This summer, Helsinki, the capital of Finland and World Design Capital for 2012, invites to explore and build design. The three northern cities of Helsinki, Tallinn and Pärnu enjoyed an unforgettable Summer University filled with creativity, laughter, Nordic heat and group spirit.

FinEst Design

A STREET VIEW OF TALLINN

Design was at the heart of the Summer University organised by AEGEE-Helsinki, AEGEE-Tallinn and AEGEE-Tartu. It appeared in creative workshops and inspiring presentations as well as on visits to different houses of art and design. Art was created in every day of the experience, it was drawn on sand and written on fridge door.
There would have been no design without 26 European students from different fields of education. They created in groups a product of innovation and presented it on video. They painted chocolate into beautiful figures on paper and on faces. They showed Helsinki, the World Design Capital for 2012, in photographs full of life and colour.

Innovative work, inspired unwinding

Sauna and the chilly Baltic Sea called for the group as soon as they arrived in the first lodging place. A few brave participants swam already on the first night. Some took a dip also in the beautiful but windy Fortress of Finland, Suomenlinna. The fortress was built starting from 1747 and is nowadays listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It offers a cosy garden-like place for a picnic and a nap.
Aalto University offered Design Factory as a platform for the motivating talk held by Jarkko Tiainen (Wish Bros) and the related workshops. Thomas Hutton (ThingLink) also inspired the group to think creatively. After long days of attentive work the group headed for memorable nights in urban Helsinki. In Kallio they experienced some genuine Finnish pub life with its sudden nudity. Equally odd although less confusing were the legendary Finnish shots called Salmari. The next two nights were spent in somewhat finer bars with a lot of dancing and black dresses.

The Finnish Style

CANOEING AT MÄRKIÖ COTTAGE

Four days into the Summer University the organisers took the group to an idyllic Finnish cottage in Märkiö. There they got to compete in the Finnish Olympics. Competitors carried a knife, kicked a rubber boot and rowed a canoe. To top the odd Finnish sports they ate traditional Finnish food which made some faces grow long.

Most of the time on the cottage was dedicated to sauna and lake hopping. The landscape was phenomenal, a fine example of Finland. Design was still carried along with a fashion show where people made their clothes. Some Milan style innovations were seen as one group made fancy dresses out of plastic bags, household fabrics and recycled paper. The following night it was time for a long gone Finnish president called Kekkonen to join forces with Santa Claus. He opened the European night with Finland´s national anthem.

Tallinn tells its tale

COSTUMES FOR THE DESIGN FASHION SHOW

After a relaxing evening of fire places and marshmallows the group took a cruise boat to Tallinn. Some Finnish organisers who had planned to go home got sudden withdrawal symptoms. As a result, some stayed in Tallinn without a change of clothes and others appeared out of nowhere in a bar at midnight. They were warmly welcomed, and AEGEE-Tallinn had use for help.
In Tallinn the group moved to a different time zone, from German time to that of Southern Europe. Therefore participants had more time for siesta and later mornings, which went well with widespread tiredness. However, while some people were sleeping, others played beach volley and swam with a view of a sail boat harbour. The rest found their way to the beach later, and in Pärnu they would get to swim in a part of the sea more like the Mediterranean.

During daytime in Tallinn the group visited many museums and exhibitions. Tallinn Seaplane Harbour was for instance fascinating with its sailboats, cannons and a huge submarine where one could go in. KUMU Art Museum was also enchanting as ever, and they even had their own guide there. The most enjoyable piece of art was still the city of Tallinn as seen with the eyes of AEGEE-Tallinn’s own experienced guides. They shared tales and ghost stories of Tallinn’s past while presenting the red rooftops of Lower Town. The medieval city is worth seeing with its beautiful old buildings and green park areas surrounding small ponds.

Beach time in Pärnu

WIFE CARRYING AT MÄRKIÖ COTTAGE

For the last two days the FinEst Designers headed for Pärnu, known as the Baltic Ibiza. As one would expect, most of the time was spent relaxing on a beach. The main beach of Pärnu is famous for its clear, warm water and hundreds of meters of sand. Also the weather favoured swimming as it was sunny and about ten degrees warmer than in Tallinn. One of the many activities on the beach was refreshing and delightful fountains under which dozens of people were pacing.
Apart from being on a beach, Pärnu offered lots of walking around the green city. The farewell party was interrupted by an impressive thunder storm which made its own design by turning some unfortunate beach goers into sand sculptures. However, no greater harm took place and it was a proper ending for the sunny Summer University.

To conclude, design was the idea that guided them but they were the ones who made the event memorable. They shared an amazing group spirit and experienced the Northern cultures with warmth. No sauna will be untouched by them.

Written by Sara Myllylä, AEGEE-Helsinki

The pictures used in the article are the courtesy of Tuomas A. J. Pollari, Annika Luure, Eleana Kaplani & Marko Raatikka

Many would categorize him as a “famous” AEGEEan, others remember him as the former JC president with the Italian accent, some might know him for his current work for the Mediation Commission, and some may not know him at all. His name is Ermanno Napolitano, and he is one of the most active AEGEE members on the European level. The AEGEEan talked with him about everything that has happened from Agora Enschede to his another candidature at the Agora Budapest and more.

AEGEEan: The previous article focusing on you as the new Juridical Commission (JC) member was the most popular article in The AEGEEan for quite a while last year. How do you feel about that? Do you have any suggestions why that happened?

Ermano: It was very rewarding for me, I have seen much appreciation and many people have complimented me. I think it was the energy and enthusiasm that I put in the Juridical Commission, which awarded.

At the Agora Enschede you had a lot of work as JC member, how do you look back at your term as JC? What were the highlights? What could be improved?

Yes, Agora Enschede was one of the hardest Agorae for the JC.

The vote of confidence is  something which is very uncommon. Before the Agora, we as JC studied all possible solutions on the consequences and how to proceed if this was going to happen, but we were hoping until the end that some internal agreements of the CD could avoid it. However, looking back I am glad that I was in a team with Atanas Nachkov and Alma Mozgovaja and I am happy with the work we have done. Among the most important results was how everything was organised in order to allow the JC to collect minutes and amendments during the Agora and to prepare the new CIA without minutes by the Chair coming usually very late. That has been a big step forward having in mind what happened in the past years.

An important change was a result of my proposal, to give the responsibility of the vote counting to the JC. There are still many things that need to be improved in JC, but I think that it is moving towards the right direction now.

Another important result was to see that the subcommies stood as candidates, one Denise Zonnebeld is the current JC President and the others (Diana Tupichiienko and Alin) still work for the Commission.
If I could suggest any further improvements then it would be having a faster external communication, but this depends very much on the number of people working in the commission, and how many questions they receive.

An idea might be to open the JC to three members elected, a secretary and two commissioners, even though it is not that visible that there is much work to be done, especially before and after the Agora. However, it is also true that with a good team of subcommies it is possible to work around this requirement.

What is very important – to keep the archive updated, the CIA should be reformed, and in general its structure should be reviewed.

Quite a few votes were invalid, what do you think could be done to make the voting system easier?

Together with Wieke van Der Kroef (the current speaker of Network Commissions) I have reformed the rules for voting. There have been noticeable changes from Agora Skopje, but we are still far from a perfect voting system.
Surely, the best way is the famous electronic voting system, which would greatly reduce the number of invalid votes. However, we must always remember that some votes are invalidated consciously by the voter, for example we had ballot papers with smiley faces, drawings or comments on the ballot paper, and the only thing to improve this area is to put the trust in the common good sense of the delegates.

If you were to recommend anybody to candidate for JC, what would you say?

If you have legal knowledge DO IT! It is one of the most beautiful experience you can do in AEGEE and in your life. Furthermore, it is also very useful, it teaches you to work in groups, to speak in front of 1000 people (I remember I was shaking in Agora Alicante, but after then Agora Skopje and Agora Enschede were much easier), to make decisions and take responsibilities. In general it is an experience that makes you grow.

You are now in the Mediation Commission (MedCom) which changed its name at the Agora Enschede. How has it been to work with the MedCom, do you have any different recommendations (than for JC) for people interested in running for the MedCom?

I love working in the MedCom, especially because the potential of this commission has in my opinion changed with the new setting.
Before, as Members Commission, we worked only upon activation, and usually the problem was already serious and not solvable. I remember that one of the consequences was the imposition of sanctions for situations that were not taken in time.
Now we can be contacted directly by the antenna or by any body itself and help them to solve the problem before it becomes irreversible.

I take this opportunity to appeal to antennae to contact the Mediation Commission more, even for what may seem easy. We would always be happy to give our contribution.

Obviously, the MedCom is also responsible for other things, but I think this new element is the central core of the Commission.

Are you going to run for MedCom once again? What lies in the future of your AEGEE life?

I think that answer will be “yes” (smiles). I think that being in the MedCom for a one year opens the opportunity to implement many things. About my future AEGEE life after MedCom – who knows, let’s see if I am going to be re-elected here.

You chose to go to Helsinki & Tallinn Summer University this summer, which is a destination with less sun than in Italy and Spain. Why did you chose that SU and how was it?
I chose it because I like to try something different from my country, like fresh air, sun at 3 am lakes, sauna…everything is different there. And I must say: Wow! It was such a good SU, and I miss all the participants and organisers.

I was shocked from Helsinki organisation – very uncommon, they were providing us food all the hours of the day and night, many activities, lots of amazing places and also the residence in Mariko felt like pure heaven.

The organisation was perfect, they received a support of sponsors not only for food, but also the parties were always in amazing places. Furthermore, they gave a lot of attention to the participants, lots of cultural activities from museums to city activities and workshops. I am proud to be participant in this Summer University.

You also managed to steal the flag of AEGEE-Tallinn. How did you manage to steal it?

Yes, I stole it with Carlos (AEGEE-Santander), but I also have to thank Seppo Hälikkä (AEGEE-Helsinki) and Emanuele (AEGEE-Messina). It happened in Tallinn during the welcome party, where we stole the flag from the president while she was dancing. I remember that, after having stolen, we ran across the main square of Tallinn showing it, and since then we never left it alone. We slept with the flag and we kept it also during the shower!

What will be the punishment for them to get it back?

I still don’t know, I have to contact other thieves, but I will promise that the punishment will be funny… at least for us… AEGEE-Tallinn be ready!

The AEGEEan is looking forward to seeing what happens next with the AEGEE-Tallinn flag as well as the progress of the Mediation  Commission. The AEGEEan will of course report from the front row at Agora Budapest and keep you updated as much as possible.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København