Do you believe in Europe? Do you see problematic issues in your society and do you think you can be part of the change? If yes, the Summer University (SU) “Call Upon Young Europeans” is a perfect summer event for you.

This SU takes place between the 20th and the 31st of August. It is a perfect mix between a summer course, focusing on learning and understanding, and a summer university, focusing on culture and having fun. The training will merely take place the first five days in Toulouse, organised by AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon, and will be provided by trainers from Your Vision for EUrope. Afterwards the group travels to Barcelona.

The SU will be focused on European Citizenship and Europtimism and allows for in-depth understanding of these issues through non-formal education. There will be extensive use of interaction between participants. The training will firstly give an introduction to the EU: by interactive workshops, participants will learn about the EU institutions, EU history and the place of Europe nowadays in the world. During the SU, a simulation of the European Council will be conducted. When the required knowledge is ascertained, the training will address issues like the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the EU.

In today’s society, people lose faith in the European Union, and not without reason. The EU is at a crossroad, and its future is at stake. Therefore special attention will be given to identify and discuss factors that endanger the European project and how to tackle and prevent them. The Summer University will enhance understanding and create open-minded citizens, but will specifically focus upon the opportunities offered to European citizens, to all be active citizens and changemakers by spreading Europtimism.

AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon have taken up responsibility to be active and responsible in society by organising this SU. They will do their ultimate best to make this the best SU ever. Even more, they applied for and got selected as an Erasmus+ project. Erasmus+ is a EU programme to support education and training for youth in Europe. All AEGEE-locals are encouraged to organise Erasmus+ projects, which are perfect opportunities to propose an educative and innovative project and to be active in society!

This SU is a positive sign in the current state of Europe. A dynamic energy is rising in France and has led to the awakening of AEGEE locals in this country. Especially in the context of the recent elections in France, it is not an easy job promoting the EU in France. It can only be encouraged. Therefore the project team of Your Vision for EUrope is happy to support the organisation of this SU. Your Vision for EUrope is a project initiated by AEGEE-Europe to facilitate discussion on European politics and make the voices of young Europeans heard. Their activities aim to raise awareness of European affairs and stimulate debate on topics relevant for young people, and therefore match the theme of this Summer University.

The Erasmus+ programme allows for 15 participants selected from the partner countries, being five participants from Italy, five from Spain and five from Romania. This selection is not bound to the regular Summer University application procedure. Ten other participants will be selected from all other countries over Europe, and this will be done through the regular SU application procedure. Find more information on how to apply for this SU here: http://yourvisionforeurope.com/su-call-upon-young-europeans-aug-20th-31st/.

Written by Elinne Mertens, AEGEE-Leuven

Our new Local of the Month is AEGEE-Lyon, a small French antenna with big AEGEE spirit! Let’s find out more about this antenna through the words of Marine Betrancourt, President of AEGEE-Lyon.

The AEGEEan: “AEGEE-Lyon is the Local of the Month”, how does it sound?

Marine: It’s an utmost pleasure to have been selected Local of the Month. We received the news while we were at AEGEE-Paris’ 30th anniversary event and I couldn’t have been more proud of my small, but super active team. It’s a recognition of the hard work of the small antennae that are usually forgotten within the network, because size does not matter, quality does.

How would you describe AEGEE-Lyon?

AEGEE-Lyon is a small antenna in the landscape of the AEGEE network, but although it went through hard times, the consecutive teams led great projects.

Which are these projects?

We are involved on local level within the associations of the “associative incubator”, as well as working with the House of Europe & Europeans of Lyon/ Europe Direct Office, the European Union National Institute of Culture ( EUNIC, which are Goethe Institute, Institute Camoens, Institute Cervantes etc) and others European focused network & platforms.

AEGEE-Lyon organised several European projects under the Youth in Action program, now called Erasmus +. Many years in a row, we also organised a European event for the famous “Fête des Lumières”, Lyon’s festival of lights happening early December.

Last summer, AEGEE-Lyon organised a Travelling Summer University with AEGEE-Genova, going from Lyon to Genova and through Cinque Terre, through Annecy (the “little Venice of the Alps”) with the support of the city of Lyon and the region Rhône-Alpes.

Partnerships are agreements which have spread a lot in our network, because they actually enable an antenna to become stronger and explore new opportunities for growth. Today, we are introducing an antenna that understands the importance of cooperation with other realities, namely AEGEE-Lyon, which recently signed a partnership with Le Journal International, an independent student media. Do you want to know more about it? Then check this article and meet Marine Betrancourt (President of AEGEE-Lyon) and Nathan Lautier (Editor in Chief at Le Journal International).

The AEGEEan: You signed a partnership with Le Journal International. How did you come up with this idea?

Nathan Lautier (Le Journal International): We are working in the same coworking space. With the good atmosphere there, it was impossible not to create links between our two associations which both share an international dimension.

Marine Betrancourt (AEGEE-Lyon): It was a cold monday of January and as usual, we were teasing each other on both of our associations. We had talked about it as a joke for a long time, but this time, we decided to make it happen! And here is how the magic happened! (She laughs)

Could you introduce your partner Le Journal International?

Nathan: Le Journal International is an independent media created in Lyon in 2008 by students. It went from a student-led media for students to an independent media targeting interested people in our editorial line. We write about international news that is little or not reported on by traditional media and respect three key words: international, neutral and original. It’s only available online for now. We have an average of 200 000 pages read and about 80 000 readers per month, which means a visitor read in average two articles, and we are pretty proud of it! We favour “long format” with articles of about 4000 letters, because we prefer to have quality analysis over a lot of articles.

Marine: Nathan introduced it better than I could. From my point of view, I would add that their strength is their international network of contributors and the quality of their articles in the perspective of their editorial line. It’s a really good alternative source of international news treated indepth by their contributors.

What does this partnership consist of?

Marine: Basically, AEGEE-Lyon agreed to provide with Le Journal International an article written every week by a member of AEGEE-Lyon or of our wide network. Our logo appears on their website and they reference the contributors. In this way we gain visibility. Meanwhile, we are sharing the articles as much as possible and try to raise awareness on the opportunity for members of AEGEE to contribute to Le Journal International by writing articles. We believe in the strength of AEGEEans willing to share and write about what’s happening in their community, region and country that is of interest, but is not or little treated by traditional international media. So far, we got quite some positive feedbacks of AEGEEans willing to contribute to the editorial line of Le Journal International. I want to underline that it is not a way to compete with the AEGEEan recruiting journalists for another cause. The editorial line is absolutely different. Le Journal International target consists of international news not or little treated by the traditional media.

How did you manage to sign this partnership?

Marine: We printed and signed two copies of the document. It states both our obligations to each others and all the legal aspects. Very easy since we agreed on the terms.

Would you suggest a partnership like the one you signed to other antennae?

Marine: I believe AEGEE locals definitely need to cooperate with other local organisations. The strength of our association is its wide network and range of topics targeted. In Lyon, our antenna is very small but our strength is found in the opportunity that the city council of Lyon offers us of having a students’ organisations coworking space where we get to know and work with other organisations and that is an amazing richness!

Written by Larisa Smajlagic, AEGEE-Verona

The stories that you are going to hear about this TSU are going to be legendary, because those stories are French and Italian legends created by all of the participants and organizers. This TSU included not only discovering Italian and French culture, but also friendship and unforgettable memories within 17 different nations. A legend was made by the antennas of Lyon and Genova in two weeks. Lyon, Annecy, Genova and Cinque Terre… those places are going to be remembered fondly by each one of us.

“We shared umbrellas to hide from the rain. In stormy nights we kept warm with a cuddle. We lost our souls rushing from train to train and found them again at the end of the bottles” said Anja Nedelkovska, one of the participants of the TSU organized by AEGEE-Genova and AEGEE-Lyon. As it is understandable from this meaningful quote from one of our participants, it was more than a cultural exchange and more than just fun activities. We faced bad weather during the first days in Lyon, but we challenged it by appreciating every moment. As this Summer University was the first for many participant, we learned how to act and think within a group of AEGEE people. We never tore apart. Hikes in Italy were very tough, but we were always hiking together even with rain, high temperatures, humid and hot weather.

This amazing TSU was made with big challenges. AEGEE-Lyon is a small antenna with 15 members, and four active members. Those people managed to make a successful TSU with a big help from AEGEE- Genova. Also organizing Summer Universities with different locals have always been complicated, but French Kiss the Italian Beauty was organized in two different countries and it was an amazing event. All of its participants and organizers did a good job. From timetable to meetings and group activities, everybody was energetic and tuned all the time. Magic was in the air like our French song said. We all felt the warmth of excitement which led us to discover every corner of the amazing cities. We had so much fun that at the end of the TSU, we all had six-packs and also some sort of drawings on our bodies as a memory. Form all the crazy stuff we did, there is going to be some fond memories for each of us. Like the 14^th July, French National Day, fireworks that we watched for 20 minutes near the Annecy Lake. The show was breathtaking – we could not closed our eyes for even one second. Also the concert afterwards was also very good. The first night in Genova was also another great time in this TSU, we had a pool party and everybody enjoyed Genova Port with itscity lights and stars.

Besides the amazing nights we spent throughout the TSU, we also had great sport activities like the hike from Camogli and the splendid beach of San Fruttuoso. Hiking took three hours, even if it was exhausting, we loved the view from the top and enjoyed our meal that we ate surrounded by nature.

Activities were magnificently arranged for the sport lovers. In France, Lyon offered us adventure park and Annecy showed us the amazing Annecy lake view by hiking. In Italy, we took Kung-Fu lesson, swam in the warm sea of Sestri Levante and Cinque Terre let us to enjoy all the breathtaking views it has. All the places we stayed or traveled to and all the things that we did, they cannot be said in word, one should experience them. Shortly, this TSU was a metal chain connecting each the people who participated with the help of sport and nature.

Written by Ayşegül Gökdağ, AEGEE-Izmir

Is there a better way to start a new year than with a great New Year’s resolution? With the Local Training Course (LTC) taking place from 10-11 of January 2014, Lyon’s AEGEE members charged their batteries with a lot of energy and motivation for the new year.

A lot of goals have been set privately and within the antenna and with the help of Maartje Natrop, our trainer for the weekend, these goals should be easily realized by the end of the year. Maartje, the speaker of the AEGEE Academy, a pool of trainers of AEGEE (European Student’s Forum), turned our weekend into a flourishing and interesting experience. Not only did we learn how to power up ourselves, but also how to energize each other and most importantly our antenna. For those who had only recently joined, the training offered a great opportunity to get to know the principles of AEGEE and some of Lyon’s members.

The first session ‘Power Up Yourself’ was, as the name already gives away, concentrated on our personal aims. Goal setting, time management and motivation were the three key points on the list. Not only did it help to understand how important it is to clearly define our goals but also how to set up a plan that is realistic enough to get there. A combination of motivation, discipline, structure and fun will eventually get you where you want.

One of the many things that make AEGEE outstanding is the fact that different kind of people come together and start working as a team. A team is made up of different types of people, but sometimes we are not a hundred percent certain what kind of position we take on when working in a group. Session two was all about powering up each other: finding one’s position in a group, building team dynamics and developing conflict management strategies. Those of you who have not tried or heard of the Belbin test should be googling it right now. With the help of this fantastic test that takes up about twenty minutes it is possible to find out what your strengths are when working in a team. It is astonishing if not scary to see how much the end-descriptions resemble one’s personality.

Still being a very small antenna, AEGEE-Lyon made especially use of the third session: ‘Power Up Ur Antenna!’. People are the essential key to what AEGEE does and that is why it is important to keep your current members active and interested while recruiting new ones. Despite the size of Lyon’s antenna, its diversity and commitment led to the decision of organizing a Travel Summer University with Genova this year. With the help of Maartje’s lovely personality and talent and the team spirit of our members it was possible to remind ourselves of what it is that we personally want to achieve within AEGEE, where and how we would like to get active and deepen our understanding of empowerment and team dynamics.

As a new member to the association, it was an amazing experience to see the progress that was made by the end of the day. Getting to know each other, exchanging ideas and learning about the uniqueness of the organization got me all excited to get involved.

It was a productive weekend that got us excited about what is coming up this year. We would once again like to thank Maartje for making this weekend so special and we can’t wait to see some of you in Lyon this summer. In the meantime do not forget: Life is Your Own creatioN, Let Yourself go Over the Nations! So get motivated, get active and get involved!

Written by Jasmin Haider, AEGEE-Lyon