AEGEE and Eurovision have quite a lot in common, the main thing being a vision about united Europe. This year the connection is stronger than ever as in May during the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen one of the participants will be well known for some AEGEEans!

In 2014 Latvia is represented by a special participant – Jöran Steinhauer and his group “Aarzemnieki” (in Latvian – “Foreigners”). Firstly, he is not a professional musician, just somebody who has a passion, voice and good composition ideas. Secondly, he is not Latvian, but a German who fell in love with the country. And thirdly, since 2007 he has participated in several AEGEE events and even wrote a hymn for the “European Day of Languages” organised by AEGEE-Riga (with this song “More than 27” he already participated once in the Latvian semi-final for Eurovision).

This year he has taken everybody by surprise and together with 3 other singers – Latvians – participated in Latvian contest for Eurovision with a catchy song “Cake to bake”. Believe it or not, they won and will present Latvia in the Eurovision! For sure several AEGEE members will be there to support him, but what about you?

Written by Anita Kalmane, Foundation AEGEE Trust Fund (FATF)

This year, two beautiful cities have the honor being European Capitals of Culture, although only one of them is proud to have an AEGEE antenna. AEGEE-Rīga has been bringing Europe closer to Latvian students since 2001, while Swedish town Umeå still has potential to attract AEGEE. Who knows, maybe soon already?

Having said that, there is no surprise that several AEGEE members were present during the opening weekend for Riga – European Capital of Culture 2014. Despite the cold weather (around -13°C), in the weekend of January 17th-19th thousands of people enjoyed loads of activities in the streets of Riga. As we say in Latvia – “I was also there, I also ate the honey and I also drank the wine”.

Probably the most important happening on Saturday was the incredible Chain of Booklovers, where 12 thousand people united in a chain bringing books from the former building of the National Library of Latvia to the new building, known as the Palace of Light. I was standing quite at the beginning of the chain, but even then it took more than 20 minutes before the first books arrived to our part and we were instructed how to pass it on from one’s left side to the right side. If in the beginning there were not so many books and I was very eager to read all the titles, then in the end there was no time at all, the best you could do was enjoy different designs, shapes and weight of books. Although the chain lasted for a few hours, only a few thousand books were moved – it was more an emotional activity rather than a practical one.

During the day people were able to enjoy dozens of activities in the Old Riga, Silent Centre and other parts of the city centre, including several musical performances in Riga Central Market. When it started to get dark, one could find people around the river Daugava where there was the World Fire Sculpture Championship, The Parade of Light and really nice fireworks.

Throughout the year there are hundreds of other activities happening both for locals and tourists so make sure to pay a visit to Riga, European Capital of Culture 2014!

Written by Anita Kalmane, Foundation AEGEE Trust Fund (FATF)

New Year, new day, new beginning – for a real AEGEEan there can be no better way how to start it, as taking part in a Winter University (WU). This New Year in Riga was specially spicy because 30 amazing participants from nine countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain and Ukraine) took part in WU Sp(ICE) Matters: White Winter. They came for Black Balsam to mark the start of 2014 and discover the beauty of Latvia.

Even if the weather played some tricks on us and Riga was far from a white winter wonderland, it did not stop us from enjoying some typical seasons’ activities like ice-skating and diving into an ice-cold pond after a hot sauna. We even drove dog sledges in a misty forest and rang in the New Year watching the spectacular fireworks in the heart of Riga.

AEGEE-Las Palmas member Kamal Vasnani admitted that this event was very special because he managed to try lot of activities he had never done before, but especially thrilling for him was balancing on ice. “I was happy to overcome my fear of skating, and I think I made quite good progress. I even managed to do it on my own at some points, although most of the times I had the help of other people.”

Alina from AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg stressed the festive, joyful vibe of Riga, but she relished also the time spent in nature. “If I have to name one activity I liked the most, I think it was the sauna, because it was so cool to be in the sauna and then jump into the lake and afterwards get warm in jacuzzi,” said Alina. “I think most of all I enjoyed the time that we spent in the guest house, I like all this nature stuff. And conditions were the best from all the places I’ve been with AEGEE.”

We made sure that everyone who took part in this WU will know how to survive in the wild and also wink wisely every time someone doesn’t know what to do with the traditional Riga Black Balsam – Latvias’ most characteristic drink (by the way – Mohito à la Latvian is a great idea). We learnt Latvian Christmas’ and New Years’ traditions and even performed a folk custom called “mumming”. What does that mean? We made traditional Latvian masks (horses, wolfs, haystacks and, yes, even death) in which mummers usually travel from house to house bringing a blessing to every place they visit.

“This WU roused a lot of positive emotions,” said AEGEE-Rīga president Lelde Pētersone. “I was able to laugh with joy and test my strength. I truly appreciated the participants’ willingness to plunge into all the adventures together with us.”

Those days starting from 27th December till 2nd January were full of amazing adventures and discoveries. We – the organizers – want to thank all the participants for making this event so special. And remember: Riga will always welcome you back!

AEGEE-Rīga wants so say a special thanks to the Fazer Bakery!

Written by Signe Apsite, AEGEE-Riga

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

The 27th of December 2012 the wonderful Winter University organised by AEGEE-Riga and AEGEE-Ogre started. The participants were able to enjoy the culture and the hospitality of Latvian people for seven days. The activities and workshops were diverse, from social inclusion, costumes, and other more sportive activities like ice-skating or the “ciambellas” (big truck tires used to slide downhill).

As usual, the program started with an introduction of the organisers and some ice breaking games where the participants got to know each other. After breaking the ice, the participants went to a pub in the Old Town, where they enjoyed the music and some drinks. From that day on Angel Rodriguez (AEGEE-Alicante) – or Angelina as he was called during the event – started trying to become the dancing king. However, Lelde Pētersone (AEGEE-Riga) also showed her nice smile, energy and good dancing style.

For the duration of the event, the participants were divided in four groups: lions, frogs, snakes and hyenas. Different tasks were given to each group, like waking up the other participants in the morning, logical exercises or playing different games. The division of the participants helped to improve the relations between them.

On the first day, after a lesson in Latvian language, the participants got the biggest surprise of the event. In the Brazilian beach volleyball centre, the groups had to work together on different tasks. The hyenas won the overall match. Afterwards the teams tried to get the recipe of some cakes selected by the organisers in the tearoom. In the meantime there was a small workshop about AEGEE where the organisers asked the participants to give ideas on how to improve internal relations in AEGEE; how to get new members; or how to stimulate friendships between the old and the new members.

December 30th started with a city tour given by an official tourist guide of the city. The participants visited different cathedrals and quarters of the city, and learned about the traditions, history and legends of these different parts. After the tour, the group went to a guest house outside the city. Before the participants started to get ready for the European Night, they had a Latvian dance workshop given by Elmars Leja (AEGEE-Riga). During the European Night the participants were able to enjoy different drinks from Italy, Georgia, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France, Holland, Latvia and Spain. For this event the Spanish participants did not prepare the popular sangría, they chose another special mix of champagne and orange juice called “aqua de Valencia”, because it is a drink that many consume in times of celebration. Of course there also were some sweets, pasta done by the great chef Enzo Lamuraglia (AEGEE-Bari), and the famous Spanish “tortilla de patatas” provided by Angel Rodriguez.

The following morning, the group had a great time in a small ski station near the guest house. Some of the participants enjoyed skiing and snowboarding, while the rest of the group were playing with the “ciambellas”. Since there were four tires, the participants organised races and sliding in different figures like trains or squares. The participants also enjoyed a great sauna party where they got the chance to rest and build up their energy for New Year’s Eve back in Riga.

After arriving back in the gym in Riga the participants began to get ready by putting on their gala clothes, while the organisers prepared an appetizer that both the participants and the organisers enjoyed, along with some nice sangría. After dinner, the group went to the riverside of Daugava to enjoy the fireworks at midnight, while drinking champagne. The participants continued on to a pub called “Mojo”, where they celebrated the coming of New Year in each of the different European timezones while sharing some traditions like eating 12 grapes.

Next morning the bravest participants went to Riga’s freezing seaside, before joining the rest of the group who went ice-skating in the “Lido”.  After the lunch in Lido’s restaurant, the participants joined an aerobic class given by the two pets of the ice-skating park, two funny teddy-squirrels, who were dancing to “Danza Kuduro”.

And then the night arrived, and with it, the farewell party. There were prizes to be given out for the most energetic, the most relaxed (sleeping princess), the best flirt, and the best dancers. In the group contest the Hyenas finally claimed their victory while singing their song “Hyena, Hyena, Hyena”.

This event showed the participants who had never been to Latvia before how people from this area may seem cold and quiet, but when you get to know the country – and even better, if the members of AEGEE-Riga and AEGEE-Ogre help you – you will realise that the people are friendly, warm and funny. In one word: wonderful.  Thank you AEGEE for another wonderful experience!

Written by Angel Rodriguez, AEGEE-Alicante (Wieke van der Kroef ed.)

This November various AEGEE locals all over Europe were celebrating the annual European Day of Languages (EDL), giving the opportunity to the local community to taste a bit of Europe.

One of those locals was AEGEE-Riga who organised their EDL “Colour languages” already the 11th year in a row. For the first time they went out of the usual school classes and gave the lectures also in a cafe Coffee Inn.

“With every minute we learnt something new, opening ourselves to a completely different culture and immersing into the whirlwind of experiences. We were listening to French music, singing in Italian, learning Georgian children rhymes, getting to know the anthem of Latvia in the sign language, playing Danish games and enjoying loads of other wonderful and useful activities which let us experience 12 different cultures within 3 days,” says Laima Kazeka, President and PR Responsible of AEGEE-Riga.

It is also interesting to know that actually the official European Day of Languages (as organised by the Council of Europe) takes place in September, two months earlier than in AEGEE locals. However, due to the fact that students in various countries start their university later and not every university is open already in September, long time ago AEGEE decided to organise their EDL in November. Various AEGEE locals even choose their own dates and time, making it not only a day, but several days or even a week of languages. And some others do it a bit later – e.g., AEGEE-Eindhoven is just getting to ready for their EDL in December, when they will learn Latvian language as well!

How about your local and EDL? Share your experiences with us in the comment box!

Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre

Summer University „Riga Heartbeats Forever!” organised by AEGEE-Riga has recently finished – with loud cheers, farewell tears and warm embraces.

“Veselā miesā vesels gars!” – From the healthy spirit to the healthy body! – this Latvian proverb was the motto of this Summer University, and that is why the programme was filled with different activities supporting the idea of the event: lecture about healthy lifestyle, workshop about healthy eating habits, Latvian traditional sauna in theory and practice, morning gymnastics in the park, and other green, energetic and salutary exercises. Participants also experienced some challenges like an unexpected five kilometer hike from the train station to the cottage house in the seaside village, chilly swim in the Baltic sea, and a day in the rope adventure park “Mežakaķis” [Wildcat] in the picturesque Sigulda. The participants acknowledged that, in order to maintain good health, we have to pay attention to what we eat, therefore the organisers were very careful about the menu for these two weeks.  For example, offering high quality and healthy home-cooked dishes made from local products, harvesting vegetables from backyard gardens, opening mum’s homemade jams, encouraging eating rye bread instead of white, not missing the most important meal of the day – breakfast. Cake tasting workshop “When the Taste is Tastier” in the café “Mierā” caused gastronomic excitement impossible to put in words because, as many participants revealed, they had never tasted such delicious on-site baked cakes.

The timing of the event was well planned because it coincided with three-day-long Riga City Festival which offered an opportunity to participate in extra activities like rowing competition, aeronautic show, and visits to exhibitions, markets and concerts. But the highlight of these days was watching amazing fireworks. Each participant visiting Riga was interested to learn something more about Latvian culture, traditions and history. Therefore they highly appreciated the workshop about Latvian culture and language, as well as the Latvian traditional dances session. While listening to the lecture about AEGEE on the 25^th floor of the office building “Sun Stone”, the view from the window on Riga’s rooftops and church towers created unfeigned delight. By cleaning up the botanical garden of the University of Latvia, we proved that AEGEE is all about volunteering. The participants also had a possibility to show their artistic skills and other talents in such activities as karaoke, “AEGEE’s Got Talent” show and the contest “SU Pop-Street”.

During the Summer University we explored, experienced and completed some things which are impossible to write down on paper or type on keyboard, but those moments will be kept in our hearts forever. Friendships, love, surprises, and much more occurred in the magical city of Riga. The organizers of the Summer University “Riga Heartbeats Forever!” hope that for each participant these two weeks were the best, most valuable and adventurous event of this summer.

The Summer University in Riga would not have happened without a group of motivated, hard-working and creative AEGEE-Riga members that dared to contribute five previous months to make it come true. Also, organisers are grateful to all sponsors who supported “Riga Heartbeats Forever!”

Written by Diana Ondža, AEGEE-Riga

Do you know what AEGEE-Riga, AEGEE-Tartu and AEGEE-Valletta have in common?

In the Facebook era, we could say they have a friend in common: the Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF), a network can open many doors to their members and facilitate the foundation of new projects.

AEGEE-Riga were the last ones who “added this friend”, just a few weeks ago.

The AEGEEan interviewed one of its members, Klinta Stasjule, who had an important role in the establishment of this partnership.

Klinta, can you explain a bit more what the Anna Lindh Foundation is about?

The purpose of ALF is to bring people across the Mediterranean together to improve the mutual respect between cultures. Since its establishment in 2005, the Anna Lindh Foundation has launched and supported action across the fields impacting perceptions of people from different cultures and with different beliefs, as well as developing a region-wide Network of civil society organisations.
They provide people the opportunity to work together to promote intercultural dialogue and to create a Euro-Mediterranean region as an area of cooperation, mobility and peace.

Currently the Foundation brings together more than 3000 organisations from 43 countries!

What is their strategy to reach their aims? How do they organize the work?
The programme of the Foundation is focused on activities in fields which are essential for human and social dialogue:
• Culture and Creativity;
• Education and Intercultural Learning;
• Urban Spaces and Citizenship;
• Media and Public Opinion.

The fields of action sounds similar to the ones of AEGEE…

Yes! There are many similar things.. AEGEE also offers the opportunity to work and develop yourself in multicultural environment and promotes cooperation between cultures.

What are the main differences instead?

Mainly that they operate not only European countries, but also in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean coast countries (such as Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon…) and that this is an organisation which connects a lot of organisations such as AEGEE, thus allowing networking.

How did you hear about the Anna Lindh Foundation?

One of our active members wanted to apply for an exchange organised by ALF and she got refused as the priority usually is given to the members from the ALF Network.
We checked all the info and decided that joining the ALF could be useful and it would open new horizons!

Is the procedure to join easy? 

I would say, yes, it is. Any non-governmental, non-profit organisation, association, university, government and enterprise fund that supports the mission and wants to promote intercultural dialogue with the Euro-Med countries can join the AFL.

To become the Anna Lindh Foundation, we had to complete application forms online (one in English – http://www.euromedalex.org/node/add/member and one in Latvian). Then we were invited for a meeting with the representatives of ALF explaining our motivation to join that led us to be approved as a member of ALF Network in Latvia.

Do you have already in mind any specific initiatives that can be carried on with their support?

We don’t know yet the precise answer as we have just joined the network and haven’t participated in any initiative. But anyway, it doesn’t make any extra costs to the organisation, you should prepare just some annual reports to be submitted. So that we encourage each of you take on this opportunity if it’s possible and in case you find it attractive!

Would you suggest other antennae to become a part of this network? Why?

As I said, the aim is similar to AEGEE and this only opens wider horizons! Why not!?

Participation in the Anna Lindh Foundation network organisation does not impose any financial or legal obligations and, if you are not convinced yet, this is a list of the advantages of joining, as described on ALF’s website:

* Only the network member organisations are eligible for the Foundation for the grant project competition.
* Opportunity to participate in training seminars, conferences and various other fund and its members’ events.
* Possibility to receive regular information (advice) about the ongoing ALF and Euro-Med cooperation in the field.
* Ability to work with other organisations within the network and find partners for different projects.
* Opportunity to participate in Euro-Med policy making, decision-making processes involved in the performance of the network priorities and key tasks.

More info on the website – http://www.euromedalex.org/about !

Written by Martina Zanero, AEGEE-Torino