The latest recipient of our Member of the Month award is a member of AEGEE-Tarragona, but also speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT): Ruben Navarro. His efforts did not pass unseen and we spoke with him to discover more about this guy (who is also one of the latest additions in The AEGEEan Team).

The AEGEEan: First of all, congratulations! For those who do not know you, tell us something about you, your studies, your hobbies and your life in AEGEE so far.

Ruben: Thank you Erika, I couldn’t be more excited! My name is Ruben and I’m a 23 year old Electronical Engineering student in the small city of Tarragona, in Spain. I’m vice president of AEGEE-Tarragona, speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Committee and became a journalist of the AEGEEan just two months ago. I am excited about robots, books, movies and music. But these are just a few of my hobbies, I like to try new things so I’m doing something different every month.

You were main organiser of the Regional Training Course (RTC) Tarragona (organised in cooperation with AEGEE-Barcelona and AEGEE-Castelló). How did the event go?

The event went amazingly good. We had twenty-two participants from ten different locals from all around Spain, one from the Netherlands. The group spirit was really great, the trainers were amazing and my local was really helpful. I am really happy with the outcome of the RTC, I think we mainly fulfilled the objective, which was to activate new members. The participants were really easy-going, cheerful and everybody had lots of fun which is what counts more at the end.

I would like to give special thanks to all the trainers – some came from far away – and they all increased the quality of the event  to unbelievable levels. Just to make other antennae jealous, in the RTC we had: a Policy Officer, the Secretary of the Agora/European Planning Meeting (EPM), the President of the Audit Comission, a Liasion Officer, the HR of Agora Asturias, a Network Comissioner, a former Audit Comission member and myself.

How important do you think RTCs are in the development of AEGEE Members?

Very important. RTCs show the AEGEE spirit to new members while at the same time help you create bonds among antennae. You also get the opportunity to share experiences and best practices with other board members, and in our case, the locals are very very different, so we got to learn a lot from others. Besides that, RTCs are good for starters, this was my first AEGEE event as main organiser that involved people from other antennae. It was a really good first experience, and I’m really looking forward to organising something again.

You are board member of AEGEE-Tarragona. What are your tasks? And what were you major achievements?

AEGEE-Tarragona is a small local but still, our members are really active and we work hard to make things happen. This year I’m vice president of the antenna and my tasks, along with the president’s, are a close following and supervision of everything that happens in the local. Besides that, I’m in charge of the relations with the University, I’m working to activate new members and create a group spirit, I’m still organising some activities for Erasmus, as well as revising the work of the Erasmus Team. I’m writing projects, proposals, and in general I work to improve the internal work of the organisation and the impact we have in our local community.

About my achievements, I am really happy about the work we did last year inside the Erasmus Team, while I was in charge of it. We managed to organise four trips to other Spanish cities for more than fifty people each and we were having local activities almost every week. With these activities we reached more than 350 people. This might not be much for other antennae, but taking in consideration that we were only seven people and all of us were working, studying or both, I think it’s quite impressive. All the international students were really happy and some of them are even coming back this year just for our activities.

Next to that you are in the ACT speaker team. What is the personal evaluation of the work you have done so far?

The Action Agenda Coordination Committee is complex. First of all, almost nobody knows what we do. Secondly, very few people know about the Strategic Work of AEGEE. And thirdly, it’s not a very popular topic among members. I’m glad that we have such a fantastic team that is working hard to make that change. I am, really, really happy with the work we’re doing. Taking in consideration what was done until we started I can say that we completely changed the concept of the Committee and we achieved a lot of things that were impossible to imagine some months ago (like for example, people being interested in an ACT Workshop).

Imagine you have to explain to a newbie why the Action Agenda and Strategic Plan are important for AEGEE, what would you say?

Imagine that you have an apple, it’s red and it shines when you put it in the sun. But when you take a bite, it’s empty inside. The apple represents AEGEE, the inside represents the Strategic Work of the organisation: even though the apple shines bright, even though it looks very good, if it has no nutritional value, what is it worth? The Strategic Work is what gives our organisation a meaning, it’s what makes us what we are and shows everyone what we’re capable of.

EPM Burgos finished less than a month ago and all the participants were positively impressed and ACT was an important part of it. Were you (and the ACT) happy with the results?

Indeed we were managing with all the drafting of the objectives, which we put a lot of effort into. I can say that in general I’m happy with the work of the team, the participation of AEGEEans and what we achieved as the initial document for the next Action Agenda.

What do you think will be the outcomes of it?

There’s still a lot to see about the outcome of the EPM, after the Action Agenda gets ratified in Agora Asturias, we will have a full year and a half to actually see how achievable and realistic the objectives we drafted are, and how interested the antennae are in it. It’s going to be a lot of work for the next ACT team and Projects Director, but I’m sure everything will be great.

Last but not least, let’s do a small game. Explain you and your personality using the letters that compose your name.

I have to tell you this is very difficult.

R = Responsible

U = Understanding

B = Workaholic (I didn’t like the ones with B and I wanted to write this anyway [he laughs, ed.] )

E = Enthusiastic

N = Nonconformist

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Although having joined his local, AEGEE-Tarragona, only a little over a year ago, Arnau Robert decided to think big after being the Audit Commission’s Job Shadower, and applied to be a member of the Audit Commission. During the upcoming Agora in Cagliari you will have the chance to ask him all your questions, but before that The AEGEEan asked him some questions too! Read on to get to know all about this guy from Tarragona, his motivation and his plans with the Audit Commission if he gets elected!

The AEGEEan: First of all, the most important question: why did you decide to run for Member of the Audit Commission?

Arnau Robert: I always loved economics and accounting, and I have relevant experience in accounting and financial statements because of my studies, and my work as Treasurer & Cash Management Officer in a chemical company. At Agora Zaragoza I discovered the Audit Commission, and I immediately thought that I could contribute a lot with my knowledge about financial statements. In my opinion, an audit is an expert in accounting, and he does not only check the accounts, but he can also give advice or new ideas.

Which relevant experience do you have for the position you are applying for?

I have studied Business Administration, and Finance & Accounting Bachelors at the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona). I did my Erasmus at NEOMA Business School in France, studing a MSc of International Finance. At the moment, I am Treasurer & Cash Management Officer for all the companies of BASF group in Spain and Portugal. In the past I have been Accountant and Controller in many multinational companies, such as Clariant, Kellogg’s, Flowserve, or Barcelona Life Science. At the same time I am also studying a Master in Financial & Accounting Management, with the specialization of Audit at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, in Barcelona. This Master’s specialization in Audit is the reason why I feel so confident in my candidature for Member of the Audit Commission.

What is the most important thing you learned during your term as Audit Commission Job Shadower?

During my work as Audit Comission Job Shadower I have learned a lot about the internal administration organization. I think that the Comité Directeur is currently doing a very good job with the financial statements, but there are many things that I think are important to do better.

What are your plans for the Audit Commission if you get elected?

If I will get elected, the first thing that I will do is to create a direct hotline between the Audit Commission and the Financial Director in many ways: permanent contact by e-mail, Skype, and virtual share points in order to work together to ensure the optimal economic situation of AEGEE. I would like to analyze the full process from the beginning. Later on, I would like to make an open call for students of economics or business, who are called to help with eventual rises of work.

Which “professional audit tools” do you plan to apply within AEGEE-Europe?

By professional audit tools I mean the processes and ways to check the accounts and administrative system. In the Audit career you learn a lot of financial tricks and ways to make up the real situation of the economy. In the Audit literature we say that there are two kinds of controls: the general, and the application level controls. For the General Controls we understand the Developing of Systems that ensure the efficient work and the administration of changes (change of Financial Director, for instance).

For application level of control we understand: to check the origin of the data (invoices, bills, bank accounts, money in cash) and ensure it. The entrance of this data has to be reliable and free of mistakes, so we would check that this is done correctly. The output of data, the accounts of the association, should reflect all the financial and economic transactions that AEGEE-Europe had during the fiscal year, and could take the opportune decisions.

Last but not least, how will you make the accounts of AEGEE-Europe more transparent and easy to understand?

How many of you know what the Audit Commission really is? What do you think that the Audit Commission does? I found that a lot of people ignore our work, and in my opinion it is one of the fundamental works of AEGEE. We ensure that the financial statements reflect the real situation of the association. I want to believe that you really care about what AEGEE-Europe does with the money that you pay every year. If you really care, the best way to know it is with the financial statements; and if I am elected as Audit Commissioner I will work in order to make the finances of our loved association more transparent. I would create permanent channels of communication with the interested people, the AEGEE members. 

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Welcome to the fantastic Travel Summer University “Touch the Sky Under the Mediterranean Fire”, organized by two amazing locals: AEGEE-Tarragona and AEGEE-Valencia! You couldn’t even expact the experiences we finally had, coming to the event! Let us show you what happened during two weeks at the Eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Imagine that, from the big amount of applications (150), organizers have chosen the 30 luckiest participants and they start bringing the written program into life. And among them you find your name; the best summer is about to start! The time is coming closer and closer to the first day of this event, and finally it begins: in the middle of August you arrive to a small cozy city, touched by History, and some of its parts remained exactly as they were more than hundreds of years ago.  Tarragona, a city founded by the Romans, was one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean, and when you attend the city tour, prepared for you by experienced guides, you would understand why.

Walking through the ruins of the Roman Empire, you get acquainted with Roman history and imagine yourself in the Ancient Ages, when ruins were buildings and when people were riding horses instead of cars. One of the most impressive constructions is probably the Pont de les Ferreres (Devil’s Bridge). It looks magnificent and scary at the same time. Magnificent, because of the architecture; while scary – you will understand it when you go up and look down. Deepening more into history, you learn to speak Catalan, the language which appeared in the 9th century. Becoming a true Catalonian, you are ready to live the life of the city as its citizens do. Thanks to the human towers’ workshop provided by Xiquets del Serrallo, you will not only see the highest human tower (of more than five floors) in your life, bu you will also try by yourself and touch the sky. During the Festival of Sant Magí, in the afternoon, you see the real show of human castles in the streets. You have mixed feelings: “That was scary (especially when those small kids were climbing to the very very top, and when some of them fell down, fortunately they were safe); that was impressive; that was astonishing, unbelievable, amazing, awesome, exciting! I was looking at them with my breath taken away and my heart beating stronger and faster… I have never seen such thing in my life”, says Hanna Polishchuk, from AEGEE-Kyiv. And at night you go to the Holi Festival, being all painted, and the next night all the group stops by at the Remullada, where gigantic figures explode with water, showering all the dancing people around, while good quality music is playing everywhere around you. Have you experienced this before?

Next day your luggage is already packed, because for the whole day you are leaving to PortAventura, the most visited amusement park in Spain! Are you afraid of heights or speed? Forget your fears, – we are going to explore the craziest and most dangerous rides, are you ready?  First you go to the lift which takes you up, on a very-very high top, and then you experience a free drop, falling down fast in a standing position. That is something! Then you go to the highest rollercoasters in the whole park. From the very beginning you have a feeling of coming out of this ride as you are not used to such big heights, but once you stayed there you are glad you did it. It is unforgettable! Everyone should try this “Shambhala” for sure, and try it several times.

After trying all the most extreme rides, you go back to Tarragona to start a new trip in the morning, and the next city calms you down. You take a bike and discover Barcelona with the whole group. Gosh, this city is so huge, so different, and so multicultural! We were biking next to the sea, to the big gorgeous park, and then riding to the center and other beautiful narrow and wide streets. So many architectural masterpieces, one of which is,  of course, the Sagrada Família, created by Antoni Gaudí!

The next stop is Valencia. If we were to compare the two main cities of the trip, I should say that Tarragona is like a small summer house, built in the Roman style, and located by the beach, where you feel comfortable and warm, and you know all the members of this house and its neighborhood. At the same time, Valencia is a big shopping center, where you can find everything to satisfy any specific taste: popular touristic places, secret places, historical parts, poor quarter, crowded and not-so-crowded beaches. Do you want to have a fancy party, with a good music, nice interior, pleasant view and high service, – go to “Umbracle & Mya”. Maybe you want to relax in a boat sailing the longest lake in Spain – go to El Palmar and take a boat trip along the lake Albufera. What if you want to see something amazing, thrilling? Then you should go to the City of Arts and Science and stop at the biggest aquarium in Europe, the Oceanogràfic. There you will see more than 500 different species including dolphins, huge sharks, belugas, sawfish, jellyfish which were lighting underwater, and much more. You also attend the serious part of the SU with all the workshops, which were never boring, but very engaging, in Universitat Politècnica de València, which cooperated with the local.  In Valencia you will also get to see the old city with its typical architecture, streets and Serrano towers. Prepare to visit Sagunto with its huge castle, the ancient Roman Circus and Theater, go on camping by cars to El Saler, and visit Fallas museum to have an idea what is a true Valencia’s fire.

The cuisine is so different: jamón, chorizo, tortilla, gazpacho, horchata with fartons, and of course paella! The organizers prepared two types of paella for you: the original Valencian one, and the one with noodles, Fideuà. In one of the evenings we discovered different sorts of tapas and see how Spanish pour Sidra. After the sangría workshop, you will come home and prepare it for your family and friends, who are surprised of your magical tricks and delicious taste of the drink.

We had a good teambuilding in the group. At the first day one of our participants lost his luggage and spent all the SU without any of his stuff. And he survived: “I want to say thank you for the 100th time to the organizers for arranging me some clothes so I wasn’t naked during this TSU. I want to also say thanks to everybody for these unforgettable, best two weeks of my life.” Krzysztof Matuszny, AEGEE-Gliwice.

We shared our cultures with one another: “I just want to thank you for your company, for being as you are, for teaching me languages, dances and traditions, for making me laugh, for drinking with me, for always giving a smile even though you were tired; because all of you are amazing”, says the organizer Ruben Navarro, from AEGEE-Tarragona. One of participants, Zach Grenz, AEGEE-Darmstadt shares his opinion: “I hoped to meet a few people from other countries who are nice, but they weren’t nice… they were AMAZING, all of you guys I met. Everyone represented his country in a very positive way and everybody broke their stereotypes”.

What I need to say from myself is that both locals did a great job, they were responsive to our needs, they were adjusting the program to the weather and our physical abilities, some of them walked with us back to hostel at 5 a.m. after the party during one hour by feet instead of calling a taxi, only because we asked to. We took part in endless workshops and learnt a lot about the country, its history, Mediterranean and local culture and people. All the time we were like a big family, keeping the AEGEE spirit up.

There are no words to describe this unforgettable experience. But I would like to finish this article with words of Edyta Matysiak, AEGEE-Warszawa: “Some people say that all good things come to an end. Well, during this TSU someone told me something better, that the best is yet to come”.

 Written by Hanna Polishchuk, AEGEE-Kyiv

The last Member of the Month of July left many exceptional nominations and AEGEE members that stood out – one of them, Laia Garcia Montufo, is currently President of AEGEE-Tarragona, member of the Pool of Representatives and Liaison Officer towards the United Nations.

Laia has been nominated due to her involvement in several youth platforms. Moreover, she is now fully absorbed in the Travel Summer University organised by AEGEE-Tarragona and AEGEE-Valencia, which is due to start on the 15th of August. And still, she is currently working on her thesis, as she has studied Architecture and Urban Planning with a minor in Sustainable Development.

Presenting a message from the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon at the   Autumn Agora Zaragoza

Like many other members in our Network, Laia joined AEGEE right after her post-Erasmus blues. “Erasmus is a lifestyle, which I suppose many AEGEEans know. During my exchanges I got to know a lot of people around the world, I made friends, I travelled and I learnt how to live on my own or with other nations in a foreign country”. But Erasmus also has a difficult side, as she says: “After returning, I was missing the international vibe so much that life back home seemed utterly boring. Soon I realized that in my city there were also a lot of Erasmus students, so I started looking for them and I found out about the existence of a group who helped foreign students. Of course, I joined it right away!”.

And it was not long until she got in touch with the European level of AEGEE. It was back in May 2012, at the final conference of the ‘Where Does Europe End?’ project in Utrecht. According to her, it might be the best event she has ever been to: “I remember thinking to myself: I am skipping a full week of classes before the finals… but after a while I just understood there are times when the benefits of skipping class are greater than the negatives as I was actually learning more than at the university! These trainers taught me how powerful Non Formal Education (NFE) can be and that learning experience triggered in me a strong desire to become active at European level”.

The Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and its situation

Laia has been very involved in the past year with the Spanish Youth Council (CJE in its acronym, from Consejo de la Juventud de España), mostly in the Structured Dialogue process, an instrument to ensure that the opinion of young people is taken into account when defining youth-related policies of the European Union by bringing together young people and the policy makers across the EU. She was involved at the national consultation in Palencia last January, and she was also chosen as Spanish National Youth Delegate to attend the EU Youth Conference in Thessaloniki in March.

On holidays!

“Unfortunately, the Senate has just given green light to its closing as it has definitively approved the text of the draft law concerning the Rationalization of Public Sector, which regulates the closing of the Spanish Youth Council with the support of the comfortable majority of the People’s Party and the abstention or the vote against from the rest of the opposition groups”. Laia explains about the situation concerning the CJE, which was threatened of being closed by the Spanish government. However, she adds, “at the very last moment, two amendments proposed by the People’s Party and endorsed by the rest of the parliamentary groups were passed, where two important points concerning the regulation of the CJE were modified, so the framework improved with regard to the initial proposal”.

She adds that, luckily, none of the more than 60 organisations that are involved in the CJE have given up: “A new framework must be found, but until the creation of the new organism that replaces the CJE, we must be careful not to have a period of time without a platform that canalizes the youth participation.”

The World Youth Conference in Sri Lanka

Moreover, last May Laia took part at the World Youth Conference in Sri Lanka, where young people from over 170 countries gathered together with Ministers of Youth from around the world, high-level officials from the UN and other civil society organisations and the private sector, around the topic of the next development agenda beyond the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) which expire in 2015. The outcome of the conference was the Colombo Declaration on Youth.

According to Laia, for the first time youth representatives were included as equal stakeholders: “In my opinion, WCY 2014 was unique with regard to the degree of youth influence over official negotiations. Rather than youth meetings in advance of negotiations and producing separate outcome documents, this conference produced a “joint declaration” endorsed by both youth and governments. It was definitely a compromise between these two ends: but an important one at that, because now we have a commitment from governments to implement the recommendations enshrined in this declaration”.

She adds that, as a result, “the declaration has strong language on youth engagement: for example it calls for the establishment of a permanent youth department within the United Nations with representations in member countries to support and follow up local youth programs and also calls on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to establish a permanent forum on youth, for youth and governments to facilitate a sustained dialogue including on the Post- 2015 Development Agenda”.

3rd Council of Members of the Great Silk Way

The Great Silk Way organisation

If all of her activities and involvement have not been impressive enough, Laia recently became representative of the Great Silk Way International Youth Union, an organisation established in 2012 in Azerbaijan which connects more than 30 youth-led organisations from Asia, Europe and North Africa based on and designed for strengthening intercultural dialogue, cross-border cooperation and increasing role of youth in these issues on a global level.

She was elected as the focal point of GSW in Spain. These focal points are youth organizations or active young individuals “who coordinate the activities of GSW in that particular country. This means we ensure participation of local young people in international projects organized by GSW, make sure to disseminate information on opportunities (youth exchanges, volunteering, internships etc.) that can be useful for young people”, Laia explains. “In addition to this, the focal point has the right to initiate and coordinate national or regional level projects and events with the support of GSW. Basically we become the voice of GSW in our country at the same time feedbacking on the needs of local young people to be then reflected in decisions taken by the organization on high level”.

…and still, time to devote for AEGEE!

AEGEE-Tarragona members at the Agora

Laia’s involvement in youth platforms doesn’t stop her from being very active in AEGEE. As president of AEGEE-Tarragona, she is currently very busy organising the Travel Summer University in cooperation with AEGEE-Valencia. She has done a big task by promoting the European level in her antenna, since there are some AEGEE-Tarragona members that have become active in bodies such as the Language Working Group, the Eastern Partnership Project and the Action Agenda Coordination Committee. “I try my best to minimize the gap between my local and the European level. Therefore, I keep the members updated about all the relevant information on the many opportunities our association offers throughout our local meetings and social networks”.

According to her, AEGEE-Tarragona has around 30 members, “but the core team of the most active ones is smaller, so it is easy for me to be in contact with them and try to motivate everyone to contribute. Also, the fact that I am active on the European Level  makes things a bit easier when it comes to promotion as interested members can always come to me and ask for personal advice. And you know what? Some people just need a little push!”

When asked about her future plans, Laia says she is currently finishing her tasks as Liaison Officer towards the UN and the Pool of Representatives, but she plans to keep involved both in the local and in the European level. “Wait, I forgot something!”, she adds. “I do know one of my next steps in AEGEE! After having organized two Summer Universities and one Summer Event… I think next year will be about time to apply for my first Summer University as a participant!”.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

This year, a total of 3312 SU applicants made their choice amongst the 80 available Summer Universities. Among those, five of them stood out, having far more than 100 applications. It won’t be a surprise that we are talking about AEGEE-Cagliari & AEGEE-Napoli’s ‘La vita è bella: Mediterranean coast to coast’ managed to gather 184 applications, but AEGEE-Peiraias’ ‘Sea Wars: The Port strikes again!’, AEGEE-Catania’s ‘The treasure island vol. III – The origins of the crew’, AEGEE-Helsinki & AEGEE-Tartu’s ‘FinEst Way to Push your Limits’ and last but not least AEGEE-Tarragona & AEGEE-Valencia’s ‘Touch the Sky Under the Mediterranean Fire’ did a great job too! The AEGEEan spoke to the organising teams of this Fantastic Five to find out more about their methods.

Of course, the first thing we were wondering is how these Summer Universities managed to attract so many participants. The Fantastic Five agree that it’s thanks to the unique program they offer, for example exploring the Nordic antennas, Greek islands or the Italian culture, but another important aspect is formed by the good ratings given in earlier years. As AEGEE-Cagliari and AEGEE-Napoli summarize: “We think it’s probably due to what we can offer during the event: wonderful cities full of history and art that appeal millions of tourists each year, fantastic seasides and last but not least our typical folk spirit, that fascinates all people.” AEGEE-Peiraias adds to this: “Our positive thinking and belief that we could make it, along with the dedication and hard work we put in this project resulted in this positive outcome.”

Also, a good use of promotion never hurts, which is a tool the Fantastic Five used extensively. Pictures are a popular tool, but most of the Summer Universities also made a promotional video to share with their applicants what they could expect. AEGEE-Catania showed off their earlier held treasure hunt, while AEGEE-Helsinki & AEGEE-Tartu made a series of videos, AEGEE-Peiraias used video too to promote their SU and AEGEE-Cagliari and AEGEE-Napoli filmed a short summary of what to expect. Next to this, another popular method was the creation of a Facebook page, where regular updates about the Summer University were given.

After the successful promotion, it was time for a hard task: deciding on your participants, while having more than hundred applications waiting. How did the teams deal with this? “We first looked at the motivation letter, since our goal was to select participants who really wanted to be here and who would take part in every activity and opportunity to offer”, AEGEE-Helsinki and AEGEE-Tartu tell us. “Since most of them were pretty awesome, we also decided based on the country of residence to have cultural diversity and we also selected participants by gender, to have an equal amount of boys and girls.” The other three use a similar method, also AEGEE-Catania adds that an original and funny motivation letter together with pictures and a video is the way to get through their preliminary selection.

Asked about their tips for organising teams next year, the Fantastic Five have different tips ready. “We just recommend them, first of all, to be a group of very good friends. Having a strong friendship, with confidence in the people you are working with, is the best weapon for facing a challenge like this one. Apart from that, the team has to be motivated and ready to work during some months, with patience, but also enthusiasm.” AEGEE-Helsinki and AEGEE-Tartu add to this that it’s mostly important to imagine yourself being a participant in your SU. As AEGEE-Peiraias summarizes: “Together we stand, divided we fall. Our good cooperation and the respect and love we show for each other are the main ingredients of our team.”

Since three out of five Summer Universities were done in cooperation, we were also curious what the benefits of joining forces are. “We think it’s a good idea, because it brings the possibility to know the people from another antenna better, learn to work with another group of people who can teach you new things for your antenna and also to spend some days in another city”, AEGEE-Tarragona and AEGEE-Valencia says. Another important reason is having a good chemistry between different teams, which happened to AEGEE-Cagliari and AEGEE-Napoli. Still, a Summer University can also be organized by just one local, as AEGEE-Catania and AEGEE-Peiraias proved us.

Either way, whether you do it alone or together, organising a popular Summer University seems to be a mixture of good and extensive promotion, an awesome team, great plans and a lot of enthusiasm to make it happen. For this summer the plans have already been made, but let’s create magic again next summer!

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

“Tarragona is one of Spain’s best-kept secrets. Do you want to help us to discover this secret?” These were the words in the description of Summer University (SU) “Mediterranean Language Paradise”, organised by AEGEE-Tarragona. As I was looking through other SU descriptions, I kept going back to this one, and I knew that my answer to this question was a big YES, so I applied (on the very last day), got accepted… and the rest is history.

No? There is still nothing in the books about this SU? Well, soon there will be something, I am sure. But if you want to find out right now what made this experience so special, keep reading.

We have a living room!

Because of my flight arrangements, I had to miss the first night and I arrived on the afternoon of the second day of the SU. I was nervous about meeting so many people at once, especially considering the fact they had already had a chance to bond the previous day. But as soon as I arrived and met up with the organisers, all my nervousness disappeared. The organisers were very friendly and welcoming, and when I saw our accommodation, my jaw dropped. Besides the fact that it was in central location, our accommodation was in nice apartments that consisted of a few bedrooms, bathrooms, and even a living room. Being a member of AEGEE, I am used to sleeping in all kinds of conditions – cold water, hard floor, freezing to death… So, this seemed like a five-star hotel to me. We were also treated to home-cooked meals by the lady who owns the apartments, which was very nice.

¡Hablamos español!

The theme of this SU was learning not only one, but two languages: Spanish and Catalan. Classes were dynamic and fun, so we learned through games and songs (note to universities: more “Waka Waka”, less heavy dictionaries, please!). I had only learned Spanish through hearing it on television before I arrived to this SU, but being in Spain, being surrounded by this language, and being encouraged to speak it in classes, I soon started speaking Spanish everywhere I went. Catalan was a bit harder, and while the organisers insisted it was very similar to Spanish, the participants tended to disagree. However, a few phrases did stay in my memory (I can now say “Bye” in Catalan).

Dinner with some gossip on the side, please!

Group spirit was quickly established, and before we knew it, we had our own inside jokes and shared so many great moments. Every evening, we would sit down to have dinner together, and it was served with a delicious side dish: reading all the juicy entries from our beloved gossip box. Some of us became friends, some became couples, and some became thieves (this is a story that deserves its own entry, but all I will say is that it involves guys wearing make up). It is hard to name all the best moments, as there were so many, but here are just a few: night-swimming after European Night; boat party where we pretended we were millionaires (except the fact we were drinking from plastic cups); Remullada – a water party in the old part of town where we got absolutely soaked with water and loved every minute of it; the hilarious introduction to Italian gestures, thanks to some Italian participants; laughing about the most bizarre things (murder is usually not funny), participating in a sangria workshop etc. etc.

Relax, you’re on Spanish time now!

Being a part of this SU, we got the chance to relax, get a nice tan, be on Spanish time, and see some stunning places. Tarragona is a charming city, full of history, nice beaches, and unique spirit. Except for Tarragona, we had the opportunity to see a few other cities in Catalunya. We visited Salou, which is known for its lively nightlife, as well as its proximity to Port Aventura theme park. So it is the kind of place where one can find families with kids and drunk partygoers walking the streets at the same time.

We also visited Barcelona, which is just a beautiful city, and it is easy to understand why it is so crowded with tourists. The participants had the chance to go on an intense bike tour through the city, which was an exhausting, but very much worthwhile experience. The city was very vibrant, colorful, and alive, full of wonderful things to see. One other place we got the chance to see was Cambrils, a lovely coastal town where we sailed away on our party boat, enjoyed some free drinks, good music, and a beautiful sunset.

Being a part of this SU was unforgettable, and participants are already planning a reunion somewhere. Even though it went by too quickly, the time we spent with AEGEE-Tarragona really did feel like paradise, as promised in the SU name. I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to the organisers, because they did a wonderful job. It is said that travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer, and in this case I can certainly say that even though I came home with a half-empty wallet, I felt like a billionaire.

Written by Antonija Parat, AEGEE-Zadar

Photos by Zsófia Lehota, AEGEE-Budapest

For sure, the biggest and the most successful project in the history of AEGEE is the Summer University Project (SU).  A project that best fits to our association aim for promoting co-operation, communication and integration amongst young people in Europe. A project that strives for unified Europe, cross boarder cooperation and tolerance.

Is this what you have been thinking when you decided to apply for your last SU?

Is this what you have been thinking when you decided to dedicate your summer vacation for organizing the best SU ever? Maybe or maybe not.

Personally my answer would be NO! Or at least I would not try to express it as for an official AEGEE presentation. When I decide to go to a SU or to organize a SU, the picture in my mind that appears is young crazy people, ready to have great party and to see new places, taste new things experience new feelings or even people!

Well, this was till this summer! When I went in Spain for the collaboration between the “Higher Education Days” (HED) project and the Summer Events of AEGEE-Leon and AEGEE-Tarragona. This was the most not so “formal” way of involving the non-formal education (NFE) into HED project. In a way we decided to try to change our target and to make work more for the understanding of the NFE inside AEGEE but in one cool, provocative and interactive way.

The main idea was an introduction with NFE and its overall understanding by both participants on one side, and labor market and universities on the other side. During the 9 days of the SUs participants had the opportunity not only to see the beauties of amusing Spain and party endlessly under the ESpanish sky (or in some moments water sky), but also feed their brains with values and skills important to a young European worker. Through practical approach they were able to improve their communication skills, discuss about the common stereotypes, intercultural understanding and learn the meaning of cooperation and teamwork. What most surprised me was that the participants were much more than punctual for a SU and moreover – they were actively participating! It was more than a pleasure not only to see locals ready to mix they SU with a project that more or less not so easy to be understand for all AEGEE members, working and asking for HED opinion for little details part of the preselection and organization, but also to see smiling and awake participants (even after the European night) ready to collaborate in our workshops.

Why we choose exactly to use non formal learning? Simply because the NFE aims at giving young people the tools to further develop their skills and attitudes. And somehow this is what is special for the NFE – individuals, participants are the actors actively involved in the “learning” process. What better could be for a SU? What better would be for AEGEE? As this is what we all are keep on developing in one or another way every day inside AEGEE!

As I said in Tarragona   our life is like a school. Every day we take our classes, develop ourselves, enrich our knowledge and virtues.  We get promoted to the next level, the next class, by fulfilling one simple goal:  knowledge, improvement and perfection! But even if we make a  mistake,  we are supposed to  learn  from  it,  to be grateful  for  the  opportunities  and  of course  never, ever,   give  up!  NFE is the final ingredient that gives you the possibility to be full and to feel satisfied with what you are doing, with YOURSELF, to be satisfied with life!

Thank you AEGEE-Leon & AEGEE-Tarragona for changing my definition for a Summer University in AEGEE, for putting much more sense in it!

I do offer you another perspective for this summer HED collaboration, too! Just check it below!

Pavel Zbornik, president of AEGEE-Praha:

“I have some experience with NFE, being on several trainings, organizing SALTO training in Prague and lastly NFE experience from SU in Tarragona. It was nice combination of serious discussion with fun part so involved participants get knowledge in interesting way. Thanks to that I got new information in cultural understanding which enriched me and now I understand bit more to my internationals friends.”

Annika Lüdeking, president of AEGEE-Heidelberg:

“I do think that Non-Formal Education is very important for everybody, especially as we dealt with cultural understanding which is crucial for the teamwork in our network. Everybody learns non-formally already by observing his/her surrounding and by talking to other people and often we need some kind of reflection to fully understand the gained impressions and stories. Therefore we as Aegeeans should support our Higher Education Days and participate in some workshop or lessons provided and pass on the knowledge to our antennas. Personally I would have liked to go deeper and learn even more about have to overcome cultural borders, as we only scratched on the surface during our Summer University.”

Tünde Ress, a member of AEGEE-Piliscsaba:

“My first and only experience with Non-Formal Education and Higher Education Days Project was in the Summer University in Tarragona.  Although we discussed obvious things about this theme, after all it was really interesting and exciting. Because you had to express your thoughts about this serious theme in other language and you could talk about it with young people from other countries and maybe you hadn’t had the chance for it before. Thanks to the team works and games it wasn’t boring at all. I liked the idea that such people gave the presentations about for example stereotypes that actually studied psychology and knew about this things even more.  I have taught a lot about this theme and I’m really glad to have known other young people from foreign countries who participated and showed own culture and habits through these trainings. Totally worth it!”

Eduardo Di Mauro, a member of AEGEE-Tarragona:

“I think that Non Formal education is important because it lets people learn in a way suited to their attitudes. In my opinion NFE is valuable for such a student association like AEGEE, since it is a valid, effective and practical tool for students to teach to other students (more or less of the same age) remarkable matters. (For example last week I wrote to one of the “teachers”, Adela, a question about assertive communication, confirming that the lessons were not useless). It would be great to recognize it but since it does not include any exam, I can understand if institutions fear to give their approval  to that (people could just go to a NFE lessons, never talk and finally get some kind of paper). During the HED experience, the workshops were useful in my opinion, since everybody was giving his contribution, depending on their interest in the subject. It is normal that everybody has a different level of interest, but in this sense it is important to create a group of people that all have the same will to contribute to the workshops.”

Liliya Toneva, a member of AEGEE-Sofia:

“As participant at the Summer University in Tarragona I had the great possibility to learn more about the non-formal education. In my opinion non-formal education is and should be main part of the HED project. Non-formal and informal education become more and more important nowadays. Because we learn everywhere and at all times and this experience leads to additional skills, knowledge and competences. I strongly believe that, all of us in AEGEE should work for the recognition of non-formal and also informal education.

“And maybe we are like example of how it works.”

That was just an example how the participants took active role in their environment and contributed to the local student society. This was just another example how AEGEE promote European Integration ……..and may be something more!

Though I still have the question in my mind when we will realise that we are really build bridges for learning – once with the value of the NFE and twice with its recognition?

by me,

Diana Yolova,

AEGEE member !

written by Diana Yolova, Higher Education Days Project