Monday afternoon, the first class of the week is over. Lauren leaves the lecture hall and crosses the street to another university building. She’s excited, because today she will pick up her first vegetable bag. Like hundreds of students in Antwerpen and other cities, she can’t wait to discover what vegetables will be on the table this week. Will it be celeriac or spring onions, turnips or carrots? But she’s sure of one thing: they will be fresh, locally grown, seasonal, and organic. And they will be cheap.

Three months earlier. It’s the beginning of winter and Lauren has just arrived home from university. After what seemed to be an endless bike trip through the cold wind, she’s happy to finally be inside. She puts a ready-made pasta dish with fine beans and fresh tomatoes in the microwave, takes out the trash for tomorrow’s pick-up round, and settles on the couch with her steaming dinner.

Surfing through the channels on TV, her attention is caught by a topic on the 7 o’clock news about the new minister of Migration addressing the issue of winter shelters in the city. Something I might be able to use in our debate on social inclusion later this week, Lauren thinks.

While forking through her pasta, she continues to follow the news as the cameras move to Kenya where food is once again getting scarce. According to one of the villagers being interviewed, his entire harvest of fine beans is being shipped away at a low price, leaving him not enough money to feed his growing family. Lauren is about to move on to another channel for her favourite series, when the penny drops…

The AEGEEan journalist Liliya Buyukliyska was again in front of the familiar door at Rue du Noyer 55. The house is described as with AEGEE spirit everywhere – from the stickers to the charm of the office.  During the dinner talks about musical festivals and shower troubles it is visible that those people are more than a family and enjoy it to the biggest extent possible. In the interview The AEGEEan discovered why the seven CD members have the motivation to continue one more year. 

The AEGEEan: Describe each other! How do you see other members of the team?

Anna Gots is lovely, money, hardworking, dreamer, singing outloud, administration. Miguel Gallardo Albajar addings that ‘you easily see when she is not in the office, cause you always miss the music when she is not there’

‘Our biggest achievement as CD this year was to go for something better’

Miguel Gallardo Albajar according to the others is: comfort, a team player, le chef, hugs, idealist, broken bones, and a supporter.

Luis Alvardo Martinez: no belt, never-ending e-mails, never-ending ideas of projects, bloody tiger, leader, pushy, and “one of us”.

Beata Matuszka: broken bones, lady, working at night, coffee, Irish, and focused.

Kathrin Renner: clumsy, dangerous, idealist, grammar nazi, perfectionist, fan, party, pumpkin, good roommate, and seller.

Pavel Zbornik: humble, IT, builder, money, structures, super-duper skilled and smart, engineer, BEER, and swiss-army knife.

Lucille Rieux: Feta, guitar, ‘Close the door’, people, eyes, organised, keep in mind, hardworking, French, Cheese, and dry tomatoes.

Was it the EBM where you decided to re-candidate and did you make the decision individually or together?

Lucille: We were thinking about it long time before that. We were sharing the idea since we are always together in the office.

Kathrin: We took the decision individually but all of us depending of what the other has decided.

Miguel: I don’t think that any of us would have done it if we were the only ones to consider it. But once we saw  what the others want to do it was much easier to decide.

The thing that helps a lot is that we have a common vision, we share a lot of ideas.

So for each of you it was playing a role that you are going to do it together?

YES!!!

For four of you there is still the question what is going to happen. Are you all going to enjoy the next year irrespective of whom you are going to spend it with or it’s more connected to the group spirit? Is the team already built up?

Miguel: When we were candidating we knew that there was this possibility and we played with that. We were taking into account that it’s democracy. So if it’s not all of us but one or two extra people we would do as much as possible to make him/her part of the team, of course.

Is your re-candidating somehow connected to the AEGEE-Identity project?

Lucille: Well, it’s not directly but it’s true that if we stay it will be good to make the follow up. But it’s one initiative among many.

Miguel: We made our activity plan that was maybe too ambitious – for some, we just put too many things in it but for others – they were not possible to achieve in one year. Some of you need a lot of time.

And after all this time in the CD, did you find what is the AEGEE identity like for you?

Luis: It is in our activity plan that we launch at the beginning of September we did the identity process

We want to see AEGEE as platform that inspires young people, training and developing them

that we ask the Network to complete themselves. So we already stated the ideal AEGEE that we want to see for ourselves. We want to see a platform that inspires young people, training and developing them. And also cultural exchange but seen mostly not as a main focus  but rather as a tool or a side effect.  So a platform which uses all its potentials.

Kathrin: And a platform, which creates European citizens.

And if you are going to be re-elected is it going to have some position or task changes?

Luis: We have discussed this. The positions would stay the same as well as most of the tasks but we will have a task re-distribution in order to keep us motivated and to change some tasks and try some new things.

Lucille: Well, soon we would have new employed people in the house for the first time. So, we are going to re-distribute some of the secretariat tasks. Some are from the LLL Project but some others are administrative tasks. Also with Anna  – she is already helping a lot with administration work, so basically we already share. Actually in this team even if each of us has assigned task we do a lot of things together as a team and there are a lot of common initiatives over which we work all together. So it’s not just doing one thing and that’s what I like a lot this year.

Luis: Yeah, It’s not really many-many individual tasks but we have a lot of team tasks.

What is your biggest achievement in AEGEE? Some of you had this question last year but for sure now the answer has changed.            

Our common biggest achievement is moving house

Anna: Well, our common biggest achievement is moving the house, for sure. Besides our PC works, staying in front of the computer and setting all the meetings, this was actually a very big achievement.

Miguel: We are also now,  for the first time, involved in many Life-Long learning programmes that we knew AEGEE before was not involved in. For some of them we have been small partners but we get now our big role. We have applied for things that we have never applied for before as AEGEE.

Luis: Our biggest achievement as CD this year was to go for something better. We have seen that this organisation was stuck or not stuck but staying in its comfort zone for many-many years as doing the same thing every year and a bit scared to try new things out. And this year, we have tried a lot of things – new things. And a lot of them went well, so it is visible for the Network. We have tried new things, apply for new funding, offer new house, organise new projects. Of course, when you expand your comfort zone and try to do different things, the organisation moves. Breaking up this bubble, which we were in before and also making the Network join our initiatives and contributing. I think that’s one of the biggest successes.

Beata: Actually you could not say one big thing. I remember when this question was asked to me last year it was easier to answer at that time. But now we have expanded our limits, we tried new things, challenging ourselves every day…So, you could not really pick one as the biggest, because everything is a big achievement here.  The biggest actually is us enjoying what we are doing and always trying to pass this energy and motivation on to the whole network and to move the network itself.

Kathrin: For me, first of all it’s the EBM and we actually asked our members what they wanted to see and we had recommendations that came directly from our members which we haven’t seen in the past. The impact management – now is still in the  early stage

There is still such a long way to go, things to learn and grow.

but it is going to bring a big change. And also the fact that we are running again for office is also a pretty big achievement, because it shows that even after half a year , we know all the problems but also all the benefits and potentials, we are still motivated and inspired to do another year and it’s also a pretty big achievement.

Pavel (even though he needed some encouragement – it must be put down to the fact that he is humble): Well, the moving of the house’s infrastructure was challenging for sure (never remind him of the 1 km-long  cables he had to move). So finally with the help of the rest of the team, we found out that maybe, the fact that he has applied for 700 000 euro could be his biggest achievement. Even though the new website, the SU 25 booklet, new blog, etc. could be also among the many successful stories on the list. But still for Pavel – improving the communication channels like making people more informed what is happening in AEGEE. I think this is my achievement. We are trying to broadcast the information directly to the members. Increasing the visibility of AEGEE is seen!

Lucille: This year, one of the things that changes is the image of AEGEE externally in the sense that we are doing a lot of work in Brussels. We are not only realizing some meetings and attending conferences but we try to do some projects here in Brussels, so we get more visibility as an organisation, to be taken more seriously. It existed in the past – we are not finding a new activity – but it was a little lost and we are bringing it back.

Miguel, Kathrin, Beata and Pavel – what if from September,  your address is not rue Noyer 55 any more? What’s next in that case?

Miguel: If I am not re-elected I have already planned to stay in Brussels. I like a lot living in the city. Even before the

I do what I like. Why should I change it? It is one more year of enjoyment.

re-candidating idea came, I was already thinking about staying here but don’t have a clear plan yet. Probably it would be something different from my studies – environmental but at the same time not too different – policy or working in some organisation. But I hope I could work in THIS organisation.

Beata: I still have to finish my masters, I need to write my thesis.  So if I am not going to be here from September I am going home, thinking over my whole life and what I actually want to be. Actually, after all this AEGEE experience, I think I want to be professional trainer, a coach. If I don’t stay here, I would challenge myself as much as I can, expand my comfort zone and try new things. I just can’t imagine my life without AEGEE.

Kathrin: I think I would stay in Brussels. It would be very hard to let it go so I would try to stay. I would probably look for a job here, in Berlin or somewhere else and start working. Maybe do a masters aside and start a life basically. But, of course, I hope I would stay here.

Pavel: For me – I have no clue. CD is a kind of a procrastination of my decision in which direction I would go, which kind of work, what specialisation I would choose, which country, which continent. I don’t know.

Is one more year a big sacrifice?

Luis: It is a very-very big sacrifice. Previous CDs always had a lot of problem with private life, managing to live in a city like Brussels, since we are not getting so much money. We are still volunteers. We work as professionals but we don’t get money as professionals or all the benefits they have.  We don’t have too much private life, we work on the weekends,  we don’t have holidays. It is a very big sacrifice in life and the only possible way you could survive the city and think of re-candidating is to have an amazing team and the team relations are very good. That’s why we have taken this decision – because the atmosphere in the house is extremely good. When you have people who support you, people who bring you up when you are down – I think is the only way you could survive this.

Lucille: And also the thing which help a lot is that we have a common vision, we share a lot of ideas.  Sometimes, we might have different views but we have a common vision for AEGEE…

Anna: ….keep inspiring each other, challenging each other…

Miguel: …….learning from each other.

Anna: You could always see how you could grow, how you could learn more and more.

Miguel: Actually, this extra year  – each of us was thinking – we were already given one year, this

We keep inspiring each other, learning from each other…

extra year – I can afford it. But you don’t say the same when you are at a university or you are working. At least for one year, I am sure for sure, I could learn here more than during all the years at the university, anyway.

Pavel: From my perspective  it is really a sacrifice, because I could have had a really decent life and a well-paid job. But on the other hand – I do what I like. Why should I change it? So finally – it is not a  sacrifice from my point of view – it is one more year to enjoy.

Beata: I was taking into account that actually I work full-time and I extremely love every single moment of my stay here. So…why would I give it up if I really enjoy being with these people, if I really enjoy doing my work?! When I came here, I was not thinking about one more year. But then, we started talking about it – it is really amazing to work all together and do all these initiatives making the life of 13,000 members better. So these things are amazing.

Anna: It is a question of priorities. Apart from having a common vision and ideas we have also a similar vision of priorities. We all could have one of these jobs with a lot of money, nice house or free time. But we all want a job which would bring us more experience, a job that gathers people with the same vision and who we like.

Miguel: You can always go to one of the events in the Network and get your batteries charged, because there, you see that all we do has an impact on all these people and also for me, there is something very important – I don’t think that in any other job you could have so much impact. Maybe with another job you could reach a lot of people but as CD the impact we have over each of the members of AEGEE is really big. Thinking of the CD – I think this is what I want to do.

And now – rephrasing Luis’ last year interview – tell us the ‘Five lessons I have learned since being in Brussels’

Miguel: 1)’Together we can’achieve much more than alone2)I needed to improve my speaking skills…3) You can never predict who will be the next person you will learn from4) There are AEGEEans everywhere…in many European institutions, in OSCE, in many governmental agencies…5) I learned that the only way to really multitask is to be extremely organized.	Kathrin:1)If you are committed to development work never finishes.2) You can achieve anything with the right people at your back.3) The more you give, the more you get back.4) You close your own reality and you only grow by expanding your comfort zone.5) Patience is vital.
Lucille 1)I learnt how to trust perfectly people with whom I work (‘Together we can’)2) I have realized the power of measuring our impact as an organization3) Dreaming big!!4) Challenging myself5) I can eat onion	Pavel1) Everything is possible2) Beer is good here3) There is no logic in Belgium4) I learned how to make cables5) I know how to make salad
Anna1) There is nothing impossible for a strong team2)Belgium bureaucracy is never ending.3) Your hard work can be rewarded in so many different ways. There are many things which money can’t buy (said our Financial Director – b.a)4)As long as you keep challengingyourself, you’ll always have a strength to make a step further.5)If you really really want something, there’ll be always the way to achieve it. Never give up!	Beata1) Being more structural + implementing time management-2) Not doing 3000 different things at the same time3) Not being afraid to ask for help4) How to move such a huge house (my dad would be proud of)5) How to jump up and down on the old stairs for months (and learned how to walk again without crutches.)
Luis1) There is still such a long way to go, things to learn and grow.2) No matter the obstacle, there is always a way to make it.3) Team, Team, Team. There is nothing without a strong team.4) If everybody in AEGEE was aware of our potential as organisation we would have tea with President Barroso every week.5) I still have to learn to dress in a country with snow.

Written by Liliya Buyukliyska, AEGEE-Sofia

For the first glance and encounter, Patricia Anthony (AEGEE-København) might seem a quiet Northern European, but those who have got to know her better – or even exchanged e-mails with her – know how passionate she is about the things she believes in. Our interview is also a proof to this, as Patricia could continue answering the questions for hours and hours. Go on and read the answers to some crucial questions we asked about her candidature for Network Commission (NetCom) in this Agora (full candidature can be found on the official website).

You are active in quite a lot of bodies of AEGEE… In case of being elected, will you still stay active in Sports Working Group (SWG), The AEGEEan and AEGEE-København?

I think that during the last year I have proved that I am able to be active in many different AEGEE bodies.

While juggling; being president of AEGEE-København and editor of European Events section in The AEGEEan, I managed to help build the new aegee.org with the Public Relations Committee (PRC), be AEGEE Fair manager twice, be Editor of Key 2 Europe and many more things.

Having said that, in case of being elected my involvement in AEGEE will of course change. In AEGEE-København we have elections in May. In SWG I will also become less active; I have done many tasks belonging to other positions in the board since the creation of the SWG in order to ensure that everything was done. I still have 4-5 months left in the Action Agenda Team (ACT), however as written in my candidature, I focus very much on the Action Agenda in my program so I see no obstacle in me being in ACT at the same time as in the NetCom.

There are many members in AEGEE who are involved in different bodies, in The AEGEEan itself we already have people in the Network Commission. Speaker Wieke van der Kroef is Editor of the European Events Section, journalist Andra Toma is a Network Commissioner and I myself am subcommissioner of Karolina Mazetyte.

I believe that I can stay active in the bodies I am involved with in AEGEE, however in case I will not be able to stay involved in all those things, I can assure you that I will find a solution on how to stay committed to the NetCom as much as needed.

And what about your commitments in the life out of AEGEE?

Other than my studies in sports management I don’t really have any other personal life commitments.

I am probably like any other young student. I spend time on my studies, I work at the merchandise store of the football team FC Copenhagen, and I spend time with my friends usually at home relaxing whenever there is time to. I have been given the nickname “party girl” on several trips but actually, going out is something that I do mostly when I am abroad.

Actually, I will be studying only until January 2014, so I plan to use the first six months of the upcoming year fully committed to AEGEE with a focus on NetCom trips. It might sound a bit crazy, but after being committed to study practically my whole life, I need six months off which is quite a normal thing to do in Denmark.

In your motivation letter you mention: “It still burdens me that the number of antennae in especially Scandinavia is so low, and that more antennae are closing instead of being created.” In Agora Rhein-Neckar one of your closest antennae, AEGEE-Lund, will be deleted. How do you feel about it?

Being a Network Commissioner (NetCommie) requires cooperation between team members and also between the locals. Karolina Mazetyte (the current NetCommie) and I have done everything we could in order to save AEGEE-Lund but unfortunately, it was not possible.

Not so long time ago, I wrote an article about it in The AEGEEan expressing that even though it will be deleted, I will continue trying to have AEGEE locals in Sweden. We have been working and will continue working on the cooperation between the antennae in the North in order to strengthen them and discover the needs they might have and that could be covered by other locals.

As in any other area in AEGEE it is difficult to find new active members in the North, and one of the things that I will work on in my term (if I am elected) is how to get new active members, and how to find members who are willing to take on the challenge of becoming a board member. In many locals, the case occurs that it is an active group of members/friends who work together and might even be in the board for many years which creates the dangerous situation that members might lose motivation and it can be difficult to find new board members which is why activity might die and might even be the reason for which locals close, since they cannot find anybody willing to continue the work as in the case of AEGEE-Lund.

Recently, there have been a lot of discussion regarding official regions. What is your opinion about it?

It is a very controversial topic that requires a lot of discussion. I think that having official regions can work as long as members on the European level ensure to avoid creating national levels.

As for the previous division, I believe that in the case of the Nordic antennae it should be changed. Having official regions would help strengthen the antennae in the North because it is an issue that the locals working together here differed many times during the last years.  For this reason the antennae do not feel very closely connected, and it is Karolina’s and my desire to have antennae in the North grow stronger together in order to have Regional Training Courses, exchanges, and share best practices on HR, FR, PR and more topics.

However, I am concerned about the proposal that the regions are supposed to stay the same for three years which might be too long time. In general, I like the idea of regions, and I am very much in favor of having antennae nominate the person they would like to have as their NetCommie but I need to obtain more information on the matter in order to give a clear opinion on whether I am in favor or against the idea.

As we know, recently you announced your intention of resigning from the post of editor-in-chief and then, you decided to stay. How can we be sure that you will not resign from NetCom after the first problems?

I know that this is a concern that some may have, and I fully understand it. AEGEE has taught me many things and that week has probably been one of the biggest life lessons in AEGEE for me so far. It has taught me the value of team work, not to take decisions when I am emotionally overwhelmed, and to create more distance between personal feelings and work.

I never wanted to resign. As expressed on different platforms, I enjoy developing The AEGEEan so much and the reason for the announcement of me resigning was because I was emotionally overwhelmed and because I was trying to do damage-control in order to save the reputation of the magazine which I felt that I had damaged.

Such situations will most probably never occur again, and it is very unlikely that it will happen in NetCom. Just as any other former and current NetCommie, I will be there to serve and protect the locals and I won’t back down after the first problems.

Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre

Some people say that it is not possible to really get to know the spirit of someone through the social networks. However, it can be easy to be nice, kind and close on the other side of the screen, even if there is some distance. The AEGEEan had the chance to talk to Olga Rivero, a cheerful Biotechnology student from AEGEE Oviedo,  who has been elected as the new AEGEE Agora fair manager. Will she manage to modify our souls genetically and use her smile to make us even more human?

This is your minute of glory, go ahead Olga!

Hello, I’m 21 years old and I study Biotechnology. I’m doing the last months of my degree, since I’m planning on finishing University in June. I’ve been an AEGEE member since September 2010 and active from the very first minute on. AEGEE came into my life when I was going through a tough moment, and it was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was totally stunned by its freshness and spirit and, from that moment on, I knew it was going to become such an important thing to me.

Imagine we don’t belong to AEGEE. We have never heard of it. How would you explain to us what being an Agora fair manager means?

I would say that I am the main organiser of a “project’s market”, or an “idea’s market” from the biggest interdisciplinary youth organisation in Europe, and that my task is to provide everything they need for the people of the European bodies presenting their work to the rest of the members who are interested in it.

How are you planning to fascinate people attending the fair? Or is it a secret?

We are still starting to plan what the venue will be like where the Fair will take place, but my team (Anna Gots from Comité Directeur and Monica Olesinska from the Chair team) and I will do our best to make it look really attractive so that no one would hesitate to participate in it!

Three adjectives that should describe your performance in the Agora…

I think this is something that all the people who go to the Fair should answer after the Agora…

Anything personal, passions, obessions, your own way of understanding the World…that you would like to extend to your new role?

I guess my way of understanding the World is almost the same as that of any other young person now. It’s not the best time for being a student or starting looking for a job but thanks to stuff like AEGEE, taking the chance of exploring new and different opportunities doesn’t seem so risky and frightening. And that’s something that I want to transmit to all the AEGEE people: there’s nothing to fear of about becoming a member of a Working Group or a Committee if you like their future projects and what they’re doing when they explain it during the Fair!

Have you read about how former AEGEE fairs were done in the previous years? Anything you would like to keep on doing? Something you will not repeat?

I’m planning on leading the way of my predecessors for organising everything, but I’m also trying to add some personal details that I believe were missed at the Fair so far. I really don’t want to change anything specific, I just want to make the Fair grow a little.

We want to wish Olga good luck and give her thanks for having shared with us some of her time. Keep on shining!

Photos courtesy of the interviewed.

Written by Ana Valiente, AEGEE Tenerife

Some days before the Agora took place in Enschede, Comité Directeur announced the host of the Spring Agora 2013. The result is: It will not be one local, nor two… no! It will be seven locals: AEGEE-Darmstadt, AEGEE-Frankfurt, AEGEE-Heidelberg, AEGEE-Kaiserslautern, AEGEE-Karlsruhe, AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden and AEGEE-Mannheim! 

Each one of these locals is too small and has too few members to ever host an Agora by themselves, even if they wanted it so much. So, they tried to find out how they could make their dream come true by still providing the needed manpower. The solution seemed simple: “Let’s do it together!” With this idea they actually created a new concept for the organisation of the Agora.

If you are curious now about who these people are and how they can work together you should read the following interview:

1. Why did you decide to apply for hosting the Spring Agora 2013?

Sebastian (AEGEE-Heidelberg): We have a great potential in this region. Our locals are quite different one from another, but we all have highly motivated members and we believe it is the perfect moment to meet this challenge.

Alexandra (AEGEE-Heidelberg): We (AEGEE Heidelberg) have a strong antenna at the moment, we have a lot of very motivated members and we considered this the best possible moment to organise an Agora. We thought that if we don’t do it now we might never find a better opportunity and a more appropriate time. However, while our human resources are at a peak, the logistical possibilities in Heidelberg are less than ideal for such a major event as the Agora. For this reason, we slowly came up with the idea of organizing a Rhein-Neckar-Agora with our neighboring AEGEE locals and to merge the advantages of each one of the locals into an optimal Agora organisation.

Benjamin (AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden): When I was at my first Agora in Istanbul one and a half years ago, I just knew that I wanted to contribute to such an event. Unfortunately our local is too small and also the facilities in Mainz are not capable of hosting an Agora. When Alexander Sieber (AEGEE-Kaiserslautern) came to me with the idea of a regional Agora, I was totally psyched. The fact of finally being able to host an Agora was just amazing.

2. How will you all work together, when you are from different locals and different cities?

Sebastian: All locals in the Rhein-Neckar-area are less than one hour away, Heidelberg and Mannheim only about 15 minutes. We already have regular institutionalised regional meetings and they will get even more frequent from now on. We will also prepare for the Agora project by a special Regional Training Course which will focus on conference management and we will have at least one team building seminar for the core team.

Benjamin: It is a lot easier than people might think. For everything that can be organised without meeting, we have the world wide web to help us. With e-mail, Skype meetings and cloud sharing it got really easy to share information. Of course not everything is doable through internet, but despite us being seven different locals, that does not mean we cannot meet up often. Our region and all our antennae are really close. You can travel easily by train or car, and as a student you do not have to pay much to use the regional trains.

3. Can you tell The AEGEEan when did you come up with the idea to host an Agora?

Sebastian: The idea was born in autumn 2011. Alexander Sieber asked me what I would think about applying for hosting the Spring Agora 2013 in our region, and from this very second I knew we would do it!

Alexandra: To be honest, I don’t even remember exactly when the idea became concrete. After the Autumn Agora in Skopje we began thinking about how great it would be if we could organize an Agora of our own in Heidelberg in the near future. From this initial wishful thinking, the idea slowly began to form and we started coming up with more and more solid plans.

Benjamin: I think that the idea of a regional Agora was nothing like a funny idea that became somehow real. Our region became more connected a couple of years ago. We meet each other, invite each other to events, travel together to statutory events and so on. I think the Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar is just a big step that developed of our regional community. The concept of antennae working together to create something big is nothing new in AEGEE and not in our region, as there are often three or four locals organising a Summer University together. That is why I think the statutory meetings don’t have to be the exception to this concept.

4. Please tell us something about the team. 

5. What is your region in Germany well-known for?

Alexandra: The Rhein-Neckar region is considered a metropolitan region in south western Germany. It is well-known for it’s picturesque areas around the valleys of the rivers Rhein and Neckar and it includes internationally renowned tourist destinations such as Heidelberg and Worms, as well as UNESCO World Heritage sites like the ancient cities of Speyer and Lorsch. In additon, thanks to its bland climate, the Rhein-Neckar region is famous for wine-growing and it is furthermore considered an indispensable German industrial area with prestigious companies like BASF, John Deer and SAP. Moreover, the proximity to the international airport in Frankfurt makes our region easily accessible and well travelled.

Benjamin: The most popular product would be wine, but that is not all. Our region has a big cultural heritage. From cities that were build 2000 years ago, like Mainz, to cities that were cultural centers in the medieval times, like Heidelberg, we have a big part of German and European history just on our doorstep.

6. Give me 10 reasons why AEGEEans should attend your Agora.

1) It will be awesome.

2) It’s the FIRST regional Agora organized by so many co-operating locals.

3) The Agora takes place in a castle!

4) This Agora will be another step to make this Europe a bit better.

5) Wine and beer are excellent here!

6) Our region is in the heart of Europe; you can reach us easily.

7) In case the weather is not warm enough, we have heating in the gyms and lecture halls.

8 ) To get the next Agora T-Shirt!

9) Because it will be the very first Agora in 2013 and you cannot miss it.

10) We SPRING AGORA Rhein-Neckar 2013, and so will you!

 

Thank you very much for your time! Good luck with the organisation!

Written by Stephanie Müller, AEGEE-Heidelberg