Do you believe in Europe? Do you see problematic issues in your society and do you think you can be part of the change? If yes, the Summer University (SU) “Call Upon Young Europeans” is a perfect summer event for you.

This SU takes place between the 20th and the 31st of August. It is a perfect mix between a summer course, focusing on learning and understanding, and a summer university, focusing on culture and having fun. The training will merely take place the first five days in Toulouse, organised by AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon, and will be provided by trainers from Your Vision for EUrope. Afterwards the group travels to Barcelona.

The SU will be focused on European Citizenship and Europtimism and allows for in-depth understanding of these issues through non-formal education. There will be extensive use of interaction between participants. The training will firstly give an introduction to the EU: by interactive workshops, participants will learn about the EU institutions, EU history and the place of Europe nowadays in the world. During the SU, a simulation of the European Council will be conducted. When the required knowledge is ascertained, the training will address issues like the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the EU.

In today’s society, people lose faith in the European Union, and not without reason. The EU is at a crossroad, and its future is at stake. Therefore special attention will be given to identify and discuss factors that endanger the European project and how to tackle and prevent them. The Summer University will enhance understanding and create open-minded citizens, but will specifically focus upon the opportunities offered to European citizens, to all be active citizens and changemakers by spreading Europtimism.

AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Lyon have taken up responsibility to be active and responsible in society by organising this SU. They will do their ultimate best to make this the best SU ever. Even more, they applied for and got selected as an Erasmus+ project. Erasmus+ is a EU programme to support education and training for youth in Europe. All AEGEE-locals are encouraged to organise Erasmus+ projects, which are perfect opportunities to propose an educative and innovative project and to be active in society!

This SU is a positive sign in the current state of Europe. A dynamic energy is rising in France and has led to the awakening of AEGEE locals in this country. Especially in the context of the recent elections in France, it is not an easy job promoting the EU in France. It can only be encouraged. Therefore the project team of Your Vision for EUrope is happy to support the organisation of this SU. Your Vision for EUrope is a project initiated by AEGEE-Europe to facilitate discussion on European politics and make the voices of young Europeans heard. Their activities aim to raise awareness of European affairs and stimulate debate on topics relevant for young people, and therefore match the theme of this Summer University.

The Erasmus+ programme allows for 15 participants selected from the partner countries, being five participants from Italy, five from Spain and five from Romania. This selection is not bound to the regular Summer University application procedure. Ten other participants will be selected from all other countries over Europe, and this will be done through the regular SU application procedure. Find more information on how to apply for this SU here: http://yourvisionforeurope.com/su-call-upon-young-europeans-aug-20th-31st/.

Written by Elinne Mertens, AEGEE-Leuven

It is already that magical season of the year! No, we are not talking about Spring and the rebirth of nature. Of course we are talking about the RTC season. RTCs (Regional Training Courses) are meetings among members and their aim (according to what is written on the AEGEE Europe member’s portal) is to prepare them to take responsibilities in board positions. We have asked for some opinions of the organisers of three RTCs all over Europe from the antennae of AEGEE-Lviv, AEGEE-Touluse, AEGEE-Pisa and AEGEE-Firenze.

All the hosts are very excited and for them this is a great opportunity to grow as antennae. AEGEE-Toulouse told us that “this RTC is one of the only events that will take place in France this year, it happens before important elections for us, so it is a great occasion to discuss the importance of Europe in French people’s life. We have 15 participants, our members will host them to allow the fee not to be too huge (because hostels are incredibly expensive in Toulouse). We really want to make this RTC unforgettable: we willl be chasing a treasure during our visit of Toulouse. The sessions will be, among others, about how to organise local events such as the European Student Festival of AEGEE-Toulouse, and about EVS!”.       

In addition, AEGEE-Lviv said RTCs are also an opportunity to create strong relationships between antennae from different countries that are part of the same Network. “Since we have become one network with Polish antennae, we planned to organise a regional event. By evaluating the abilities of our antennae we decided that an RTC would be the best option. Together with the other locals, we decided that the HR topic would be the most interesting for everyone. Due to a lack of applications, however, we decided that we would organise an LTC for our members and invite foreigners to it. We will make typical LTC sessions, but HR will still be a leading topic.” 

RTCs are also an amazing way to became closer to another antenna. For instance, AEGEE-Firenze and AEGEE-Pisa have decided to organise an RTC together. “We decided to apply for hosting an RTC because both the boards of AEGEE-Pisa and AEGEE-Firenze knew that the new members needed an opportunity to learn more about AEGEE, the possibility to join the board, organise international events and the overall structure of the association.” They also gave us some spoilers about their programme: “We will start with a double session about the structure of AEGEE: one for the newbies, one for more advanced members. Then we will talk about the organisation of European events, teamwork and conflict resolution. The next session will be about managing a local: recruiting, fundraising, how to organise thematic activities and management of a local in general.

The “European events organisation” workshop will be held by AEGEE-Pisa founder, honorary member of AEGEE-Firenze and current member of Les Anciens Paolo Santoni: “This is going to be a huge opportunity for all the participants. But let’s talk about the serious stuff: the programme will be filled with the Regional Night (which, with all the nationalities of the participants, will actually be a real EN) and we are organising games and party also for the second night”.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

From the biggest student festival an AEGEE local has organised to redrawing the structure of AEGEE: reasons why AEGEE-Toulouse is the odd one out, but in the best possible way!

I was excited to go to Toulouse not only because of the Erasmus Student Festival I have heard about previously, but also because in the AEGEE context, we know that the French-speaking part of the network has been going through difficult times. There are great people in Lille, Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, but how can we really anchor the work of our organisation for the long-term when the French student society already accommodates so many other organisations?

We can start focusing on fewer things from the “everything” that AEGEE tends to do, and anchor ourselves with impressive results our work can bring. And this is exactly what AEGEE-Toulouse has been doing recently. The antenna has been on the rise for the last two years especially, and they even openly talked about how being downgraded to a contact antenna in Agora Kyїv has actually given them the chance to grow: with less criteria to follow, they could focus on building themselves stronger.

The spirit of AEGEE-Toulouse is definitely coming from the unofficial headquarters of Karim and Khaled, where members meetings, board meetings and all the “crazy ideas brainstorming” is a frequent thing. We always needed that element of crazyness in AEGEE, haven’t we? An idea like the Erasmus Student Festival that was born two years ago, collecting 2000 local and Erasmus students in an open air festival. 2016 counted close to 6000 participants and in 2017, AEGEE-Toulouse with the support of the city hall is getting ready for 10.000 people, setting up the festival to be the biggest celebration event of 30 years of Erasmus.

You would think this is the most exciting thing that the visit can bring, but there was more. Because sometimes it only takes an honest conversation to better understand the supportive link between AEGEE-Europe and the locals, and the right questions to realise that between many different groups and bodies, what we should really do is to sit down with a clean piece of paper and draw the structure of AEGEE from scratch.

Following the latest news blast targeting Agoras and other processes, and based on the never-ending research I have been conducting for the last year when it comes to the organisational development of AEGEE, I was more excited than ever to bring a fresh new perspective into the discussion: drawing a structure based on analysis of the needs of a very complex organisation, and the result is quite drastic. Yet, the need for change is in the air, and we need to put all these ideas together and rethink how we do things in order to make them work better: for the AEGEE that is ready to take on all the challenges of the 21st century; for an AEGEE 2.0.

If you want to be part of the development, and want to bring your piece of paper with something that looks like the craziest idea first, contact me [she smiles, ed.]. Never be afraid of change, and afraid to test new things and explore our limits, embrace our problems and grow stronger together. How? Well Toulouse is not the only place for crazy ideas, but AEGEE-Toulouse breathes everything that our spirit is: challenge, idealism, hard work and making the city of Toulouse so much better for so many young people.

Special thanks to Karim and for everyone in AEGEE-Toulouse for the welcoming atmosphere and the great experience! See you at the European Planning Meeting in Zagreb – or everywhere around Europe!

Written by Réka Salamon, President of AEGEE-Europe

“Where the hell is AEGEE?” That is one of the questions floating on Facebook at the moment, and AEGEE-Toulouse is behind it. The AEGEEan interviewed the antenna from France about the idea behind their project and how it is going with the project so far.

The idea was proposed by an old member of AEGEE-Toulouse one year ago, but the antenna did not manage to make the project happen while she was still a member. This year people started talking in the antenna about the project again and this time the decision to begin was stronger.

It all started during a brainstorm session in a Local Training Course, where they thought about the video “Where the Hell is Matt”. With so many antennae in AEGEE they agreed that this kind of videos would be a great idea to show how wide AEGEE expands across Europe.

The idea is that every antenna makes a little movement to the song Move your feet in front of a building or place that represents its town. AEGEE-Toulouse will then make a mix with all the videos they receive. “This project would be a great occasion to improve the visibility of AEGEE and it can also be a part of our project Bridging Europe!” is what AEGEE-Toulouse wrote on the official Facebook page of their project.

In the description of the project they ask antennae to do the filming in front of a special place in their city. AEGEE-Toulouse’s members decided to film themselves dancing on the Square of Capitole. “We chose the Capitol because it represents Toulouse; every big event runs through this square. It is also a meeting point for Toulousians, so we can say this is the real symbol of our town”, Laura Kaddour (Public Relations) and Nolwënn Piqeuet (Human Resources) say in the interview with The AEGEEan.

The project has been received very well by the Network. In less than one week there are more than 100 AEGEE members following the project on Facebook which AEGEE-Toulouse is very pleased with. When interviewed by The AEGEEan AEGEE-Toulose had not received any contribution or responses to their survey yet. This is normal as it is a new project and supposedly people need to have meetings with their antennae to talk about the project, so AEGEE-Toulouse is sure that the number will go from zero to plenty very soon.

Actually, just the day after the interview, AEGEE-Toulouse received a contribution from AEGEE-København and their vice-president, Karlis Kazins, says to The AEGEEan: “I liked the Where the hell is AEGEE? idea right away when I read the description, partly because I like the original Matt’s videos, partly because I like to do this kind of activities. And so as I liked it, I suggested it to our board and we did it.” AEGEE-København decided to film in front of the Copenhagen Opera house. Actually this is not really a landmark that people associate with Copenhagen, but the beauty and the nice view in front of it are the reasoning behind the choice according to Karlis.

Being a small antenna the difficulty relied in getting people to join “We invited some people, but at the end there were only three people that showed up. But the good thing is that our Spanish HR responsible – Gonzalo Peréz – was there and he talked to a whole tourist group, who had just finished their tour, and another smaller group and we got five people to join us,” Karliz tells The AEGEEan about the experience. He also encourages other antennae to take part in the project for many reasons: “Because you will definitely have a good time, while making the video. And the final edited video with contributions from a lot of antennae all over Europe is going to be great, so you do not want to miss being a part of it.”

The next step in the process for AEGEE-Toulouse is to mix all the videos they will get into a final movie to be posted on YouTube and to be broadcasted as large as they can.

Besides the video, AEGEE-Toulouse is working on a European movie screening for Erasmus students and other students which they organize every month. “It is a brand new project and we are excited about it! We are also organizing a Summer University, which has four thematic colors, we hope it will be a success too,” Nolwëen & Laura agree and tell The AEGEEan. AEGEE-København is definitely busy too, focusing on the upcoming Network Meeting that will take part in the Danish capital next month and also working with the Summer University promotion, hoping the antenna will expand in amount of members.

It will be interesting to hear more in the future about what these antennae will do and of course to see the final product of the video itself. You can find more information on the Facebook page of the project here

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza 

When I asked Pauline Létard which adjectives define her, she answered: “idealistic, hard-working and perfectionist”. Reading through the following lines, you can read about her motivation to become  part of the Network Commission.

Pauline joined AEGEE in 2011, after arriving new in the city of Toulouse and she had been looking for an association to meet new people. She was invited to a Local Training Course and inmediately fell in love with the AEGEE spirit. She is president of AEGEE-Toulouse and has been subcommissioner under Carol Bello and Pilar Lop, and is currently doing a European Voluntary Service (EVS) in Spain with AEGEE-León.

What did you learn from your time as a subcommissioner?

I’ve learned about myself and I developed social skills.  I’ve learned that sometimes we can’t do anything about a situation, you have to accept it and move forward as well as not taking the criticisms personally and rather take it in a constructive way. I know how to adapt to all sort of situations now, accept that it’s not going to be just as planned and improvise, keeping a big smile and don’t panic! I worked a lot on managing my idealism to target reachable and realistic objectives but without stopping to believe that with work and motivation almost everything is possible. I’ve learned to ask the right person for help when you need it and find the information you need when you need it.

I also developed specific skills  such as working in a multicultural team through emails, Facebook, Skype meetings; speaking in public; organising trainings and giving workshops; at the same time, I learned about how the antennae work, about managing internal tensions within the antennae, how to help them and how to motivate members…

AEGEE-Toulouse’s Summer Event 2013

When did you decide to to apply to become a Network Commissioner?

 I think I started to think about it around March, while organizing the Network Meeting in Paris. I was loving it so much!

As I wrote in my application, not so long ago, I had a Skype meeting with two members of a contact antenna. They were hitting a rough patch, we had a long talk, and at the end they said, “Thank you Pauline, we feel better, we feel motivated again”. This among other things made me seriously think about candidating. Then I talked with a lot of different people: members of the Tripulación (Pilar Lop’s team), Lucille, Léa Charlet, members of the previous NetComs… to know if they thought I was ready and if they would support me. They did, they helped me think about what really motivates me to do this job and shaping my programme.

The key moment was the Renove III organised by AEGEE-Burgos in September 2013. The Tripulación worked really hard together with AEGEE-Burgos to prepare this event. I had a lot to manage at this time, so it was not easy but at the end of the weekend the objectives we had set up were achieved: we motivated the members to get involved in their antennae and at the European level, new ideas and projects were born and in this event I really felt a strong bond between the antennae. During the closing ceremony I told the participants: “before coming to this event I was still hesitating about applying for NetCom but the event and you were so great that you convinced me to go for it!”

I always hear from previous netcommies that their time at the NetCom is probably the most rewarding experience they have had in AEGEE. Why do you think so?

I guess because you work really hard but you feel really useful. You work with people and they know how to thank you. You’re making the links between locals and the European level so you work with a wide range of people and bodies.

Have you felt the support from ‘La Nave’ (the name of the area that Network Commissioner Pilar Lop is responsible for) with your decision?

Well yes… I got a big applause in the Renove! I asked the members of La Nave for feedback because I wanted to be sure to have their support. If I thought they were supporting another candidate I would have withdrawn my candidature. I hope the voting session won’t show the opposite.

If you are elected, what would you look for when selecting subcommissioners?

Motivation, availability, ideas and creativity, good knowledge of AEGEE and of the network, social skills, organising skills.

We have also heard that you are planning to have a council of advisers. Can you tell us about that?

Well I really think continuity is a key matter when you’re talking about the network. I really think the previous NetComs of the region, and their team accomplished a lot, I would like to take the best from it. I also think that it is always good to have somebody from the outside who can guide you and give you another point of view, warn you about the possible dangers you’re not able to see. I’ve already started to contact the previous teams. In León I’ve been talking a lot with Oscar Ronda Prieto, a former NetCom who is helping me a lot!

The typical question: quantity or quality? Is expanding the Network one of your priorities?

I’m more about quality, I have to say. I’m focusing on making better what already exists rather than conquering new lands! Of course, expanding the network is something I would like to help with. If I can ignite some spark I will! But I really think that the success of a contact depends on motivated people who discovered AEGEE and decide to set up an antenna where there is no antenna rather than on the NetCom.

Exchange between AEGEE-Toulouse and AEGEE-Utrecht

Do you think there is a lack of connection between the local and the European level in AEGEE? Do you have any ideas on how to improve this?

Yes, I do think so, because there are always new members who need to be informed about how AEGEE works, what are the different European bodies and how they can get involved at the  European level. We started to work on this with the current Tripulacion by giving workshops about it in the Network  Meetingss (NWMs), by spamming the Facebook group La Nave and the mailing list ‘subealanave’. I would like to keep on doing this and go deeper by helping the antennae to organise workshops about the European Level in LTC and RTC, by strongly encouraging them to cooperate with working groups and projects. I really would like to work on helping the antennae to implement the Strategic Plan (SP) and the Action Agenda (AA) through the subcommies but also by developing tools to explain in a simple way how it works and how they can contribute and especially by informing them about what kind of activities other antennae organised in the frame of the SP and the AA. I will help the antennae develop strategies to encourage their members to participate in European events.

Two questions from our readers: “Do you have a specific strategy to help the network grow in the French-speaking countries? Indeed, there are very few locals in this area of the network compared to what it was before.”

Well, I’ve been working on this since the early ages of my AEGEE life. This is not an easy task. I think cooperation and solidarity between the French speaking locals is a key tool that is starting to show some results: we have contacts in Nantes and Lille, maybe in Orléans, Grenoble and Angers as well. But above all there is a huge lack of visibility of AEGEE in these areas. We started to work on a common public relations’ strategy and especially PR tools. This is my main strategy for developing this area.

The second one: “Aim 1, objective 3 of your programme describes how you would help Contacts to grow, but do you have a strategy for Contacts to be created in the first place?”

As I told you before, I think that the Netcommie can ignite the spark and help the antenna to be created but first you need motivated people. The main strategy is a good PR campaign towards the universities of the cities in which AEGEE is not present. Encourage young students from cities where AEGEE is not present to participate in AEGEE events by informing them. If I have the necessary human resource, I would like to see AEGEEans going to the closest city to promote AEGEE. Each time I will have the opportunity to motivate someone who lives in a city AEGEE is not present, I will use it!

What about yourself: do you have some “motto” in life?

I’m not perfect, neither am I Wonder Woman but I’m determined and motivated to make things as good as I can and learn from my mistakes!

 Thanks a lot for your time, Pauline. We wish you good luck for ZarAgora!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona