On the weekend from the 7th to the 10th of May the main event of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of AEGEE was held in Brussels. During three days, 70 members of the association gathered to celebrate various events. It all began on Thursday, when they were guided by members of the local antenna, AEGEE-Bruxelles/Brussels, around the city center. The visit included a stop by the Grand Place and the Manneken Pis.

On Friday morning the most formal part of the event took place, visiting the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and having talks with representatives of other European institutions and organisations, including the European Youth Forum, Euractiv, the Association of Friends of Franck Biancheri or OBESSU (Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions) among others, and with the participation of MEPs. Proposals were discussed and voted in the areas of European integration, democratic innovation and non-formal education and mobility. The document prepared serves as a guide for future actions of AEGEE. In the afternoon there was a visit to the Parlamentarium (the visitors’ centre of the European Parliament), and to the Museum of the European Union next to the European Parliament.

Saturday and Sunday sessions were held at the Cervantes Institute in Brussels. This time they were more oriented to reflect on the history of AEGEE, its identity, its achievements, its present and its future challenges. Amongst the participants were also members of the Comité Directeur (CD) of AEGEE-Europe, and also members of Les Anciens, the Alumni network of AEGEE, with whom interesting experiences were exchanged. Other topics discussed were the concept of an European Republic, a better link with Les Anciens or multilingualism, which is set as a priority by the European Commission for the upcoming years. French was recently abolished as operational language of the association mainly for practical reasons, but that does not mean that there will have to be a step back in the field of multilingualism.

In the evening hours the participants, members of locals from Lisbon to Baku, could taste typical Belgian fries, its chocolate or waffles, and participate in typical Brussels celebrations and fairs. It is to be noticed that Saturday 9th was the EU Day, with a lot of events all around the city. On Sunday afternoon many participants could discover that Brussels, the “heart” of Europe, is a city of an international atmosphere, institutions, lobbying and networking.

In short, a dignified celebration for an association with European values and ancient past, exciting present and promising future.

Written by Ferran Arruebo, AEGEE-Barcelona

From 6th to 8th of March  around 70 AEGEEans and alumni gathered in Paris for the “Back to the roots” event. The event commemorated the 30 years of AEGEE and has coincided with the Meeting of the Friends of Franck Biancheri Association (AAFB) Network and the 15th anniversary of Newropeans. AEGEE-Paris, the AAFB and the Newropeans network were the organisers.

Under the title “Europe in crisis, Erasmus generation towards a democratic alliance” the central conference was held in the Salon de l’Aveyron, in Paris Bercy, on Sunday. This is the second Franck Biancheri event in AEGEE. The first one was held by AEGEE-Delft in December 2014, and the idea is to organise an event every year. For that, the AAFB gives support, both economically and logistically, to one antenna each year.

On Friday the members of AEGEE and Les Anciens coming from all around Europe enjoyed a city tour around Montmartre, the neighbourhood where they were hosted in a hostel, and a suggestive European night in the centre of Paris.

On Saturday the participants were divided into groups and had workshops which helped them to prepare for the presentation of their ideas in the Sunday conference. The seven themes were: Europe of Energy, Europe of Defense, Fiscal Europe, Europe of the Euro, Social Europe, Europe of the Media, and Political Europe. The main findings are being assembled in a document.

The event counted with the presence of the President of the AAFB, Marie-Helène Caillol, Alexandra Kluczka (vice-president of AEGEE Europe) and other CD members, the Italian MEP Brando Benifei, the State Secretary to European Affairs of Portugal Bruno Maçaes, politicians, journalists, more people from the Franck Biancheri Networks, the President of AEGEE-Paris Hana Hudak and Léa Charlet (AEGEE-Paris) as the main organiser. Debates were held with participation from approximately 150 people from the audience. The participants had fun and the opportunity to visit Paris, but most of all, they returned home full of ideas and motivation for future projects.

Frank Biancheri was the main founder of AEGEE. He was only 24 back in 1985, when the first EGEE conference took place in Paris. He was one of the persons who lobbied most for the creation of the Erasmus Programme and also founder of the first transnational European Party, Newropeans, in 2000. There are more events coming up this year commemorating the 30 years of AEGEE, with the “revival” of the Night of the Seven Antennae in April in Aachen, Bergamo, Catania, Eskisehir, Kyiv, Leiden, and Sofia and the main conference in Brussels in May as the central ones.

Written by Ferran Arruebo, AEGEE-Barcelona

Pictures by Márton Demeter, Ferran Arruebo and Philippe Portalier