of course!), but preparing a workshops or a training might be a nice experience for your members which will motivate them to do more in the future.

Can you tell us a bit more about your local? 

Our local was founded in 1991, so last year we had a big 25th Birthday Party [she smiles, ed.]. For now officially we have 80 active members but there are a lot of older members and friends around us who still take part in our internal events like Christmas Meeting or AEGEE-Kraków’s Oscar Gala. Now we run 5 working groups of Human Resources, Fundraising, International Politics, IT&Design and Public Relations. Whenever we organise a bigger event, we have a project group responsible for it. So for now there are project groups preparing the conference, Summer University, Free Language Conversations and Let’s Get Better project.

We are a big local but the atmosphere between our members is just great! After our general meetings on Thursday we always have an “integration part” which sometimes ends the next day or… in other countries (spontaneous hithchhiking is quite popular here!). AEGEE-Kraków is just a quite big group of friends [she smiles, ed.]. 

Characterise your local in one sentence.

They say the sky is the limit, we say there is no limit [she smiles, ed.].

Written by Elena Efremova, on behalf of Action Agenda Coordination Committee

In AEGEE-Kraków you can meet Gabriela Szyszka, nominated as Member of the Month of December. She is very versatile: she was PR in her first AEGEE event and, after less than one year, HR in the “Language Conversation” project. She has been also an organiser in a TSU in collaboration with AEGEE-Budapest. But she worked really hard for the last NYE, also opening the door of her flat for an unexpected post-event party. Enjoy the interview!

The AEGEEan: Congratulations, you have been nominated Member of the Month. How does it feel to win this award?

Gabriela: “Mistake” – It was my first thought when I saw the message. I am still shocked and surprised because I follow The AEGEEan and when I read all those stories about MoMs – those AEGEEans did huge things. This nomination gave me a lot of motivation to work and now “I am walking on sunshine” (although recently it has been raining in Poland).

Who is Gabriela? What is her story in AEGEE?

Her first AEGEE  event was in December 2014.  While studying hard (read: scrolling Facebook feeds), she saw the PR Camp event. She did not know much about PR, but she sent her application and she was accepted. She remembers that she really liked the atmosphere during the event (badge with names, photos with flag, integration games – for her it was a total novelty).  When she saw the next event, she did not hesitate and she participated.  Then she won a competition in promoting learning languages… and she decided to join AEGEE-Kraków.  In spring 2015 there was her  first LTC and a month later the Management Training Course.

She started to help with the preparation of the Travelling Summer University organised with AEGEE-Budapest (that was her first international event and she felt “falling in love with AEGEE”; also it was her first adventure in hosting AEGEEans).  She was motivated to be more active in AEGEE, but unfortunately she had to leave AEGEE because of Erasmus. She missed students’ organisation because there is not an AEGEE local in Almería. Then, after half a year, she was totally impressed by the atmosphere during Agora Bergamo and she kept in mind James Brown’s song “I Feel Good” all the event (except the morning after European Night).

Her next project was “Language Conversation” with AEGEE-Kraków – where she tried to be a good HR in this project.  Finally, two months ago the 25th Birthday & Highlander New Year’s Eve of AEGEE-Krakow.  That is her story and she hopes that not soon she will sing with Adele “this is the end”.

I should put all the names of my AEGEE friends in this answer because without them I could have not been able to write all those things above, so I only say: THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! Also, I would like to mention about my parents and family that support me in my activities.

What is your life besides AEGEE?

I am studying Economics in Kraków (ok, I am trying to study). So I have all those problems like should I stay (in bed) or should I go (to the lectures)? I hope to win the Nobel Prize one day and then spend the rest of my life in Mauritius. Of course I have prepared a plan B. If I fail, I will move to Turkmenistan and become a goat farmer. Beside that, I love travelling (like all people in AEGEE, I think).  I do not like typical travel by bus, plane or train. I prefer hitchhiking and sleeping in the middle of nowhere in a tent. Thanks to this method with my student budget in two years I visited more than twenty countries and met a lot of nice and hospitable people. This way for me is more exciting and allows to really feel the culture and know the real people’s lives in different parts of the world and hear different stories from drivers. I like European countries, but I would like also visit South America in the future, that is why I am trying to learn Spanish. I love pandas. I will adopt one in the future.

Describe your personality by using the initials of your name(s).

Girl

Amicable

But

Infantile

You worked or the Royal 25th Birthday & Highlander New Year’s Eve of AEGEE-Kraków. What was the best moment? What was the most difficult thing you experienced?

Actually I did not work as much as the main organisers. I started to help during and after the event [she smiles, ed.].  For me, all the event was amazing and exciting. One of my favorite moments was the Pub Crawling, I was the leader of one group (Nine or Nain – cheers for you guys). I was the worst leader you can imagine. Despite having a map and GPS and despite the fact that I am living in Kraków, we got lost five times (or more). But we were really integrated and we did all the task so creatively that finally we won competition. Also, I liked the unexpected party in my flat on the 1^st of January – best beginning of the year (Eurovision, Maria Salvador song, tasty pasta cooked by Italians and Slav Squad). I avoid post-event depression in great way.  The most difficult part was the end of an almost one-week event and going back to normal life (and realising how much work I had to do before my exams due to procrastinating during Christmas break).

Are you happy about the results and proud of them? Would you change anything, looking back?

Of course, I am happy! I would only change my flat for a bigger one. Anyway, we managed plates for everyone, mattresses to sleep and even we danced Tunak Tunak, Macarena and Polonez. Polonez is the name of the Polish car but it is also the name of a traditional Polish dance that lot of AEGEEans learnt to dance during New Years Eve party and they really liked that. Here, I would like to thank my tolerant neighbours and flatmates.

Have you been an active member before and during Agora Bergamo? 

I do not know if I can call myself an active member. I  like helping in preparations during our local events,
but since Agora Bergamo I am more interested about the activities of International Bodies and Working Groups.  Agora Bergamo was my first Agora and I was not a delegate. On that event, there were forty members from AEGEE-Kraków and the majority of us had taken the same filght so I felt excited already at the airport.  The event was  unforgettable for me because everything was new, and also I met my friends from Summer University.

Name one good thing and one bad thing about AEGEE.

It is hard to name only one good thing. For me the most important thing in AEGEE are of course my friends from the whole organisation and the atmosphere during European events. In those moments I really feel like an inhabitant of a democratic, diverse and borderless Europe. I love helping AEGEEans when they are visiting Kraków or hosting them when I have a time. It completely confirms one of my favorite quotes from the movie Into the Wild “Happiness only real when shared”. Bad things? That it is impossible to get to know all the members [she smiles, ed.].

If you could change anything in the association, what would it be?

I think that is hard to change anything from day to day. Changing is a process that lasts some time. We are learning all the time from more experienced members. We are discussing about things which could be improved, and in my opinion is it is really good because we can learn tolerance, how to achieve an agreement, how to cooperate. Also I am not that involved at the European level of AEGEE to talk about changes.

What are your future plans for AEGEE?

Recently, I became a coordinator of Summer University so I am excited when I think about THIS summer. We want to prepare everything on the highest level and make that participants feel the “summer of their life”. I have a really good team of friends and Lidia as a Content Manager so actually I am counting days to this event and hope that you, readers of this interview, will apply!

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

Another local being very ACTive in the past months is AEGEE-Kraków, which organised a Regional Training Course (RTC) about start-ups and investing. We spoke to Mateusz Gierczak, President of the local and Coordinator of the RTC, to find out more about what this Polish local did, does and will do! 

Can you tell us a bit more about your local?
AEGEE-Kraków is quite a big local. We have around 100-120 members, of which 50-60 are really active. We organise around 20 local and European activities during a year. A lot of them are training courses, but we also organise events like the Eastern Partnership Convention, Y Vote Convention and of course a Summer University.

You organised a Regional Training Course about start-ups and investing, called ‘On the Way to Financial Freedom’, which is the reason you were chosen as ACTive Local of the Month. Can you tell us more about this event?
The Regional Training Course was an international event for all members of AEGEE. During a five days long event, participants were given the opportunity to improve their knowledge about entrepreneurship, investments and financial intelligence. Moreover, students attending the event also learned how to establish and run their own business. They got to meet professional, experienced entrepreneurs and discuss with them about what is most important in running your own business.

How did you decide on this activity?
Actually, the former board decided on it. During one of their board meetings they were talking about the activities they could organise in Kraków. They wanted to create something new, something our local never did before. When they took into consideration the projects of AEGEE-Kraków they understood that there were not many events related to Youth Unemployment. So, they decided that it’s something we have to take care of, especially, because the topic is included in our Action Agenda. What is more, they figured that this part of our interests is quite forgotten by the antennae. The last thing they had to do, was to think about the way of organising this kind of event: a conference? Discussions? Some courses? The best way was to combine all of these activities and create a Regional Training Course open to people from all over the network, where participants can get some knowledge and discuss their opinions with people experienced in the topic. What is interesting for AEGEEans, who are young people ready for the challenges? How to set up their own business.

The RTC was not the only event implementing Action Agenda you organised in the past months. Can you tell us more about them?
I think that almost all of our activities are implementing the Action Agenda, so they are around 20 each year. I will not tell you about all of them but I would like to mention the most interesting ones. First off, the Language Conversations. This is a project where we connect with students who would like to be a teacher of some foreign language in the future or just enjoy speaking in a certain foreign language. They are teaching other students their favourite language for free, just to get some experience. Every semester we have around 300-400 places for these courses and last time we had almost 2000 applications! That is really incredible. Secondly, we have the Let’s Get Better project. Through this project we organise free training courses for students from all over Kraków. The fields of courses is very varied, so we organise soft skills but also workshops on how to use Microsoft Excel. Each course is open to a group of 10-30 students, depending on the topic. We organise around 3-4 training courses every month. Last but not least, we organise Perfect Speaker, which is a three days long project where we organise workshops and training courses on public speaking. Here, people learn how to deliver a good presentation, how to use gesticulation and mimics als how to manage with stress. It’s also open to students and free.

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?
The first thing is not to be scared. Many antennae think that it is impossible to organise a good event without special experience, which is not true. If you have an idea and a few people who want to work together, that’s everything you need. European projects like the Eastern Partnership Project are not very difficult, because you have substantive support from a content team. If you want to organise a training course, don’t be afraid to ask trainers in your city if the want to do it for free. You can offer them an advertisement on your Facebookpage. Usually, they don’t want anything, because they like to do it. Think also about what is already popular and where people would like to go. After that, just plan it well and pull everything together! The satisfaction you will get after the realisation is really worthy your effort! If you don’t know how to do it, don’t hesitate and write us. We will  help you with pleasure!

Are you planning to organise more activities related to the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda?
Sure. We are thinking about new activities connected to entrepreneurship and civic education. We are not sure exactly when and what it will be, but certainly you will get to know about it! 

AEGEE-Kraków has certainly shown the Network that it can be an example to other locals. What would you say to other locals that want to be as awesome as you?
As I said before: don’t be afraid to be awesome and set up awesome projects! If you have great ideas and you have a few people to help you – just start to realise the ideas. If you are not sure how to do it, ask or try to find a good way. Even if you are still not sure, try to do it on your own way. You will make it better or worse, but next time you will be smarter. Remember that you can always ask for help. In AEGEE, we are one big family and we know we can rely on each other. If one of us needs help, we will always give a hand. After all you will be incredibly satisfied that you managed to organise this great project and people will come, and say “Thank you”, as they said to us after the RTC. Finally, you will see how much did you learn by that, how much you developed and you will realise how much you can learn in future projects. You have great potential and each of you can be as awesome as you would never even imagine! Use your potential and create great projects with great AEGEE-Spirit!

Written by Monika Duda, AEGEE-Wrocław

From the 20th to the 24th of May, AEGEE-Kraków in cooperation with the Eastern Partnership Project of AEGEE-Europe (EaP) will organise a convention on the Eastern Partnership in the city of Kraków, Poland. The convention will host 23 people from all around Europe and will tackle issues such as European integration and the international relations with the countries from the Eastern Parnership. The AEGEEan spoke to Katarzyna Kluczka, organiser of the event, and Marta Wnuk, member of the EaP.

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to organise the event?
Katarzyna: AEGEE-Kraków has quite an experience in hosting international events, so as a strong and motivated antenna, we wanted to continue this tradition. Personally, I have been interested in the Eastern Partnership Project since I came into contact with it during Network Meeting in Poznań. I have dreamt about becoming more involved, so as soon as the opportunity to coordinate this event appeared, I had to take my chance. I wanted to be part of EaP in any way possible and this position gives me and my fantastic team a chance to become part of something great. In my opinion, here and now, we can redefine the term “integration” by showing our participants it is possible to create a united Europe with no political or economical borders, if only there is the will and ideas to change the current state. This vision makes me very enthusiastic and is one of the main driving forces to be the host of the Eastern Partnership Youth Convention.

Why Kraków?
If we ask foreigners which cities in Poland are the most familiar to them, we can be sure that Kraków will be at the top of the ranking. It attracts tourists from all over the world, offering rich history at every step – whether in words of inhabitants, or just by looking at monuments that surround us. Kraków has been the cultural heart of Poland for centuries. It has always been a symbol of many nations coexisting together in peace and harmony, sharing innovations and stories. Taking this into account, Kraków is the perfect city to host the Eastern Partnership Youth Convention and boast about cultural heritage. However, there are more than this reason why our city has the privilege of inviting 23 active, young people from the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries. For centuries Kraków was the capital of Poland and the main seat for kings. Nowadays it is called the capital of students and the little homeland for migrants. Also, I can proudly assure you, AEGEE-Kraków is very well-prepared to organise this event, being one of the most active and strongly developed antennae. Our members believe that they are young people who, today, can create the growth and innovation of tomorrow. To sum up: the charm of Kraków, the city itself, being a symbol of friendly cooperation between nations and the activity of society, are the main factors why Kraków is the best location for a project concerning the collaboration of the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries.

What can participants expect from the event?
To begin with, a warm welcome and great enthusiasm of the organisers! We can’t wait to meet these fantastic young people! I hope they will be satisfied. The workshops prepared by the Content Team sound thrilling – inspiration will be the keyword of this event. Another one can be the power of the team – I hope we will all become a well-knitted group who can learn from each other and share ideas or common experience. The location of workshops – The Embassy of Cracovians – is perfect for this kind of project – it is very cosy, well-equipped and also situated very close to the main square. You will love it! Another advantage: it is near to the One World Hostel, where the participants will be accommodated. Also, the food participants get will represent the traditional Polish cuisine – the part of our culture we are very proud of. And of course, there will be a lot of AEGEE spirit. Apart from the workshops we have planned integration activities and parties, the perfect mix for a successful event!

Can you tell us what the convention is about?
Marta: The Eastern Partnership Youth Convention is an event that will gather 23 young leaders coming both from EaP countries and EU states that focuses on foreign policy and state of relations between the EU and the EaP countries with regard to current international situation.

The participants will be introduced to the Eastern Partnership programme (EaP) and its main features. We want to identify the problems that the European continent is currently facing in this area, build an understanding image around them, and work on common approach to solve these problems.  The final result of the Convention will be a set of recommendations towards the European institutions on how the EaP programme should be improved according to young experts on the topic (our participants).

What is the role of the Eastern Partnership Project inside AEGEE?
The project’s values are based on belief that this initiative is an important element of AEGEE’s mission of bridging Europe. By our activity we would like to raise the level of knowledge about the Eastern Partnership countries and help to build understanding around issues that concern them. Our project organises various workshops during AEGEE events, writes articles and issues monthly newsletters. However, we do not restricts ourselves to delivering information. We see importance of discussion and exchange of views. We proposed the topic and helped to shape the content of EPM Burgos and right now we are in the process of organising the Convention. We see our role as advocates of the six EaP countries, which still remain an unknown part of Europe for many.

Why do you think bridging Europe is important?
It’s a question of European integration in fact. One of the biggest achievements of AEGEE was the decision on establishing new locals in Eastern Europe beyond borders of the EU. Now when our continent is free of the Iron Curtain there is still a need to create more links between its Western and Eastern parts. Awareness of the six EaP countries always remains an important issue to tackle. Bringing attention to the region helps to get more recognition and support.

Eastern Partnership is an EU programme oriented on making links between the EU countries and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. Our project within AEGEE aims to bring this vision to AEGEEans and to build integrated Europe through the bottom-up approach, by involvement of young people.

Taking in consideration the current situation of Ukraine, what can be done by AEGEEans and young people in general to make the situation better?
I believe that communication and direct contact are always the key elements in conflict situations. Common projects allowing to meet and exchange opinions in a discussion-friendly environment can lead to facilitation of mutual understanding between all sides. Young people perhaps cannot change politics in a substantial way, but they can invest in themselves by becoming more knowledgeable, aware and open-minded people and in this way becoming advocates of consensus and spread this attitude about the crisis to others.

Written by Ruben Navarro, AEGEE-Tarragona

Aleksandra Kluczka, but you can also call her Ola, is the Current Vice President & External Relations Director of AEGEE-Europe, originally from AEGEE-Kraków. 24-year old youth activist, with a passion for Europe, civic participation and gender equality, Aleksandra aims to empower the Association and to unleash the potential in its members. She is the sole candidate for President of AEGEE-Europe and, if elected, she will be the first female president since Agata Pateka (2009-2010).

The AEGEEan: You have already spent one year in Comité Directeur (CD).Why did you decided to run for another term? And why president?

Aleksandra: Once you join the CD, you realise than one year is a very short period of time. For the first months you learn the job, get expertise in certain fields, develop relations with partners and contacts. You plan and start many initiatives that you might not have the chance to see results of yet. I am still very motivated and passionate about AEGEE, and I have plenty of ideas on how to develop it. As I have mentioned in my candidature, I decided to run for the position of President of AEGEE-Europe and devote one more year of my life to AEGEE, in order to ensure the development and continuity for the organisation. I have a vision for the organisation that I would like to offer to the members and develop it together with the elected team. After one term in the CD I believe I have all the means, knowledge and preparation to take the full responsibility for and leadership of the organisation. I am running for this position, as I want to have a feeling of a fulfilled mission and that I did everything I possibly could to improve AEGEE, before I leave it.

You stated several time that you have a clear vision of AEGEE, what it is?

Since I do not want to repeat what I wrote in my candidature, I will be brief. It is balancing the external impact of the organisation with very strong internal development and education. It is deriving inspiration from the ambitious beginnings of the organisation, while adapting to the current European challenges and keeping in mind the reality and capacity of the Network. AEGEE of my dreams is an organisation with strong human resources and learning opportunities, empowering its members through various means, building dialogue and understanding between European youth through intercultural exchange. A driving pro-European youth stakeholder, with a more defined vision for Europe, strong in thematics, policy and  advocacy work, with members involved in decision-making processes. Being a true forum for discussion, where new ideas are born and challenges European youth is facing are addressed. Financially sustainable, with diverse sources of funding, being able to have a bigger secretariat. Step by step we are closer to such vision and I want to keep driving AEGEE gradually to achieving that goal.

How do you plan to improve and strengthen the tematic part of the association?

Speaking about current developments, I truly hope that the proposal on Working Group Reform will be accepted by the Agora. I do believe this change can be a milestone for our thematic and policy work, each of the new WGs being a motor for our work in each of the focus areas of the Strategic Plan. I am also looking forward to the discussion with the Network on the future of the EPM during this Agora. I intend to continue promoting and raising awareness about how to organise AEGEE-Europe activities. I do believe we should have more thematic conferences of AEGEE-Europe devoted to a particular topic (European affairs, civic participation, SP focus areas), more than just an annual one during EPM. The 30th anniversary conferences can be seen as a step in such direction. I also believe we should have more cyclical projects. It is important that the initiative of new AEGEE-Europe projects comes from the Network, but the CD should also be proactive in starting such. Strengthening the thematic part of the organisation cannot also happen without strengthening the project management and training project and content managers. This can happen through organising ES2s, development of project management toolkits, sharing best practices and knowledge transfers between project teams, etc.

What do you think is the most important thing to take into consideration when speaking about forum of discussion? and which part of the current communication channels should be implemented?

We need to work on our organisational culture, as forum for discussion was probably the most neglected means of our organisation. The most important thing is to work on engagement of a larger amount of our members in the live and online discussions, both on internal organisational matters, but also on the current European matters, our focus areas and other topics relevant for AEGEE. Encouraging active involvement of members in discussions is what AEGEE should be about, having a bottom-up approach to the activities of the organisation. This is the place where ideas are born and exchanged, stereotypes are broken and dialogue is built. Having 13 000 members, AEGEE can still greatly develop its potential to become the forum for discussion for European youth.

While speaking about communication channels in this context, we can distinguish between live and online means. We should keep working on having more space for quality discussions during our statutory events and to make sure we make use of the opportunity of gathering even 1000 Europeans in one place. Having more high quality content events also will contribute to developing AEGEE as a forum for discussion. Regarding online channels, I want to continue the popularisation and improvement of the Forum, which should be our main online discussion space. It is important to continue informing members how to make better use of Members Portal, which should be the main means for sharing information in the organisation. Also, better usage of liquid democracy tools could be a step in the direction of more digital democracy in the organisation.

Internal development of the Network and External visibility with relevant stakeholders… What is the most important action to do in this moment?

It is interesting how you correlated the two fields together. They are more interdependent that one might think. If we want to be credible with our external work, we need to bridge the gap between what we sometimes claim AEGEE is, and our reality. Regarding internal development, I do believe that strengthening our human resources is the most crucial action. A good step in that direction can be the Strategy for Learning and Training, that will be presented to the Agora in the next days. Regarding our external visibility, I would not mention one particular action. We should definitely continue and expand  AEGEE’s position as a strong youth stakeholder among European Civil Society. We should also empower our local members and give them the tools to be able to be more engaged in external work in their communities.

How do you plan to lead and manage your upcoming team to make sure to achieve the best from each of them and lead AEGEE?

Indeed, my first and utmost goal will be to develop a strong and healthy team, based on trust, respect and cooperation. The first step will be to organise a solid team-building with the presence of an experienced trainer, in order to learn the ways how each of the team members functions, what are the needs, expectations, motivations and visions for the organisation of every single person in the team. Based on this you can start moving from being a group of people into becoming a true team. I intend to develop a common vision and activity plan for the organisation together with the whole team, making sure that everyone can work on some issues that drive them and motivate them in the work of the organisation, and put their dreams for the organisation into practice. I want to support other team members in their development, their work, their struggles, and create an environment that lets their potential boost. Team should be always a priority for me, making sure that even in busy periods we will find time for listening to each other. As I mentioned in my application, a strong, trustworthy and simply happy team, where team members can fulfil their needs and work on interesting them fields, is a basis to be able to fully focus on the development of AEGEE, contribute to its processes and empower the members. I truly believe in the power of teamwork, if you have it, there is no challenge that cannot be addressed and embraced.

May you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature?

As far as my personal traits are concerned, I would mention: experience, knowledge, skills, motivation, strength, readiness, continuity, new ideas, vision, team-oriented, determination.  Regarding my programme, in a nutshell: the team, developing our vision for Europe, focus on human resources and learning opportunities, emphasis on Strategic Plan, strong thematic, policy and advocacy work, forum for discussion, active citizenship, sustainability of the organisation.

Describe yourself and your candidature in one sentence.

An experienced passionate of youth work and AEGEE in particular, willing to unleash AEGEE’s potential together with the team and the Network.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Kraków is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Poland and also the home of AEGEE-Kraków, an antenna which hosts so many events, that it was even nominated for the antenna of the month in December last year. Therefore, the AEGEEan had no choice but to question the Krakovians about their projects.

“We are proud of every activity which is made by our antenna. It doesn’t matter if it is a local event or an international one. All of them are important and create our organisation”, says Elżbieta Krótka, the President of the antenna. This approach can clearly be seen in the amount of activities the antenna prepares. In December alone, there was a Management Training Course (MTC), which hosted about 25 young people who came to learn about project management, public relations, fundraising, team building or public speaking. After the intensive three days of workshops, the event was concluded with a simulation of the Dragons’ Den. Only a week after this MTC, another event, the PR Camp, showed students from all over Poland how proper communication with the general public is done.

With such a tough workload on their back, the antenna members also learn a lot themselves. “The projects gave our members new knowledge, and it also showed them how to make good projects on a big scale.” confirms Elżbieta, who also believes the number one thing to mention about the antenna are not the events but rather its ‘expansion’. “This is something that AEGEE-Kraków is famous for. For example during NWM (Network Meeting) Zielona Góra there were about 40 members of our antenna there! And the same situation could be seen during the last two Agorae – in Patra we’ve had about 25 people from AEGEE-Kraków and in Cagliari, there were 16 of us.”

With such an overwhelming amount of active members, it is surely no surprise that the two aforementioned events are not the only ones that the antenna has prepared for the youth of Kraków in December. Others worth mentioning are the Free Language Conversations, which attracted around 400 students speaking 21 different languages to come expand their knowledge, as well as their communication skills, or a series of workshops on Gaining Goals and Self-presentation during job interviews which were organised in cooperation with several companies that ensured high quality of the talks. Seeing the antenna organise several other events, such as a WordPress workshop, an Erasmus + training, a Traditional Christmas Dinner or the antenna’s birthday celebration, one question comes to mind: How do the Krakovians keep going? What would they suggest to other antennae who want to be as active and organise so many events?

Once again, the proud President has the answer: “Development! People! The desire of feeling ‘this’ again! I believe, it is a vicious circle. We have coordinators chosen by the board. The coordinators are the people who want to do something and have the skills to organise big things. Their ideas are announced during our General Meetings when they try to show their passion and convince people to come to their project group. People come because they want to do something good for the organisation, they work hard for a few months but even through all the sleepless nights they see their goal all the time. Later, the event comes and they feel a big satisfaction and ‘this’ is what we call AEGEE spirit! They want to do more and more, with people they like and they want to interact with as well. Our local is a chain of activities – everybody knows what to do, they know whom they can ask if they have any problems. What is very important is that we try to have a good atmosphere inside – and if you sum this up, you have a recipe ”.

And what is the antenna planning for the future? Having read the article so far, you will not be surprised that they have big plans on their mind once again – AEGEE-Kraków organises at least four LTCs (Local Training Course) every year and 2015 should by no means be an exception. Apart from that, there is an Eastern Partnership Convention and model of United Nations conference coming up in May, but right now, the biggest deal is the March RTC (Regional training Course) On the way to financial freedom, which will, as the title suggests, focus on start-ups and investing. In particular, during the five days from the 4th to the 8th of March, the participants will take part in a series of professional training courses in the fields of introduction to entrepreneurship, investment in the capital market, financial intelligence and starting a business. There will be many investors and experienced business practitioners to answer every question the participants may have so as always with AEGEE-Kraków, there is a lot to look forward to. The link to the event can be found here.

Written by Jirka Lhotka, AEGEE-Praha

During the Autumn Agora in Cagliari, Jorge Sánchez Hernández took the stage to present AEGEE-Dresden, which was at that moment still a contact. After his speech however, he signed the Convention d’Adhesion, transforming his contact into a contact antenna. Looking at the endless amounts of time, work and motivation he put into re-founding a local in Dresden, The AEGEEan thought it was about time to find out more about him! 

The AEGEEan: First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, and when and why did you join AEGEE?

Jorge: I’m Jorge, a 21 years old Spaniard living in Dresden. I love traveling, meeting people from different countries and cultures, food, beer, and AEGEEans. I joined AEGEE-Alicante on the day of the deadline to apply for a Summer University in 2013. I wanted to go to the SU in Helsinki, but it was the one with the most applications that year, so I decided to go to the Dutch-Deutsch Adventure organised by Enschede, Utrecht and Köln. The experience was so good that I became active right away. AEGEE has been very important in my life since then.

You are the re-founder of AEGEE-Dresden. What made you decide to start up a contact?

Made by Marco Müser, AEGEE-Köln

Since I moved to Dresden being a fresh member, I wanted to experience more in AEGEE, I had some experience with the European level, but no local level experience. AEGEE was such a good platform for me to develop my skills and meet awesome and inspiring people, that I just had to found a contact in Dresden to be able to share this opportunity with other students. It was quite hard to found a contact in a different country, without a network in the city, without proficiency in the language (I moved to Germany in November with no knowledge of German and founded the contact in March), and being alone at first. A month later however, Ingo from AEGEE-Aachen (who is now my flatmate) came, and we got Nora from another program, and everything started to grow. With four to five people, we were managing a buddy program for almost 400 students, as well as organizing a Regional Training Course, an exchange, building a web page and a long list of stuff. It has been a lot of work, and it still is, but we do it with passion!

Do you have any tips for other contacts who want to become a contact antenna too?

First of all, we would love to help any contacts who need help, so they can contact us and we will try to understand their situation and try to give our best advice. My tip would be to start organizing events. Even if you feel like you don’t have enough people (even if you’re just one), things will eventually work out and if you put passion into it, people will join you. Find something that is missing in your city, what other associations are not doing, and link it to AEGEE to attract new members. A good relation with the university is a must to grow fast. We get a lot of support since we became part of an official body of the university. We have an office and some financial support, and they also promote some of our projects. What is most important for me to grow, is that there is a good atmosphere in the team. Without being real friends and doing things together, I don’t think it would work so well.

What are your plans with AEGEE-Dresden in the upcoming months?

We just organised a Regional Training Course called “Develop Yourself!”, taking place from 11th – 14th December. In January we will host thirty AEGEEans from AEGEE-Krakow, who come from the 8^th until the 11^th to spend an awesome weekend with us in Dresden. Some days later we will also have an important meeting with the international department of the city hall to present our projects, and we will have our local Agora. After that, plans are still being discussed, but we have two other exchanges, a Travel Summer University, as well as some Local Training Courses coming up!

What have you done in AEGEE so far, besides setting up a contact in Dresden?

I was a helper at ZarAgora, taking pictures of all of you sleeping in plenaries. They will come to life when you expect them the least… I also was the Secretary of the Environmental Working Group (EnWG) last term, and I am still active in AEGEE-Alicante. But since February, AEGEE-Dresden has taken all my AEGEE time and I don’t have time this year for any European Projects, maybe next year again, but I like the local level as well.

Is there something you still want to do with AEGEE?

Of course I have dreams in AEGEE, but maybe I will keep them for now. If they become true, you will know! I would love to get some time and people to work on the CIA and change the situation of the contacts and contact antennae, since it’s not so convenient right now. It’s a lot harder to be a contact or a contact antenna since you don’t have many members, funds or experience, but the antenna criteria make it even more difficult.

What is the most fond memory you have of AEGEE?

I don’t think I could choose one, so I will choose three even though it’s still hard. One was being a helper at ZarAgora. It was really amazing to see so many people from so many countries, meeting people with unpronounceable names (yeah, it’s like the pot calling the kettle black) and it was an incredible surge of inspiration and motivation. The second was the Cantus I had with AEGEE-Enschede in my first SU with Paul Smits as Senior. It was really such a good experience I will never forget in my life. They were super creative and original. I recommend everyone to go for SU to Enschede, they are very professional. The third one, and maybe the one I will remember the most, was signing the CdA at Agora Cagliari. Lots of things accomplished with my team to reach that point. But, I can’t finish this without saying that the most valuable thing that AEGEE has given me is all the amazing people I have met on the way. All these people inspire me to keep going forward in all the projects and also outside of AEGEE, even when things don’t look so bright.

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Everyone returned home, feeling eventually relaxed after two crazy-rushy-hasty-HAPPY weeks, but at the same time, reluctant even to upload photos, not talking about writing stories of the week. But how different it was just a week ago!

Each morning started with some person (sometimes you did not even know who he or she was) bursting into your room saying some random sentences about “having breakfast right now” and “leaving in half an hour“. Well, ok, I’m getting up, really. We carried on sleeping. After half an hour, another cry: “Guuuuuys! We’re leaving in five minutes!”  Sometimes without shouting – just the magic whistle was enough. And all of us – sleepy, sometimes thirsty (because of the night before), with wet hair – went out into the daylight.

Then they said – dance Zumba! Climb walls! Sing Ukranian songs! Go hitch-hiking! Walk in the street with your eyes closed and touch everything you are made to by your fellow-participants! (The list goes on like this: people’s shoulders, people’s faces, people’s beards, pavements, horses, trash bins). But that’s not the end – Drink vodka! Walk for several kilometers up the hill! Photobomb! Pronounce Polish tongue-twisters like W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie i Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie, że chrząszcz właśnie brzęczał w trzcinie which means “In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds.  And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for it” and does not make much sense, but it is funny because it is difficult to pronounce. Walk in toilet paper! Undress! Run in the forest in complete darkness! Eat DISGUSTING mushroom soup (“Believe me, it’s delicious!”).

In other words (just six of them but so full of sense and craziness) – GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!

That was the kind of holiday that is not just entertaining, but so much developing as well. Glancing back, I realized that everything I hated doing is now good memories and amazing experiences, and they will be remembered as a real adventure! They made the most normal of us to do incredible things, the most scared face their phobias, the shiest throw away confusion and fear, the most sleepy go on and party! The result was us getting closer to each other with every day, eventually coming to miss each other enormously now. I hope all of us changed at least a little bit (well, I did), meeting the aim of being full of AEGEE spirit!

I wonder how many times you guys (the organizers, I’m talking to you) were laughing, while watching us do all the crazy stuff you had invented to challenge us with? I suppose you were getting sheer delight out of that. But, anyway, that is the thing I am most grateful for – you made me do something I would never have done alone.

Written by Inna Mezentseva, AEGEE-Minsk

The AEGEEan has been interviewing several locals throughout the year for theirs outstanding achievements. Some of them have organised big events, like Statutory Events or European schools. Others have been rather small locals in the Network who have made big accomplishments. However, there are other locals which have been regularly organising both local and European events throughout the year and have traditionally been very active antennae in our Network.

AEGEE-Kraków’s current board

One of the latter locals is AEGEE-Kraków, with a lot of active members both in the local and European level and well-known around the Network for having organised a wide range of high-quality events. The activity for AEGEE-Kraków has not stopped since last April, with the organisation of an AEGEE Business Conference, a Model United Nations, a Management Training Course and a Travel Summer University.  The AEGEEan has interviewed the president, Ela Krótka, in order to get to know better AEGEE-Kraków’s secrets.

Please, tell us a bit about your local. When was it found, and how many members does it have? And how many are active?

AEGEE-Kraków was reactivated in 2000 by the students of Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland. Since the early beginning, the members of our local were very active what made us a strong antennae in just a few years. Our local has a good reputation in Kraków, this allows our members to work in well-known companies after graduating their universities, but also during their studies. Nowadays, we have about 130 members of which the majority is active.

What do you think makes AEGEE-Kraków so special?

The people, of course! All of us are like a big family – we know each other well, we love spending time together. We go to all the projects like NWMs or Agorae in about 30 people what makes us very motivated. We feel the AEGEE-spirit all the time, we do not forget why our organisation is so great and important. New people are warmly welcomed and they feel a part of the group instantly. The members are the ones who create and run our organisation and they are the most important – everything is for them and from them.

We know that there are several working groups within AEGEE-Kraków. How are they organised?

We have two sorts of groups – project and working groups. Working groups carry their tasks all the time in order to take care of our antenna. They are the PR Working Group, FR Working Group, HR Working Group, Culture Working Group, International Politics Working Group and IT Working Group. Our members have the possibility to get knowledge of the topic they are interested in when they work in the groups above. Later, they join some “project working groups”, where they can put into practice the knowledge they earnt. Project working groups are made to organise special events. Our members work in teams using their abilities and showing the strenght of our organisation!

From the TSU “Think different: Get out of your comfort zone!”

In May and June you have organised many activities and events. What is the secret of succeeding in organising so many?

I would say that passion is a key factor for organising successful events. We are a welcoming and open-minded group, with common ideas and ways of thinking, these characteristics help us to create something dynamic. We are always flexible and take everyone’s point of view into consideration. Members listen to each other and reach an agreement together. Everything is like a chain of creativity and we never break it. We realise that all of us are needed and what we do is for a whole organisation, not just for one person. Mutual motivation and working in groups create a strong bond amongst all members. All of that causes good projects and the feeling that we want more and more!

We know you recently organised an “AEGEE-Business Conference”. What can you tell us about it?

The aim of the AEGEE-Business Conference “Close the deal!” was to create a platform of co-operation between members of students’ organisations and business. It was our intention to give the participants practical information on how to make their student projects more professional, how to interact and engage with partners and sponsors, and also how to present themselves properly. The training conference was followed by a networking meeting where every attendee could expand their social circle. The participants gathered knowledge about building a network through business contacts, cooperating with partners and investors, and developing practical abilities.

The topics of the conference ranged from self-presentation, including elevator speeches, networking as a tool for communication and building networks of contacts through, interacting with stakeholders in CSR, establishing dialogue between business and students recommendations, business etiquette, ethical sales and negotiations, Cialdini’s art of persuasion, and humor in business and sales.

The Conference was met with resounding success – the number of applications exceeded the participants limit by 50. Participants included 100 representatives of 52 student organizations and academic clubs from all over Poland (from Gdańsk, Warsaw, Poznań, Łodź, Wrocław, Kraków etc.) and several other associations.

What about the Model of United Nations organised in late May? Which topics were covered this year?

AEGEE-Kraków’s Model of United Nations was an international interactive conference. Every participant had a chance to represent a country (member of UN) and discuss global political and economic issues. The main goal of the conference was to promote the knowledge about the role of the UN in the modern world and its engagement in solving international problems. The conference was a great opportunity to develop diplomatic skills. This year the main topic was the crisis in Ukraine. Twenty young people from every corner of Europe were debating and exchanging opinions regarding the current situation in Ukraine.

Which were the highlights of this event?

The highlights of this AEGEE MUN definitely were three things. First of all, the UN simulation which included lively discussions, numerous alliances, unexpected twists, sleepless nights, hundreds of hours of hard work. Other highlights include the City Game, the nocturnal sightseeing of Kraków, and the Diplomatic Party, which was a simulation of a diplomatic banquet. During this part of the event participants had a chance to see how unofficial talks really looks like.

AEGEE-Kraków has also organised a training course related to Management. Which was the aim, and who were the trainers?

We organize Management Training Course twice a year. It’s aimed to provide young people with knowledge of PR, FR and Team Management as well as communication skills: public speaking and negotiations. It is very useful for our members as it prepares them for future challenges. Every graduate of this course is prepared to coordinate a project or working group in AEGEE. The trainers work in the related fields and provide real case scenarios, furthering the preparation for future projects. This gives the course a high standard and allows the participants to develop their inner managers. Each MTC-course is a three day long period of hard work and new experiences are guaranteed.

And in order to achieve so many things, how do you motivate your members to be active on the local level?

The goal is to give every student an opportunity  to develop, more importantly, an opportunity to relax, find new friends and share opinions. As a HR manager, the main focus is on creating a good ambiance for every member and participant through motivation and generating passion. Each member is different and possesses different qualities and as a HR manager the role is to appropriate each challenge to the individual’s aspirations.

Some AEGEE-Kraków members at Agora Patra

You have also several members involved on the European level. How do you “bridge” the gap between local and EU level?

Since some time our members are interested in EL. For us, it is very important to make AEGEE-Kraków members aware of achievement and expansion possibilities into European Level. There are many opportunities to develop ourselves, and noteworthy, anyone can work on EL from the local area. We believe that this year Cracovians will get good and trustworthy information regarding EL from CD member and AEGEE-Kraków member Ola Kluczka who is well-equipped for the task.

Hopefully, in the nearest future European structures will be supported by next AEGEE-Kraków members.

Does your local have any future plans?

Every organisation should have a realistic plan for the future! For the upcoming academic year we are planning to organize 16 events, few of them through EL. Projects are the basis of every unit and all individuals involved develop themselves and their thought processes. We conscientiously increase the amount of members and diversity of AEGEE. Fundraising and interacting with more universities are two of the many focuses we have established for the next step. The future is looking bright for AEGEE, we keep expanding and growing and if the sky is the limit, we are approaching space.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona