In the AEGEEan Network we have several locals located in an island and AEGEE-Valletta is one of them. Lying in the sunny Mediterranean Sea, the local just reached the age of majority and this year they wanted to organize a european event. Joanna Incorvaia, the Secretary General of the local, explained to us why their NWM, taking place from the 31st of March to the 3rd of April, is a perfect opportunity. 

THE AEGEEan: Tell us more about your local

 Joanna: Our local holds within it 18 years of awesomeness. We proudly host 100 members, six board and two advisory board members. We organize monthly events, monthly newsletters and at least one thematic project every year. This year, we have decided to focus more on AEGEE events, holding a Summer Event for 100 people next September, as well as our famous NWM.

Why did you decide to apply for the NWM?

The main objective of the board this year was to host an international event. The NWM fits our plans perfectly as it joins us with the rest of the Italian locals and brings the rainbow locals to Malta.

How is the cooperation with your Network Commissioner?

Lisa Gregis (AEGEE-Bergamo), our Netcommie, has been amazing. She has supported and encouraged us every step of the way. It has been great having someone to help us out in organizing this NWM.

How many participants do you expect to have? Only from your area or from other parts of the network too?

Around 50 participants can take part both from the Italian locals as well as from other parts of the network. In fact, we have received a lot of applications from non-Italians. So don’t leave it till the last minute to apply!

What is the Name of your NWM? Can you explain it?

Our event is called “Hello from the Rainbow-side” and there’s a funny story behind it. We had been brainstorming with Lisa on titles for the NWM and we had about 2 hours to decide. The key word had to be “rainbow” (for the rainbow locals group) and after several failed attempts at coming up with a title, our dear Chucky Bartolo used Adele’s famous song lyrics of Hello: “Hello from the other side” and changed into “Hello from the rainbow-side”.

Do you have any local municipality or university support? 

Luke Pace (President): We are based at the University of Malta, and in fact, AEGEE-Valletta is an organization recognised by the Senate and the Students’ Council. We do not however receive any financial support from the University or the Government (unless we apply as a Voluntary Organization for a special funding scheme, when these are made available to the public).

What are your plans for the social program?

We plan to take our participants to our nightlife village called Paceville, where we promise one of the best parties. We will also be taking a tour around the hostel’s city on foot and visiting the cultural sites in the area. We will be having a house themed party (American/ frat), where we will get to know each other better through ice breaking games. AEGEE-Valletta also plans to visit the beautiful fortified city of Mdina and have a ghost hunt in its narrow streets (#haunted). We would also love to organize some pre or post-event activities, so that our participants can also have time to take a quick spin around our little island.

What are AEGEE-Valletta upcoming projects?

Our biggest plan after the NWM is a big Summer Event of 100 youths. Information about this will be issued soon, so stay tuned on our Facebook page.

You can apply to the NWM here and here. You can find the facebook event here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

As every year, the European Charlemagne Youth Prize (ECYP) took place in the city of Aachen, under its 7th edition. After Europe on Track’s major success last year, some AEGEE members gathered in Charlemagne’s city in order to know which project would be its successor. Youth unemployment, selfies, remarkable guests, journalism and the situation in Ukraine have just been some of the major highlights of this event that took place in late May.

1. Our Europe takes the legacy of its predecessor, Europe on Track

Peter Laugesen (Our Europe), with VP of the European Parliament, Anni Podimata

Denmark was the winner of this year’s edition of the Charlemagne Youth Prize, with the project Vores Europa (‘Our Europe’). This project consisted of a 12-month long journey taken by Peter Laugesen and Elena Askløf, who travelled through 24 European countries and interviewed young people about their expectations and wishes for Europe. They published radio podcasts, films, articles, interviews and pictures on their website, and even took up a experimental Skype session in collaboration with 21 Danish schools, involving 2,800 young students whom the creators talked to. It was a truly outstanding project, self-funded by its own creators and it was certainly one of the ‘favourite ones’ to achieve the biggest prize.

The story of Our Europe might seem familiar to many of you… yes! Many of us recalled the Europe on Track project of AEGEE-Europe, which won last year’s Charlemagne Youth Prize. Looks like the recipe for success in a ECYP candidature is very simple: involve young people from several countries, talk about their concerns and reach the policy-makers with audiovisual material and social media.

2. Youth (un)employment, the hottest topic

The three winners: Denmark, the Netherlands and Cyprus

One of the biggest topics addressed by the Danish Our Europe project was with no doubts youth unemployment, which has reached staggering figures in countries such as Spain or Italy. However, this topic was the main issue by several of the 28 projects presented. Both the second and third place winners of the ECYP, the Netherlands and Cyprus, had youth unemployment as their focus.

On the one hand, JouwDelft & Co., the Dutch national winner, hosted a European youth congress in November 2012 which aimed to find local-scale solutions to reduce youth unemployment in Europe and brought young active citizens and policy advisors from several countries together. The outcome of the conference was a resolution on these recommendations, which was issued to the European Parliament in November 2013. On the other hand, Youth Dynamics is a Cypriot youth organisation that hosted a training course in April 2013 that involved seminars, presentations, workshops and discussions based on the same topic, gathering 26 participants from nine EU countries.

3. EBM Valleta, our AEGEE Representative

Mariella getting the award in Aachen

Mariella Rapa (AEGEE-Valletta) was the representative of AEGEE in the list of nominees for the final Youth Prize, representing the European Boards’ Meeting that took place in Valletta in February 2013, which gathered around two hundred AEGEEans under the topic of ‘the future of Europe’.

Previously interviewed by our journalist Cosmina Bisboaca (AEGEE-Torino), AEGEE-Valletta stated that it was “a very big honour” to be the National winner in Malta, especially taking into account that other strong organisations such as JEF Malta submitted their projects too.

Chucky Bartolo told Cosmina the reasons why EBM Valletta decided to run for the Charlemagne Youth Prize: “The organising team that worked on the EBM spent a lot of their time and energy to make the event as great as it could be. Knowing that we had worked so hard to make an event like this meant that we were able to recognise that the EBM was worth submitting. Inspired by the success of “Europe on Track”, we submitted the project for the Charlemagne Youth Prize”. Despite not making it to the ‘final three’, Mariella got the National Award out of the hands of Anni Podimata (vice-president of the European Parliament), and showed the pride of the whole local for being among the 28 finalists.

4. Youth at the back… but not afraid to ask

The 28 national winners of the Charlemagne Youth Prize were afterwards invited at the Charlemagne Forum, which gathered several ‘top’ guests. Unfortunately, the young representatives were forced to be sitting in the back, whereas the jury and guests were right on the front, sitting comfortably and having snacks and drinks next to them. For many, that was the vivid image that young people were merely playing a secondary role in this Charlemagne Prize, but we were not afraid to take the driver’s seat, ask questions and confront the opinion of the older experts… even if we had to stand up and there was no microphone available for us at first.

Especially significant was the speech given by Luis Alvarado Martínez, president of AEGEE-Europe and representative of Europe on Track as the ECYP winner of 2013, who encouraged the organisers of the Charlemagne Youth Prize to involve young people more actively: “It’s them who should be sitting on the front”. Moreover, he suggested the idea of them selecting the winners of the ECYP – after all, what is a ‘youth prize’ if it is not selected by youth representatives?

5. ‘Top’ guests… taking AEGEEan’s selfies

“A selfie is the picture you take yourself, right?”

Besides Ms. Podimata, who was replacing the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, there were other remarkable guests among the visitors in Aachen. One of them was the former president of the European Central Bank, mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, who was taking part at the panel discussion of the Charlemagne Forum. But specially striking was the appearance in the middle of the Forum of Herman van Rompuy, president of the European Council. During the question round, two AEGEE members (Anna, from AEGEE-Barcelona, and Erik, from AEGEE-Bratislava) were sending their questions to the pannelists, when all of a sudden people started to applause. Van Rompuy arrived, the question round was interrupted and he gave his speech where several topics such as the previous Sunday’s EP elections were tackled.

In fact, Mr. Van Rompuy embarked in a small inter-generational dialogue with our AEGEEans Luis and Mariella, when they asked to take a selfie with him. “You mean, the picture that you take yourself, right?”, rumour has it that he asked.

6. The situation in Ukraine in the Charlemagne Youth Prize

Once Herman Van Rompuy had arrived at the Forum, Luis asked him about the situation in Ukraine, and he gave an answer paraphrasing Tolstoy (“we, Europe and Russia, have one thing in common – Christianity”), that our member of AEGEE-Bratislava, Erik Redli, reported perfecty in his article at Foreign Students.

Those were not the only remarkable guests of the week – in the Charlemagne Prize ceremony, there were the prime ministers of Moldova and Ukraine, Iurie Leanca and Arseniy Yatseniuk, right on the aftermath of the Ukrainian elections. In fact, the event gathered a few hundreds of protesters from Ukraine and Russia in the main square of Aachen, protesting against the war – but from different sides. Both were divided into two blocks and the police had to intervene, as reported by our friend from OneEurope Yuliya Kosharevska, even though there were no major incidents.

7. AEGEE-Aachen and OneEurope, a top cooperation for a ‘top event’

A journalists’ “newsroom” moment

Under the special request of the city council of Aachen, AEGEE-Aachen organised a ‘side event’ for journalists who would cover the Charlemagne Youth Prize for their national media and other internet platforms, in order to give more visibility to a prize which has proven to be of a major importance. Our ‘polar bears’ seeked the cooperation with the OneEurope magazine, who also reported actively about the happenings in Aachen and brought their expertise in journalism.

The atmosphere between AEGEE and OneEurope members was great and it truly felt like a real newsroom sometimes. Moreover, AEGEE-Aachen provided a wonderful social programme with a city tour around the city, a party with the national winners of the ECYP… and the members of OneEurope could experience for the first time what a European Night was. Congratulations, AEGEE-Aachen, and thank you for such an effort!

And next year… it can be you! This year’s Charlemagne Youth Prize event has proven that a project that gathers young people from several European countries, that deals with some of the ‘hot’ topics in European youth and also involves policy-makers and advisors can be eligible to win. It is acknowledged that we have taken part in many AEGEE projects with a big potential that comply with these same characteristics. So, what are you waiting for? Maybe the next Charlemagne Prize could be in AEGEE’s hands again!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

After last year’s success with the Charlemagne youth prize 2013, when AEGEE-Europe won the  final selection with the project Europe on Track, this year again there is an AEGEE-project running for it at the European final in Aachen: AEGEE-Valletta won the national competition with the EBM 2013  “Preserving the present, saving our future”. We have interviewed Martha Misdus, Vice-president of AEGEE-Valletta,  and Chucky Bartolo who had the idea to submit the project.

The AEGEEan: What was the reaction of the members when the announcement about winning the national selection was made?

Martha: To be honest I was the new bearer and having the privilege of spreading the news within our locals was as exciting as it was honourable. For obvious reasons, the reaction was a positive one and gladly received by the whole team. Seeing that constant work is translated into continuous achievements builds an ever stronger team encouraging more team work and investment in human resources.

Why did you decided to submit the EBM to the Charlemagne youth prize 2014 ?

Chucky: The organising team that worked on the EBM spent a lot of their time and energy to make the event as great as it could be. Knowing that we had worked so hard to make an event like this meant that we were able to recognise that the EBM was worth submitting. Inspired by the success of “Europe on Track” as another AEGEE-project that did so well last year, we submitted the project for the Charlemagne Youth Prize.

The other projects were submitted by strong organizations such as JEF Malta and NSTF. Did you expect AEGEE project to win the national selection?

Martha: Although very proud of the work that went into the EBM, we also knew that we were up against some tough competition. Winning the national selection is a very big honour and not something that we have taken for granted!

Do you think the project will make it into the three final European winners?

Chucky: Obviously possessing a crystal ball either to know from beforehand the future or else to alter it and to accommodate it to one’s own wishes is more than desirable, alas, impossible. We however feel that it should rank among the top. Not only did we put all our efforts to make this project possible but we actually managed to realise them to produce a successful result both for the history of AEGEE-Valletta as well as a contribution to our national pride. The fact that we have already made it so far is the best expression of appreciation anyone could ever grant us.

As mentioned before, while being proud of the event and very happy with the result at a national level, there will be some stiff competition for the first three places. That being said, we as AEGEE-Valletta have done our very best and hope that this is reflected in the final outcome of the European winners! Additionally, what is most important to us, is that we made both AEGEE-Valletta and AEGEE as a whole visible on a Union level, demonstrating that our organization cares for and actively promotes the European ideals amongst students and youths alike.

The AEGEEan: What are the plans of the antenna now? How about the Summer University?

Martha: Our antenna is always busy. In fact, I can proudly assure you that we defeat the general cliché that Southern Mediterraneans are a lazy lot! Currently we are geared in organizing a TSU with AEGEE-Agrigento, hoping it would rank among the top, where participants could treat themselves to the Mediterranean Sea.  We are also in the middle of a EuroArab Project, a Youth in Action programme fully organized by our antenna having delegates from the Arab part of the continent such as Tunisia, Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, and also from Spain, Croatia, Greece and Italy. This is being organized with the EuroArab project of AEGEE, hence not exclusively by us, but we are obviously responsible for all the logistics. Not to mention also the various local events we organize for our members at the university of Malta, as well as maintaining the reputation of being the official Erasmus Organisation  for those lucky ones who study in our beautiful island.

Written by Cosmina Bisboaca, AEGEE-Torino

Last November, AEGEE-Valletta had its 15th anniversary. This antennas’ history is quite varied and successful. Despite being a very small antenna, comprising of only around 100 members, of whom only about 20 are active, big results are still achieved. During the previous years, the antenna has successfully organised an Agora in 2007, a Network Meeting in 2009 and many more events. The latest pride lies in the Best TSU (Travel Summer University) of 2012 and EBM (European Boards’ Meeting) 2013, which is the reason why AEGEE-Valletta is the Local of the Month of April 2013.

After the EBM we had more than 50 people nominating you for Local of the Month, congratulations! What does this honor mean to your antenna?

Martha Mifsud (PR responsible of AEGEE-Valletta): AEGEE-Valletta has always strived to maintain its reputation, a reputation which precedes it and a reputation which is evidenced by the high quality events organised periodically throughout the year. Having more than 50 nominations is a great honour for us. After all, our activities are for you, the participant, and each AEGEE member to enjoy. The greatest satisfaction for us is the appreciation of all those who participated in the EBM.

If you were to explain the experience of organising EBM Valletta what would you say? How was it?

Simply amazing and very enriching! The friendship forged while working together and attaining the same goal is the one which lasts the longest. On another note, it was very professional and each one of us had the opportunity to discover his/her potential in relatively new areas.

What were the best things about organising the EBM?

The team work! It was the most effective asset we had and the bond which will last for all subsequent events. The EBM team was a relatively new team, having old members like me and the rest of the board being the strong points of every sub commissioner, but the rest was composed of new members.

Last year AEGEE-Valletta had the best Summer University and now it has organised a successful EBM. Why is it that you are so good at organising events in your antenna? Can you share some tips for other antennae?

As Vice-President of AEGEE-Valletta I have been a main organiser in both events. The best tip I can offer to other antennae is to be professional and do not take matters lightly. We do our best to achieve the best. Moreover, the other tip to achieve a holistic result is to put passion is the work you do. If AEGEE was a job, we would be working among colleagues, and the attendees would be our clients. In AEGEE-Valletta we enjoy organising events among friends to welcome our participants, who are at the end new friends in our country.

What have you been doing in AEGEE-Valletta after organising the EBM?

After the EBM we had a well deserved break. However, it was a very short one and now we’re back to our full potential. We organised a short course, an Local Training Course (LTC) which lasted for a whole weekend. We have also set up board meetings and also monthly meetings to inform our members what course AEGEE-Valletta is planning on taking.

What lies in the future of AEGEE-Valletta, which events are you working on?

Yet another summer event! After winning the best Travel Summer University of 2012… we’re heading on to organising another fabulous event for Summer 2013! So everybody get ready to set sail to our little Mediterranean Island! We also have planned local events for our local members and loads and loads of parties for our Erasmus friends!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

In September 2012 AEGEE-Tilburg consisted of just two guys. Two experienced members: Tjeerd Kosse and Yunhai Su decided to make a re-start with AEGEE-Tilburg.  After a search two new board members joined. First Matei Zamfirescu and right after Sintija Saurina. In October the board was formed with Tjeerd as president, Sintjia as secretary, Yunhai as treasurer and Matei as visuals & marketing; four different characters who  formed a great team together. Now AEGEE-Tilburg has over 30 members. This is their story…

The enthusiasm only grew bigger. Soon after the forming of the board the board plan was presented. Our idea was simple: get AEGEE-Tilburg back on track in one year and set the basis for the next board to make AEGEE-Tilburg a stable student organization in Tilburg. Because we made a fresh new start we were able to make big changes and improvements that otherwise would be unthinkable. We were the first board that consisted of completely different nationalities and we changed the working language to English. We are proud of the fact that we are one of the boards in AEGEE who made this change to be inclusive towards international students.

Another big change that we could make is to create a very European culture in AEGEE-Tilburg. Because we just started we were able to imprint in our AEGEE-Tilburg a culture that we, as an antenna, are just one part of a bigger organization called AEGEE, and that our focus lies on Europe. Our local is aware of the fact that AEGEE is ‘one big family’, not just 200 lonely antennae. Therefore we encourage our own board and members to engage actively in European activities. In the remaining months of this academic year we’re planning to visit Budapest,  organize a TSU with AEGEE-Eindhoven and -Maastricht and much more. And we are always looking forward to work together with locals all over Europe.

We were also successful in achieving our goals. After starting with just two enthusiastic guys, we already have had one outgoing exchange with Valletta and two incoming exchanges with both Budapest and Valletta. Tilburg took a group of 30 exchange participants to Valletta, being the largest antenna during the EBM week. A majority of the group consists of new members, who experienced their first European event. The activities that Valletta organized for us were so fun and interesting that we now have several active members; people really fell in love with AEGEE. Now the number of members has tripled. Proud as we are of this achievement, we still strive to quintuple the amount of members by the end summer to have a sturdy basis for next year.

Dear boards of all the AEGEE-locals, AEGEE-committees and –commissions, Working Groups and Project Groups; Keep your eyes on AEGEE-Tilburg! We are a very enthusiastic local looking to collaborate to achieve great things within AEGEE. Come and talk to us during the Agora and if we do not already happen to bump in to each other! Hope to see you soon, somewhere in Europe!

Written for The NetCom Times by Tjeerd Kosse, AEGEE-Tilburg.

It was recently announced that the EBM 2013 will be hosted by AEGEE-Valletta. An event that will bring approximately 300 participants from all over Europe to the sunny island of Malta in February next year. 

The AEGEEan caught up with the president of AEGEE-Valletta Chris Frendo to congratulate him with the selection as host of EBM 2013 and to get the first taste of what the AEGEEans can expect from the event.

The AEGEEan: “When did you decide to apply for organising the EBM 2013?”

Chris Frendo: “The actual decision to submit an application to host one of the most important AEGEE events was taken during one of our board meetings in December. However, that decision was the result of the months of hard work which prepared and shaped our character in a way which made it possible for us to agree to go for the challenge of hosting an EBM. It was the culmination of a long process of team building sessions, training courses and other various events. In the past months the team at AEGEE-Valletta dedicated much of its time to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and experience needed to organise large scale events; hence we embarked on various projects, both locally and internationally. In a matter of months we organised a Summer Event, a Winter Event, and had the plans underway to organise a Carnival Event and a Traveling Summer University. The next inevitable outcome was to go to the next big thing, i.e the EBM. Certainly a much bigger challenge, but so is our enthusiasm and dedication to make this event memorable.”

The AEGEEan: “Why did you decide to apply for organising the EBM 2013?”

Chris Frendo: “We decided to apply mainly because we believe we could host successfully the event. Before we submitted the actual application, we undertook a feasibility study in which we discussed various logistical issues with our commercial partners, civil society partners, other NGOs and the relevant government departments. Another fundamental reason was that we believe that holding such an event in Valletta raises the profile of our antenna to a higher level. AEGEE-Valletta is a proud host of previous EBM and an Agora. However, some years have passed since the last major international event, thus the current board was resolved to steer the antenna back into the limelight. We believe that we have much to offer both in terms of experience and also in terms of the beauties of our island. Another reason was the fact that such an event provides our local members with an incredible opportunity to acquire new skills such as communication skills, management skills, project management, public relations and much more. The board has also ensured that all members who directly work in this project will be awarded a special certificate from the University of Malta. Although all of us are doing this because we enjoy doing it, yet it is also true that such experience will come useful in our future working life. For these reasons we decided to apply to host the EBM 2013.”

The AEGEEan: “What preparation have you made for the event so far?”

Chris Frendo: “The first and foremost thing which we had to make sure of that we had a team of dedicated people who were willing to work on this project, which of course requires a lot of hard work and commitment. Having ensured the necessary human resources it was very easy to set up a core team and assign more important tasks. The second equally important task was to prepare a provisional budget to ensure that we have the required financial means to host successfully the EBM and be up to the standards which AEGEE-Valletta is renowned for.

In terms of IT, at this stage we are working on a website which will be launched in the coming months and which will contain all the relevant information about the EBM 2013 and a possible post event in the Maltese Mediterranean Islands.

Moreover, we are preparing an application for EU funds, hoping that we will be granted some financial assistance. Obviously, an added financial grant would enable us to increase the level even more and make our product much more attractive.

Currently, we are holding talks some high profile people on the Island, with the hope of having the event hosted under the auspices of their distinguished office. More information will be available as soon as it is appropriate so we’ll keep you curious at the moment,” the president says with a smile.

The AEGEEan: “What will await the participants in Valletta?”

Chris Frendo: “Malta is a very small island and one of the great advantages for a visitor is that everything is so close. Hence, it would be possible for us to organise a very interesting evening social programme which would include historical sights, museums, city tours and of course wild parties! Since the distances between the venues are relatively short we are able to cram much more into the day programme than our counterparts abroad are able to. This will surely be appreciated at night because we can stay partying for longer!

Malta has a rich history, going back to prehistoric times. Over the course of the centuries Malta had various rulers: Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Spaniards, French and British. These rulers influenced the artistic heritage, culture and the general development of our tiny nation state. Our guests will have ample opportunity to see the result of this amazing legacy. It should be noted that Valletta, the capital, a jewel in its own right, is currently bidding to be the European Capital City of Culture in 2018.

Malta boast of many sandy beaches, although March is usually off season for the locals we are sure that whether permitting many of our guests will not hesitate to take their first plunge in one of our many crystal clear beaches.”

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

“Nossa, Nossa assim voce me mataaa, ai se eu te pego, ai ai se eu te pego,”

If you do not know this song, then you must be living under a rock because it has been playing all over clubs and radios for some time now. And for sure, the same words uttered by Michel Telo’ may have come to many guys’ mind when they were confronted with so many gorgeous female AEGEEans making their way to the suit-up party at the EBM Izmir.

The AEGEEan has chosen to put a focus on the AEGEEans that set a high standard for the formal parties at the statutory events of our organization. After introducing you to the five guys that drew our attention at the EBM Izmir Suit-up party, now it is time to shift our focus on the ladies that made some heads turn in Turkey. The nominees are:

Denise:  This Dutch lady is 24years old, born in a city close to Enschede, and has been a member of AEGEE-Groningen since 2009. She is also a very active AEGEE member on the international level where she is one of the sub commissioners of the Juridical Commission. Three words to describe her? Ambitious, motivated and love (for AEGEE)

Mariella Rapa (first from the right): Representative from AEGEE-Valleta, this beautiful lady is 23 years old, and secretary general of AEGEE-Valleta and Vice-Chair. She has been a member of AEGEE for two years, and uses ABC to describe herself: Adventurous, bubbly, caring.

Maryana Semenyak: If you attended the EBM then you for sure saw this beautiful president of AEGEE-Lviv. She is 24 years old, and has been a member of AEGEE since October 2007. What three words describe her? That would have to be vivid, extraordinary, and amiable.

Müge Etcibasi (second from right): She has been member of  AEGEE-Izmir since for 1,5 years, 21 years old and currently secretary assistant of AEGEE-İzmir. A description in three words? Energetic, sincere, outgoing.

Sila (first one from the right): Another representative from AEGEE-Izmir. She is 23 years old and have been member of AEGEE for three years. She is not a board member but president of the supervisory of AEGEE-Izmir. Three words to describe Sila? Outgoing, smart, and self-confident. 

Which one of these lovely ladies deserves to win the “Best Dressed Girl Award” 2012?

Voting starts April 2nd, stay tuned!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

At 4.30 A.M the music was over, the club was closing and organizers brought you back. But sleeping doesn’t look like an option. So if you haven’t found a nice boy/girl to spend time with, well, it is time for AFTERPARTY! So what to do?

Coming back from AEGEE-Valletta, where afterparty was as important as the party itself, I will try to give you some suggestions.

First of all, find some food: that is a necessity! If you have amazing organizers like the Maltese, it will not be a problem! If not, you can undertake an expedition to the closest kebab shop, or take your savings for European night, or ask for charity from other hostel guests, or just start biting the legs of that fat participant.

Anyway, how can you eat without drinking? Food will stop in your throat and you will stop breathing! Luckily, we had our Czech guy who seemed to have a distillery in his wardrobe! If you don’t have such a co-participant, poor you! You need to be farsighted and go shopping before.

And then, the music! A computer is useful, but karaoke is more fun especially when you left your voice at the party! Italian classics, Spanish drinking songs or Backstreet Boys are just some of the alternatives to brighten up your night!

It will be painful and shameful, but having a camera is also an afterparty requirement. The pictures will be trembling, half-body and technically imperfect, but will also ensure fun the following morning and give you a clue on why you have that bruise!

As for the bruises, one of the best way that we found to make them was to sing as a signal and then jump all together on the selected unfortunate. The downside were some broken beds, but among the advantages there was the possibility to get really close to the person you liked!

If you want to use your energy in a less “violent” way, children games are a solution. Avoid hide&seek because people may fall asleep in inappropriate places and be rescued just the day after. Instead, you can play one-two-three star (while someone is pronouncing this sentence, players have to run towards the finishing line, but be perfectly motionless when he stops talking) or witch-touch-colour (touching an object of the commanded colour before the “witch” touches you).

And when your batteries are running down, the classical “I have never…” is an idea to get to know fellow participants better and postpone the sleeping time.

Believe it or not, these techniques worked for us and we had an awesome time! They may not be rules, but the beauty of afterparties is that there are no rules. Everything is up to your fantasy!

Written by Martina Zanero, AEGEE-Torino