When AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg wanted to organise a Network Meeting (NWM) several people doubted it could become a success due to being far away and because of expectations of visa issues. However, Mayri Tiido from the Comite Directeur, Monika Duda from ACT and Maria Arends from the Network Commission helped the antenna with the preparations and sessions and the NWM was organised in such a great way by the antenna that it lead AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg to become Local of the Month. The AEGEEan interviewed NetCom Maria Arends to hear about why the antenna was nominated and the organisation of the event.

The AEGEEan: Why did you choose AEGEE Sankt Peterburg as NWM host?

Maria Arends: First of all, AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg submitted a very good and detailed application. Really everything was included, strong motivation (they wanted the NWM to take place in Russia to prove that it is not impossible to apply for visa and that there is nothing ‘scary’ about Russia), a good budget, explanation about the visa support they were going to provide… So first of all, there was no reason to not choose them based on formal aspects. Then, me being an idealist as well, such great and intrinsic motivation really touched me. Even though some people told me that it might not work out very well, I decided to pair up with AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg and prove everyone wrong!

How did the event go?

Very well! There were many fresh and motivated AEGEEans who, I think, learnt a lot about our wonderful organisation. The sessions went smoothly, we walked a lot with -10 degrees (but we had fun doing it) we had a very nice three-hour-long city tour through the main sites of the inner city of Saint Petersburg, though it is such a big city that you can never see all sites, and we had an amazing pubcrawl with shots of vodka and other kinds of spirits, which was interesting. Apart from that,the organisers have provided us with good food and an amazing accommodation in a hostel, which we had all to ourselves, it was so good to actually sleep in beds!

You work with AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg on a day to day basis, what is good about the antenna? How do they work? 

Firstly, they have meetings on a frequent basis, which definitely helps them. Also, they organise a lot of events, and a lot of members of their antenna go to other events in the Network. For the upcoming Network Meeting in Hamburg, I have seen a few applications. This definitely helps them to stay motivated. Furthermore, they have a newly elected board, which is great! Of course they are also organising the Transsiberian Dream together with AEGEE-Moskva this year, and they do not get stuck in thinking about their problems, but rather take up a challenge (during the NWM they have proven that for example with fundraising). All in all, I think that AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg is a really great and active antenna, which organised a really great event! (and I think all of the participants would agree with me.

The AEGEEan interviewed  Dina Sharonova the initiator of NWM and ex-President of the local, Anastasia Kachesova the current President and Anna Smirnova the  responsible for visa section on NWM.AEGEE-Sankt Petersburg to hear more about the antenna and the event. 

The AEGEEan: How did the organisation of the event go?

AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg: Organising an event always requires a lot of great team work. Just a week before the NWM, we had some difficulties with a place where sessions were held, but we successfully passed all challenges.

Why did you apply to host the NWM?

One of the main reasons was the willingness to prove that it’s possible to organise an official AEGEE event in Russia, despite all difficulties as visa procedures or absence of university support. It was also important to us to show our participants and local members that a Network Meeting can be as fascinating as informal events or parties. We suppose both tasks were completed successfully.

What do you think of the participants that took part in the event? Were they active?

The program of the NWM was very intensive. We had doubts that it would be difficult for participants, many of whom were newbies in their locals. Fortunately, the participants were brilliant! They were active, easy-going, interested in topics and discussions. They filled the NWM with an awesome energy.

What are the best memories you have from the event?

There was a section about Russia&Europe on the threshold of EPM Burgos’ agenda. Due to the current political situation and mixed attitude in mass media we anticipated a lot of problems about this topic. But participants of this discussion were respectful and open-minded. We were pleased to find out that the common point of view was that the division between Europe and Russia is artificial and brings nothing positive for both parties.

How many members do you have in your antenna? How many of your members are active? 

There are 70 members in AEGEE Sankt-Peterburg and 20-25 of them are active.

What do you organise in your antenna?

Every year we organize Summer University, at least one winter event and an exchange with other antenna. This year AEGEE Sankt-Peterburg and AEGEE Moskva present SU “Transsiberian Dream vol. 7 Far East Movement”, which goes backs to the roots, because it was originally made by our two cities. Transsiberian Dream is always legendary, but this year it is going to be something special!

What is special about AEGEE Sankt Peterburg?

AEGEE Sankt-Peterburg is the most northern-located one, that’s why the NWM was called winter NORDIC magic. Also we’re active despite a few number of members and quite distant location. We live in the most beautiful city in Russia and we are open to all new ideas.

How did you collaborate with NetCom Maria Arends to prepare for the NWM?

It was a perfect collaboration! Maria assisted us in filling Quality Assurance Committee (EQAQ’s) form, creating the thematic section of the program, kindly answered all our questions and was one of the trainers during NWM. She was the person on the European level who believed in the success of a NWM in Saint-Petersburg. AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg would like to express Maria our appreciate for her help! We’re a nice team.

We have been told you gave a nice workshop on visas, what was it about? 

We understand that there are probably few locals which can raise awareness about visas and spread information. Usually, AEGEEans only have common idea about visas. The key to success was that all participants had their own experience with visa applications for the NWM. They figured out how different this procedure can be with the same rules of law and the same conditions and how important is to keep attention on this topic.

What do you think about the Visa Freedom Working Group having been closed?

It’s a reflection of a tendency of lack of interest for this topic. Usually Europeans think that the visa topic doesn’t concern them, as they mostly didn’t face it. However, this question does exist and we tried to show the importance of this problem to our participants during workshop.  Also as we discovered during the NWM, laws and procedures are completely different in all countries even though it is not supposed to be, so it would be nice to have a Working Group in AEGEE, which will inform and support members, as well as stand for our rights.

What experience do you have with visas?

Usually AEGEE Sankt-Peterburg provides free visas and special support for all participants. We are glad to open up countries and places, which AEGEEans probably would never visit without AEGEE and youth cooperation. On the other hand, all members of AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg gather official papers and visit embassies or consulates at least once a year and fill the application forms for their own travels.

Have you done anything in your antenna after the NWM?

First we had the local board elections. Now we are in the active process of organising Transsiberian Dream vol. 7 in cooperation with AEGEE-Moskva to make this SU unforgettable.

What are your upcoming plans for the antenna?

We’re going to participate in the Restaurant Day in February, have an exchange with AEGEE-Minsk and fire on our Summer University. Soon we will visit AEGEE-Moskva in the capital of our country to make the organisation even better.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

I just feel that I have woken up from my dream and all the memories are flashing in my head… The epic, beautiful buildings, the endless twilight, the colorful programs, the marvelous nightlife, the wonderful city lights and of course the most important thing: the unforgettable people I met there.

Same old story… if you want to experience the full movie, you have to see it with your own eyes on the screen not just watching the movie trailer at home. Therefore, now it will be hard to give you the same experience I had, but I will try to give an insight to this 12 day long, unforgettable holiday in Sankt-Petersburg for Summer University.

Day 1: When our plane landed in Sankt-Petersburg, I had no idea what to expect. Our organizers came to meet us and when we were going by car to our hostel, I was already impressed by the wide roads of the city. We arrived to our accommodation which was really nice, and especially I was glad it was in the city center where we could reach everything easily. We got to know each other on the first day and we started to discover the nightlife of Sankt-Petersburg. At night I was fascinated how bright the sky was at 1 am.

Day 2: We discovered the city with our well prepared tour guide who gave us many interesting facts and information about Sankt-Petersburg. After the long walk we played together in groups, and completed tasks in order to gain points. The topic of our SU was “SpySchool”, therefore each group secretly contained one spy who had to prevent the group from going forward. This thing really spiced up the team. On the same day we had Russian workshop as well, where we could get familiar to Cyril alphabet and the Russian survival dictionary kit. We closed our second day with a funny thematic spy dress up party.

Day 3: We went by bus to Peterhof which is a series of palaces and gardens laid out on orders of Peter the Great. We continued our group games as well.  For extra points for example we could manage to take photos with a bearded man and a kissing couple, and we learned Russian songs too.  At the end of our long walk we had a picnic in the shadow of the trees. To increase the funny moments, at night we did pub crawling, where groups not only visited many pubs and bars and tried out traditional Russian drinks, but we had to complete many tasks such as asking a foreigner for his/ her telephone number, making the cancan dance with a stranger, taking funny group pictures. It was really enjoyable, and the group spirit was awesome.

Day 4: We visited a beautiful island where was the ElaginPalace. Here we experienced how it must have been in the time of Peter the Great. We tried out those beautiful 18^th century traditional hoop dresses, hats and tail coats. We learned traditional dances as well. For one hour we felt like we were also in the royal family. At night, we visited Maza Park, where we had the opportunity to discover different kind of games during the whole night. It was an incredible big building full with different kinds of games, such as billiard, bowling, darts, and many video games. We could also try out roller-skating in a big field. I really enjoyed it. There was the Word Cup semifinal, and we could see it on a cinema size screen as we were skating. We tried out laser force also, where we were divided into two groups fighting with each other, like real spies.

Day 5: We had Russian language, youth mobility and traditional Matreshka (wooden doll) workshops. In addition we went to a dance school where we tried out our sense of rhythm and we learned many traditional Russian dances. It was really hard, but we had a lot of fun. In the evening during the European Night, each nation not only prepared their drinks, but also gave a small presentation about their country and showed their food as well. It was very good that we had food also, to absorb the drinks what we drunk. It was an amazing night full with joy, dancing together and singing the songs which everyone knew.

Day 6: We made metro rally where we discovered the metro system of Sankt-Petersburg. It features exquisite decorations and artwork making it one of the most attractive and elegant metros in the world. In the afternoon we visited Petropavlovka district where we saw many beautiful places and enjoyed the scenery near Neva River.

Day 7: Our sport challenges continued and we took part in a real boot camp training and we played games too. After that we learned to shooting, running and lying with Kalashnikov.

Day 8: Beside Sankt-Petersburg we had the opportunity to see another city: Novgorod. After 3 hour long bus journey we ended up in a beautiful monastery, which is among the oldest monasteries in Russia. It was such a beautiful city and we visited the riverside where we swam a little bit and sunbathed on the sand. In the afternoon we watched the Word Cup final. Our German participant was the happiest this evening.

Day 9: We took part in a very interesting competition in Pushkin. We had a guided tour and as real spies we had to find some signs. It was not easy, but finally we could manage it. We saw many beautiful places during this trip. After this long program, some of the participants went to ballet to watch Swan Lake. The play was such a pleasure and the theater presented us with a wonderful environment. After the performance we had a night boat trip.  We were the only people on the boat, therefore we could sing, dance, and of course enjoy the lights of the city. As the music was surrounding us we could enjoy the view of the opening bridges.

Day 10: This day Hermitage and Isiakievski were waiting for us. The museum was incredible huge, full with beautiful pictures. One week is not enough to watch all the things, but I was happy to visit this museum. After dinner we went to karaoke party, where we tried out our voices. I think many of us were very brave, but anyway it was fun and groups competed with each other in singing different types of songs.

Day 11: On the last full day we had intercultural dialogue session and of course we had our farewell party with a cocktail night.

Day 12: Unfortunately we had to leave Sankt-Petersburg, but I know that these 12 days will stay in my memory and my heart forever. A huge thank to all of our organizers for being friendly, energetic, cheerful.

My summer was unforgettable because I did not just “watch the trailer”, but I “saw the full movie” and I participated in this wonderful adventure.

Written by Diana Ludanyi, AEGEE-Budapest

AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg was eager to host a Network Meeting (NWM) for a while and when the Network Commissioner Maria Arends started looking for a host antenna for the Autumn NWM, they presented themselves and the NWM will be in Sankt Petersburg from November 28^th until December 1^st.The AEGEEan interviewed the President of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg Dina Sharonova about the Network Meeting and how visa issues will play a role in their NWM in November.  

The AEGEEan: What made you apply to host the Autumn Network Meeting in Sankt Peterburg?

Dina: We are quite an active antenna, as we have two international events per year, however we haven’t hosted an “official” AEGEE event for a long time. NWM is a great opportunity to contribute to the AEGEE network, show our members other aspects of AEGEE as organization (excluding touristic ones), get some PR on the international level, and gather all our friends around Nordic and other antennae to come to our city.

The AEGEEan: What is special about your city?

Dina: Saint Petersburg is the cultural capital of Russia with long and saturated history. Thus it has a beautiful old town, with a lot of palaces, cathedrals and museums, such as the world famous Hermitage. However urban life is also extremely fast and bright as we have 5 million citizens. So Saint Petersburg also never sleeps, just like Moscow. Also our city was recognized as the 1st top destination in Russia and 16th in the World.

The AEGEEan: Who is part of your organization team?

Dina: For now, as we knew about it recently, we have only two people in our organization team: I am the main organizer, and Anastasia Kachesova is our treasurer, as also she has the same responsibility in the antenna. However we want involve as many new members as possible after the SU in the organizational process.

The AEGEEan: At the NWM Moskva there were few applications due to having to apply for a visa, do you share this fear?

Dina: Not really, as first of all, we have enough participants at each international event. Secondly, the idea of a NWM came in our heads, when lots of people, who we met during other NWMs and events, told us that they wanted  to visit Saint Petersburg. We hope that they will find the will to come to Saint Petersburg. So for European citizens it should be taken as a great opportunity to finally reach new places and countries. Moreover, even if it is NWM for Nordic Stars, we will be extremely happy to see people from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries that do not have a visa regime.

The AEGEEan: How will you help participants  to obtain a visa?

Dina: We already hosted plenty of international events, so we have an established pattern how to deal with visas. Usually on each international event we have a visa responsible, who is supposed to take care of  invitation letters and to send them to participants. Also this person explains all the details to participants and answers all their questions. The Procedure is not so complicated, but most European members are scared, because they have never faced  it before.

The AEGEEan: What are your plans for the NWM?

Dina: We know for sure that participants are going to stay in a hostel (no sleeping bag and mattresses needed), as usual we will have European night and probably pub-crawling. The other program is still under construction, as we don’t have the main topic yet.

The AEGEEan: What topic would you like for the NWM to focus on?

Dina: As for informal topic, the dates are 28th of November and 1st of December so “brace yourself, winter is coming!” Winter is stereotypically known as the most Russian season of a year. Even if in Saint Petersburg winter is usually soft and mostly rains instead of snowing, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for a real snow battle!

As for formal topic of trainings and sessions, although we haven’t discussed it with our Network Commissioner Maria Arends yet, it will be nice to make an advantage, from the point that we are meeting in Russia, and talk about visa issues in cooperation with Visa Freedom Working Group. It seems like a challenge for European people to get it for one event, however for members from Eastern Europe it is necessary to get it for each and every event. Also now the topic of Russian-European relations is very urgent, and we could discuss this in cooperation with Eastern Partnership Project. And, of course, other topics that would be interesting for our participants.

The AEGEEan: What other things are you working on in AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg?

Dina: Now we are mostly focusing on our Summer University: “The Spy School”, which will be pretty soon, and then we are going to have a holiday break till autumn. In autumn we will start to work hard again as there will be several exchanges and maybe a Local Training Course.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg is one of the most northern antennae in the AEGEE Network. However, that is not the most special part about this interesting antenna. Discover the story behind it in this interview with the President of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg where you get insight details into how they motivate their many members and organise events taking place far away from their own city. 

It is a paradox, but AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg was founded in 1996 – at one of the most difficult periods of modern Russian history.  But the antenna has survived and until now the members have done their best to contribute to the development of the AEGEE community. Dozens of different events were organised during these years, but there is one very special project, and different from all the others, by its scale and ambitions. This is the legendary “Transsiberian Dream” that was invented by AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg. For sure it became the «brand» and now everyone in AEGEE knows about this outstanding project crushing all the borders. The total amount of members have been more or less stable during the latter years. At the moment, the antenna holds 74 members of which about 20 of them are active and some even on the European level of AEGEE. As in many other cases, the amount of members usually increases around the Summer University (SU) application period and in this antenna’s case the number of members rises up to 100.

The AEGEEan interviewed the President of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg, Yulia Bezhenova, about the upcoming board elections, Winter University and more.

The AEGEEan: You will elect a new board soon, how has it been in the board of your antenna for the past year?

Being in the board is a big challenge and responsibility, but it gives you a lot for the self-development and brings really great feelings when the prospected projects are successfully done. Not all of our board members managed to complete their terms, nevertheless it was one more challenge for the team to face, to stand and to learn. We were a great crew, it was a pleasure to work with such responsible and reliable people, sharing together late evenings by Skype or sitting in the almost closing café, discussing, arguing and strategizing. We would highly recommend everyone to take this responsibility: to be in the board and manage long-term tasks – that’s how you grow.

Would anyone of you like to continue in the board?

The best option for productive work is to combine experience and new ideas. We hope the next board will use best practices from the previous one in implementing fresh concepts. Elections will show…Nevertheless, former board being officially as supervisors or as helpers will support and advise the new one.

Making the promotion video for the Summer University 2013

What local activities do you organise to motivate your members?

We usually organise two local training courses (LTC) during the year. This is an opportunity for us to build the bridge between newbies and experienced members. That’s where knowledge and inspiration transfer takes place. Besides that, we always try to delegate some small tasks while organizing events to the members who just joined or were “warmed up” by SU experience. This is how they become a part of the team and learn to take responsibility. Later, as most of us experienced, they are ready to manage more serious tasks.

It’s also important to bring the European level of AEGEE closer to our members. For this purpose we inform them about opportunities to join some projects. In our upcoming Local Training Course (LTC) there will be a special session led by our members who present Audit Commission and International Politics Working Group (IPWG). Sharing personal experience is much more effective in promoting than just general words.

Are you already thinking about organizing a Summer University next year?

Yes, we will for sure. The white nights of Sankt-Petersburg will open their doors for about 20 lucky participants. We are also open for possible cooperation.

Why did you choose to organize the Winter University?

For the last few years we’ve usually carried out the winter event. It’s definitely worth to visit Russia in winter, it’s so special! We would like to share with participants а magic winter, the beauty of our country. That’s why it’s a pleasure for us to keep up this good tradition and we are inviting everyone to participate in our Russian Winterventure.

Is it difficult to organize an event with AEGEE-Moskva which is far away from your city?

In the country we live in, to travel 600 km from Moscow to St. Petersburg is like going to the next door in a campus!  Seriously, guys from AEGEE-Moskva are our partners and friends for years  so there is no problem to cooperate with them.

Distance is a challenge but not a problem. For instance, we have experience in managing events in cooperation with Sevastopol which is more than 2000 km far away from our city.

The special thing with Winterventure event is that it will be organized only by us, even if the program includes two cities.

Dancing Ball

What is special about the event?

Winterventure will bring our participants to the 18^th century dancing ball, to the gorgeous halls of the Emperor family’s palace and open the treasures of  the Hermitage. The train will take brave travelers from majestic St. Petersburg to dynamic Moscow, which never sleeps. During the adventure, participants will be accompanied by cheerful and careful organizers.

What other things lie in the future plans of AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg?

Every year we organize a SU, winter event and exchange with some other antennae. Every time we try to bring new ideas, that’s why we are ready to set up new contacts, discover new destinations and implement new projects.

On the local level, currently we are working on “Speaking Club” and “Travelers Club”. These projects are also supposed to gather already active members and new ones and by this, to solve such strategic issues like team-building and attracting new members.

One year ago we had already a “speaking club” and now we would like to bring this project back. It will be led by several people who will be in charge of developing different topics and preparing materials for every meeting. Usually it’s performed in a discussion format. Some people are afraid to participate in international events because of lack of foreign language skills. It’s still an issue in Russia. And through this project, we would like to help them to break this barrier. The second project will gather travel-lovers. It will be organized by volunteers among our members and their friends who would like to share their experience of traveling. Also we are planning to invite native representatives, foreign students, to these meetings. The list of possible topics for any country is endless: food, traditions, habits, …This is our plan for the upcoming year. For sure the theme of international communication and traveling will attract and bring quite a lot of new people.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København