AEGEE-Oviedo is an antenna that is growing constantly. It was nominated as Local of the Month of April because it organised a successful Regional Training Course (RTC) in cooperation with AEGEE-León and the Youth Mobility Working Group, “To Europe and Beyond”. The event was made up of a group of 23 participants plus seven organisers and three trainers. Since the main topic of the activity was mobility, the event was based on three pillars: the concept of mobility, its barriers and benefits and different kind of mobility programmes that you can benefit from (depending if you’re looking for a job, studies, volunteering or just pleasure). Besides that and more in detail, the AEGEE members were also delivered sessions about the Erasmus+ programme, its structure and several projects in which you can participate. Furthermore, they were working on some aspects like communication or active listening. Read this interview with the board of AEGEE-Oviedo and find out about their experience.

The AEGEEan: Congratulations for being selected as Local of the Month of April. How did it feel to find out that you were nominated?

AEGEE-Oviedo Board: Grazie mille! For us it is a great honour, because this proves that our effort and work is acknowledged. We do not do things in order to receive awards, but it is nice to get recognition for the things you do, since it also serves as motivation to keep working and improving. Also, we would like to thank the network for nominating us!

Introduce yourselves and tell us your AEGEE-Oviedo story. How did it start? Can you tell us a bit more about your local?

AEGEE-Oviedo was founded by students of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Oviedo on the 21st of December 1988. As it was told by Alain Fernández at our 25th anniversary in 2013, the very first president of the local, AEGEE-Oviedo was born as a way to protest against a European directive.

In the course of 1986-1987, the need for medicine students to pass a public examination before having their compulsory internships in hospitals was implemented in Spain. According to the results of that exam, they could choose a specialisation.

To medicine students all over Spain, this seemed like a trap: after six years of hard study, they needed to pass a general exam of everything they had learnt in that time in order to be able to start their internship period. They protested and they went on strike… But since it was a European directive, it was approved anyway.

And this is where Alain and his colleagues discovered AEGEE: “If we get a better understanding of Europe, we can be more aware of what is going on”. Thus, they started a local that became one of the largest in Europe with almost 2000 members back in the nineties.

Almost thirty years later, the flame is still alive and with enough fuel for at least another thirty years of getting Europe closer to Asturias… And Asturias closer to Europe.

How did you come up with idea to organise an RTC with AEGEE-León and the Youth Mobility Working Group and how did you manage to succeed? Can you tell us the secret to organise a perfect RTC?

The idea of organising something with AEGEE-León came up almost a year ago during Spring NWM Santander 2016, when some members of AEGEE-León and AEGEE-Oviedo were talking about doing something in collaboration, because the antennae are only 120 kilometres away from each other. So we started thinking about what we could do and we came up with the idea of organising an RTC.

During the following course (2016-2017), the members of our antennae started to go to each other’s activities and do some visits, and in January we made the right decision.

Both locals started to prepare the RTC with the first and reasonable decision that half of the organisers would be from Oviedo and the other half from León, despite the fact that the event would take place in La Vecilla (León).

Afterwards, it was proposed to cooperate with the Youth Mobility Working Group, since both antennae are some of the most experienced in the La Nave area regarding mobility, but it was also a natural decision due to the fact that both antennae have members involved in that Working Group. It was the perfect mix! For us, Oviedo plus León plus Mobility meant RTC.

What were the difficult moments in organising the event? 

Well, actually, we could say that organizing an event between two locals is quite challenging. Firstly: both locals should find a common aim. Secondly: you need a team able to work and build something together without knowing each other from before. It may seem simple in theory, but the reality is not that easy! Especially when your team has to work in the distance. Maybe that was one of the most difficult parts since there are some specific tasks, like the logistic part, in which one local carries the weight of everything until the event starts.

This has nothing to do with bad experiences during our event, but sometimes trying to find the right balance between both locals is not that easy. Fortunately, both locals had the same interests and some of us were already friends before taking the decision of starting that project together so we didn’t have that kind of obstacles while organizing. That’s why if we had to choose or define the real and biggest problem, we would say the huge amount of events that were also happening in the same month and even quite near us. It’s not only about the amount of activities, but also the profile of participants you’re looking for or may be interested on the topic. At the end having so many different kind of events around means people have to choose and we got less participants that we expected, being also much more difficult for us to convince them to come.

Was the RTC productive somehow? 

Sure! We achieved our common goals, we were able to overcome difficulties as a team, new bonds were created and, at the same time, the old ones were reinforced. AEGEE-León was a great partner and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all their effort and work that was done. Regarding to the event and the content itself, we tried to do our best and we reveiced great feedback from our participants. That means, finally, everyone learnt from each other while having fun all together.

What are you working on at the moment?

While we are writing these lines, the Summer University of AEGEE-Oviedo, “Guardians of the Paradise vol.9” is going on, making participants discover the wonders of Asturias and why the North of Spain (and this very land) has nothing to do with the clichés about our country.

In addition, we are already planning the course of 2017-2018, thinking about the activities we are going to organise for our members, starting with the after-summer BBQ, and for the international students of the University of Oviedo. By the way, did you know that, in 2018, AEGEE-Oviedo will turn 30? Stay tuned.

What is the “Impro Night”?

The “Impro Night” is an activity for our members and international students of the University of Oviedo that happens in “La Salvaje”, a pub in Oviedo, which provides us with a small stage with a mic and some instruments.

In a way, it is like a jam session, but also for speaking: if your passion is singing, showing other people how well you play the piano or the guitar, or how big of a comedian you are, this is for you.

You can also participate in groups singing your favourite song, as the aim here is just to have fun!

Did you do any other activities during the month of April?

During the month of April we also organised a Mini European School about self-development in collaboration with the AEGEE-Academy where our participants got the chance to put their routine on hold and to focus on themselves. We invited them to reflect on the path that had led them where they were, and how that path had shaped them; and finally, they also discovered how they had realised their own competences and skills, becoming aware of their potential to create an impact.

At the same time, more than 60 people of the Network came to the ‘’Primer Sidre’l Añu’’ event taking place in Gijón to eat some cachopo and drink sidra. This activity became popular after Spring AgorAsturias 2015, so we’re thinking about establishing it as a regular event during Easter.

And last but not least, some of our members went to a Training Course in which AEGEE-Oviedo was partner called ‘’Escape cyber – Enter life Training Course Erasmus+’’ in Turkey. The main purpose of this event was raising awareness among the participants about the modern phenomenon of the mental disorder of internet addiction, the supply of specialised knowledge, the development of “know how” and special tracing, acknowledgement, psychological approach and confronting techniques against this phenomenon. The crisis of values that characterises our modern and developed society leads young people to false behaviours, guiding them to social isolation and self-exclusion, to depression, to dangerous behaviours with uncontrolled consequences, mental disorders and many – many more hazardous paths.

When was the new board elected?

The board of 2017-2018 was elected on the 9th of June and, during one month, we had our knowledge transfer between old and new members, so since the 9th of July the new board is in force, even though some positions are still open and will be elected in September.

Can you tell us something about the board members?

It is a board of seven members: three of them continued from the previous board and the remaining four are fresh members. The whole team is motivated to do great things during the year.

Are there any members who take part in AEGEE projects or Working Groups?

We have members in the Health for Youth Interest Group (H4Y, Irene Dios and Sandra González), Gender Equality Working Group (GEWG, Jesús Baizán, Luz Gómez, Marga Arbina, Sandra Pandiella and Silvia García), Public Relations Committee (PRC, Gerardo García), Youth Mobility Working Group (YMWG, Laura López), the AEGEE-Academy (Eugenia Casariego, Gerardo García and Laura López) and the Juridical Commision (JC, Jesús Baizán) while in the recent past we also had members being part of the Network Commission (Olga Rivero, Juan Sordo, Marcos Herrero), Information Technology Committee (ITC, Alberto Cuesta), Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT, Gerardo García) and Chair Team (Alberto Cuesta).

Can you describe your local in one sentence?

Our local is an energetic and friendly group that likes non-formal education, organising great activities and we always have room for some social time at meetings and events.

What is your motto?

Little things can be great!

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

Lovely 13th of February. A day like any other but not for CD54. Réka, Tekla and me started our little adventure, CD on Track, the Comité Directeur first trip in part of the Network. Maybe it will sound like something new and something that had not been done in the past, but you would be surprised to know that CD had so-called “Network trips” years ago. Every local in our Network is having their own challenges, problems, but also strengths. I wish we can make cross-local cooperation stronger and learn from each other, and make our Network stronger, more active and more diverse. That is why also three members of CD are taking part to this trip. We want to understand the situation in locals better, as our overview from the desks in Rue du Noyer 55 is really limited.

Zvonimir

AEGEE-Leon office

My first local to visit was AEGEE-León. Not the closest local to Brussels I must admit, but it was nice to be back in beautiful León after Ideas Factory in September 2016. Already on planning phase we encountered the distance problem from Brussels, but this was also solved by our dear partner Interrail who is supporting us on these trips. Between me and León there were 1500 km, and trains took me from Brussels to Lyon, from Lyon to Barcelona and finally to the first destination, León; or, to put it in hours, 18 hours spent on trains.

But what about AEGEE-León? The local was founded in 2003 and currently they have between 100 and 150 members depending on the fluctuation rate of members during the year. The Board consists of eight board members and two advisory members. They also have active members in European Bodies of AEGEE-Europe, such as a Subcommisioner of the Network Commission, member of ACT and coordinator of a Working Group. Alongside organising Summer Universities in last few years, the majority of their work is based on Erasmus students at the University of León. They are organising a type of Buddy system, trips, parties, but more importantly, the office of AEGEE-León is also a centre of information for incoming Erasmus students.

Zvonimir with AEGEE-Leon members

Last but not least, AEGEE-León is a hosting and sending EVS local, so if you are interested in doing EVS one day follow them: who knows, maybe one day you will do EVS in AEGEE-León.

During my time here, I had also the luck to participate in the Valentine’s day  pub crawl edition organised for Erasmus students. In total more than 90 people participated and had a great time.

Laura, president of AEGEE-León, welcomed and hosted me during my time in the city. Thank you Laura for this, and also thank you AEGEE-León for having me, I only wish i had time to stay in every local longer. Also, I am inviting you to check the short video with Laura and check what message she has for you!

Tekla with AEGEE-Lille board members

Tekla: Day 1 and 2 – Lille (14th-15th February)

As my destination was the closest, I was the last CD member to leave the House, which had its advantages (being able to work almost two days more) and disadvantages (leaving the packing to the last minute). After a rather comfortable train ride – I had to switch only once- I arrived to Lille in the evening of the day which is in many cultures the day of love – Valentine’s day. After a nice traditional French dinner and a get-together/night out in a dormitory, the next day we had a meeting with the Board of AEGEE-Lille for a training about the role of CD, Board management and Event management. Apart from these topics, we discussed how to make new members active and how to keep the active members interested to go for international events, as in France universities are really strict with class attendance.

Tomorrow I will start my day early in order to reach Torino, my second stop, where I will be reunited with Réka and Zvonimir for a while to give a joint session to AEGEE-Torino about the opportunities in AEGEE for new members and what Comité Directeur is doing in the Headoffice in Brussels.

Next stop is AEGEE-Torino! Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, and Tekla Hajdu, Network Director

Mark your calendar! From the 7th to the 11th of September you should really be in Leon for the AEGEE Idea Factory/Planning Meeting. The Spanish Local, in fact, will host this strategic event for our organisation. What is an AEGEE Idea Factory/Planning Meeting? It’s the moment when the Strategic Plan 2017-2020 will be drafted and new topics, those the association will be working on for the next three years, will be discussed. If you are already intrigued by the idea, read the interview with AEGEE-Leon and wait for the Open Call, which is coming soon. 

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to apply?

We are one of the strongest antennas in this moment, with members in European level, huge knowledge of Action Agenda and in organising big events. And what can be better than a Planning Meeting to show that to the entire Network? Moreover, this is a great opportunity for us to open León to the whole Europe! Since we’ve already opened Europe to León, we’re sending at least ten members to the last statutory events.

What were you doing when the Comité Directeur delivered you the news?

In May, we were attending the LTC 2 when Álvaro noticed that we received an email from the Comité Directeur. We ran to read it, and we celebrated the positive result! But we had to be quiet so that members of other antennae that attended it could not discover the news… it was a secret until Agora Bergamo!

Present your local.

AEGEE-León is one of the most active antennae. Yes, that’s a cliche, BUT WE REALLY ARE! Imagine, we have been participating in the EVS program for five years now, hosting two volunteers per year and sending an average of three people from Leon to Europe per year. We were the last best SU before the “tirany” of Catania and we had organised a SUPS, NWM, and big and important events for our region, (for more than 100 hundred people!) we focused in the AA last year, with a lot of activities and workshops that fulfil it. We work a lot with the Erasmus + programme, sending each year more members to youth exchanges and training courses than to summer universities. We have around 130 members, among which there are some who have positions in the European level. We weekly organise activities for international students and for local members, both “social” and “serious” events.

Who will be in the core team? Have you already decided?

In our fantastic Core Team there are the following lions: team of coordinators, Sergio Nistal and Álvaro Nieto. Then, we also count on the big experience of members such as Alejandro M. Moya and Marcos Mato, and the great motivation of other members such as Cristina de la Parte, Genoveva García, Andrés Diez, Mario González and Enric Baltasar. Maybe we will include some more good people.

Tell us three things that make your local special.

– We work a lot with the Erasmus + programme. We currently have two Italian EVS volunteers that work for us to make events, manage the daily tasks and find and write Erasmus + projects.

– We are probably the most active antenna in the region even though our city is the smallest one!

– We have a special link with international students who let us be in contact with people of other cultures, be able to help them and know other points of view.

And now three things that make your city special.

– For sure the awesome architecture of the city! It has a lot of history, having been a Roman installment, capital of a medieval kingdom and now capital of a province.

– Tapas!! In León they put food with your drink for FREE, and really huge tapas! You cannot miss it, (is NOT like any city you have ever been, here we have real big tapas for free) for five euros we can have dinner and even get drunk! 

-The campus of the University of León is very good for this event because we will be able to go everywhere on foot. Everything is near!!

Can you give us already some sneak peaks of what we will see once there?

Even though the whole city is amazing, the most famous monument is the gothic Santa María de León Cathedral, probably the most beautiful one! It is really impressive when you see it for the first time, the second time, the third time… even old Leonese people still say so. You will also visit San Marcos and San Isidoro, which are two incredible monuments of the city you will fall in love with!

Stay tuned for the Open Call!

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

November 2015, the world was shocked by the attacks in Paris. Among others, the Spanish local AEGEE-León decided to take action and organised a session on the future of Europe and islamophobia, related to the Focus Area of Spreading Europtimism. Seeing that their current President, Marcos Mato Gonzales, is also a member of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT), it will come as no surprise that many of their events are related to our Action Agenda. We spoke to Laura Perez Alvarez to find out more!

ACT: Congratulations! ​As we would like to get to know this month’s winner, could you tell us a bit more about your local?

Laura: León is a small city, so for us having more than 100 members is a big deal! We organised Renove V (a weekend event for locals of our Network Commissioner with more than 140 participants) in September and right after that we changed our board. We have been trying to focus on organising relevant events. Since our president joined ACT in August he has been helping us to organise better activities that are more related to the Action Agenda. He was the one that came up with the idea for a series of sessions open to AEGEE members and other students about many different hot topics.

​Why did you decide to organise the session on the future of Europe and islamophobia?

There were many reasons. First of all, it was the time right after the terrorist attacks in Paris, because of which we saw that islamophobia was increasing. We have friends who are refugees and they were scared. We decided that we, as AEGEE members, should do something, so we talked to the islamic community here in León and the university. The idea for the sessions, including a speech and debate, just came up.

What was the result of your session?

The session was really interesting and attracted a lot of people: members of AEGEE-León, Erasmus and international students, other students and even two representatives from the muslim community. In total, more than 50 people attended the sessions. There were a lot of different opinions in the audience, which led to a great debate. We had some hungarian people as well and they gave us their point of view about the situation and explained some concepts we didn’t really know about. There was also a more intensive debate about the war in Syria and whether to support it or not. Some people thought that it is the only option and for some others war is never an option.

​Why do you think the Action Agenda is important for the Network, and what would you say to locals that are thinking about organising something related to the Action Agenda?

To locals that want to organise something, we would say: do it! We think AEGEE has a lot to offer and locals have a lot of potential, which is why the Action Agenda is so important for us. The Network needs to have a direction, and to have events that help us grow as an organisation.

Do you have any other big plans for the upcoming months​?

Right now we plan on continuing with more sessions at the university about important topics, like feminism and youth employment, with a speaker from the City Hall. Besides that, we are planning to have a workshop about ACT and the Action Agenda. Besides that, a lot of our members (more than ten) went to the EPM in Leiden, so now we want to host another session explaining the results of the event to the rest of our members.

AEGEE-Leon has certainly shown to 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?

Work hard, play hard. We have very active members that work really hard to improve our antenna, while they also have fun! We have also implemented a mentorship program” to help our newest members know AEGEE better. So, as advice for other locals we would say: it’s important to motivate your members, especially those who seem interested, and help them develop their full potential.

​Which sentence would describe your local and your event?

We, as young europeans, must be informed about the problems in today’s Europe. To spread europtimism, you have to know what Europe means!

Written by Action Agenda Coordination Committee

The best two weeks we could have ever have, I never really understood the AEGEE spirit until now.

It was the morning of the first day of the SU. Finally the Summer was here and the participants were arriving. You could not imagine how good it felt, after months of only talking through Facebook, to finally meet all of them. It was crazy, 40 people together for one adventure that was just beginning.

First, we spent a few days in León. Visiting the city and the cathedral, biking around and playing games. But the nights in our party place, “The Humedo”, were clearly the best! The motto of our SU, “Discover your dark side”, written on our t-shirts, made us have a group mindset while running around the crowded streets.

And then, we left our beloved main city, ready (or not) to walk the five days of El Camino.

I remember the first night before the whole walk started, being so excited, but tired. I was already thinking: We are not going to make it. And then we started walking. El Camino was different than how I thought it would be. In the morning the whole group started together and you could hear regular comments such us “I really enjoyed dinner” or “somebody was snoring all nigh”, but after a while the group spitted. Because of the different rhythms of walking each of us had and that was when the good part started, conversations got deeper as the landscape of Galicia turned greener.

Walking for hours with the same person allowed participants to open up with each other easily, friendships developed faster this way. And you could find yourself knowing the stories of the people you walked with.

It was also a self-discovering stage because you got to know yourself better too (more discovering your dark side) a meditation time and (why not?) a fun time: seeing everybody run to get their seals on their pilgrim’s passport, necessary to finish the Camino was hilarious. There were some bumps in the road of course, having a medicine student as a helper can be a blessing.

The last day of El Camino was one of the weirdest. As we started to walk, it started to rain, but also the road was muddy and full of water from the rain from the night. We thought the participants would not go through all of that happily… but we couldn’t be more wrong! Some of them started to sing, share drinks and food and also appreciate that walking was coming to an end and that our goal was closer than ever… and sooner than we realized we were there. Santiago, The Way of St. James was over.

And then the Galician night came, we had the most fun there, dressed in togas tasting typical Galician food and drinks. The cathedral was visible at every moment, both from our hostel and the party places, as a reminder of why we were there.

After Santiago, Portugal came. It was great getting to explore a different country with different people, streets and, above all, food.

I remember the streets of Porto as the best part of the trip. All of us were getting along very well by then, so it was great to see a new city with more than 30 friends. We learned so much, partied so much and also ate so much.

Surfing was definitely a great idea, even though it was the first time in the ocean for some, others were professionals already.

The last night… how did everything happen so fast? If you’ve ever been to such an event, I’m sure you know the feeling, part of you stays behind with the people you’ve met. It will be hard for all of us to be reunited again, but most of us will see each other again in Europe, cause it’s a small world.

Lastly, as an organiser myself, I want to thank all of the participants and helpers, it would have never been the same without you, but I would like to make a special mention to my fellow organisers.  Since this was my first time organising such big event, but not theirs, I was scared and doubtful at first (only five boys and me organising?!), but from the first day it was amazing how nice they were and how much I learned from them. They all worked really hard so we could all have the best experience of our lives, which indeed it was.

It’s a rare and unique thing how, after only sharing lives for a few days, such an intercultural exchange, such huge learning process is possible, how people can start strong friendships or fall in love…but most important how we got to be like a family and really feel the AEGEE spirit. And we figured all of that on the last night.

In the end we truly found out what “Discover your dark side” really meant… Especially while trying to protect our flag!

Written by Laura Pérez, AEGEE-León

David Garcia Rodriguez from AEGEE-León has been active in AEGEE for a long time. After being subcommissioner of the Audit Commission for some time he has decided to put forward a candidature for that particular commission and The AEGEEan interviewed him about his interests.

When and why did you join AEGEE?

David: I joined AEGEE after my Erasmus studies in The Netherlands, as I missed the European feeling and I speak only English. I wanted to feel that again. After joining, I attended to some local events and training courses. Summer came and I attended a Summer University in Istanbul, were I discovered what it is like to be active in AEGEE. After my return to León, I attended the Fundraising European School (FRES) Zaragoza, where I learned even more about how AEGEE works internally and at the European level. Right after that I applied for a board position in my local as FR-responsible. In a few weeks I was organizing events and encouraging all my friends and classmates to join AEGEE. Not only for parties,but for the experience and knowledge they could earn with it.

I have to mention my mentor in this Article, which is Jorge Ruíz Quintela from AEGEE-León, because he introduced me to the wonderful world of AEGEE.

The Audit Commission is a very serious Commission which primary goal is not to provide a cool experience for the Commissioners but to supervise the Financial Director. We now have a very competent, experienced and hard-working Financial Director (FD), so do you consider yourself to be capable of supervising such a Financial Director? And what are your qualifications for this task?

You are right, our current Financial Director is fully capable to deal with all financial AEGEE-tasks. I really admire her, and on my first visit to the CD House I was really impressed. From my point of view, the Audit Commission is an internal organ whose main task is to supervise the FD, but further than auditing, we are here to provide support in her tasks.

I still have a lot to learn and I believe I have the full support from former Audit Commissions, to whom we can ask for help and advice, but, replying to your question, I feel motivated enough to take care properly of that task. I have attended the two Audit meetings I was invited to, and I have observed their practices.

You have only taken part in 1,5 Agora, do you plan to be more active in terms of statutory events?

Unfortunately I have only attended, as you said one and a half Agorae. In that time I was looking for a job and I could not spend time on traveling during the week days. Now I have a stable job, so I can attend them. However, I was following the news of the other statutory events I could not attend, such as EBM Izmir, Agora Enschede, EBM Valleta, and Agora Rhein-Neckar, and I will participate actively in this Agora Zaragoza.

On the contrary you have been in many different trainings such as the European School. How have the experiences of ES1 & FRES prepared you for the Audit Commission?

FRES, as my first event, prepared me for the local level, and European School 2 Castelló prepared me for focusing on project development, but I don’t think that those events prepared me for the Audit Commission. This is something that you cannot learn in any event. In my program I am proposing an idea which will be Traesury European School and Treasury Workshops on NWM´s, more focused on helping those antennae which are having difficulties with treasury and financial reports. This is something that I have learnt on my work environment together with the European knowledge I got on those AEGEE events, and my business studies.

Why did you join CRC, what have you done in CRC so far and how do you plan to help in CRC?

I joined CRC (Corporate Relations Comitee) with the aim of helping them to collect money in order to give economical support to the organization of events, but, I have to say that my activity in it has been very passive.I would say that I did not put too much effort on this activity and it is one of my limitations in AEGEE. However I appreciate the work thy are doing and the opportunity and confidence they put in me.

What have you learned as job shadower of the Audit Commission?

I have learned basically the main tasks an Audit Commissioner should know. Which things we should check on the reports, and which reports we need to check. How to validate the Financial report of AEGEE Europe and all the locals. But if I am elected I hope I will learn much more.

How would you like to help treasurers across the Network as Audit Commission?

Taken the idea from the former Audit Commission, we will deliver an AEGEE Treasurers Manual, and we will help them on any treasury query they would have trough mail, or Facebook Group. Also, as I said, I will promote the idea of Treasury European School and Workshops on events, so they can get more skills related to their tasks and share experiences and questions.

How do you plan to make sure that all antennae submit their Financial Reports, which is an important antenna criteria that not all locals fullfill?

With the idea of the Treasury European School and Workshops on events, plus he treasury manual, they will be able to elaborate Financial Reports, and they will submit it (theoretically). However we will be in touch with them and we will remind and help them on doing it.

How have you gained deep knowledge about how the AEGEE Network works?

By attending the already mentioned events, and staying tuned up to AEGEE mailing lists, I got a general idea of the AEGEE Network, but the most revealing experience was my first visit to the CD house, where they are very glad to explain their daily tasks. Then you have have a real idea what AEGEE is and why those guys are there.

How do you plan to increase the recognition of the Audit Commission in the Network?

By making us more active and accessible to all members and specially for treasurers, we hope they will be more encouraged to join the Audit Commission in future terms as Job Shadowers or as members.

Those are all very interesting plans for the Audit Commission and The AEGEEan wishes David good luck with his candidature.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn

Geographically, León is one of the most diverse provinces in the whole of Spain. On one hand, it is filled with high mountains (covered in snow during winter), steep cliffs and valleys sheltering lakes and gorges. On the other hand, it is blessed with flat plains watered by León’s rivers and streams which provide herds with pastures, and farmers with land to plant cereal crops.

Towards the north-east, nearby the border with Galicia, the province of León is characterized by its rolling countryside where round mountains covered in forests and picturesque villages can be easily found. I strongly believe that tiny cities provide certain amounts of magic and mystery everywhere. I like León; I like what it offers for those who come from outside its frontiers. Let yourself be conquered by an old university town retaining its past whilst looking to the future. Leon has Roman origins. It’s standing as an encampment city, which was consolidated with the definitive settlement of the Legio VII Gemina from 74 AD. The historical relevance of León is evident from 910 due to its active fighting in the Reconquista. Since then, centuries of history have been paraded through its streets.

Its status as a main town in the way of Saint James makes it a receptive point of tourism, both national and international. From almost any point in the city you can contemplate our French Gothic style cathedral. Its stained glasses are the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are many legends lying behind its walls.

Next to it, we have the Basilica of San Isidoro, tomb of medieval kings, and considered worldwide as the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque. You ought to visit the monastery of San Marcos. It was built thanks to an altruist financial donation by Ferdinand the Catholic. Nowadays, it is used as a hotel and as a museum. Its uses have varied throughout history. Francisco de Quevedo suffered imprisonment and wrote some of his most famous novels at this monastery.

Their bows are inspired by the shapes of the cathedral. Another most interesting fact about León is that among all the museums it has, the MUSCA holds with contemporary art expositions.

León is not only famous for its art, but also for its Eastern festivity, during which the city is full of people from all over the world. There’s the tradition named “killing jews”, also known as going to drink lemonade with friends. If you come to León just be sure to taste our “tapas”. If you are fond of eating, you’ll fall in love with León and its gastronomy. ‘Morcilla’, Valdeón cheese or trout soup are some of its delicatessen … And of course, we can’t not mention our stunning local wines: Prieto Picudo, Impresiones… Apart from everything mentioned above, León is more than a city full of amazing art during the day, and crazy parties at nights. It’s a different plan every weekend. It is a paradise to rediscover each morning. You should get yourself lost in ‘Picos de Europa’. Discover Boñar and the best wildlife museum in the world; Oseja Sajambre, Posada de Valdeón and their traditions and people. Enjoy the flora and fauna of this north-west land. Take a trip to Astorga. Be impressed by Gaudí Palace and share with your friends a ‘maragato stew’. Scrumptious.

Visit Ponferrada. Go to Babia. Check first hand why it was the heaven rest of the Catholic Kings.

And the most important thing: Enjoy every second you spend in our city. A visit of a lifetime.

Written by Ruth San José Blasco, AEGEE-León

Recently it was shared with our Network that the host of the AEGEE Olympics is AEGEE-León: a strong and motivated antenna that is already working hard on organising a big event for 200 people in October. The AEGEEan interviewed Daniel Garcia Rodriguez, Local Activities Responsible and Sport Responsible of AEGEE-León, in order to get to know what is going on in the life of their antenna.

Sunny León

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a bit about your local?  

Currently we have about 100 members, and 35 of us are very motivated and active members who work every week in our sports and local activities, trips with Erasmus, thematic parties, workshops, and participating in AEGEE events in all Spain and Europe. When we talk about each other we say AEGEE-León is like our other family, and at this moment we think that is time to show it to the rest of Europe with this incredible and thrilling project “The first AEGEE Olympics with the SWG”.

You are one of the locals involved with the European Voluntary Service program. How are you involved in it and how has the experience been so far?

We are a young institution accredited in the EVS (since September 2012), as sending, hosting and coordinating organisation. We applied for our first volunteer and fortunately we got someone. She has been with us since February and will be here until June 2013.

As sending organization there were many solicitors. We have planned to send AEGEE-León members as volunteers to other countries during the next year. When you see that all your efforts are paying off, you feel good about it. The EVS is a very important opportunity to get experience, and it is a very good solution to youth unemployment and a strong training alternative in Europe. So we want to continue being in the EVS, and encourage other antennae to join it.

A Sportive version of Leoncio

Furthermore, your mascot is nominated again for the cutest mascot award for The AEGEEans Choice Awards. What makes him so popular, and do you think he will win again?

Yes, we are very proud of Leoncio. We know he will win because he has the AEGEE spirit: he travels a lot, he is a party animal, he is interested in savannah affairs and he seeks cooperation between other mascots.

Also, you are organizing the same Summer University for the third time in a row? What makes your Summer University so special, and what is changed about this year’s edition?

Our two last versions of St. James’ way were really successful, in 2011 we got the first place in the ranking, in the second version in 2012, we got the third position so the results were still amazing. This year it is a Summer Course, not a Travelling Summer University (TSU), so we will try to get even closer to environmental issues. And we want to open it for disabled people, in particular blind people. It is going to be a huge challenge but we are sure we will succeed.

León university

You are one of the locals that use sports a lot in your activities, but maybe not everybody knows about it. Please tell us how you use sports in AEGEE-León?

We use sports as an important tool to connect to our local Erasmus students. These moments of sport are one opportunity to bond with them and to promote the integration and team spirit. This way the Erasmus students can have a nice afternoon with AEGEE-León.

In implementing this, we cooperate closely to our university – they let us use their facilities to play two hours of football every Monday, two hours of basketball every Thursday and two hours of volleyball every Friday. Usually we have around 30-40 exchange students participating in these activities, and AEGEE-León members enjoy playing with them each day. Also, four to five times during the year we organise a world championship of football: one part is general (male and female) and other part is for female teams.

Which leads me to the AEGEE Games – why did you choose to apply to host the first edition of this event?

When we first heard about the AEGEE Olympics inspired games we immediately thought that it could be a very good opportunity to host an interesting sport meeting. Our faith in our strong cooperation with our university because of all the sports we already do with them, and the fact that we have many motivated and active members hoping to organise a good event lead us to develop a very good project.

The motivation of AEGEE-León is very inspriring and The AEGEEan hopes that other antennae will follow their example and focus on the thematic aspect of AEGEE, Working Groups, and strong Summer Universities.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

AEGEE is a voluntary organisation, you probably know that. What you probably also know is that the organisation is made up by different boards across Europe who have board meetings at many different locations.

Traditional

Some locals are so fortunate to be having offices in the university of their city.  For example AEGEE-León has a big office right next to the international office in their university, ensuring that many students, national and international pass by the office of AEGEE-León probably more than once in their time at the university. Another active antenna not so far from León, AEGEE-Zaragoza, has a smaller but probably likewise much visited office in the building that holds other student organisations from the Jamón loving city.

An office for every occasion

AEGEE-Beograd also has an office in their university, more specific in the Faculty of Mining and Geology and it is mostly used for board meetings and from time to time for meetings when the antenna works on some specific project. The office is small and for that reason AEGEE-Beograd has yet another office that they use for bigger meetings with the help of the Student Union of Serbia. As if that was not enough then they also have a third location which is a pub near their office where they have informal meetings and chill out with their members every Friday. They use it to get closer to the members and show the informal side of AEGEE as well.

A combination of both

The former Local of The Month AEGEE-Utrecht also has more places to gather the board and their members. The big antenna in Utrecht has two office rooms, one with five computers and one to have meetings. It is also in a university building where also other associations are situated. Another AEGEE-Utrecht place worth mentioning is “their” boat, because on Wednesdays AEGEE-Utrecht rent a boat from another association. It is a big boat for 200 people and it has a bar, dance floor and a kitchen. Here they have drinks, dinners (for 40-50 people) and presentations as well.

Less traditional

Staying in the less traditional area, we have AEGEE-København who unfortunately does not receive as much recognition from the university as they should. However, recognition they do get from “Studenterhuset” which is a place where students can study and meet during the day, and have parties at night, as well as a place conferences and so on and so forth. This is the place where AEGEE-København has their board meetings, discussing any matter affecting the antenna.

So there are for sure many different ways to have a board meeting, all depending on support from externals as well as active membership of internals. How does your antenna meet? Let us know in the comment below!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København