One of the elections that took place in Kyiv was the Mediation Commission. In a twist, four people decided to run on the last minute, but their gamble paid off since they got the trust from the Agora. We asked some questions to know them better. Ana Gancearuc (AEGEE-Chişinău), apart from AEGEE, she likes running, hiking, swimming, photographing, reading and learning new languages. German by adoption, Damien Latacz (AEGEE-Aachen) loves cooking (anything from all over the world), hiking, spending weeks in the mountains during some nice winter treks and eating Ramen. Lisette Kunst from AEGEE-Groningen has an obvious passion for travelling (a common feature in AEGEE), but she also likes horse-riding, spending time with friends, hitchhiking, reading and organising activities for various students’ associations in her city. And lastly, Niels Perriens (AEGEE-Eindhoven) who is running a students’ bar, travels to new places and likes discovering new beers.

Ana Gancearuc (AEGEE-Chişinău)

The AEGEEan: You applied last minute not as a team, but with common goals. Why?

Niels and Ana: None of us planned to apply for MedCom at Agora Kyiv in advance. We all met during the pre-event in Chişinău, and there, proposals and candidatures were discussed. We were very surprised to see there were no candidatures for MedCom and we thought that maybe that’s because people don’t really know what it is and what it does. We knew there are plenty of capable people in AEGEE that could fulfill this task, but apparently they did not apply. Passionate discussions about the MedCom, its tasks, and why noone applied led to a lot of criticism and also ideas, but we knew that was not enough. For these reasons, we decided to take action and run on the last minute, and we will try our best during our mandate to make the MedCom more visible, so at the next fall Agora, people will step up and try to become candidates as well. This whole shared process led to a common motivation and goals. The decision to apply is however a personal one. Presenting ourselves as a team could have given the incorrect idea that we all think alike and that is not the case so far.

During Question time at the Agora, former President of AEGEE-Europe invited delegates not to vote for someone who is not aware of what the Medcom is. How did you take such comment?

Lisette: Although, of course, it stings a bit to receive such comment in front of the Agora, the comment wasn’t what bothered me the most after question time. The thing that frustrated and annoyed me afterwards was that I’d not been able to answer his question 100% correctly. I believe that people who run for a position like this should be capable of showing the Agora that they are fully aware of what they’re signing up for.

Damien Latacz (AEGEE-Aachen)

Despite of trying to make the most of the few hours of preparation after the last-minute candidature, I couldn’t do this and there are no excuses for that. In short, I think that – although he could have made a statement on this in a less direct way – he was right to point out the flaw in my answer and readily available knowledge of the Mediation Commission. Now that I’m elected after all, I take the comment as a good reminder that I need to put in the work to make sure that I have the right knowledge to do a good job in the Commission this year.

Let’s pretend to explain what the Medcom is and what it does to a child. How would you describe your commission to him/her?

Ana: As we all know, we have many locals, bodies and members in AEGEE and even though we all are pro Europeans and fight for our rights, there will always appear small divergences and conflicts between people, or antennae. How does AEGEE solve these issues, who analyses everything and tries to keep up with the procedure? The Mediation Commission, that’s right. These people, who were elected at the Agora, are transparent and visible for the whole organisation and try to keep the harmony within and between locals, bodies and members. We are here to listen to you about any issue you have and need help or a solution in order to make things right and clear.

Lisette: Beside what Ana already mentioned, we are also here to help implement and improve the Data privacy policy to ensure that the data our members give to AEGEE gets handled and protected in a responsible way. If we are called upon, we can also make decisions in cases where an ordinary member doesn’t respect the binding rules of the CIA. In this, we always try to solve conflicts in a friendly way before we consider sanctions.

The implementation of the DPPS is still going on. How would things change for locals and European bodies?

Lisette Kunst (AEGEE-Groningen)

Niels: For European bodies, the usage of and access to information is assessed and fitting Non-Disclosure Agreements are already being signed. The next step is investigating the systems and methods used to make sure the agreements are not violated, even if it happens unintentionally.  Moving things to the new Online Membership System in the future might make things easier in this regard, so it’s important to make sure that this system works in accordance to the DPPS. Locals have a lot of decision power over their handling of their internal confidential information. In most cases, they will do things in certain ways because they have always been done in that way or because it is easy. At no point they will think about privacy issues. We want to change this, not by enforcing rules, but by creating awareness. For example, Non-Disclosure Agreement templates will be created and locals can start using within their members.

What are the three fundamental things that everybody should know about the DPPS?

Damien: First of all, that it exists! The Agora votes it and you can find it in the CIA. It is not some document made for obscure reasons, it’s there to protect us, members. AEGEE is always using more and more online service: cloud storage, online voting, etc, and it is up to us to keep our structure adapted to these new technologies. Secondly, and probably the most important part of the DPPS, is the classification of datas in three different categories: external data (accessible to all), internal data (accessible only to AEGEE members) and internal confidential data (in a way, data which is accessible only to certain members or in some specific circumstances). Making people aware of these categories and how to handle them is also part of our job in the MedCom. And finally, the DPPS applies to AEGEE-Europe, so mostly Bodies are affected by it, it does not change much in the life of an Antenna. But a local can of course decide to follow it as well. This way, it would improve the Data Privacy of our whole network!

Medcom should be super partes and able to solve conflicts, but how much, according to you, members of the commission should be involved in other projects (both on local and European level) to avoid conflict of interest?

Niels Perriens (AEGEE-Eindhoven)

Lisette: We believe that the current CIA standards that Medcom members should not be members of the CD, JC, Audit Commission, Netcom, the Chair Team, boards of Working Groups or Supporting Committees and boards of Antenna or Contact Antenna are enough to ensure basic impartiality. Aside from this, we have an internal unwritten rule that if our own local or a local or European level project that one of us is involved in raises an issue to us, the member involved abstains from voting and discussing, regardless of the nature of the issue.

In an ideal world, Medcom should never be activated. What is your advice to locals and/or members that you have not involved?

Niels: Stick to the rules and keep communicating! That should keep the MedCom from being activated. That being said, we don’t mind getting involved in an early stage in our capacity as mediators, as it might prevent a possible activation later on.

Damien: I fully agree with Niels: communication is key when it comes to avoiding conflicts. Always saying what you think with complete honesty greatly reduces the risk of conflicts. Many cases arise after people misinterpret each other or feel unconsidered. You can also ask MedCom for some advice in case you feel a current situation could evolve into a conflict. We would be happy to help.

Written by Erika Bettin AEGEE-Verona

AEGEE-Kyïv organised the last Agora, their second one after Autumn Agora 2009,  which was a great success, according to the participants who nominated them as Local of the Month for the very first Agora Edition.  Anna “Smailikova” Pykhtina (the Main Coordinator),  Anastasiia “Nastia” Dzhulai (the Treasurer) and Yevgeniya “Zhenya” Gagarkina (the PR Responsible) are sharing with us their most beloved moments from the Agora. 

  The AEGEEan: Congratulations! How do you feel about becoming the Local of the Month? 

Anna: Excited and grateful! We believe that an event is organised on a high level when you receive recognition. Being the Local of the Month proves our efforts one more time.

2. Can you tell us briefly the history of AEGEE-Kyïv?

It was founded 20 years ago, at the time when visa was a really simple thing to get in Ukraine. Here are some memories of the first President of our local, Dmytro Vityk: “In the mid 90’s, Ukrainian students visiting Europe were very rare. The world was just opening up for us. Despite being so close, nobody in Europe even knew anything about Ukraine. We used a Soviet passport – red ones, with the national emblem of USSR. Our scholarships were scarce: for example, I remember how I spent a month of it on a glass of beer in Germany. We were coming to AEGEE meetings hitchhiking, becoming lost in Europe immediately after crossing the border (of course no GPS, and no cell phones were available). We were opening up the world, and the world was opening up to Ukraine. Everything was new, undiscovered. I learned about AEGEE from the local in Lviv – they were ahead and close to the border. I joined the organisation because it gave opportunities to travel, new impressions, contacts and knowledge. I become President because – if not me, then who? I initiated everything in Kyïv at that time”.  The second President, Hanna Glos shares her memories too: “One year we organised the first Travelling Summer University. There were three antennae: Kyïv, Lviv and Mykolaiv. We began in Lviv. There have been 7-8 participants. Because of stereotypes, it was hard to invite people to Ukraine, only the bravest visited us. We visited Crimea also. The next event was a case-study – an important event, we were in Chernobyl where we discussed important topics, and slowly things become better. We had an office in Kyïv-Mohyla Academy and one day we invited all volunteering organisations which we could find and gathered them. We wanted to establish contact with those who were not indifferent to the active life and youth.”

And after that, AEGEE-Kyïv started to grow and having it’s ups and downs, organised more than 200 events, two Agorae, more than ten Summer Universities and we are still counting. 

Which or who were the main assets for the success of the event? 

The team and luck.

We had organisers coming from 22 cities, more than 10 countries and it was an extraordinary Agora. And also we were lucky with the weather, as usually it is much colder on 14th of October, with the start of the heating season, with having hot water, everything that did not depend on us worked out well.

Why did you decide to organise the Agora? Did everything go as expected?

AEGEE-Kyïv is a unique local with extremely active members. Having the experience of organising Agora in 2009, and the friendly relationship between the generations of active AEGEEans made applying just a question of time. It was discussed at many parties, meetings and there were many jokes about it, until Anna applied and didn’t say anything to the members until the result was announced at Autumn Agora Cagliari 2014.

 Tell us about your best memory from the Agora.

Anna: All the Agora is one huge memory, that was one of the best in my life. So much preparation and only four days of real event – realising it was a happy and a sad feeling at the same time. My best memory is connected with the people – I loved our evening meetings with organisers, taking place at 21.30 in our secret room. Everyone was tired, exhausted, wearing grey hoodies and trying not to fall asleep. But after those meetings, discussing the ups and downs of the day, talking about how to fix some issues and planning the next one, I was so inspired and felt so much love, because of the team that all the tiredness was gone. I knew that whatever happened with these superheroes, we were going to be fine.

Nastia: I think I had three main points which became the best moments of the process of Agora Kyïv. 1- Agora Cagliari – when our small team was on the stage smiling and shouting – “We’re hosting the Agora!”. That was an incredible moment when fear and happiness were mixed in one feeling. 2 – Survival Camp- event for organisers outside the city. It was awesome! We were staying together and enjoying the light, warm summer atmosphere with the closest people for two days. That moment I really understood that the Agora will succeed. 3 – Awkward party during the Agora. I saw happy faces from the stage, the participants were super excited and amazed by that party and I was really glad to see them like that – young and awkward, beautiful and crazy. 

Zhenya: First of all – more than 850 applications! It is really an important achievement. Then the challenges to get more likes for our Facebook page, we got really crazy in our commitment, in a fun way of course, then the moment when we finally got all the printed materials. Also I really liked the short and bright opening ceremony. The moment when it started with the video from Asturias was very touching for me as it reminded me about all the work done by #brilliantPRteam [she laughs, ed.] and opening fancy party was my favourite as well. Last but not least is the closing ceremony with me elected as SUCT member, Anna’s speech and the awesome official aftermovie. To sum it up – I liked literally everything. 

What would you recommend to other antennas which are interested in organising an Agora?

Dare to do it! In case you have a group of 7-10 motivated members ready to stand till the end, you are able to organize even the Olimpic games. We did not have sponsors and support from the university when we applied, neither did we know about the future situation in Ukraine, but we were believed in and the idea of more than 500 Europeans coming to Kyïv was so inspiring that we did everything we could and even more.

Which are AEGEE- Kyïv future plans, local or European?

We are organising a Winter Event with AEGEE-Moskva once again. It was a very successful event last year, both for participants and organisers, breaking a lot of stereotypes and strengthening relations between our locals. And in this time we believe that it’s really important to do it again and continue the tradition of celebrating New Year 13 times (12 according to Russian time, 1 Ukrainian time) and traditional Orthodox Christmas in Kyïv.

We are also excited about our plans with our beloved twin local, AEGEE-Dresden, as we are inviting them to Kyïv and planning to see each other in Europe. A Summer University is also in our plans and who knows how else we are going to surprise you?

How would you describe your antenna in one sentence?

#Don’tmesswithKyïv

Written by Gabriela Cioata, AEGEE-București

If you attended Autumn Agora Kyïv, for sure you didn’t miss the moment when Florian Hauger, a delegate from AEGEE-Heidelberg, stepped on stage presenting a position paper regarding the Refugee Crisis. Despite the fact that the Agora decided not to adopt the paper, citing the little time given to discuss it, Florian and the German local stuck up for their opinion. At his first Agora, Florian was very active in giving his contribution to our statutory event and that hasn’t passed unnoticed since he was one of the nominees for the Member of the Month.

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself!

Florian: I joined AEGEE about half a year ago and just became Secretary General of AEGEE-Heidelberg. Representing my antenna during Autumn Agora Kyiv 2015 as a delegate, I proposed our Position Paper “Facing the Challenge in Unity – Joint Solutions of Europe’s latest Refugee Crisis”

Why did you decide to present a statement regarding refugees?

Europe‘s latest refugee crisis and the wider migration are clearly very complex and they both require joint solutions; the unequal empathy among the Member States revealed a serious lack of cooperativeness in Europe.

In my opinion, AEGEE should consider the highest number of people fleeing since the end of World War II, as a challenge to be faced in unity. As one of the biggest and most influential European Youth Organisations, I consider it to be kind of embarrassing not to have an official opinion about the most important topic of our time yet.

Was it a statement or a position paper?

It was a position paper. After we failed the majority, Chair and Juridical Commission kindly agreed to accept it, at least, as an official statement of AEGEE-Heidelberg.

Why do you think people rejected it, but yet chose the same topic as European Planning Meeting (EPM) topic?

As we supported each other, I’m very happy about Romy Cartiere’s (AEGEE-Amsterdam) proposal getting adopted for Leiden 2016. She did a great job! Maybe the EPM will be the right forum to reorganise our supporters to prepare a viable position paper for Spring Agora Bergamo 2016.

What is the major point of your paper?

Revealing the unequal empathy for refugees among the Member States as a serious lack of cooperativeness in the European Union, the proposal demanded a general distribution of the Refugees in Europe among the Member States after taking into account both population and economic strength of these countries. Furthermore, we argued, that AEGEE needs to take action for the refugees. Honouring our humanitarian traditions, we have to do our best to help these people.

Would you present it again?

YES! Keeping our proposal as interactive as possible, we’re going to reorganise all supporters during the next months and open the document for external input of other antennae. AEGEE-Heidelberg is definitely going to retry getting “Facing the Challenge in Unity 2.0” to be adopted in Bergamo 2016. Everyone who is interested in joining us, please feel free to contact me at florian.hauger@aegee-heidelberg.de.

Why do you think AEGEE needs to speak about this topic?

Honouring our humanitarian values, AEGEE-Europe needs to realise the collective responsibility to embrace and protect people fleeing from religious or political persecution, war, dictatorship and oppression. It is our moral obligation to care about these people. I repeat that I consider it to be embarrassing not to have an official opinion on this yet.

In my opinion, the Comité Directeur should use its formal access to the European Institutions to promote joint solutions and the urgent need of reforms instead of focussing on statutory stuff that no one cares about. People are suffering and winter is coming! We need to enforce joint European solutions, and of course, we need to help.

What do you think our impact as an association on this topic could be?

I think the key to help the refugees will be the local work. After I failed to get our proposal ratified by the Agora, many participants mailed me asking about what to do now. Especially antennae focused on Erasmus work do have an ideal infrastructure, involving refugees in language cafés, workshops, parties or other events. Our local work provides with the perfect conditions for a successful integration.

To aquire long-term solutions at the European level, we need to send a strong message from EPM Leiden 2016. AEGEE-Europe could be far more influential by using its access to the decision makers in Brussels!

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

For the first time, we collected nominations for Local and Member of the Month during the Autumn Agora Kyïv Fair. We received a lot of nominations and, after some consideration, we elected our Member of the Month (MOM) – Agora Edition. The recipient turned out to be Philipp Blum from AEGEE-Aachen, who is also the newly elected IT and Publication Responsible of the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT). We asked him some questions to get to know him better. 

The AEGEEan: Philipp, please introduce yourself!

Philipp: Always a kid, sometimes serious. I’m 24 and doing too much for AEGEE. Full of sarcasm and inappropriate jokes (but I was forbidden to use in this interview): being politically correct is not my style.

How does it feel to be nominated MOM – Agora Edition?

Amazing! It was an amazing Agora for me, where I think I was very active and visible, but I didn’t expect this. Motivation for even more to come (he smiles, ed].)?

Who do you think nominated you?

What about you, Eri?

You were President of AEGEE-Aachen. How was the experience of running the local?

It’s been an amazing year, in which I learned a lot and had a lot of great feedback from my fellow board members. It’s definitely a great feeling to lead and not to follow. In the beginning, I was not sure how the fellow board members and I would handle the situation, because most of us had been in the board already, which meant a change in the hierarchy. Luckily, this went very well and we had great times together. Towards the end, there was a very tiring period where my head was constantly full of dates and checklists. A lot of tasks were concentrating at the same time, we had meetings almost daily and we had troubles finding people for a new board. All in all, it was a bit hard to let go in the end, because it was an awesome year.

What is the best memory you have about being President?

When I first met our Summer University participants, I was actually celebrating a good friend’s birthday in a pub, and they by chance came to the same bar. The responsible was like “and this is our President” and everyone came and said hi to me and we had a great night. That was a very happy moment for me and I think it finally made me realise what it’s like to be a President.

This year you were Creative Director of Key to Europe. Tell us more about your job and how the final product turned out?

That was a great experience. I was very happy to work together with Vincent Bass (AEGEE-Enschede), Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Verona) and others in the team which made it acceptable even if at 2am all your files seem corrupted. When in Kyïv, I couldn’t wait to see it and I think I was just looking through it for two hours. The colours really looked gorgeous, and I am very happy with it.

Why did you decide to apply for such a position?

When I saw the previous Key to Europe, I knew that I didn’t want pixelated images to happen again. This, combined with the fact that I planned to quit the board and would have time, was basically it.

During the Agora you were elected in the SUCT and for one year you will cover the position of IT and Publication Responsible. How did you prepare for the role?

I bought a handbook “PHP for dummies”, so I think I will be able to manage the website (he smiles, ed.). No, to be honest, I am doing freelance web development, I did my Bachelor project in PHP and study computer science. I enjoy it, and I am confident I can manage the website. As for the other task: I often have to order materials for our local, and I know what it’s like to have a deadline for those, because otherwise they are just not around. After working for the Key to Europe I became confident enough to apply for the position of Publication Responsible for such a big project.

You have already started your term with a team meeting in Bruxelles. How are the vibes so far?

That was a really short-term idea, and I am really happy it worked out. I didn’t know Yevgeniya Gagarina (AEGEE-Kyïv) and Carolina Alfano (AEGEE-Salerno) at all, so I was very curious how it is going to be working together. Until now, it’s awesome. It’s only the beginning of November, and it feels like we already did quite a few things. But in the big picture, I see that we have a lot of work ahead, and I am happy we started early.

Seven candidates and four positions and yet you smashed it, receiving the impressive number of 233 votes out of 260 available. How thin is the air up there?

I went trekking in Nepal two years ago so I am used to it.

Always smiling and in a good mood and energetic. This was one of the reasons why you were nominated. What is your secret?

I drink champagne for breakfast, my motto is “Why not?”, and I am pretty much an optimist. Mostly, there is no reason why you should believe something will not work, so believe it will.

Last but not least, let’s play a little game. Explain you and your personality using the letters that compose your name (I.e. P as Pacifist, H as hilarious, I as iconic).

Perfect

Humble

Intelligent

Lazy

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Loes Rutten’s proposal for Autumn Agora Kyïv “Breaking language barriers”  is an educational topic that affects young people all over Europe. Language can be a rock barrier for communication and, therefore, for education as well.

Asked how she came up with the idea of “Breaking language barriers: Accessibility of youth opportunities starts with a common language” as a topic for EPM, she replied: “During my Erasmus in Bologna, I was startled by the low level of English of both fellow Erasmus students and many of the Italian students I met. I naively assumed that the level of English of young people in Europe is similar to the English of AEGEEans, but we must be aware that AEGEEans generally are already confident in English when they join AEGEE and they are not representative for the whole European youth. Some of the Italian students I spoke to, said they would like to go on Erasmus too, but their choice of universities was very limited because their level of English was not higher than B1. It made me realise that the difference in level of English among European youth leads to a division between mobile and immobile youth. As a member of ACT, I am well aware of the focus areas in our strategic plan, and I realised that a certain level of confidence in English is a prerequisite to profit from youth opportunities that already exist. As AEGEEans we try to prevent the emergence of a ‘lost generation’. I believe that as AEGEEans, it is our responsibility to include all young Europeans in the scope of our activities. ”

 The young people from the AEGEE community all over Europe know English as a second language as they are always using it in writing reports for AEGEE Europe, reading the AEGEEan or mostly by participating to European events.  Loes believes that we should all speak from our own experience about the times we encounter this language barrier and combine our knowledge in order to define the real problem: “AEGEEans can contribute by sharing their knowledge and opinions on didactics. In what way is English taught in different countries: is it interactive or passive, is it focussed on grammar, listening and/or communication? Which didactics do we believe to be the most successful? We can also discuss what initiatives we can think of to provide students with opportunities to practice English. Think of language tandems with Erasmus students, ‘language courses’ as international events, the more ideas the merrier! By combining our knowledge, we can create a clear picture of the average level of English of youth in different European countries, as well as an understanding of successful (and unsuccessful) didactics. We could share this information with shareholders (schools, universities) so that they know how to improve their English education. Moreover, we can improve the situation by starting a lobby to raise awareness for the need of a ‘European standard’ of English on a European scale, while coming up with activities through which members and outsiders can practice English on a local scale”

Loes was considering the possibility of initiating a lobby towards the European Union urging a ‘European standard’ for the level of English of students all over Europe, but, of course, this will depend on the reactions of the topic during the Agora. She will be quite busy in the future year as ACTie and maybe Network Commission, the latter depending on the election, and will not be able to assume the role of Content Manager, but she is quite confident that the matter will intrige people who will want to break the language barriers.

Written by Gabriela Cioata, AEGEE-Bucuresti

Yevgeniya Gagarkina is a 20 years old girl from AEGEE-Kyïv running for the position of PR responsible in the  Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT), who is “ready to work both on external and internal PR, and to help all the SUCT with challenging job that we will set up for ourselves.”

The AEGEEan: Hey there, Yevgeniya! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Yevgeniya: So I am a young, optimistic and determined girl, who enjoys life and what she is doing. I like playing beach volleyball, sending postcards, watching movies and communicating with different people. Marketing and Bbusiness Management is my major in one of the best Ukrainian universities, my home country is Ukraine, and I am proud of it! Also I am waiting for the bravest AEGEEans, who will discover our capital during #AutumnAgoraKyiv2015 soon [she smiles, ed.].

 You are a last-minute candidate for the SU Coordination Team! What made you decide to run for it?

Well, I’ve been thinking of candidating for this position for quite a long time, but I was not 100% sure since I had another opportunity which would take a lot of my time. I was sure that I couldn’t combine both of them, so once things became as they are now, I decided that it is destiny and the right decision and I shouldn’t wait any longer.

You’ve mentioned in your application that “I know how to make every summer unforgettable”. Which are your tricks?

The point is that summer is the only time when I feel completely free to be myself, even if I have some work. I am a thrill-seeker, so every summer is very different through the places I visit, the things I do, people I spend my time with, the emotions I get. One thing I know for sure: summer cannot be that bright without Summer University!

What is your AEGEE experience on the field on Summer University Coordination?

In 2014 I became a helper on AEGEE-Kyïv’s TSU “RadioACTIVE”, right after participating in the amazing AEGEE-Ljubljana and AEGEE-Udine TSU ‘Cultures beyond the border’. After being a participant I knew how I would like to organise this kind of event, which definitely had an influenced on me during “RadioACTIVE”. This year I went further and was one of the organisers of TSU “Across the UAniverse” from the very beginning.

What do you consider to be your pros and cons in the professional field?

My main benefit is that I do this, because I am really interested in PR and marketing in general. I have not only fundamental theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills and different related experience – and I keep on enlarging it. The main con might be the fact that sometimes I have too many ideas and I want to make all them come true, which means that I take too much responsibility.

Which was the best Summer University you organised and why? Tell us a great memory you have from it.

Well, honestly, I’ve been an organiser of only one SU – TSU of all Ukrainian antennas “Across the UAniverse”. Anyway it is worth to name it “the best one”! [she smiles, ed] I enjoyed the mood of the participants, they were really curious not only about what is going on in this country, but also about our culture, traditions and habits. One of the greatest memories is kayaking on the Dniester river – it was so hard, but so much fun! And then we stayed all night on the river bank, enjoying the great atmosphere, listening to traditional songs – unexpected performance from local citizen, eating food cooked by us and of course feeling the AEGEE-spirit.

What is going be the most important part of the application form for next year? How do you propose to fix it?

In my opinion the Summer University is not the same as the Erasmus+ program, so questions and information asked there are relevant, and not worthless. The exact questions that you ask can’t be solved only by me, and surely have to be discussed with the whole coordination team, but I don’t think that application form won’t be essential this year. Also I’d love to conduct some surveys among SUs organisers, and maybe among the  participants so that we can get the feedback and know better, what exactly was worthless, what needs to be added, opinions on privacy issue and how to improve the form.

Written by Gabriela Cioata, AEGEE-Bucuresti

Another proposal for the EPM is coming from Andrea Ugrinoska & Maarten de Groot who want to focus on three major questions regarding the future of the university: “1. What were the causes of the different student protests that have emerged in European university cities over the last one or two years and how did the protests come to an end (or not)? 2. What are the underlying fundamental questions about the organization of university education and the role of the university in society that these protests have called attention to? 3. What can and what should students do to make their voices heard? ”

Andrea and Maarten are interested in the topic as they both live in cities where protests about the university have taken place, respectively Skopje and Amsterdam. Although the reason of the protests is slightly different, they consider that at the roots of the protests stands the purpose of education in general and that every student should be interested in understanding what they are fighting about. The success or failure of the protests depends on the support and involvement of everyone, nationally as well as internationally. The main purpose of the event would be to inform the European young citizens exactly what’s going on and not to get negatively influenced by the mass-media.

Asked how they think AEGEE can improve the situation, they replied: “As Europe’s largest interdisciplinary student association, we believe that AEGEE doesn’t only have the responsibility, but also the potential to make a difference here. The difference to be made should not only be sought in the direction of (European-level) advocacy. We can and we must be more creative and innovative than that. We should realize, first of all, that awareness-raising among our own members and among the general public is key to any open discussion and, as such, to societal change. As both our generation and our association is known for its ‘connectedness’, we’d better make sure to exploit this to the fullest and target the public through a variety of (social media) campaigns and activities. ”

AEGEEans all over Europe, as a large community of young people can have a great impact on the perspective of others around them, not only colleagues from their universities, but also family and friends:

“Each and every one of us can tell about his or her own experiences at home, share personal viewpoints and learn from one another and from fellow activist students. It is in the exchange of stories from students from very diverse social, cultural, national and educational backgrounds that resides the almost unique value that AEGEEans can collectively add to the discussion on the future of university education.”

If the topic will be accepted at the Agora, both Andrea and Maarten are willing to be Content Manager of the event.

Written by Gabriela Cioata, AEGEE-Bucuresti

You can read the full proposal here (login required).

Along with the interviews for the candidates applying for the opened positions at Autumn Agora Kyiv 2015, the AEGEEan has taken some time to simplify for the readers the proposals for the European events topics. The one we will focus on here is the one from Romy Cartiere which is a very present-day topic, regarding the Syrian refugees in Europe.

Being a contemporary topic worldwide, opinions regarding the resolution of the crisis are divided. Romy revealed for the AEGEEan that it was the mass-media which inspired him in choosing this topic, in order to make a European event out of it and change the perspective of “we vs. the rest” that the mass-media provides.

Organising a major European event would mean that the participating young people are aware off the massive migration and are willing to help them, not fear or reject them, as Romy Cartiere declared: “Obviously the refugee crisis can’t be ignored by AEGEE, especially since the greater part of the refugees is very young. The refugees who get asylum are our new European youth. A feeling of being ignored can affect young refugees in a negative way, while they could contribute greatly to our society, if given a chance. Therefore, I thought it would be important to discuss the topic on a great scale (as is the subject too). At the moment I wrote the proposal for the topic, there wasn’t much attention regarding the crisis. This changed quickly however, with even a section about refugees in the preface by the President in the Agora booklet! I am glad to see this and I have confidence that the Agora will greatly support such a significant topic.”

Nevertheless, Romy is conscious that AEGEE can’t provide the solution for the refugee crisis, but focuses on the information of the young generation through AEGEE, for them to be able to realize exactly what’s going on, what are the challenges, how can the matter affect all of us and what can we do.

Asked how she thinks AEGEE can improve the situation, Romy answered: “Firstly, I hope that the debates will result in an increased interest of AEGEEans in the matter. Secondly, I would like to see an increase in knowledge on the matter, through self study or training courses. At last I wish to see AEGEEans take action, because no matter how we put it, the consequences of the wars in our proximity are closer than ever, and this is our chance to help.”

She is more than willing to take the role of the Content Manager, as she considers the subject to be of great importance not only for AEGEE, but as well for all European citizens.

Written by Gabriela Cioata, AEGEE-Bucuresti

You can read the full proposal here (login required).

23 years old Lavinia Țole is an AEGEE enthusiastic girl from AEGEE-București who aims to take one of the six free spots in the Network Commission. She joined AEGEE in 2013, and after six months as Tekla Hajdu’s Subcommissioner, she is ready to take up the job. We asked some questions to get to know more about her and her program.

The AEGEEan: Please, introduce yourself to the Network.

Lavinia: Hello AEGEEans from all over the Network, I’m Lavinia Țole and I have been a member of AEGEE-București for almost three years now. Like most of the AEGEE members, I love to travel, meet new people, listening to their stories and I’m always up for new challenges.

Sometimes, I like to live the moment and do crazy adventurous things, like couchsurfing after buying tickets for a last-minute trip, but when I commit to a project I believe in, I give my best and I don’t hesitate to put all my time and energy into it.

Why did you decide to run for the position of Network Commissioner?

As I’ve already stated in my application, running for the Network Commission seemed like the next natural step in my AEGEE life. Being a Subcommie also contributed a lot to my decision, because after my term I had a clearer idea about how the Network Commission works, about the struggles, but also about the rewarding experience of this position.

Moreover, this is the last year I can dedicate so much of my time to AEGEE and I want to make the most of it, by sharing my knowledge with the locals and by offering my support in every aspect concerning the development of the antennas and the cooperation within the Network.

How do you think that your term as Subcommie prepared you to be Netcom?

Since I already got to know and interacted with members of the local boards in our area as a Subcommie, I know how antennas deal with the Antenna Criteria and what problems they sometimes encounter. Having a clear image about how things work and where we stand, makes me feel more confident in applying for the Network Commission.

In your candidature you stated that you want to continue the work of Brigitta and Tekla. What do you think are the issues of that area? and what are the strengths?

Well, I think the situation of the locals in our area is very diverse: there are some very strong locals, but also newer and weaker antennas with different needs and the Network Commissioner has to develop a program that supports all of them, which is not always easy. The strengths also lay in this diversity: we can learn a lot from each other’s best practices (like Czechoslovakian weekend, the collaboration between the Romanian and the Moldovan locals, etc.). But I believe the antennas shouldn’t stick only to each other; locals should be able to learn from the whole Network and that’s why I’d like to facilitate the cooperation and knowledge transfer among them.

In your program you didn’t mention ACT or Strategic Plan. How much do you think it is important for locals to know it and to develop activities accordingly?

Without any doubt, every local should be aware of the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda. Not only because organising events that contribute to the Strategic Plan is one of the Antenna Criteria, but also because each local should know in which direction AEGEE is heading. Moreover, the objectives to focus on, stated in the Action Agenda, can come in handy when locals have difficulties in implementing the Strategic Plan into their projects.

That’s why, during my term, I’d like to put more emphasis on educating locals about the Strategic Plan and Action Agenda.

You stated “I support the direction the Comité Directeur is planning to go”. Which direction exactly? In which field? And how will you explain it to the Network?

This summer, I read the Activity Plan for 2015-2016 developed by Comité Directeur and I want to spread the message about their initiatives and to bring my contribution to the growth of AEGEE. For example, I liked that they brought the organisational culture of AEGEE and the need to improve the education of members on fundraising possibilities in discussion. I believe Network Meetings are a great opportunity to work on these aspects. Also, ensuring a good quality and impact of Network Meetings and developing a good strategy to strengthen the connection between locals was another subject that caught my attention, and as a Netcom I could definitely help to achieve this goal.

Why do you think people should vote for you?

I consider I have that “AEGEEness”, the ability to stay optimistic and to have fun while working hard on goals I believe in. And I do believe in a stronger connection and collaboration between antennas. Furthermore, I have the energy and the enthusiasm to be the bridge between the Comité Directeur and the locals and to bring my contribution to the stability of the Network.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

You can read her full candidature here.

Today, The AEGEEan is meeting another enthusiastic member, who is running for the position of Network Commissioner: Malwina Zielińska (AEGEE-Torun). Malwina had a chat with us regarding the attributes that, according to her, a netcommie should have.

The AEGEEan: Who is Malwina Zielińska?

Malwina: I would say that Malwina is a girl full of energy, who is not afraid of challenges. In addition, she never gives up and puts a lot of effort in what she does. She loves meeting new people and hates sitting in one place.

When did you join AEGEE and why?

Officially I joined AEGEE on 09.11.2012. This was three weeks after I started college. I wanted to develop Public Relations theory and meet new people. When I decided to join AEGEE I did not think it would be the best decision of my life. In this network, I did not only meet real friends but also people who are motivated to believe in you and want you to grow. Here, everyone believes in another human being. It’s wonderful!

What is your experience in our network?

At first I was a member then I was the public relations responsible and this year I was president of my antenna. It was a very difficult term, because the antenna was in crisis, however, it managed to stave off. Moreover, I went to all Network Meetings (NWMs) in which I took an active part and I was also a delegate at the Agora in Patra. Undoubtedly, the most connected event with my studies was the participation in the PR School, where I met many wonderful AEGEEans from all over Europe.

Define the role of the Network Commission in your own words.

Supervise and support an antenna but also motivate, help and believe in the possibility of the AEGEEans.

Which attributes should a Network Commissioner have?

A Network Commissioner should be:
friendly
outgoing
communicative
a good listener
be able to respond quickly
share his/her experience
helping
honest
but also should be able to plan and seek help in every possible place for him.
Last but not least is that he/she should believe and motivate AEGEE members.

Do you really see yourself in this role?

Yes [she smiles, ed.]

If you were elected, what would your programme as a netcommie be?

I would like to continue the development of the Network Meeting-format in a way that they answer local needs in the most efficient way and bring benefit to the Network, but also continuing  what was started by my precursor. I would like to create a strong team of subcommies so that they will be more empowered and prepared for further work in the Network Commission. I would give advice in the areas of IT, PR, HR and FR to help the locals develop in those fields. I would like to supervise the quality of the implementation of Local Training Course (LTCs) by the antennae in the area. I would like to put a special accent on recruitment of new members by creating a recruitment plan and put a greater focus on knowledge transfer between the boards of locals, by creating more possibilities for dialogue and exchange of best practises between them. I would be in regular contact with representatives of the locals and also visit each antenna in my part of the Network and meet them face to face to see how they work and in which parts you can still help them. But most of all, I would like to create a fair and friendly atmosphere, because I believe that only people who like to be with each other are 100% honest [ she smiles, ed.]. To reach this last purpose, the creation of a method to exchange information within locals is important, follow closely and help young and small antennae to strengthen their full potential, foster collaboration beetween antennae, essencially between strong or expericed and weak or new ones for the creation of common initiatives and projects.

Written by Larisa Smajlagic, AEGEE-Verona

You can read her full candidature here.