There could be nothing more straightforward than a Local Training Course: it is a course, it is local, and you will be trained. Nevertheless, the most generic names can have the most varying results, and, because of this, no single LTC is the same. This is why the AEGEEan sat down with Alejandra Piot from AEGEE-A Coruña, Raquel Pastor from AEGEE-Burgos, Katha Schwerdt from AEGEE-Dresden and Piotr Stawicki from AEGEE-Poznań, to reflect on the respective LTCs that their local organised in the past half year.

The AEGEEan: Could you give us a short summary of your LTC?

Participants and Trainers at the LTC in A Coruña

Alejandra: Our LTC was based on the differences between all the regions of Spain. It was called “LTC: 8 apellidos Gallegos” (8 Gallician surnames), based on the Spanish film “8 apellidos vascos” (8 Basque surnames). We made an LTC1 with workshops about what aegee is: on a European level, regarding event management, explaining step-by-step what a board does and more. There were only two trainers, Javier Ramírez (AEGEE-Las Palmas & AEGEE-Madrid) and myself (AEGEE-A Coruña). At first we expected to be more, but there were many problems for them to come. Nonetheless, it worked really well to work together and the participants were really interested in the workshops. Afterwards, they congratulated us on doing a good job. David Mezquita and Marcos Puente, both from AEGEE-A Coruña, also helped out. Additionally, we organised activities, such as hiking and gymkhana. There were more or less ten organisers, some of them were newbies, but they did a good job.

Raquel: In October, we organised an LTC, which was placed in Celadilla, a village near Burgos. We decided to organise an LTC after the summer to explain to the newer members that AEGEE is more than a Summer University or a meeting with old friends after the summer. The newer members were not our only objective though; a new board was just elected and a training weekend was the best idea to consolidate the new working group. Furthermore, we had great trainers like Anita from AEGEE-Burgos, who shared her evolution within AEGEE with us and Eloy from AEGEE-León, who explained the Erasmus+ programme to us.

Piotr: Our LTCs always last for three days and their topic is always the same, event management. The programme is divided into one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half-hour long workshop modules and cases about a particular part of event management, such as team building, event promotion, FR, budgeting and more.

Katha: Our LTC took place from the 22nd till the 24th of April. The title of the weekend was “Together to get there II”, since it was the second LTC held by our antenna. The aim was to train the new members on how to be an active AEGEE member, organise events and to show which possibilities AEGEE offers.

Participants at the LTC in Burgos

Roughly how many people visited your LTC?

Raquel: We had 20 participants from AEGEE-Burgos, and some friends from other antennas who assisted us during our last LTC. A huge number of participants of that LTC are now active members that try to collaborate with the antenna and its activities. Some want to join as many events as they can; their next stop will be the Agora in Bergamo.

 Piotr: At our last LTC, there were 20 participants and an additional of about 15 people from AEGEE as trainers or organisers, but sometimes we can have up to about 25 to 30 participants. We organise LTC1 and LTC2: in our LTC1, there are usually about ten to 20 participants, mainly externals and in our LTC2, there are usually six to twelve participants, both members of AEGEE as well as other organisations who have some experience in event management.

Katha: We were twelve participants in total, it was a good amount of people for our team building and icebreaking games. Also we had a “What is AEGEE” workshop and had a lot of fun on the night walk, PR, project management and conflict management workshop, as well as in the short introduction to fundraising.

Alejandra: We had, more or less, 25 participants, some of them AEGEE members, others were externals. Right now, some of these externals have become members of our antenna, so we are really happy. They were so interested in everything we talked about.

How did you attract members to join your LTC?

AEGEE-Poznań’s LTC, “Your success, our passion!”

Piotr: Our members usually only take part in LTC2s and we try to attract them by having a diverse range of topics, workshops and trainers. Thanks to this, our members can participate in a couple of LTCs and each time learn something else –as long as there are new trainers, workshops and activities-.

 Alejandra: We promoted it as a formal event, which also included team building exercises and attractive activities. We send mails though the University Mail Server, because we thought that some people would want to come with us and we were right. Some people read our email and replied, asking us for more information. I think we did really well, because it was a good way to catch new members.

Raquel: Of course the main attraction of an LTC is to spend a weekend meeting friends and new people. However, active members would pass on their motivation to our newer members every day during the course. That is why our last LTC was so successful, because everybody wanted to know about AEGEE and its versatility.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Did you miss the Public Relations European School (PRES) event which took place last year between 23rd and 30th November in Poznań? Read this article and find out more insights about the project from the training manager, Zsófia Komáromi. We also talked to her about her overall impression of PRES, how it was like to be in the position of training manager as well as her future plans, personal hobbies and life outside AEGEE. 

 The AEGEEan: As the training manager, what was your overall impression of PRES? 

Zsófia: I am very happy about the outcomes of PRES. We had 25 great participants whose contribution made the event a success. I am also incredibly thankful to the trainers’ team (Inez, Ksenia, Mayri, Bálint and Gerar) and the organisers from Poznań. We worked well together as a team, and were able to develop a program for PRES that was challenging, but at the same time leaving room for creativity. We were focusing on topics where the knowledge gained by participants would be beneficial for their locals, as well as later on in their professional life. Just to highlight a few areas we covered: we dealt with social media, online marketing, presentation skills, media relations and video editing.

The event was also a good example of cooperation between NGOs, as we had several participants from other non-profit youth organisations. I have been part of two more PRES events (PRES2 Novi Sad in 2011 as a participant and PRES Nova Gorica in 2012 as a trainer), and can say that this one was the best so far – though I am probably very much biased. [she laughes]

Did you encounter any problems during the event? Which one did you consider to be the biggest challenge?

We had the usual challenges that many events face: last minute cancellations, difficulties in finding good training rooms etc. The biggest challenge for us trainers was to decide on which topics and sessions to include and which ones to leave out. One week might seem like a long time but once you start planning, you soon see that it is not nearly enough to accommodate all the topics you want to cover. We actually felt that the field of communications and PR would merit several individual events, and even had the idea of creating an Online Marketing European School – let’s see what the future holds for this.

How was the position of training manager? Do you intend to apply again for this position in the upcoming events?

It was a great experience! With our trainers’ team we have become good friends and we keep in touch even now, several months after PRES. I think that managing a European School is a very important step in the development of every trainer. It’s the next step after planning individual training sessions, and you can learn and experience how to design an impact-full one-week training course where all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. It has been also extremely rewarding, as I received a lot of positive feedback from participants. Several of them have even become the PR responsible of locals and projects – it’s great to see that all the work we did has had an impact. So the answer is a yes, I would consider applying again for the position of training manager.

 What piece of advice would you give to a training manager? 

Dream big! We had high hopes for PRES, and if during the process we realised that not everything can be implemented as we initially imagined, our goals still motivated and inspired us through the whole preparation phase and the event as well.
On a more practical level, I think it’s important to find out what each of your team members do best, and support them in pursuing those fields, because that’s how you will end up with great quality training sessions.

 What other things did you do in AEGEE that are worth mentioning?

I have been active in AEGEE since 2009, I was a board member in my local, AEGEE-Budapest, Speaker of the Public Relations Committee (did you know I was one of the founders of The AEGEEan?), communications responsible of the first edition of Europe on Track, and CD assistant in 2012. These days I deliver training session as a member of the Academy, in the fields of PR, project management and teamwork.

What are your future plans in/out of AEGEE?

I am now working in the field of marketing for an airline, and communications is a field I am very passionate about, so I would like to keep pursuing that in the future. I am very happy to continue delivering training sessions to AEGEE members through the Academy and in Budapest, as I have learned and developed so much in this organisation, and it’s a great feeling to give back.

How is your life outside AEGEE? What are your hobbies? 

Coming from an AEGEE member it will sound like a cliché, but I do love traveling! When I’m not traveling, working, reading a book, or spending time with my friends, I like to think about starting my own company. One important thing that I have gained through the years is entrepreneurial spirit, and I can’t wait to put it to use!

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

The European Planning Meeting (EPM) will officially start on the 18th of February and the topic choosen during Autumn Agora Cagliari is “Europe and Russia, view from the youth prospective”. In order to develop the topic in the best way possible, two content managers were appointed, with the help of Lavinia Manea (AEGEE-București), Content manager of EBM Lublin 2014 (European Boards Meeting, now known as EPM). Content managers of the EPM are Nikolay Kazantsev (AEGEE-Moskva) and, after the resignation of Roland Papp (AEGEE-Budapest), Adrian Browarczyk (AEGEE-Poznań). We spoke with them to understand why this topic is so important!

Adrian, you were part of the core team from the Eastern Partnership II, who proposed this topic. Why?

Adrian: Our project aims to, amongst other things, create an opportunity for discussion. The Eastern Partnership region seems today highly interesting in terms of sociopolitical developments. Ukraine became the country that struggled the most lately with its, yet another, unsuccessful call for democracy and freedom. Russia became at the same time one of the key players in the geopolitical game in the eastern part of Europe and having these two arguments in mind we could not resist bringing in up to the Network. First talks on a possible topic suggestion took place in October 2014 and involved AEGEEans from different European bodies. We all developed the idea of the current EPM topic, being aware of the need of youth involvement in the ongoing processes for reconciliation and peace building. We knew that it was time for a debate on how we, all, can contribute to conflict resolution and that is why we took such an initiative.

What is your background in this field?

Adrian: Europe, as a whole, was always an area of particular interest for me. I joined AEGEE with the aim of broadening horizons and getting to know the complexity of the society we all live in. Since the very beginning I was very much into international cooperation and policy-making processes and that is why I chose the Eastern Partnership Project (EaP) as a platform for self- and skills development. Nonetheless these factors were not the key ones that made me decide on joining the project. Eastern Europe since 2009 has become a zone of a specific European concern and it was actually Poland who supported vividly the democratic developments in the region. Coherently speaking, I followed the path of our policy-makers and since 2012 have tried to bring the EaP’s issue to the Network. Falling in love with the region’s extensiveness, in a group of three we re-launched the Eastern Partnership Project in 2013 and since that time I have grown my understanding of the needs and challenges Eastern Europe deals with nowadays. Our project made me decide to step even further and dedicate my academic career to this part of Europe: I am reading now the politics, economy and history of Russia, Central and Eastern Europe at one of the most prestigious British universities in the analysis of the post-Soviet countries. This is what I call my thematic background.

Why did you apply to become a content manager?

Nikolay: During my work with youth policies I was always interested in EU-Russia relationships. This topic traces its roots in a long-term discussion about western vs. national values in Russia (and therefore country development direction) that took part during the last 150 years. An interesting point is that before the tatar invasion of Russia/Ukraine (a common state once known as Kievan Rus) during 13th century, both countries undoubtedly were accepted as “European” (through their connection with Bizantinum and a common religion). The later history structured both countries in the frame of the Russian Empire with “western” powers, especially during XIX and XX centuries. After the end of the Cold War we had a chance to move towards prosperity and the bright future of a culturally united Europe. However that did not happen, but we still have a big potential developing the youth – as we successfully do in AEGEE. The last conflict in Ukraine has shown that despite of the  clash of medias, AEGEEans keep communicating and working together.

Are there still spheres of EU/Russia influence? Should Russia be accepted as EU candidate/close partner or its position is deeply in Asia? How could we bring Russia and EU together? The answers to those questions pulled me towards my decision to apply for a Content Manager position. And I want to thank Comité Directeur sincerely for their trust.

Why do you think it’s important for us, as an aassociation, to discuss the topic?

Adrian: We all face similar challenges that were raised after the widespread international tension between Russia and the rest of Europe in recent months. Everyone is basically influenced by the events happening not only in Georgia, Armenia or the eastern part of Ukraine and we all must be aware that our input is highly needed in this time of turmoil and international instability. I see the power of our association in building bridges of trust and cooperation. We have a strong voice in policy shaping and a are taking steps towards peace building, therefore I do believe this EPM is going to come up with a large list of solutions and suggestions on possible joint initiatives that could contribute to linking what has not been lost yet.

Nikolay: It is important for us because AEGEE unites border-less youths and its a large pool of active citizens able to change their surrounding environment, but before we act we need to align our knowledge on this large scale historical problem, because the access to real information is constrained, there is a lot of misinterpretation from both sides. We need to connect the youth, the experts and politicians to plan possible actions towards warming relationships between the EU and Russia on the youth level.

What do you think is the status of the relationship between EU and Russia?

Nikolay: The current status is “frozen”, not a “cold war” of course, that we can hear from media, but both sides have undoubtedly fears caused by uncertainty, for instance European countries because of the annexation of Crimea, Russia because of its traditional fear of NATO and the US, and the rise of nationalism in Ukraine.

Adrian: I would go for an explanation that I tend to use quite frequently: I find the relationship very tense, but believe simultaneously there is room for improvement. I would not limit the problem to the EU only, as there are many actors involved here who do not belong to our great united family. All six Eastern Partnership countries, but also Turkey and the Balkans should redefine their attitude towards Russia (or Kremlin being more precise) in order to go back to times when peace and stability ruled over the continent. Recent events in the eastern part of Ukraine proved however that one side of the conflict seems to be ready to let the blood of innocent people be shed. If it goes in this direction, the tension may evolve into a greater clash of interests.

There were few applications for participating at the EPM, why do you think this happened?

Adrian: There are many speculations about it, but there are two arguments that apparently win in my opinion: the coincidence of having two statutory events in one country within few weeks and the fact that Burgos is not easily reachable for those really interested in the event made it impossible for them to apply.

Nikolay: The Agora also takes place in Spain and members from Russia and Ukraine are affected by recent financial situation: their currencies have fallen down. We took some measures to support both teams from embassies.

Which are your desired outcomes from this event?

Adrian: I would love to come back from Burgos being aware that the participants properly learned the profile of the crisis and drew conclusions on how we, young European leaders, can influence changes in a common understanding. I want to end up with a list of joint initiatives to be implemented this year with a particular focus on conflict resolution and on  the Europe-Russia growing tension. My personal aim is to be ready to present a position of AEGEE towards today’s challenges to our respective policy-makers and people who directly work on the above mentioned matters. I believe we are capable to lead sophisticated discussions on crucial challenges our community faces and hope we all are going to enjoy our time in Burgos to the fullest, getting acquainted with the complexity of problems of our times.

Nikolay: I would like to see new commitments to partnerships on youth level and the development of more projects for 2015.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Do speaking in public, leading presentations and creating successful PR campaigns seem like pure magic to you? Or do you feel insecure about promoting your own organisation without spending too much money? Well then, PRES is just for you!

This year the 19th edition of AEGEE’s PR European School took place in Poznań, Poland. Hosted by the local antenna, all participants were taken care of with great compassion and consideration. Participants were hosted throughout the week in a hostel in the city centre, where everything was within a 15 minute walk. A three course meal was offered every day and the participants had the possibility to explore traditional Polish cuisine.

The most significant part of the weekly program was of course the training itself.  For six days in a row the participants had the possibility to be engaged in campaign development and to study in detail the components of success.

The workshops were divided into themes: day one consisted of a general introduction into the topics of PR and branding, lead by the lovely Zsofia Komaromi (AEGEE-Budapest), Mayri Tiido (Projects and Communications director) and Ksenia Lupanova (AEGEE-Moskva). The following day was especially dedicated to analytics – how to analyse the media you use, your competitors and how to manage your organisation’s profile on social media moderated by Bálint Tóth (AEGEE-Budapest) and Zsofia.

But what is all that worth when you’re unable to present your organisation the right way? Paulina Inez Wenta (AEGEE-Toruń), Mayri and Bálint dedicated their time to making presentation pros out of the trainees. The session included improvisation and short presentations, prepared by the participants themselves. By that point, everybody knew where their NGO stood in the social media pecking order and possessed the ability to make themselves noticeable. But what do we actually present? What are our tools to show the world who we are?

The answer was given by Ksenia and Gerardo García Díaz (AEGEE-Oviedo) – video materials, posters and logos: a full two days training in Photoshop, CorelDraw and Adobe Premiere with the possibility to put what was learnt into practice. Branding and marketing were also vital points for this session – well-known brands were analysed and their strategies were modified for NGOs.

The participants were given the chance to express themselves also in a non-formal environment. Every evening case studies took place. The trainees were divided into working groups, developing their own projects throughout the whole week. One of the groups was given the special task of creating a working PR strategy for AEGEE-Poznań as a way of thanking the organisers for the effort they put into making PRES happen. The KEY studies allowed all the participants to put to use the knowledge they had gained – to see in real life situations how they can apply the theory of PR.

Through this a wonderful campaign was born – the so called “Banana Project”. Max Reitmeyer (AEGEE-Dresden), Folckert van der Molen (AEGEE-Utrecht), Anna Bortoletto (AEGEE-Udine) and Aivar Yorick (AEGEE-Tallinn) put their creative minds into a wonderful long term project to present Poznań with the help of bananas. The idea enchanted everyone and the bananas became the mascot of PRES 2014.

The participants also had the task to maintain the social media profile of PRES – another way to be interactive and creative. Many good ideas were born in the process, for example an interview with the president of AEGEE-Poznań Ola Domejko.

Of course, as all of you know AEGEE is never only about work. The social program was at its peak every night. Trips to clubs and bars were organised for the participants, allowing them to blend in with the locals and experience the Poznań nightlife first hand. The cultural aspect was not missing either. An interactive Poznań tour was arranged for the trainees so they explored the old and new part of town.

By the end of the programme, when the time came to go our separate ways once more, one could not see more sad faces in one place. The people that arrived a week ago as strangers were now friends. The insecure participants were now standing straight up with confidence in their eyes. PRES was not only a training course in PR, it was an event that allowed people to feel more secure in their social and cultural interactions, to enrich their point of view and see how colourful the world is. And once you are part of that, you can never go back.

Written by Lilia Georgieva, AEGEE-Berlin

Every year the Academy, in cooperation with the Public Relations Committee, organises a one week training: the Public Relations European School (PRES). This event is an unique opportunity to develop skills in terms of PR strategy and in particular in the fields of corporate identity, presentation techniques and development of PR materials. This year, PRES will take place in Poznań, Poland (23/11/2014 – 30/11/2014): The AEGEEan met Zsofia Komaromi (AEGEE-Budapest), manager of this upcoming event, in order to understand what we should expect of the next edition of PRES.

The AEGEEan: Zsofia, can you tell us what we should expect from the next PRES in Poznań?

Zsofia: We have a great team of trainers working on the program of PRES right now, so participants should expect a week packed with exciting training sessions and workshops as well as invited guest speakers from the corporate sector. Thanks to the organizers in Poznań, a social program in the evenings and a sightseeing tour will complement these sessions.

Which are the main topics of this upcoming event?

In each element of PRES, we focus on giving participants practical knowledge and providing them with an opportunity to explore and develop their skills. The main aim of PRES is to support participants in taking a strategic view on PR and communications and help them explore the various tools, channels and best practices that they can use in order to drive the success of their antenna or European level project. Within this framework, we will cover the topics of branding, online communication, social media and media relations. Another important element of PRES is using creative messages and communication tools in order to get the message of AEGEE across and stand out from the crowd of an increasing amount of youth organisations.

What can you tell us about the trainers and the training methods?

We have a team of six trainers (you can get to know them here) who have a lot of experience in PR in NGOs, as well in the corporate sector. Many of the trainers are also members of the Public Relations Committee and Mayri Tiido, Projects and Communications Director, will also be joining us for the event.

As for the training methods, we would like to make PRES as interactive as possible, and thus allow participants to learn by doing and learning from the experiences of each other. Real-life case studies will also be an essential part of PRES, allowing participants to put their knowledge into practice, while contributing to AEGEE’s projects too.

According to you, who are the ideal participants of Public Relations European School?
We are looking for participants who would like to work in the field of PR in their local or on the European level of AEGEE. They should be enthusiastic to learn and develop their skills while exploring their creative side.

In which terms do you think that the upcoming PRES may influence a member or local’s activity?

I think that PRES provides a great opportunity to learn from the best practices of other locals and come up with new and improved ways for doing PR after the event. As for the members, we hope that PRES will motivate them to contribute to the work of AEGEE on the local or the European level.

Why shouldAEGEEans apply for this event?

They should apply because PRES is a great opportunity for them to learn from experts as well as their peers and at the same time get inspiration or figure out what could be the next step for them in their AEGEE career.

So what are you waiting for? Join PRES this autumn!

For further information visit the official website and follow PRES on facebook.

Written by Larisa Smajlagic, AEGEE-Verona

Three Spanish and two Polish locals compete for the award to the Best Thematic Event of The AEGEEan’s Choice Awards. All of them have cooperated with several projects and organisations in order to bring a thematical taste to their events, which have proven to be a great success. You will hear the final result in Agora Patra – meanwhile, we invite you to get to know the nominees!

To start with, AEGEE-Las Palmas was awarded as the Local of the Month the past November for the YVote2014 Convention on the EU Democratic Gap. The Canarians have shown that, despite being a small antenna, they can bring high-quality events to their city and have a big impact not only in the AEGEE network, but also on their local media. The AEGEEan has interviewed Carmen Martín, main coordinator of the event.

The AEGEEan: Could you tell us briefly what was the event about, and which were the main activities?

Carmen: The event was about the YVote2014 Project in general and specially about “Bridging the EU Democratic Gap”, which means to try to fill in the existent gap between Brussels and peripheral areas as Canary Islands, whose inhabitants don’t feel sometimes really European, because of the distance between our island and the rest of Europe.

You cooperated with the YVote project, how was the collaboration with them?

It was great, actually really fluid, with a lot of Skype meetings in which most of people in charge were present and with an open communication. AEGEE-Las Palmas team did not know all the members of YVote team, but that was not a barrier; we worked easily and efficiently all together.

Which were the biggest challenges of organizing the event, and how did you solve them?

Actually there was only one challenge, and it was related to Youth in Action grant, which arrived to AEGEE-Las Palmas bank account during the event (and we really had to make magic and ask for money to pay what we had to pay in advance). Everything else was really easy; the cooperation inside AEGEE-Las Palmas team and between us and YVote team, the great and motivated participants that we had, the organizational staff related to the hotel and sponsors… I would organize this event again thousands of times!

And which were according to you the best things of organizing this event?

The best things for me were, first of all, my team; they really made everything way easier to me, and we grew up as a team, seeing that everything was possible with open communication, a good mood and people who understand you and appreciate you. Second; our relationship with our University, City Council and other sponsors improved a lot (they could see that we are also able to organize other more ‘serious’ events, rather than just fun Summer Universities). Third: We got a lot of visibility in our city; we were on the news one of the days and in three different radio interviews. Furthermore, we got to know people from other associations and Europe Direct, with whom we made a great net of contacts for future events.

Why do you think you should win the Award to the Best Thematic Event?

Well, I am sure many other antennae organized great thematic events, but from my point of view, I will try to explain why I think AEGEE-Las Palmas should win this Award: Because even if we are a young (five years old!) and small (31 members) antenna, we manage to motivate our members to stay active both at the local and European level, to organize important and serious events as this one and because the event was just perfect from all the points of view: I’ve been told this from organizers’ side, participants’ side and YVote team’s side, so what else could I add? If we all agree on this, I think the rest of the Network should know about it!

On the other hand, AEGEE-Kraków organised last year the AEGEE Model of United Nations, which consists of a simulation of the discussions and procedures taken within the UN, as if they were delegates of their Member States. Katarzyna Michalska, main organizer of the event, explained to The AEGEEan how the MUN was.

Could you tell us briefly what was the event about, and which were the main activities?

AEGEE Model of United Nations was an international United Nations simulation conference during which participants played the role of UN Member States delegates generating a common approach on major issues of international politics. During the three days of meetings, divided into a few sessions, the participants discussed, following the official procedure, the different ways of solving one of the actual international conflicts in order to create a resolution which would be compatible with the ideas of Human Rights and Peaceful Conflict Resolution. As delegates of the UN Members States or Observer States, they did their best to defend the position of the state which were representing. The project consisted of two simulations of United Nations meetings: one on the conflict in Mali and one on the issue of the rights of North African refugees in Europe.

Which were the biggest challenges of organizing the event, and how did you solve them?

First of all, we decided to organize an international event in which we had no experience. It was difficult to create something totally new and unknown for us but, as we love trying new things, we took on this challenge with no fear. Fortunately we managed to find our experts – people experienced in the field of United Nations simulations who were available for any questions and concerns we had during preparation and also conducted our conference making it as professional as other prestigious events this type. Another challenge we had to face was the lack of funding sources. We had limited budget but we were so determined that even until less than week before the project we were struggling to get funds from many sponsors and finally got enough money! Moreover we had some difficulties in finding suitable place for the project but luckily we had a huge support from the university authorities who gave us an opportunity to organize it in one of their institutes.

And which were according to you the best things of organizing this event?

For me one of the best things of organizing this event was the great pleasure of doing it! Working with inspiring people who were truly motivated and dedicated to the project gave me a lot of energy and made me enjoy every single moment of organizing the project as well as the event itself. Beside the amazing team, I’d mention all of our small achievements which contributed to our final success, such as establishing valuable partnerships, getting funds or finally finding out about the surprising number of applications for our event!

Why do you think you should win the Award to the Best Thematic Event?

I can proudly say that thanks to hard work and determination of my team all the goals we set before organizing this event were achieved. We wanted to create a unique interactive learning experience which young people could enjoy and benefit from at the same time. What is worth mentioning, our project distinguishes itself by its up-to-date topic. It aimed at spreading and sharing knowledge about the problems of the modern world and the role of the United Nations in solving them as well as giving the participants opportunity to develop their diplomatic skills of compromise, negotiation, understanding of foreign affairs. Our goal was to encourage to study and discuss the issues of global importance. The positive feedback we got from the satisfied and happy participants eager to take part in the next edition of the project strengthened our belief that our event was a big success that we should be proud of.

AEGEE-Zaragoza is also nominated in this category. This time, by hosting the EuroSD – European Structured Dialogue conference, which gathered several International Youth Organizations in order to draft a joint statement to be sent to the European Commission. It was the first time that this consultation process was taken at a European level, as Beatriz Nasarre, former president of AEGEE-Zaragoza, explains.

Could you tell us briefly what was the event about, and which were the main activities?

The event was a European conference about the Structured Dialogue (It is a process of consultations launched by the European Commission and the European Youth Forum in order to pinpoint the needs and concerns of young people from all over the European Union), that gathered over a dozen International Youth NGOs. Besides writing the recommendations and a joint statement, we organized city tours around the city, and also a press conference where we transmitted that we would like the voice of young people to be heard.

You cooperated with other student organisations and AEGEE-Europe, how was the collaboration with them?

It is always very positive to strengthen the cooperation with other youth associations from outside AEGEE, whether they have a similar profile as us or not. It makes us see the things from another point of view, and it is always very rewarding. The people attending events like this one are always interesting and gratifying to work with!

Which were the biggest challenges of organizing the event, and how did you solve them?

The most difficult thing was to organise everything in a very complicated date, the beginning of July, with lots of previous work to do and during the exams season. The application of the Youth in Action grant was also another issue, also because we had many people around the Summer Universities. But in the end, with hard work we can achieve everything and afterwards we all left to our SU’s, and that was a very well-deserved vacation…

And which were according to you the best things of organizing this event?

Feeling part of such an interesting project, being “the first ones” of organising such an event, and especially feeling proud of the work we did. As always, with lots of works and nerves from the organisers, the feeling when the participants congratulate you because they have really enjoyed the event has left us speechleess. And, of course, proud of being able to wear such an awesome t-shirt designed by our Uncle Joni!

Why do you think you should win the Award to the Best Thematic Event?

Well, first of all because… have you ever seen such an awesome logo and t-shirt!? The event was a whole success and the thematics of the event were really interesting – with this European Structured Dialogue consultation we can really make an impact in the European Commission. Besides, the organisers devoted an important amount of their summertime, so we should definitely win – anyway, thanks to The AEGEEan for nominating us and we wish the best luck to the other nominees!

And finally, AEGEE-Alicante was also nominated for one of the most outstanding pre-events of Spring Agora Zaragoza, the MEDITERRANEANLY! event in cooperation with the Health4Youth Project. The antenna told The AEGEEan about the secrets of their success…

Could you tell us briefly what was the event about, and which were the main activities?

We wanted to show to our participants how beneficial, easy and fun can be having a healthy lifestyle and how to achieve it with some little changes in their day-to-day habits. That’s why we tried to make them used to a Mediterranean diet and to keep a daily routine of exercise.

The main sports activities we organised were a yoga and a zumba class, both early in the morning at the beach with professional trainers, as well as a walk on the sand, and some outdoor games. We also had the chance to hold a first aids workshop and to visit a ecological vegetable garden run by local farmers.

You cooperated with the Health4Youth Project, how was the collaboration with them?

They are very kind, three of their members (Maria Arends, Sygrit Andringa and Elmar Guliyev) came to the pre-event to give a hand with the programme by conducting some very successful workshops, such as the one about the effects of the consumption of alcohol on your body, and the one about the effects of not sleeping properly well.

Which were the biggest challenges of organizing the event, and how did you solve them?

We programmed to spend the last day and night on a camping site hoping that the sun will stay out the whole event (we are in Alicante, it never rains, but when it does, the whole sky falls down!); so just in case we were aware of the weather cast, which unfortunately turned out to show lots of cats and dogs planning to rain that day. We had to reschedule the programme, and that means: not camping and staying in the hostel (luckily for us not booked), cancelling a bbq and the goodbye party in the countryside, and replanned the whole last day at the very last moment just the day before. We contacted an ukulele teacher who improvised an amusing lesson for beginners, then, we went up to visit the Santa Barbara’s castle and in the evening we participate in an international beer pong contest. So it actually went pretty well taking into account that none of this was planned.

The other big challenge was to cook every meal and make it with a huge presence of vegetables. A wide range of tasteful dishes, from couscous to guacamole, including paella and vegan burgers, to name but a few. After the event took place, we collected all the recipes in a cookbook which can be download from here http://goo.gl/mw6wio Readers, feel free to use it and to send us comments afterwards!

And which were according to you the best things of organizing this pre-event?

Maria Teresa: Everything! I love the cooperation between the organisers and with the H4Y team. The organisational capacity that we had. It was my first event as organiser, and I learned a lot about AEGEE, and about my antenna. I’m very proud to have been part of that effort.

Isa: Choosing participants is usually a bit like playing the lottery, and definitely that time we hit the jackpot: we got such a great group of pleasant participants! Moreover this event was also useful for the antenna to activate some new local members and I am personally interested on the main topic of the event, so it was great that we carried it out, and even more, as a pre-event of ZarAgora!

Melissa: I didn’t know anything about AEGEE and I didn’t know anyone, so when I knew about this event, at first, I was attracted by its programme, and then, I had the opportunity to go as helper and I tried to do my best. We showed to all the participants the best things of our Mediterranean lifestyle in a great atmosphere and everything went perfect! For me, it was an incredible experience and the perfect chance to know and realize how amazing AEGEE is. After this, I felt in love with the AEGEE spirit and now I can’t imagine my life without it!

 Why do you think you should win the Award to the Best Thematic Event?

Even if it was a small one (in days and in number of participants), it was one of those events in which once it’s over you can feel that, despite of the unexpected changes, everything went well. After the last dinner, still sitting on the table, some participants started to thank us spontaneously for the atmosphere, the organisation and the activities of the event, they said that they really felt like they were at home. Once they went back home, they kept sending us lovely messages and Elmar (AEGEE-Bakı and Fundraiser of the H4Y Project) even made a cute video http://youtu.be/im9xOYW5eM8! They made us feel that this event was not only a H4Y event, but also an event about friendship, fellowship, teamwork, solidarity, and lots of AEGEE love.

 AEGEE-Poznan was also nominated, in cooperation with the Eastern Partnership Project, by their I’m for East! Festival. The AEGEEan has contacted them in order to know more about their event – so stay stuned in order to hear their responses! And remember, you still have a few time to vote: it is YOUR choice!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona/Leuven

]]> ../../../2014/03/08/the-eastern-partnership-project-prepares-for-a-second-edition/ Sat, 08 Mar 2014 13:59:36 +0000 ../../../?p=21682 The Eastern Partnership Project concluded last November in Autumn Agora Zaragoza, where their results were presented. But that does not mean it is over. The latest developments in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, and especially the EaP Summit in Vilnius, have shown that there is still a lot of work to do, and so The AEGEEan has spoken to… Read more →

The Eastern Partnership Project concluded last November in Autumn Agora Zaragoza, where their results were presented. But that does not mean it is over. The latest developments in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, and especially the EaP Summit in Vilnius, have shown that there is still a lot of work to do, and so The AEGEEan has spoken to Adrian Browarczyk (AEGEE-Poznan), Project Manager of the new Eastern Partnership Project, about their future plans.

The AEGEEan: Adrian, the Eastern Partnership Project concluded in Zaragoza with a standing ovation to the team. Now is the turn for the EaP[2]: why was it decided to launch a second ‘edition’ of the EaP?

Adrian Browarczyk: Since 2010 many things have changed. The EU program developed into an important diplomatic tool in frames of the Neighbourhood Policy. A significant number of binding agreements has been signed between interested sides and the level of bilateral cooperation between EU and EaP countries is quite gratifying even though some of the target countries proved their independence of choice in a surprising way (i.e. Armenia suddenly assigned to Customs Union roadmap at the end of 2013). Nonetheless, internally we also managed to step further by bringing the issue closer to an ordinary AEGEEan by means of a series of conferences, workshops, trainings and cultural events. In total we did a great job we are still proud of. Such backpack filled in with valuable experiences made us feel that we cannot leave the matter that quickly – it appeared that many crucial challenges are still far ahead which obviously means we are obliged to keep going with the undertaking Alla Resheten and others are parenting.

Which points is this edition going to have in common with its predecessor?

First of all, I would like to emphasise that even if we decided to keep the name of the project, we share the logo in a refreshed version and the team structure to a certain point resembles the previous one, we are basically a new creation issued by people who significantly didn’t contribute to EaP before. Nevertheless, as for the points we do share, I am proud to state that some of the members of EaP, namely Alla Resheten, Daryna Skryl and Armenak Minasyants, granted us with their support and advice – they form today a consultancy body which i.e. points out things we could focus on and motivates us to work further on things they find important. Furthermore, regarding the thematic sphere, a new project crew came up with the idea of centering on civil society development in six program countries as well as on promotion of active citizenship and raising awareness of its importance within our network, mainly in the EaP area. These points coincide with the priorities EaP had before, yet we aim at developing them by adding the value of structured dialogue and studies on gender equality in target societies.

And which new things are you planning to introduce?

I would like to begin with the team structure. Firstly, we introduced a position of the Impact Measurement Manager. This move was motivated mainly by our willingness to examine the impact we have in a structured way, keeping it transparent and helpful for generations to come. Secondly, when I was thinking about the strategy our project should implement, I realized that we need a group of people helping us in seeking for materials, analyzing resources and supporting in content creation. These are the reasons our Research team was constituted. Thirdly, as for the project’s plans, I would see us closely cooperating with locals from EaP region in terms of promoting liaison relations, organizing events related to main project aims and also sharing an overview on things we may not be aware of. Being visible externally by strengthening links with our partners (i.e. Civil Society Forum) and taking active part in shaping policy AEGEE-Europe strives for are among goals I would like to achieve with our team.

Can you tell us about activities that you are currently planning?

As we are currently brainstorming about the action agenda I am only able to name these ones we really would like to happen. Apart from organizing a series of trainings on youth participation and related topics, we are planning to help locals in hosting Active Citizenship Action Days. The event formula will be chosen in cooperation with hosting antenna, nonetheless we would like to follow the example of the convention YVote 2014 Project has created. Moreover, as we do see the importance of democratic processes, we have established already a link with the Election Observation Project which allows us to contribute to a wide range of election observation missions. Some of our members participate in the Short-Term Observer E-Learning course organized by OSCE /ODIHR in order to gain the knowledge that will allow them to legally examine elections’ reality mainly in the Eastern Partnership region. Regarding other initiatives we plan to undertake I would mention a two-week long “Bus/Train tour” through Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova with participants from the Eastern Partnership area and other European countries. The event will target the promotion of the structured dialogue at all levels and  will also underline the importance of being an active citizen in mentioned countries. Panel discussions with experts, different workshops and trainings will be organized in order to achieve the main project goals. As for the activities we would like to hold in a bigger external perspective I would name the ones where we are considered as partners: the side event of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum that will take place this autumn in Tbilisi and a series of initiatives mentioned by Armenak Minasyants, the Policy Officer on European Integration, in his Action Agenda. Eventually I am sharing with you our current action achievements: apart from publishing a couple of articles, participating in EaP Young Leaders Forum, organizing workshops at Zaragora and NWM Poznan, we recently supported the conference on recent Ukrainian events in Lille and we set up a cooperation with AEGEE-Bratislava in order to provide them with content during their SU organized along with AEGEE-Lviv and AEGEE-Odessa. Two other ‘work-together’ suggestions appeared lately from Europe On Track 2 and EuroArab sides – stay tuned and do not miss updates on our brand new website!

At the same time, the protests in Ukraine struck short after the Agora in Zaragoza. Has it influenced the ideas of the project in some way?

We feel much more motivated and eager to follow the thematic direction we have chosen. Recent events in Ukraine proved that the state of active citizenship there still remains a challenge to work on. Both sides of these clashes showed that Ukrainian people are not fully acquainted with the model of civil society other European countries share. Therefore, we would like to contribute to changes that will surely happen not only in Ukraine but also in the whole region. We would like to support the EaP youth in their call for democracy and the rule of law. I feel that with our project we are able to have an impact to a certain extent on the birth of the societies completely aware of their rights.

What about you, Adrian: what motivated you to be the Project Manager?

Adrian Browarczyk

It was a conjunction of different circumstances. The main reason I considered becoming the Project Manager was Alla’s suggestion at the previous EaP live meeting in Brussels last spring. I was thinking about it a lot during summer holidays, noodling over whether my leading skills and strengths are sufficient for such task. When I counted up the possibilities this challenge brings along I decided on stepping further and taking the responsibility of managing the project. From the very beginning I had people around who supported me with so much needed advice at that time. With Roland Papp (AEGEE-Budapest) and Marta Wnuk (AEGEE-Poznań) we dealt together with the first tasks and shaping the idea we would like to implement straight after Spring Agora Patra. I would also like to mention my personal interest in the Eastern Partnership issue, which has been developing since I was accepted as a member of the project’s team in 2012. My motivation grew when I had a possibility to represent AEGEE-Europe with Armenak Minasyants at Eastern Partnership Youth Forum in Kaunas last October. Since then everything seems to be moving in the right direction.

During your time in the first Eastern Partnership Project, which were the most valuable lessons that you learnt?

I finally got used to function in the international environment of youth activists who really did see the importance of the matter they worked on. We faced many quaint questions which I liked a lot as at the same time I was developing my interest in specific areas (I did research on Moldovan and Transnistrian youth and topics related to the internet freedom in Azerbaijan). We used to work late with grant applications and other tasks which actually determined my further work profile – EaP team mates receive my emails even at 4 in the morning. Another lesson I learnt is that while cooperating with partners from EaP region you must be very patient because some of the topics you touch are sometimes differently perceived. Nonetheless, over one year of active membership made me feel that I acquired enough knowledge to work on my own from now on.

Which are the outcomes you would like the project to have?

As a team we are certain that adding a youth perspective to the Eastern Partnership initiative of the European Union will be a significant contribution to building a united European society. I believe that we will be able to influence the recognition of youth power in target societies and that our work will contribute to establishing a strong civil society based on youth engagement. Consequently, I do hope we will successfully raise awareness on the role that active citizenship has in the transition states and that we will obtain young people with knowledge and tools regarding citizens’ rights and duties. I also believe that, by means of our actions in cooperation with the Election Observation Project, we will prove the importance of the participation in voting processes. Finally, I wish we will effectively promote and therefore increase effectiveness of Eastern Partnership program youth involved in the structured dialogue led with EU and regional stakeholders

 

Team structure of the Eastern Partnership Project:

CORE TEAM:

• Project Manager – Adrian Browarczyk, AEGEE-Poznań
• Content Managers – Roland Papp, AEGEE-Budapest and Marta Wnuk, AEGEE-Poznań
• Impact Measurement Manager – Léa Hannaoui-Saulais, AEGEE-Lille
• Financial Manager – Claudio Armandi, AEGEE-Napoli
• FR Manager – Zoltán Hradszky, AEGEE-Budapest
• PR Manager – Mert Can Yilmaz, AEGEE-Ankara

TEAM MEMBERS:

• FR Support team: Izawetta Manuel, AEGEE-Poznań and Cerem Çavdar, AEGEE-Ankara
• PR Support team: Clemens Adler, AEGEE-Karlsruhe and Alice Nitsch, AEGEE-Bamberg

RESEARCH:

• Damiano Deidda, AEGEE-Cagliari
• Saskia Heller, AEGEE-Hamburg
• Mara Bubberman, AEGEE-Groningen
• Ferran Huidobro Casamitjana, AEGEE-Tarragona
• Ivan Bielik, AEGEE-Brno

 

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

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The AEGEEan is proud to present our new Member of the Month from AEGEE-Berlin, Hans-Peter Bretz. You may know him by his nickname Hape. Elected for the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT) at Agora-Budapest, he has been trying something new this year and dedicated most of his summer to it. Travelling between summer universities, meeting new people and observing how all of the work SUCT went the year before turned out in practice. The AEGEEan just could not resist from learning more.

To start off, why is your nickname Hape?

In German people sometimes have double names, which is different from just having two names: they are supposed to be used together. Instead of always saying the full name, they are often abbreviated, e.g. Karl-Heinz to Kalle, or, in my case Hans-Peter to Ha-pe or simply Hape. My name is also completely out of fashion, I have never met someone with the same name who was younger than fifty. Even though Hans sounds like the most German name, most Germans do not really get “Hape” either. But there is a famous comedian called Hape Kerkeling, so they usually ask something like “You mean like Hape Kerkeling? Wait, is he also called Hans-Peter??”

What have you been doing this summer for AEGEE? We heard you were traveling quite a bit

That is true, the SUCT got some Interrail tickets to visit Summer Universities, so I took a three week long trip from Berlin on to the East and visited eight Summer Universities (SU).

Which summer universities did you visit?

I was at the SUs of AEGEE-Praha, AEGEE-Wroclaw/Opole/Lviv, AEGEE-Poznan/Gdansk/Torun, AEGEE-Warszawa/Riga, AEGEE-Krakow/Berlin, AEGEE-Katowice/Bratislava, AEGEE-Debrecen/Sibiu and finally AEGEE-Cluj Napoca.

What were you looking for in the SUs and what were you checking?

The main idea was to look at the programmes and how they realised them, and also to get some feedback by the organisers on our work and communication. Of course it is hard to tell if 100% of a programme is done when you are there for only a few days. But you can get a good impression of how the organisers work and also some feedback from the participants. By the way, it was quite funny how my presence was perceived by the participants at different SUs. At the beginning of my trip, I was at an SU where the group had already had some time to form and bond. When I sat down with some of them between programme points to enjoy a beer and some small talk and asked a general question about the SU to break the ice, they just smiled and made jokes how they would not let me spy on the organisers. At other times, some participants would see me as some sort of complaint box for every little thing they did not like about their SU. For me, it was also very interesting to see how the organisers prepared their SU, what different approaches they took, how they interacted with their group and how the general experience was influenced by the team of organisers, but also by the participants. Often, SUs are said to have their own atmosphere, and I wanted to see where that comes from.

Any favorite SU among the ones you visited?

Before my trip, I was afraid that 2-3 days at each SU would not be long enough to get a good impression. Later I was a bit surprised how much more you get out of a few days if you try to have an open and active mind and pay attention to details instead of just being part of the masses at an event. Still, the impression of a particular SU also depended on the parts of the programme I could take part in. In Prague, I arrived just in time for the city rally, whereas my day in Poznan was the relaxing day in between other days filled with programme (both were very nice, by the way). On a more personal level, the last SU of my trip, in Cluj Napoca, was great. My first SU and AEGEE event was the same SU, 3 years earlier, and it was still done by the same core team. I met some of the old organisers and even a participant again, and also I saw some participants from AEGEE-Berlin there. You could see how having so much experience in a team helps with all the little things in a Summer University. But I also want to thank all the other organizers who hosted me, managed to squeeze me in their planning and put so much effort in their event.

Did you end up going to any SU just for fun? That means, not as a representative of the SUCT but as participant?

I did not have enough vacation to go as participant, so I did not even think about at which one I could apply for.

We have heard you did your part for the Key 2 Europe (K2E) as well. What exactly did you do for it?

As in the last two years, I was part of the research and  statistics team. But other than last year, I did not have time to join the Concept Development Meeting, so my work was mostly to scan through the lists of events and to look for anything particularly interesting or fitting the themes of the K2E.

What are your plans for the Agora? Are you coming and what are your goals for it?

I will be there, and if there happen to be any discussions where I can participate, I will.

How is the SUCT in general feeling about this year’s SU season? Satisfied?

For all of us except Costas Deltouzos, it was the first time that we got this much insight into the project. We tried some new things like the SU maps, which I think, on average, were received positively, the thematic sessions, and the learning objectives, for which we have to wait for the evaluation. We also got the highest number of applicants in the last few years, so I think all in all we can be satisfied with the SU season.

What do you do in AEGEE apart from SUCT?

For the last year, the work with SUCT consumed most of my AEGEE work time and sadly I could not go to more events than the two Agorae. I do not have any position in my Antenna in Berlin, but we are a small local and if there’s anything to do, I help and participate as much as possible.

Planning to stay in SUCT next year as well or some other big plans ahead?

At several points in the last year, I was thinking about running for a second term, but my PhD study will only get more demanding during the next two years and I would like to focus on that.

Written by Olga Volovyk, AEGEE-Kyiv

“Such initiatives once again prove that AEGEE is not only about voting, candidates, and committees, but about people connected with each other and helping on a distance of thousands of kilometers.” This is what Olga Iatsyna, former Network Commissioner, wrote on her Facebook profile. We never thought otherwise!

The members of AEGEE-Poznań united their enthusiasm and willingness to promote the cultures of European countries and combined it with their mission to help. This is the motivation of the charity initiative “Serce dla Gruzji” (in Polish – “Heart for Georgia”). Consequently, a unique event was born: “AEGEE with Heart for Georgia”.

The main aim of the action is to show how many people need support and how we can contribute. During the last years, as a result of the wars and the political transformation in Georgia, a great part of its citizens were struck by many unexpected difficulties and suffering. The standard of living deteriorated for many people. Therefore, the purpose of this joint initiative of AEGEE-Poznań and “Heart for Georgia” is to show that there are people who support the children, the elderly, the poor,  and the sick and lonely. Thanks to the money collected, the local will be able to help an orphanage, a health centre for the poorest, a soup kitchen, and home care for those in need and for the handicapped who are no longer able to move from their homes.

Visiting Georgia during international projects showed me not only the beauty of the country and the immense hospitality of its citizens, but also revealed vast social needs. Last year, our group of volunteers from Poznań decided to start the initiative “Heart for Georgia”. Currently our actions are meant to support the already existing projects lead by Caritas Georgia. This organisation is widely known for its effectiveness. What is more, its employees recognise the needs of the people they have been taking care of for years. We believe that the money we fundraise is not going to waste, but will be used in the best way possible.

“As a former AEGEE member I have been in touch with its members for years and  I know very well that their enthusiasm can bring new ideas and energy to this project. I could not have been happier than in the moment I received the answer from AEGEE-Poznań and saw the support from AEGEE-Tbilisi and the Eastern Partnership Project (EaP),” says Ligia Szulc, the coordinator of the charity initiative “Heart for Georgia” and an officer of the Poznań City Hall.

“This project is undoubtedly unique. And what makes it this special? First of all, it is the aim: Helping those in need. Through our action we are able  to make a real difference in other people’s lives. Secondly, an incredible and very effective cooperation between two groups – AEGEE-Poznań and Heart for Georgia. I am very happy to be a part of this team. Together we can definitely achieve more,” says Marta Wnuk, coordinator of the Exchange Working Group in AEGEE-Poznań.

On 28^th May 2012, students of the universities in Poznań were encouraged to join, learn more, and contribute during the fundraising. To thank them for each offering, the sponsors of the event decided to give some fresh baked pastry which was distributed by the volunteering students. A Georgian culture evening in the Blue Note Jazz Club with music, Georgian cuisine, and interesting guests followed. Two music bands offered live concerts for the participants as an afterparty: the Polish band “Propaganda Dei” and “Bullit” from the United Kingdom.

The charity auction, supported by the biggest Polish auction portal Allegro.pl will last for a few days. All assets fundraised will be sent to partner of the initiative , Caritas Georgia.

“I do not regard the geographical border of Poland as the right criterion to choose which people we should help. Social aid is well-developed in Poland, while in Georgia it still is not,” says Paulina, one of the volunteers when asked why she decided to fundraise for the needy in Georgia.

Let us follow then our hearts and words “Some call it Europe, we call it home.”

Written by Ligia Szulc, Initiative Heart for Georgia and former AEGEE-Poznań, and Marta Wnuk, AEGEE-Poznań

Photographs by EaP and AEGEE-Tbilisi