Last October, AEGEE-Verona organised the event entitled “Perchè l’Europa unita ieri e oggi?” (Eng. Why a united Europe, yesterday and today?), directly connected with Spreading Europtimism Focus Area (Objective 2). For this reason, they were chosen as the ACTive Local of the Month of October. We spoke with the former secretary Raffaello Corsini, and the ACT responsible Camelia Kajbaf, to find out more!

ACT: What kind of emotions did you have when you found out that AEGEE-Verona had been chosen as the ACTive local of October?

Raffaello and Camelia: We felt very happy, proud of ourselves, but also thankful and grateful to the ones who had made this decision. We are happy to be rewarded for the hard job we are doing as a young and small local. Thank you!

Why did you decide to organise the “Perchè l’Europa unita ieri e oggi?” event?

We decided to go for this activity when we had the chance to organise something in collaboration with other student organisations such as ESN, AIESEC and JFE. We were all interested in this kind of topic. As a single group, we considered that we were able to organise an event all together and with the different ways of approaching it, we could spread the idea of Europtimism more effectively.

What was the result of your activity?

The result of our activity was a conference that gathered 40 participants, who listened to a short lecture from a professor and then discussed about what is Europe today.

How do you inform your members about the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

We inform our members about the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan by spending some time during the member meetings, but we also use to speak about them during our local events, such as the Aperitivo linguistico, or when we promote events related to them (EPM or thematic events).

Do you have any other activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

In November last year, we organised another conference about the USA presidential elections with a special focus on how the American political system works and what was its evolution through time.

Why should other locals organise activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic Plan?

Locals should organise activities related to the Action Agenda/Strategic plan, because it is a good chance to make students aware of the world they live in and to raise their knowledge and self-confidence.

Do you have any tips for organising thematic activities?

Our main tips for organising thematic activities are the following: plan everything in detail and with good care, and start looking for the help of other associations if your local is too small to manage all these things on its own.

AEGEE-Verona Board 2016-2017

Can you tell us a bit more about your local?

AEGEE-Verona was refounded in 2013. At the moment, we are about 40 members and approximately 15 of them are active at the local level.

Characterize your local in one sentence.  

AEGEE-Verona: Very small, but very strong!

Written by Elena Efremova, on behalf of Action Agenda Coordination Committee

Spring Agora Bergamo starts on the 18^th of May this year, and its arrival is solemnly heralded by its many Facebook invites and by those of the Pre-Agora events. If you go to the Agora, you can go directly or you can go via one of the six Pre-Agora events (or just go to one of the six Pre-Agora events, no obligations). Regardless of which, the deadlines to apply for these six events are approaching soon, that’s why we, at the AEGEEan, have decided to make a list of all the six pre-events. This… is the road to the Agora.

Sail Forward

The Pre-Agora event that starts first is AEGEE-Genova’s “Sail Forward”, continuing from the 12^th until the 18^th of May. It is both the longest and most expensive of the Pre-Agora events, encompassing almost an entire week and costing €120. The event will take place in both the city of Genova itself, and Cinque Terre (Five Lands), a collection of five villages and tourist hotspot on rugged bit of coastal area on the Italian Riviera between Genova and La Spezia. “Sail Forward” is also perhaps the most sportive of the six pre-events, because the hills of Genova and especially Cinque Terre are perfect for hiking and exploration.

Deadline 29th of March. Application here and here.

Amusic Mi(lano)

AEGEE-Milano’s pre-event could be considered to be the most exclusive of the Pre-Agora events: it is one of the shortest (lasting only five days), the most expensive per day (€19,80 or €22,80, including the costs for the optional fee), together with “All EU need is Love” takes in the least amount of people (only 20), and the culturally most sophisticated (the programme includes, among which, a visit to at least one museum, as well as a live performance of classical music). As mentioned before, there is an optional fee to visit Como, on the shores of lake Como, which has an interesting connection with dictators. There was Julius Caesar, who, in the first century B.C., came, saw and decided that the settlement of Como should  move to its current location, and Benito Mussolini, who was captured and promptly executed on the northern banks of lake Como.

Deadline 3rd of April. Application here and here.

25 and Looking Forward!

Also starting on the 13^th of May is AEGEE-Firenze’s “25 and Looking Forward!”, a pre-event combined with a celebration of their twenty-fifth anniversary, which they promise will be “epic”. Part of this Pre-Agora event will be spent in a country house in the Tuscan hills, while the other part will be spent in the city of Florence itself. There will be a tour of the city, which is arguably most famous for its citizens like the artists, Donatello (1386-1466) and Botticelli (1445-1510), the writers, Dante (1265-1321) and Machiavelli (1469-1527), half of the De’ Medici family, and some people you might not even realise were born in Florence. These being explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512), nurse Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), and fashion designer Guccio Gucci (1881-1953).

Deadline 30th of March. Application here and here.

All EU need is Love

As mentioned before, AEGEE-Verona’s All EU Need Is Love might contend with AEGEE-Milano’s “Amusic Mi(lano)” to be one of the most exclusive 2016 Pre-Agora events: both accept only 20 participants, and both last relatively short. That being said, AEGEE-Verona has one of the lowest fees of all the six Pre-Agora events. Its participants sleep in a gym, and, instead of museums and classical music, AEGEE-Verona offers workshops about Italian cooking, and language & gestures workshops. They also offer a trip to lake Garda (in between Verona and Bergamo), transportation to Bergamo that is included in the fee, and a city tour at night in a city (so nice) where Shakespeare set his plays thrice.

Deadline 5th of April. Application here and here.

Feel sLOVEnija

Another local that’s tying into the love motif is AEGEE-Ljubljana with their “feel sLOVEnija” Pre-Agora event. It is the only pre-event that does not take place in Italy, and it’s the only one that allows for up to thirty participants to enter. It has some similarities with “All EU need is Love”, in that both take place on the same dates (14-05 till 18-05), offer local drinks, delicious food, a visit to a stunning lake, and provide transportation to Bergamo that is included in the fee. AEGEE-Verona teaches you Italian gestures, whereas AEGEE-Ljubljana teaches you how to flirt in Slovenian. It just comes to show that love comes in many varieties.

Deadline 31st of March. Application here and here.

AAAB: Amazing AEGEEan Adventure Brixiæ

The final Pre-Agora event is AEGEE-Brescia’s “AAAB”, or “Amazing AEGEEan Adventure Brixiæ”, which sounds funny, because of the letter ‘B’ ends a series of ‘A’s, but also because the name of the city, Brescia, is written in Latin, Brixia. This may have something to do with the city’s rich historical heritage, which can be seen during this pre-event. ”AAAB” is also unique in that it’s the shortest of the six pre-events, lasting from Monday evening on the 16^th till Wednesday morning on the 18^th. It also has the cheapest overall fee, which is in part, because, like in Verona, you’ll sleep in a gym, and it’s the pre-event that is closest to the Agora itself.

Deadline 3rd of April. Application here and here.

So there you go… if you go, take a pick of your road to the Agora.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

AEGEEans are used to working online sending an insanely high amount of mails per day, but this work, especially if done by boards, sometimes needs to be done in a cosy office where everything can be stored. We decided to take a tour to AEGEE-Budapest, AEGEE-Cagliari, AEGEE-Enschede and AEGEE-Verona offices, discovering that not every local has one.

AEGEE-Budapest office

AEGEE-Budapest got its current office five years ago and it is shared with another organisation. Peter Sczigel, President of AEGEE-Budapest, said: “It’s small but cosy. It’s located in the Corvinus University of Budapest, where the majority of our members are from. Inside we have lockers, computers, comfy couches and a lot of memorabilia”. AEGEE-Budapest organised three Agoras, Autumn Agora 1991, Autumn Agora 1995 and Autumn Agora 2012 and they still have some stuff from those times, things they are proud of. Of course, they meet with members outside of the office too. “We often meet with our members in bars next to our uni. We have regular social drinks and other events there.” concluded Peter.

AEGEE-Cagliari office

Another that organised an Agora some years ago is AEGEE-Cagliari. The Italian insular local has been in the current office for ten/fifteen years. “It is located in our university, at the Economy department.” said Francesca Zorcolo, President of the local. “We got everything we need in order to work for AEGEE and to receive members or potential ones. Every year the current board add something to the office, as picture collages, t-shirts from their summer university, etc”. Endless days of working in the same enviroment can be extremely tiring, but it can also create some lovely memories as Francesca confirmed: “I think that one of the best memory is when we worked for the Agora and the meeting lasted so long that we had to have dinner with pizza at the office. We were not less than ten and we were really really tired, but still happy and excited”. The walls of an office can be small, so AEGEE-Cagliari tries to find new places for their members’ meeting, going to the beach too.

AEGEE-Enschede office

AEGEE-Enschede is probably the only local owning a pub, the famous Asterion. Right above it, the Dutch local has their office, located in a building called De Pakkerij right in the city center, shared with other three student associations. They have a room where the board usually work with a big table in the middle of the room and five desks with computers for the board members. Next to it they have a meeting room where their committees and external partners are welcomed. There is also a place to chill with few computers for members to work and join the board for lunch or tea or coffee.

Wietske Jousma, President and European Affairs of AEGEE-Enschede, said that “The best feature we have  in our office is our chandelier which was bought by a committee years ago and all this time it has been hanging from our ceiling. However, the previous board thought it was so ugly that they replaced it. One of the members of the committee who bought it insisted it should be back in our office, so we decided this year to give it a new place in the office. Most of the fake diamonds have fallen off the chandelier, but it doesn’t matter. It is back where it belongs!”.

AEGEE-Verona meeting

Not every local is lucky to have an office. This is the case of AEGEE-Verona, located in the north-east of Italy. Refounded in 2013, they hope to have one very soon, meanwhile they meet in a downtown bar called Caffé&Pistacchio. Sara Bottacini, treasurer of AEGEE-Verona, said “It has a basement where we can have some privacy and silence. We have been meeting there since January 2015. It’s nice, there are some sofas and armchairs and it’s located near the university area”. They also meet in university’s classrooms or common areas such as the garden of the canteen. Not having an office also means that they cannot keep memorabilia or AEGEE documents in a common place, but they divide it among the board members.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona