Last October, AEGEE Salerno organised an Erasmus+ project that contributed to the Focus Areas of Civic Education and European Citizenship. As recognition for such a wonderful project, they have been elected as ACTive Local of October. We talked to Sonia Della Sala, HR responsible of AEGEE-Salerno and co-coordinator of the project named “Erasmus nei Picentini”. She was the co-coordinator because the project was idealised, finalised, and delivered by Coordinamento Provinciale dei Forum dei Giovani di Salerno and AEGEE-Salerno.

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

Sonia: Well, happy will be too reductive! I remember we were at our AEGEE-Salerno office at Università degli Studi di Salerno when we read the communication. Our first reaction was silence, then the President moved his eyes from the computer screen and looked at us with a big pirate smile on his Jack Sparrow’s face and we hugged each other. For sure we felt proud of our hard work, sleepless nights and early wakings.

Why did you decide to organise this activity?

There was more than one motivation to be honest. I will try to be as brief as possible, promised! After we signed our agreement on mutual cooperation with Coordinamento Provinciale dei Forum dei Giovani di Salerno during our Summer University “Non Solo Sole -XXIX Edition- InSpiring eUrope” we decided to start official cooperation with “Erasmus nei Picentini”. It took place right after “Erasmus Welcome Days” (that AEGEE-Salerno organises twice a year to welcome incoming Erasmus and International students). We wanted to introduce our local European history and international visions to foreign students with AEGEE flavor. Ideas came during long talks between Forum Giovani and AEGEE-Salerno. I was content manager of our Summer University and a member of CEWG and together with Francesco Barbarito, who is Coordinamento Provinciale Forum Giovani di Salerno External Relations Responsible and AEGEE-Salerno member, “Erasmus nei Picentini” happened!

The idea was to combine history, science, arts and beauty with AEGEE’s Civic Education and European Citizenship Focus Areas. Three cities of the province of Salerno were selected for this project to come true, each one of them selected for a specific reason. Montecorvino Rovella -known as “Science City” because it hosts the astronomical observatory dedicated to the famous local astronomer Gian Camillo Gloriosi, which in 1989, for the 20th anniversary of the Moon landing, held an international initiative where among the guests there were Micheal Collins (Apollo11), astronauts Cristiano Cosmovici and Patrick Baudry, and cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko. The observatory received numerous awards from famous national and international bodies for its research (especially on the extragalactic supernovae and the photometry of the minor bodies of the solar system). Now the Technological and Environmental Multimedia Centre European Planetarium San Pietro is under construction. San Cipriano Picentino because it had the privilege to host Benedetto Croce who was one the founders of “Liberal Italian Party”, which is the founder party of the world federation of liberal and progressive democratic political parties “Liberal International” and party member of the “European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party”, now known as “Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe”. Giffoni Valle Piana because it is the venue of the “Giffoni Film Festival”, now known as “Giffoni Experience”, which aims at promoting the knowledge and circulation of products of high artistic value which contribute to the formation and cultural growth of a mature critical conscience in young people.

Throughout this project, our main goal was to sow intercultural learning among foreign students on the importance of active citizenship, so to foster a stronger European culture.

Participants spent one full day at each venue and had workshops, conferences, debates and city tours. Pretty cool, huh? I bet you are thinking to apply next year…

What was the result of your activity?

When we opened the Open Calls for Erasmus students in Salerno the response was surprising. We reached more than 60 applications. Only 50 have been selected based on motivations given. The feedbacks we received were positive. Both AEGEE-Salerno members, international students and Forum Giovani were participative to workshops.

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

Usually, we inform members about the Action Agenda on several occasions: during general members meetings, for instance, when the board presents the activities planned for the upcoming month. We also have a Whatsapp and Facebook group in which we spam OCs for EBs, Task Forces, AEGEE-Europe Projects and so on with a general introduction on the topic. During LTCs and Agorae Preparation, we go into more detail on the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda. Anyways, every members meeting is a good occasion to recap on AEGEE’s mission and vision. Too much info is hard to store all at once!

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

Of course we do!! Action Months are approaching fast and we are looking forward to it. We have already planned February according to the guidelines YDWG sent. In March we are going to focus on our Internal Project “Civica Civitas”, while in April we are going to host the prestigious conference for the Franck Biancheri Award. Stay tuned because you are going to hear about it soon!!!

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

Personally, as Vice-speaker of the Human Resources Committee of AEGEE-Europe, I would say that organising activities related to Action Agenda/Strategic Plan could be a good recruiting strategy. It is the best way to show to externals what AEGEE really is and does. The impact that it can have on youngsters. The purest motivation to join AEGEE comes with participation, without having to explain what AEGEE is and does in a few minutes -because it will still look ridiculously impossible after a few hours!!

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

Quite a few, actually. Planning beforehand is definitely one. Download and store guidelines is for sure a start, especially if you will eventually read them. Co-operation with a close or twinn antenna is another tip. Keep a constant eye on OCs, especially on projects and try possible combinations. I do not feel to go much into details because every local has separate needs, but for sure thematic activities could come in handy to solve attendances at events, as in make sure to organise a thematic activity as part of a general local assembly (or members meetings to sound less Dutch).

Can you tell us a bit more about your local?

AEGEE-Salerno was founded in 1989 by Fabrizio Moscati. As soon as AEGEE-Salerno was founded, in the same year we hosted “Autumn Agora Salerno 1989” and “Non Solo Sole – Summer University”. In 2003 we have been awarded “Best Summer University” and this year we are going to host our 30th edition of “Non Solo Sole – The Show mUst go on”, so stay tuned! Currently, we count 50 members of which 20 are active (but 10 are super active-productive). Our board is composed by six members, two of which are active on the European level: Federico Melella, AEGEE-Salerno IT responsible, and IT team of Europe on Track 5; and Sonia Della Sala, former vice-President and AEGEE-Salerno HR responsible, also vice-speaker of Human Resources Committee of AEGEE-Europe, member of Civic Education Working Group and Migration Interest Group of AEGEE-Europe, as well as sub-commissioner of Francesca Zorcolo for the Rainbow Locals. We do not have any committees, we prefer working groups. According to the specific needs we create a WG. One that has been going on for a while now is the “Translations Working Group” which has worked on the translation of the Statute of AEGEE-Salerno (currently under approval of the JC) and on the translation of events descriptions in different languages. We also have WGs according to the European events we host, at the moment we have FBA WG and SU WG.

Written by Cristina de la Parte, Action Agenda Coordination Committee

A Summer University has two sides, two views: participants and Local Organizers… 

I was ready to meet new people, visit new places and experience all sort of things. Not knowing anything about AEGEE, I started looking for options. After an hour of google-ing I stumbled across AEGEE. And my oh my, did I hit the jackpot! Eighty Summer Universities to choose from in every European country you can think of. But, for me, there was only one choice. Italy, la bella Italia. I applied for three Summer Universities, all in Italy. That’s how serious my addiction is. I expected to experience the culture, the Italian food, the weather and the history. My summer turned out to be much more than just that.

Italy was the background to a much bigger event. The participants from Turkey, Russia, Finland and Spain, to name just a few, were the true focal point of the event. To learn about making Spanish Calimocho (wine mixed with coke and sugar) or being jealous about the warm school lunches students get in several countries while at university, makes it more than a group of people gathering to drink, laugh and see things. I never  expected to bond so tightly with group at the end of the Summer University. I feel like I have made friends across Europe where I’m always welcome and that feeling is entirely mutual!

The “army” of organizers were always happy, excited and a great addition to experiencing the Italian culture. Without them, the concept of Italian time (five “Italian minutes” is the equivalent to sixty “non-Italian minutes”), the porchetta-sandwiches and the hidden gems of Italy would have stayed a mystery to me. My thanks to all of you!

Another special place is reserved for the (in)famous Gossip Box. This super classy cardboard box with a hole where anybody can put in gossips, who-kissed-who’s, jokes and dating tips was the entertainment during the trips from the HQ (gym, camping, hostel, you name it) to the activities. At first, I was skeptical about it. I mean, what’s so much fun about gossiping? So, the first few nights I, possibly under the influence of a few drinks, put in some bad jokes… Not so successful. But as the parties grew wilder and the people grew closer, the gossip machine started to become the center of our attention. The amount of jokes, rumors, and vague hints grew bigger by the day. Great feature and a guarantee for roars of laughter, shock or disbelief!

Then – Italy. This Summer University takes you to see Places with a capital P. It makes me jealous of the Italian people to have the Amalfi Coast amongst others so nearby. Eating pizza in Naples, drinking limoncello during the European Night at the beach just dimly lit by candlelight and the stunning and breathtaking views of Capri are worth the trip alone. Combine this country, the great places and the fantastic people (participants as well as organizers) and you have a recipe for success. This Summer University would be a tough act to follow! The title (Non Solo Sole – The Never-Ending Story) couldn’t be more appropriate. It’s a never-ending story, for it is engraved in my memory for eternity and I have no problem with that whatsoever. Ciao Italia and to the great participants we’ll meet again!

Dennis van Leeuwen (AEGEE-Leiden)- Participant

Blurred feelings, fifteen days in front of you. Too many names to remember and you wonder if you will remember all of them in the end. The end of something, that I bet, none of  us can perfectly explain. What  happened? I can see your smiles, I can also feel your fears on the first day and also the second, the fear of not being accepted in something really weird . Once I read  that everyone is a freak and if  life  is a freak show, well Summer University is definitely a hole filled by freaks, it’s a hole where anything has the possibility to happen. It’s useless to make a list of all the things that could or could not happen in that colorful hole. Organizers and  participants, fifteen days that slowly fade away. Slow motion of faces, fast movements of arms that take other arms, hugging each other for any possible reason. Everything is exaggerated, you live in a bubble that could blow up at any moment, but unexpectedly, everything stays in its right place, in balance between love and an unwritten future, in balance between more than ten countries, more than ten different cultures, in balance between fifty people all of them with different eyes,  different iris that have seen millions of things before coming to Italy, and now, those things are mixed with our culture: this is our power, a tiny little thing that can change each world we are living in. Sometimes people ask us what AEGEE is, what this Summer University project is, and we cannot answer, we are not able to give a real answer to this question, I am thinking about it, I am thinking about the fact that maybe this kind of questions is inappropriate, you should live it with eyes wide open, it is like what happens with love, you cannot explain it, you should just feel it, and if you can explain your heart’s beating, that’s not love. “Non Solo Sole-The never-ending story” in Salerno… The name is quite long, fifteen days, instead, are not that long. Each day just hides itself  in another; and time, yes, the time is almost like you live just one big, great day made up of  billions of hours, billions of feelings. It’s like you live on a merry-go-round for 24 hours and suddenly, after 2 hours of ups and downs, you can’t just focus your attention on one real thing, your  eyes are full of little sweet tears, your arms are able just to hold a puppy, your heart is liquefied and inside of it there is sugar, almonds and dozens of memories mixed with that blurred feelings. Summer University is pure love, pure sugar, pure purity. Now, take your luggage, fill it with your clothes, freedom and your best smile, and then take everything off, you need nothing, just land somewhere in our arms and lose yourself.

Bianca Savo (AEGEE-Salerno) – Organizer

Babbo Natale (the Italian name for Santa Claus) arrived a little late for AEGEE–Salerno. On December 29th, Network Commissioner Mattia Abis (AEGEE-Cagliari) sent an email to the Rainbow Network (Italian-speaking, Maltese antennae and the Contact of AEGEE– Europe in Lugano) announcing that the Southern Italian antenna was chosen to host the Spring Network Meeting in 2014.

It was not an easy decision for Mattia and his team of subcommissioners, since other locals had also applied. However, in his words, they found their candidacy “perfect for the offer made and the motivation that was proven: it was really difficult to say no!”. AEGEE–Salerno is very well-known for organizing for already 25 years the Non Solo Sole Summer University, that has reached the top several time, like in 2012 when it was placed at a second position.

Carolina Alfano, the Vice-president of AEGEE-Salerno, will be the main organizer. She will bring her huge experience on NWMs, since she has attended six of them in the last three years. “ The idea of bringing a NWM in Salerno started being shaped in my head during the NWM in Foggia. We were joking with other participants about that, but only when I came back it became serious. After speaking with my board, friends and fellow members, I got full support from them”, Carolina explains.

Nothing was decided until Mattia had delivered the good news. Normally, in the Italian-speaking and Maltese area, there is the unwritten rule to have one NWM in the South and one in the North, but when choosing AEGEE-Salerno this rule was broken. “For me it doesn’t change a lot because I’m living in an island and I have to take a flight or a boat to get there anyway, and I guess it happens the same thing to the members of AEGEE-Valletta and somehow also to the Sicilian locals”, Mattia jokes, and he adds: “ I asked them (his team of subcommissioners) to consider the candidatures not only for the geographical condition and we unanimously selected AEGEE-Salerno. We had decided to give the NWM to a Southern local because they were offering very good conditions for us: from a low fee participation to all the meals covered, passing through an already closed agreement with the municipality for accommodation”.

Mattia and his team of subcommies have already a pretty clear idea of what the NWM will be about. Besides the usual sessions focusing on the needs of the Network, there will be some promising sessions such as the ones related to Erasmus+, conflicts within the local boards, Action Agenda, Strategic Plan, and a European Level Bodies Fair, as well as some preparation sessions for the Agora.

Following the path of the former Network Commissioner Claudio Armandi (AEGEE-Napoli), Mattia and his team decided to set the date from 10th to 13th of April, right before Spring Agora Patra. “I think it’s better to have a NWM before Agora: you can discuss proposals with a lot of locals, you can discuss the candidates of the next Agora, it makes you feel more important in our General Assembly!” At the same time he noticed that “the NWM before a Statutory event pushes people to discuss about it and makes them more productive; in fact, in Agora Zaragoza, the only proposal written by locals was the one by people from the Rainbow and we had five candidates there; a record if we think that in general very few people are interested in the European level”.

This year is a very important year for AEGEE–Salerno. The antenna will blow their 25 candles. “We want to make this year a very lucky one for AEGEE – Salerno and the city”, Carolina explains. “In 2014 the city will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Salerno Capitale d’Italia (Salerno Italy Capital city) and, with the support from the Municipality, the NWM will be added in the calendar of celebrations”. The Southern Italian antenna decided to take action and to challenge themselves into something different than their notorious Summer University. “ We stepped a little bit out of our comfort zone bringing the NWM in Salerno”, added Carolina, “but AEGEE – Salerno is full of active members, we are organizing plenty of events in the city and we cannot wait to show our best”. But for the true aficionados of their Summer University, don’t worry! There will also be the 26th Edition of the Non Solo Sole Summer University.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

It is no secret that AEGEE is a very good place where to meet not only your future best friends, colleagues and simply great people, but even your future spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. There are loads of stories about happy marriages between AEGEE members from the same and even different countries. But how does it work to have long-distance relationships in AEGEE?

Klaudia and Jonas

The AEGEEan asked this question to two couples who both have been together long enough to know how it is. Klaudia (AEGEE-Krakow & AEGEE-Eindhoven) and Jonas (AEGEE-Eindhoven) have been a couple for “3 beautiful years and 2 amazing months”, while Olga (AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk) and Alfredo (AEGEE-Salerno) have counted the months of their love story for “around 1.5 years”. We asked both couples the same questions.

Do you live together or apart?

Klaudia & Jonas (K&J): We have lived together for the last 2.5 years now.

Olga & Alfredo (O&A): For now we are not living together, but this might happen at some point soon.

Before living together, how easy was or is it to arrange meetings?

K&J: At first it was holidays and we travelled together so we saw each other in Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland again… And then for half a year almost every weekend in the Netherlands or Luxembourg. Arranging meetings was not as difficult as saying goodbye every Sunday night!

O&A: We meet on average once per 1-2 months. In the first year we met even more often, a few times at AEGEE meetings. It was not hard, as due to our AEGEE obligations we both had to travel a lot and could thus see each other more often, but now that we are not so active in the organisation anymore and busy with things to do at home, it is a bit harder. But nothing is impossible and we do our best to see each other as often as possible! Now we try to always meet in different places, so that we can at least discover a bit of Europe together.

Alfredo and Olga

What are the benefits and disadvantages of long-distance relationships?

K&J: The benefits are that maybe you have more space for yourself and you can combine meetings with cool trips. Every time you meet it’s special, and a moment to look forward to. The disadvantage is definitely not being able to call each other and making an appointment for same day, not being close to each other every day.

O&A: A clear disadvantage is that the “living together” part of the story is missing, instead there are a thousand kilometers of distance. Also going to the cinema or for a pizza together is missing. On the other hand, every meeting is like a big holiday for us. No routine! There is also more time for personal life and for the job… But is this really a benefit?

Olga and Alfredo

And how is it to have another AEGEE member as your partner?

K&J: You both like the same cool trips and the same great people! You can travel together to AEGEE events and have lots of friends in common. The second one could be a disadvantage for some, not for us!

O&A: It is scaring to let your partner attend a Summer University as you know as good as  no-one else what this is, but for jealous people it’s easy to know if something happened! We are joking of course, as mostly it gives only benefits – lots of common topics to discuss, friends, sharing ideas about some projects and of course attending events together. You do not need to explain where you are going and why, it’s already clear. And can it be considered as benefit that the other is able to understand that MedCom is not Medical Committee?

What would you suggest to other couples in AEGEE who are in long-distance relationships?

K&J: If you know it can turn out into something stable and serious, the best is to try. The closer the better…

O&A: Never give up. What indeed matters are feelings and the wish to see each other. The rest – location, distance, money etc. – are just temporary attributes which can always be changed. But it helps a lot to appreciate every single moment together as extremely precious.

Jonas and Klaudia

Please, share one funny story related to long-distance relationships!

K&J: A few years ago in winter, we were flying back from our holiday in Morocco, via the United Kingdom, when we got snowed-in at the airport, no planes leaving. We both had flights to different countries, but both got cancelled. In the end we travelled in many stages, by train to the Netherlands. We did many romantic stops on the way in restaurants and bars, and spent the night in the train station in London. It ended up being a great little adventure!

O&A: Ah, mostly all stories are connected with travelling. This summer Alfredo waited for Olga at the airport in Rome (there is also a similar story with Alfredo waiting in Beograd and Olga landing in Sofia instead). While at the door with a nice paper with her name in his hands, he received a phone call that she got lost and managed to get to the airport in another country… How to spoil romantic moments! It was extremely funny to try to meet again in the airport! A bit more of these and Olga will be qualified for writing a book on “How not to lose your love in airports”!

Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre