Last January, AEGEE-Nijmegen organised a workshop about Sign Language (Civic Education Focus Area). For this reason, they were chosen as ACTive Local of the Month of January. We spoke with Daisy Brugman, President of AEGEE-Nijmegen, to find out more!

ACT: Which emotions did you have when you knew that AEGEE-Nijmegen was chosen as ACTive local of January?

Daisy: We couldn’t believe it actually! We were overwhelmed with joy after re-reading the e-mail. Thank you for the title, it makes us even more determined and enthusiastic to organise more activities!

Why did you decide to organise a workshop about Sign Language?

Every year our committee Formal Activities organises different formal activities varying from language workshops to lectures. After brainstorming they came up with a workshop about sign language. One of the members of that committee was following that subject for her studies, so she contacted her lecturer who gave the sign language workshop.

What was the result of the workshop?

We invited a teacher who gives the course ‘sign language’ at our university. During the workshop he first explained what sign language actually was and how it is in practice. Then we started off with learning some basic signs. In the end we even translated parts from our website! So the members who remember the signs can now promote AEGEE in sign language.

There were around 14 members of AEGEE-Nijmegen attending the workshop. We heard only good things about the workshop from the members and the committee was really content with the results! I think that thanks to this workshop more people realise how different it is for a deaf person to communicate.

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

We tell our new members about the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan during our introductory period. During every introduction we always have one information evening about AEGEE-Europe! We also inform our members by our newsletter, Facebook page and website as well as by face to face talks.

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

We organised a few Action Agenda activities this past year. For example we had an improvisation workshop, a first aid workshop and a Dutch course. Our highlight of the year was the Network Meeting in April, which included multiple topics related to the Action Agenda and Strategic plan. I hope we can organise even more activities in the upcoming months!

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

Because the Strategic Plan gives locals a goal to aim and the Action Agenda gives locals a path to follow. It makes us stronger as an association if we have the same goals!

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

You should see the guidelines as a help and try to think outside of the box! It always leads to the most interesting and creative activities! Also, don’t forget to organise something that is close to the interest of your members.

Can you tell us a bit more about your local? 

AEGEE-Nijmegen was founded in 1986 by Bart Kruitwagen. Every now and then he still drops by at our weekly social drink. Currently we have our 31st board, called ‘Infinito’, running the local. We are very active in and around Nijmegen. Last April we welcomed our 200th member and we have about 50 active members spread over 13 different committees this year, who made it possible to organise a lot of amazing activities varying from members’ weekends to lectures about gender equality. Besides these activities we also organise different trips, exchanges and hitchhiking competitions. This year we already went to Brescia, Dublin, Prague, Cluj-Napoca and Sofia!

Characterise your local in one sentence. 

We go to infinity and beyond, we are limitless!

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

Spring is right in front of us, and Spring Network Meetings follow closely. The Network is once again presented with ten amazing opportunities to grow stronger together, create fruitful alliances and share best practices. Here you can find the first five: AEGEE-Debrecen, AEGEE-Thessaloniki, AEGEE-Bilbao, AEGEE-Heidelberg and AEGEE-Nijmegen. For the following five, click here.

NWM Debrecen: The phoenix rises again

When it comes to AEGEE, sometimes it is like a double-edged sword. You have the benefit of experiencing and getting into the democratic process, assume responsibilities and make yourself heard at the European level. At the same time, there is a threat of people coming and going all the time, AEGEE represents just a few years of their lives for most of the members. This pilgrimage can sometimes affect the balance of an antenna or even the whole Network; some other times it could also create better leaders and the feeling of being part of this legacy could motivate people even more. AEGEE-Debrecen is no less than this, a few motivated members that will “rise again” and make their voices heard. We will tackle together all these issues and find real solutions for our locals and the Network. How can you get more inspired, if not in a place where inspired people are working and living? Come to discover the capital and the second biggest city in Hungary, its cuisine and its biggest treasure: the great AEGEEans living there!

Facebook event here.

NWM Thessaloniki: Find your thess-aurus
Are you an AEGEEan and you would like to know more about our organisation? Do you wish to gain knowledge and develop your skills in combination with meeting with more than 30 people from all over Europe? Do you want to join a journey to explore AEGEE and yourself? Then the NWM Thessaloniki: Find your thess-aurus is the right event for you! Join us in the beautiful Greek city of Thessaloniki and explore your potential and the AEGEE spirit (except the mattresses and the sleeping bags, we will have real beds!). A team of trainers will help you find your thess-aurus, so do not wait anymore! See you in Thessaloniki!

Facebook event here.

NWM Bilbao: The North is Worth a Meeting

For the second time in six years, AEGEE-Bilbao is proud to invite you all to the NWM: The North is Worth a Meeting. On the second weekend of April, 52 young AEGEEans will gather in Berriz for one of the greatest AEGEE events: a Network Meeting! During three days, invaded by the AEGEE spirit, all the beloved participants will have a great time in a traditional cosy village, being surrounded by lovely nature and learning about the Basque language and the culture. We are going to focus on the needs of the locals: what they want to learn and improve, what they want to share. Also, we can count on some special help to make the wishes of our participants come true.
If you want to discover what is going on in Bilbao, do not miss this opportunity!

Facebook event here.

NWM Heidelberg: Breaking the ice with Friedrich

Breaking the ice with Friedrich is your best opportunity to discover the most romantic city in Germany. Spend the whole weekend with 50 other AEGEEans sharing ideas and opinions and enjoying the best AEGEEan atmosphere. We even have a whole afternoon full of games and opportunities to discover the area! We are not saying that it will be the best NWM of the season but…. well, yes, we can say that! You will not regret joining us! A really participative NWM where you can have a say about the sessions beforehand! Do not let the others tell you about it, be part of NWM Heidelberg!

Facebook event here.

NWM Nijmegen: Bridges across Europe

Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, yet it is full of young people, including many AEGEEans. The best part of this Network Meeting will be the variation. The programme contains thematic sessions including a conference about equal rights, as well as organisational sessions provided by at least five different people. You will receive a bike for the whole duration of the event, allowing you to get plenty of fresh air during the day, while you crawl from pub to pub in the night!

Facebook event here.

This is part one of a two-parts article. More NWMs are coming soon.

Written by the Network Commission of AEGEE-Europe

Matthijs Dirks finished his term as president of AEGEE-Nijmegen not too long ago. The AEGEEan talked to him to find out more about his efforts in changing promotional material according to the visual identity, the life as a full-time board member and his future plans.

The AEGEEan: Matthijs, please introduce yourself, your hobbies and studies to our readers.

Matthijs: Hi dear readers of The AEGEEan, I’m Matthijs. I’m in my third year of membership with AEGEE-Nijmegen (And in my first year of membership with AEGEE-Eindhoven). Some of you may know me from my partake in organising two Summer Universities or the Network Meeting (NWM) in Nijmegen or Eindhoven, or maybe from an Agora or the Night of the Seven Antennae.

For those who don’t know me: I’m a third year Linguistics student, and I’ve tried to make myself valuable as President of the XXIXth board of AEGEE-Nijmegen. I’m currently 22, and my favourite colour is blue. My hobbies include, but are not limited to, making video animations (especially teaching students how to do that), fooling around with Photoshop, and enjoying a beer with the good people I have surrounded myself with over the past few years.

What was your first reaction when you heard that you were elected as Member of the Month?

I was, at that point, at the formal party ‘Show Your Colour’ organised by AEGEE-Leiden, where I’ve had a beer (or two). So I may have overreacted by shouting – a bit – that “it couldn’t be true because I feel like I don’t deserve it. I don’t feel like I did something special for AEGEE-Europe or AEGEE-Nijmegen”. Anyhow, of course I take great pride in receiving this title – and I can take a compliment when I get it. It’s an honour to be Member of the Month and I hereby would like to thank my parents for their support in this race, and my friends for never having stopped believing in me – even last January, when my biggest rival ever (Svenja) got the title.

You have been a board member of a Dutch local for one year. There are always some rumours going around saying that being a Dutch board member means working a full time job. Can you tell us about your experience?

It’s certainly true that you can devote a lot of your time at being a board member of a Dutch local, but you can do that everywhere. I mean – if you’d want – everyone can work for 40 hours a week on projects for their locals. That doesn’t make it a Dutch thing, though in a lot of countries it’s very uncommon to do so.

In the Netherlands it actually is very common. Student associations are a real big part of studying here. When you get into the uni, the question is ‘which association shall I join’, because you know for sure that you will join one. The universities recognise the benefits of a board year, so they highly recommend a position in a board of something you love. Also student associations have been around for a long time in our student life, in Nijmegen for example there are associations that are almost a 100 years old.
I guess the support of the university, and the fact that a gap year is socially accepted, make it easy to devote all of your time on your board year. So in my experience I have had weeks where I’d easily work for 60 hours on AEGEE-Nijmegen. But there are also weeks that are more quiet, and then a good 30 hours would be sufficient.

What was your favourite task in general while being a board member?

That would surely be the part where you’re socially obligated to talk to everyone. Of course you don’t HAVE to like everyone, but I wanted all our members to like AEGEE-Nijmegen. I got to know a lot of people whom I’d maybe never had spoken to otherwise. I’ve now befriended them, and it’s hard to imagine an activity with AEGEE-Nijmegen where I don’t feel like coming home.

One of your main achievement was to re-design all the promotional material and bring it in accordance with the visual identity. What exactly did you have to do? Was it a difficult task?

Luckily, the XXVIIIth board of AEGEE-Nijmegen tried to convince our members to change the visual identity before us. I have a passion for design and I liked playing around with the design programmes, so I didn’t mind making a few rough sketches. After the local Agora approved the change I got in close contact with the Public Relations Committee (PRC), and with their suggestions the logo was complete. Everybody is used to it now. It was not a very difficult task. It was just slightly annoying that I had to convince the members and change the logo several times after so some resistance was met. Luckily, I wasn’t alone, and I had a great team of board members with me to go on and change the logo accordingly.

Imagine someone asked you why the visual identity is so important and worth working on so intensively. What would you answer?

It’s surely worth it. As I said it’s slightly annoying that you have to change your design over and over. But following the PRC’s instructions is certainly worth it, they’re genuinely knowledgeable about visual design and they wouldn’t ask you for impossible stuff. It takes some time, but not more than a couple of hours – so it’s not the end of the world.

And what was your most valuable AEGEE-moment?

I guess that moment would be the last few seconds of my term as a board member because it was an amazing year. In that year I grew very close to Isa, Bob, Bart and Kim – whom I was in the board with. On the last local Agora of our term I kind of recapped the year. A few seconds before I said the words of dechargé, I swapped my presidential AEGEE hammer for a hammer that I received from my dad (he’s been president of some associations too) and I had a piece of family history in my hand. While looking my beloved board members in the eyes thinking about what we’ve gone through and looking my successors in their eyes. I said the words, and dropped the hammer. Therewith we were free of duty and everything was over. After a year of hard work, a lot of fun and a spending a lot of time on trying to improve AEGEE-Nijmegen the time was over. It was both sad, because I knew I’d miss it, and happy because it’s a weight off your shoulders. It’s a moment I’ll cherish forever.

Are you striving for any other positions in the network? Maybe even on European level?

I don’t really know where I want to go. I’ve missed a lot of lectures last year – and my parents weren’t too happy about that. So I’ll make them proud this year by catching up on my linguistics skills. With that being said, I’m still an active member locally, and I’ll be giving a training on the NWM Delft. I’ll take it slower than last year at least. Maybe one day I’ll join the PRC or the Key to Europe to exploit my knowledge of design. Maybe I’ll join a Training for Trainers (T4T) one day. So I don’t know – probably see you somewhere in Europe!

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

From local to European. This is the journey that every active AEGEEan dreams about and this is what Svenja van der Tol is trying to realise applying for the position of Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe. Read on to discover more about her candidature, but also about her life, experience and personality.

The AEGEEan: Introduce yourself. How old are you? Where are you from? What do you study? Future aspirations?

Svenja: Hello everyone! My name is Svenja and I’m a 22-year old girl/woman (I never know what to call myself) from the Netherlands. I finished my Bachelors in Dutch Language and Culture and now I’m working as a full-time intern for a Publishing and Marketing company. When I grow up, I would like to continue in the field of communication, preferably as a journalist or copywriter. In an ideal world I would get paid to travel and write about that, which would be a nice follow up of my AEGEE life. Since my nickname is Mommy of the Network already, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one day I want to be a real mommy and have a looooooot of kids (she said before actually having had one herself). I think my future aspirations in AEGEE became quite clear with my candidature [she laughs].

What kind of person are you? How is your character, strengths and weaknesses?

If I have to use a hashtag to describe myself, it would be #svenjaoptimism, which, fun fact, my friends actually really use. I’m a happy, optimistic, honest fluff puff girl full of energy who loves rainbow unicorns, talking, eating, laughing and travels. I like to keep myself busy, so you will find me writing, reading or working on something almost all of the time. My strengths are that I am a hard and fast worker, very enthusiastic and therefore able to motivate others, understanding and a good team player. My weaknesses are that sometimes I forget to take some time for myself because I’m so passionate about what I’m working on that I want to work on it day and night and I can be a bit impatient.

What is your experience in AEGEE?

I started my AEGEE career as the Secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen’s board, where I got my first experience with taking minutes and administrational tasks. During and after this year I was active in different committees, including the advisory board. I’ve also given several trainings and organised events like a Network Meeting (NWM) and several Summer Universities (SUs).  After my board year, I had learned a lot more about AEGEE-Europe, and decided I want to contribute to it too. First off, I joined The AEGEEan as a journalist and proofreader, where I became Editor of the Network section not too long after. After Agora Patra, Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia) and I decided to run for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Key to Europe, and I started to help Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Sofia) and afterwards Boudewijn Steenhof as SubCom for the Dutch locals. Around that time I also joined Action Agenda Coordination Team (ACT), where I again used my love for writing and became the Project Manager of the Guidelines and ACT responsible for the Dutch locals. At Autumn Agora Cagliari I was elected as Secretary of the Agora and European Planning Meeting (EPM), meaning that as part of the Chair Team I have been preparing both the EPM and Agora and I was responsible for the report of the EPM. Last but not least, in the past month my tasks for The AEGEEan have been expanded since the current Editor-in-Chief Erika Bettin appointed me as her vice Editor-in-Chief, which is a task I very much enjoy.

Secretary General of AEGEE Europe, please explain the role. What do you find interesting about it?

Personally, I see the Secretary General as the glue that keeps the rest of the Comité Directeur together. In the different teams I have been in, I was the facilitator most of the time, making sure that everyone could do their work properly and felt good about the team too. I enjoyed this role very much, so I would like to be ‘the glue’ again. I have a strange love for creating order out of chaos so I also really look forward to working on the administrational tasks. Related to that, I want to continue exploring the possibilities of a secretariat and delve into the archives to look at opportunities to make them available to everyone. During my board years I’ve learned a lot about representation and communication with externals like the university and several other involved parties. I really enjoyed these contacts, so I look forward to being responsible for the external representation. As Secretary General you are not only working within the Network, but also on behalf of the network to share with the rest of the world how great AEGEE really is. To do that, I would like to develop a media usage strategy and work in close cooperation with The AEGEEan and Key to Europe to properly represent AEGEE-Europe to both in- and externals. As all Comité Directeur positions, the position of Secretary General is quite flexible when it comes to the exact task division. I have worked on quite diverse tasks in- and outside of AEGEE, so I am very happy that I would be working on different projects too as Secretary General. Some of the topics that I’m interested in are the (improvement of) statutory events and, as ACTie, the thematic aspect of AEGEE.

Why are you applying for this position?

Did any of you ever hitchhike? If you never did, but you would like to do it, or you did and you love it, than you will enjoy the story of AEGEE-Nijmegen. To find out how everything started and how everything finished we talked with Renée van Schaijk, organiser of the hitchhiking trip.

What we found out was that hitchhiking in AEGEE-Nijmegen is a tradition. Every year they organise few hitchhiking trips through Europe filled with competition spirit so more people are eager to participate. It’s always more exciting and fun competing for awards, as in this case – two tickets for the cinema.

The hitchhike from Nijmegen to Bruges  happened during the first weekend of November. The journey started on Friday and ended back in Nijmegen on Sunday. There were 22 participants in nine teams composed by two/three persons. The distance between Nijmegen and Bruges is around 240 km that normally take around two and half hours by car without any traffic jam. But as our AEGEEans were hitchhiking it took them more time. The fastest team there made it in about four hours. It took around eight-nine hours for the last team to to arrive.

For those who do not know, the most exciting thing about hitchhiking is to stop the cars which will take you to your destination, and that is almost impossible to achieve by one car. So you are obliged to change cars constantly. In Nijmegen-Bruges hitchhike, the least changed car number was three and the most eight, said Renée. In fact, her team changed five cars to arrive to Bruges.

You have first to imagine the situation: you are on a highway, many cars pass by, some of them stop, some not, and as every person in this world is different, you may meet with some polite or less polite people. Luckily for our AEGEEans, they did not live any bad or unpleasant experiences. On the contrary, says Renée, reactions from drivers  were very positive. People were even apologizing if they couldn’t take them and some drivers were very enthusiastic when they learned about the competition and were keen to help them to win it.

Once AEGEE-Nijmegen’s hitchhike crew finally arrived in Bruges, they felt it was different than if you would arrive in Bruges by train. Renée says: “It is really nice to finish and also to see other teams and hear what adventure they had, because every team had a different story.” During the rest of the weekend, they walked through Bruges, took a boat trip, visited the Chocolate museum and spent some quality time in a pub. On Sunday they came back home safe and happy.

Asked to share with us some anecdote from the trip. Renée said “We started the competition at the railway station in Nijmegen. I started last because I was from the organisation team. My team member and I walked to the road which goes to the highway and we didn’t see anyone. This was really strange for us. Later we saw one other team. But a car stopped for us and we went with them. And when we drove to the highway we saw the other teams at different points on the road. And we waved of course. But it was a really nice feeling!”

As said in the beginning, hitchhiking is an AEGEE-Nijmegen tradition and next destinations are Gdansk and, in March, Paris. “For those who are considering/interested in hitchhiking, you should do it” says Renee. The beauty of it is that you meet a lot of different people who will share with you their stories and you will share yours too. And sharing stories, listening to others is one of the ways to discover ourselves and discover others too, a way to enjoy and appreciate life more.

Written by Sabiha Kapetanovic, AEGEE-Izmir

After entering AEGEE, Svenja van der Tol quickly rose to prominence both within her own local and on the international scene. With her many contributions over the years as secretary, writer and proofreader she has shown skill, ambition and passion for the things that are close to her heart. And with her candidature for Secretary of the Agora she has furthermore proven that her star might still be rising. At the AEGEEan we like to look at the heavens to define our future and so we decided to sit down and ask a few questions.

The AEGEEan: People can be as diverse as there are pages in a book. To those who don’t know your story yet, Svenja, who are you?

Svenja: Exactly twenty-two years ago, my German mom and Dutch dad had a little ginger girl, who they decided to call Svenja without other fancy names (to my regret). Over the years, their baby grew into a proud sister of three younger brothers, book obsessed linguistics student, baking fanatic, girly-girl and most of all, a little bit crazy twenty-something who isn’t really good at doing nothing and has a huge obsession for all things cute, especially rainbows and unicorns (or the combination of both).

“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.” Svenja, what is it that you love most about such a large and diverse forum as AEGEE?

What is there not to love? Three years ago I joined AEGEE-Nijmegen, mostly because I was looking for an association without the weird Dutch introduction tradition called ‘ontgroening’ which most associations in the Netherlands have, and the traveling aspect of AEGEE caught my attention. Little did I know that the association soon would grow into a big part of my life, where I made a lot of friends, saw a lot of countries I’d have never visited otherwise and most of all learned a lot about myself and how to contribute to a more active society. I love that in AEGEE all the people I meet are happy, open to anyone and more than willing to share a piece of their life and culture with you, which never fails to amaze me. Also, I love the parties.

People don’t drift coolly out of nowhere and apply for a position at the Agora. Svenja, could you tell us something about your experiences with AEGEE?

I started my AEGEE career as the Secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen’s board, where I got my first experience with taking minutes and administrative tasks. After that year, I also learned a lot more about AEGEE-Europe, and decided I want to contribute to it too. First off, I joined The AEGEEan as a journalist and proofreader, where I became Editor of the Network section not too long after. After Agora Patra, Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia) and I decided to run for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Key to Europe, and I started to help Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Sofia) as her SubCom for the Dutch locals. Last but not least, I joined Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT), where I again used my love for writing and became the Project Manager of the Guidelines, which will be sent to the Network soon. Did I mention already I’m not good at doing nothing?

Of all the positions you could have chosen from, why did you decide to run for Secretary of the Agora/EPM?

Because I’m a great believer in the saying that you should do what you’re best at (and you love too). Maybe it’s my German side, but I really love proper written texts, deadlines and correcting mistakes, which are all important in the life of a secretary. Next to that, I have taught myself to type really fast because I spend quite some time at the computer and it’s a good way to save time, and it happens to make taking minutes easier too. Last but not least, I think it’s really important to have a written record of what happens during the Agora and EPM and I think I would be able to take care of it.

Everyone is unique, even identical twins have different fingerprints. Svenja, what is it specifically that would make you an excellent secretary?

I think it would be my love for writing, because taking minutes is basically writing down the stories people are telling you, so it’d be something I would like doing. I won’t go cheesy all the way and say I love it, because after a while it will get boring of course, but unlike most people I do not have a deep hatred of taking minutes.

“Nobody said it was easy.” What do you think are the most challenging aspects of being a Secretary of the Agora?

Following what everyone is saying, especially when the Agora gets interesting and people have a lot of questions (which I encourage, of course!). Next to that, having a life with other tasks too (like studying), making the deadline would be something that will need good planning, but since I managed to get my bachelor within the standard time given while doing two board years I don’t think it will be too much of a problem. I think most of all having a good Chair Team behind you for support is important, because at the end of the day, teamwork is still a very important factor in AEGEE – and I’m glad it is.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Walter White was looking at me, seated down in his cheap, rusty chair. His face was a mixture of rage-looking eyes, disappointing gesture and an unusual peace. I felt weird, lost in my mind, again. When suddenly, a voice broke into my thoughts.

– Are you ready? – my dad asked.

Yes, I was. My first Summer University (SU) would start, after five hours in a car, two in a plane and another half an hour on a train. I was pretty sure I was ready. I picked up my backpack, stopped looking at my Breaking Bad poster and had a last look at my house. Little did I know then that my own room would look strange to me only two weeks later…

Some hours after, I arrived to the Netherlands. Schiphol turned out to be a better airport than Barajas (at least this was my impression), full of people from very different places, running, laughing, smiling… I felt like Tom Hanks in “The Terminal”, and this feeling became stronger one hour later, when I was still waiting there for organizers.

I went to the Netherlands one day after the SU started because of exams so I was alone in Schiphol, with my luggage and a useless smartphone. Then, I thought that being smart would be a good idea, and I bought a sim card, so I could contact organizers. “We are waiting for you in Utrecht train station, we told you”.

Although they forgot to tell me this small detail, I finally knew what to do. During the train travel I started thinking about what I knew about the SU. “The Dutch Rainbow”. Really? I mean, I’d been told that this was a university meeting, not a meeting for eight-year-olds, with unicorns, pink t-shirts and lively colours.

Everything went better than expected however, soon after I met the Spanish team (we were with seven Spanish participants) and all the other people involved in the SU. I have to confess that until the very last day I was not able to remember all of the names. People were very friendly, outgoing and funny, so it was not difficult for me to feel comfortable in the group.

The first days were the most exhausting. We visited Utrecht, The Hague and Amsterdam. Utrecht is a beautiful city, with canals, small houses, a welcoming city centre and its big tower, which provides a startling view over the Dutch landscape. There, we played the crazy 88 game, in which basically, we had to demonstrate Dutch people that we were as crazy as they thought, by kissing stranger’s feet, dancing with a cucumber, asking people to marry them… Just normal stuff, you know. We also went to many bars, particularly to a Belgium one and a gay bar in which we were only among participants and organizers.

The Hague was the most cultural trip, thanks to the father of one of the organizers, who showed us the city and its historic buildings. We visited the Dutch Parliament, too. My favorite thing in this city was the huge sculpture of Zidane’s headbutt.

Amsterdam had the inconvenience that we visited it during a rainy day. But after a wet morning visiting the city by boat, we had free time and I could try haring, which is a typical Dutch fish. I found it disgusting (also another participant who tried it with me), but it was an unique experience. After, we went to Van Gogh’s house, just to be half an hour in the queue because it was too long to wait, and we had to be back at the meeting point. It was funny that I met lots of Russians that appeared out of the blue. In the afternoon we visited one of the most famous parts of Amsterdam: The Red Light District.

After Amsterdam, it was time for a new experience: hitchiking! “It will be nice”, they said. “People will stop”, they said. “You won’t be waiting for more than one hour and a half”, they said. Well, nothing of that was true this day. Four hours. Rain. Cold. And finally, we took a train to Enschede with a group of participants, while the other fourteen participants did arrive to Enschede hitchhiking.

I can summarize our stay in Enschede with one word: Beer. We drank while watching football, while having cultural workshops, while visiting the Grolsch brewery, and during the Cantus. I was not in the mood to do the Cantus, and I did not like it at first, but in the end I loved it. And now you are all thinking: “What is this Cantus thing?” It is more than a game. It is a law. You will sing, you will drink and you will be punished if you do not follow the rules. It reminded me of American college films.

Do you know how we went from Enschede to Nijmegen, the last stop? Hitchhiking! And, guess who had to go by train because nobody stopped again? Yeah! Me.

Nijmegen was very relaxed. We were all tired and it were the last days. But it was great that during these days the city was celebrating the Four Days Marches (Vierdaagsefeesten). It is a yearly event during which people walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometres every day and the city is full of music, colours and food.

In Nijmegen we went out, saw fireworks, played typical Dutch games (it was a lie, most of them were typical from everywhere :P), and we visited a lovely lake. We had an important visitor, too. Sinterklaas came to teach us more about Dutch culture and traditions.

The Netherlands are a very liberal country, in which everybody follows the rules. People are very kind, and they all speak English (I wish all Spanish people spoke English, too). Their food will not become my favourite, but it has lots of Asian recipes and they use too much vegetables. All cities I have seen were beautiful and contained mostly houses, not flats. And of course, coffee shops are a must-go-to. Time is too different from Spain however, since they close shops at six, have lunch at twelve and dinner at five or six. That was weird to me.

Still, this experience was the best one I have ever had. I cannot wait until my next SU-experience starts.

Written by Daniel Iglesias Rodriguez, AEGEE-Madrid

AEGEE-Nijmegen has lots of interesting upcoming plans! After having organised a very successful Summer University with AEGEE-Enschede and getting their members involved in some AEGEE-Europe projects, the local has been working hard to bridge the gap with the European level by establishing a committee for that and, furthermore, organising a Network Meeting, which will take place in November.

For this reason, our team is awarding the Dutch local as our Member of the Month of August! The AEGEEan has asked Isa Beukema, secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen, about the secrets of the local and their future plans.

The AEGEEan: Tell us a bit about your local: when was it founded and how many members does it have? What about active ones?
Isa Beukema: AEGEE-Nijmegen was founded in 1986 by Bart Kruitwagen. Every now and then he still drops by at our office. At the end of the year we had 195 members and in September we start with 132 members, so on average we have about 160 members per year. This year we had about 60 active members who made it possible to organize a lot of amazing activities varying from exchanges to lectures about the situation in Ukraine.

What do you think makes your local special?
That we are very strong at the local level. We organize a lot of activities in Nijmegen and almost every week there is an activity organised by the board and/or our active members for the members. People come from all kinds of studies ranging from law to chemistry. This makes our members a mix of very different people, but I think that it is also the strength of our members. Next to this, we have a committee focused on acting, performing a big play yearly. Within the Network that definitely is what makes us special.

You organised a Summer University with AEGEE-Enschede, what was the topic of the event?
The theme was the Dutch Rainbow: Hitchhike past the Hightlights of Holland. During our Summer University we introduced them to hitchhiking and we also wanted to let them think about the situation of LGBT’s in their country and start a discussion about it. Next to this, we wanted to introduce our participants to the Dutch culture and all its typical aspects.

And which have been, according to you, the highlights of your SU?
There were so many highlights but I will mention a few (smiles). For one, the celebration of the Dutch holiday Sinterklaas, where we ate Dutch food such as pepernoten and they got to meet the real ‘Sinterklaas’ and ‘Zwarte Piet’ and everybody bought presents for each other. Or the day trip to The Hague where the participants got to see the Dutch House of Parliament and even took a swim in the North Sea (only the die hards, because the sea was freezing cold at the moment ;)). Or the party in a gay bar in Utrecht, where at the end all the people had left and we had an amazing time with all the SU people. We even developed a new sport: noodle fighting. I can continue, but I think the article will be too long.

Did you find any difficulties during the organisation of the SU? How did you overcome them?
In general we had very little difficulties with the SU. We had an amazing main organiser this year and almost everything was already arranged as much as possible when the SU started. I think the most problems were between the organisers of the SU. But everyday we had a moment that everyone had the chance to say what they had on their chest and I think that solved most of the problems.

What about the Network Meeting you plan to organise in November, why did you decide to apply?
We have wanted to organise a bigger European event for a long time. Every year we organise a Summer University, but since more is always better – here comes the NWM Nijmegen!

What can participants expect from the sessions? And the social programme?
We have planned on doing discussions on the Agora outcome, and how to apply them to you local. There will be room for sharing your best practices and also workshops on personal motivation. Besides that, we will also have workshops about European level bodies and the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan. We have also planned a city tour and obviously there will be a European Night!

Many of your members are starting to get involved in the European level, how do you promote it among your members?
Since the end of last college year, we have a new committee. The people in this committee are our masterminds on European level and the ones reaching for and planning the NWM. This committee also actively promotes AEGEE-Europe’s Working Groups, Committees, Events, and so forth.

Which other plans does AEGEE-Nijmegen have for this term?
For this term we have planned many things. Not only the NWM, but also another team of enthusiastic SU organisers is getting ready. The new board is getting their knowledge transfer as you read and they are getting ready for many more exchanges, trips, hitchhiking contests and so forth.

On the last weekend of June, six German and Dutch locals met in a small and completely unspectacular town in the Netherlands. There was no hosting local, there were no organizers and, officially, there was not even a program. Although the motivating title of this event was “Six in the Shitty City”, it was still the second time that this event took place. The AEGEEan spoke to Benjamin Feyen, one of the people who came up with the concept, to find out more about the event and all the word plays included in it.

In February 2013, several members of Dutch and German locals met in Eindhoven the day before they flew to EBM Valletta together. These members came from six locals, which were all located close to the German/Dutch border, namely AEGEE-Aachen, AEGEE-Düsseldorf, AEGEE-Eindhoven, AEGEE-Köln, AEGEEE-Maastricht and AEGEE-Nijmegen. Since they got along so well and because the distance between these locals is not actually that big, they decided to organize a non-formal get-together.

The name that this meeting should have was also decided upon during that discussion.”When we discussed where the meeting should take place, somebody came up with the idea to meet just somewhere in the middle between the locals instead of having a hosting local”, Benjamin tells us. ”Looking at a map, we found out that the six locals form kind of a circle, with the small Dutch city of Venlo right in the center”.  After somebody who apparently had already been to Venlo complained that this city was “really shitty” the event’s title was set: “Six [locals] in the Shitty City”. Benjamin claims that it was due to the memorable name that they instantly created a Facebook group and were motivated to organize the event.

And the event of 2013 was a success. People from every single local took part and enjoyed a weekend in Venlo including a City Tour. Due to the fact that the city center “actually wasn’t that shitty after all”, this year’s version of the event (Volume 2: “Shit me baby one more time”) was moved to a suburb of Venlo: Tegelen. Although the location changed, the concept stayed the same. Since organizing an event is a lot of work and mostly quite stressful, the people who came up with the idea of “Six in the Shitty City” decided to have “no organizers or responsible persons, but only participants (or shitticipants, as we call ourselves), who do whatever they feel needs to be done”, explains Benjamin. Mutual trust, reliability and contribution by everyone are of course necessary when an event is planned like this. That this can work, was proven by all the people taking part in the event.

The actual meeting in Tegelen worked out perfectly again. Almost 30 people from six locals (this time including AEGEE-Osnabrück instead of AEGEE-Maastricht) met and enjoyed two nights and a full day together, mostly by playing either soccer, “werewolves” or other gamesor, of course, by just talking and getting to know each other. Although there was not any official program, nobody was ever bored. Benjamin explains: “Basically it is a bunch a friends having fun together based on voluntary contribution by everyone, with the little difference that many of us do not even know each other personally before the event. Having the AEGEE spirit and believing in the concept of the “Shitty City” is what we share”. Still, “having a European Night is a must“, says Benjamin and this European Night in particular ended especially nicely by sitting at a bonfire and enjoying marshmallows and music. The favorite song of the whole group was most definitely “Everybody has a shitty time”, a song composed during the event and sung many times.

All in all, “Six in the Shitty City” is not as “shitty” as the name makes it seem! Benjamin concludes that although there were some people who doubted that this concept could work, it did! “And twice already. It’s for sure a very unique event in the AEGEE world”. People already announced that they will most definitely take part again when it is time for the next volume of “Six in the Shitty City”.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Few weeks ago, The AEGEEan family saw Marije Arentze (AEGEE-Leiden) resigning for her role of Editor of the Network section. After an internal open call, Svenja van der Tol was elected as the new Editor. To keep up with the tradition, she is from the Netherlands too, being a member of AEGEE-Nijmegen.

The AEGEEan: Svenja, describe yourself!

Svenja: I’d love to! As you probably already guessed, my name is Svenja, and I am a 21-year old member of AEGEE-Nijmegen. Currently I am studying Dutch Language, but I prefer to spend my time on AEGEE-related business, writing, being crazy and other fun things. I started at AEGEE-Nijmegen as the Secretary of the board, and it was during this year that I fell in love with the organisation. Therefore, after my boardyear, I stayed active within AEGEE-Nijmegen (being a member of the advisory board and president of two committees) and started to get more involved with the European level by applying as a journalist for the AEGEEan. And I don’t regret a single moment.

The AEGEEan: Why did you apply for the Network section?

I wanted to contribute even more to the AEGEEan than I already did as a Journalist and Proofreader and I got the trust to do it from my lovely teammembers. So, I decided to just go for it and apply – and the rest is history as they say.

The AEGEEan: What is the Network to you?
The Network is like Neverland, where everybody stays young and has the time of their life. On a more serious note: it’s a collection of the most awesome students groups Europe has to offer, and I want to discover all of the cities and countries that are part of it!

The AEGEEan: What do you think can be improved in your section and in The AEGEEan in general?

I would like to have more regular articles within my section, but this will also depend on what the locals are organising (hint, hint: just contact me if you have an awesome activity coming up!) of course. For The AEGEEan, it would basically be the same. Right now, we have great articles with a lot of variety, but I’d love to read even more articles – and I’m sure this counts for all AEGEEans.

The AEGEEan: Are you planning to introduce any changes to your section?