Every year, on the 11th of November, the Network Commission celebrates its birthday, and this year, they turn twenty. To celebrate this special occasion, we interviewed a number of former Network Commissioners: Lia Touska, Mario Galea, Hanna Alajõe and Andrea Schmelz, to tell us about their time in the office, and to see how much the commission has changed.

The AEGEEan: Could you introduce yourself?

Lia: I am Lia Touska from AEGEE-Kastoria and AEGEE-Sofia. I was a NetCommie in the period starting from Agora Patra until AgorAsturias.

Mario: My name is Mario Galea, I am from AEGEE-Valleta.

Hanna: I am Hanna from AEGEE-Tartu and I have been a NetCommie until very recently, as my term has finished just after Agora Bergamo.

Andrea: I am Andrea Schmelz and still a happy member of AEGEE-Passau. I was a NetCommie from October 2014 until November 2015.

How was it being a NetCommie during your term?

Mario: At the beginning, we were eleven people who had to start working with their own locals immediately after the elections, in a mostly individualistic approach to our network. During our mandate, we changed the term periods to allow more team building and knowledge transfer, before actually starting our work. We have built a more unified approach towards the whole network with one functioning platform, a single massive working plan and one activity report, acting like a real body and not as individuals.

Andrea: It was a lot of work, almost like a part-time job, and luckily very rewarding. Most of the work happened online, but the best moments were when you actually went out in the field and met the members. AEGEE’s strength is the impact we make on the individuals and this is something you constantly experience as a NetCommie. To a large extent, the NetCom is responsible for a lot of administrative work, but it is also a hub of different political views and values. One should never underestimate the diversity of the network that influences our work – it is a huge challenge and learning experience for any NetCom team.

Lia: Being a NetCommie was, and still is, the best experience someone can come across. I took care of locals from two different areas (Dutch-speaking and Greek-speaking), I was always there when they had questions and I visited them during my NetCom trip. Lastly, the team spirit that we had within our NetCom team was the trigger of friendships that have been lasting until now.

How was this different from now?

Hanna: I think being a NetCommie during my term was quite similar to what it is now, and this is because my term is still very recent. The strange thing about being part of the NetCom is that, during your term, you can have two totally different experiences, as every half a year half of the team changes. That makes working in the NetCom so hard to explain. The group dynamics can be so different depending on who is part of your team, which locals you are working with, which apps are malfunctioning on Podio… et cetera.

Lia: Back in my time, the term of NetCommies was not equal, LTCs and RTCs were not antenna criteria yet and it was hard to find a hosting local for a NWM.

Andrea: Since my term was not so long ago, there have not been too many drastic changes. We have moved the entire work during our term to Podio, professionalised quite a lot and coordinated the work more as a team, rather than 11 individuals. I am glad to see that the NetCom kept this up, as it aims for a much better understanding of the network from a broad perspective. In this way, the ideas which have been developed before and during our term are kept alive and in progress by the current NetCom, and this really secures continuity. The present NetCom is very strong in supporting the network, it is inspiring! I am curious to see what comes out of the Antenna Criteria reform.

Why, if impactful, do you think these changes were necessary?

Andrea: I believe that if we want to have an impact as an entire association using the strengths of our network, then we also need to handle the network as a whole. I think the changes in the administration and coordination of our work helped us in monitoring this common impact, and understanding the needs across our entire network. In my opinion, society demands of us to keep up in handling such a large amount of members across so many countries, while still embracing diversity.

Lia: I believe that those changes have been impactful, because NetCommies have enough time for knowledge transfer to the new generation now, and more and more locals are organising LTCs and RTCs implementing the Strategy of Learning and Training. Also, the NetCommies do not struggle to find a local to host their NWMs anymore. Overall, the quality of the Network has been improved.

Mario: The changes we made were necessary, because only with a unified Network Commission, one can ultimately aim at a more unified network. Without a solid common vision, in line with the vision of AEGEE-Europe, the NetCom cannot effectively be that bridge that ties locals together.

What did you like the most about being a NetCommie?

Andrea: Lots of hugging happening during the NetCom trips and events.

 Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

The famous German composer, musician and educator, Carl Orff, referred to fate as the “empress of the world”. It is the ever-changing force that lifts everyone into the light, or plunges them back into darkness. With this wisdom, let’s take a look at four things that were either lost or achieved within the network of AEGEE.

Why organise just one? When it comes to organising statutory meetings, nobody beats AEGEE-Enschede. It has hosted three Spring Agorae, as well as one Spring Planning Meeting in 2003. Next are AEGEE-Amsterdam with three Spring Agorae, AEGEE-Budapest with three Autumn Agorae, AEGEE-Athina with one Spring and two Autumn Agorae (the former taking place on the island of Kos, near the Turkish coast in 1992), and AEGEE-Valletta with one Spring Agora and two European Boards’ Meetings (EBM).

End of the Dutch Streak. During each decennial anniversary year (meaning 1995, 2005, and 2015) a Dutch antenna organised the Spring Agora: AEGEE-Amsterdam in 1995, and AEGEE-Enschede in 2005. However, by organising AgorAsturias in Gijón in the spring of 2015, this coincidental occurrence was ended by AEGEE-Oviedo. The Dutch city of Leiden was one of the cities that hosted the 2015 revival of the Night of the Seven Antennae, but this event also showed a loss for AEGEE as a whole. Of the five cities that hosted the original Night, two of them, Nice and Strasbourg, no longer have antennae, and one, London, had its antenna revived only in 2013.

All Summer Universities (SU) lead to Amsterdam. The summer of 1997 was a remarkable one for the existing antennae at that time in the Netherlands. Everyone, except AEGEE-Nijmegen, organised a Summer University, but the content of their programmes was somewhat weird and monotonous. Almost all SUs (Delft, Enschede, Groningen, and Leiden/Utrecht) organised excursions to Amsterdam. Even the no longer existing antenna in Rotterdam organised a Summer University, which offered its participants, of course, a trip to Amsterdam. AEGEE-Enschede, furthermore, listed “everywhere” as one of their programme’s locations. And AEGEE-Utrecht, lastly, organised another SU in 1997, right after the one they had organised in collaboration with Leiden.

Members without antennae. Because of their merit, achievements within, or support for AEGEE some regular members can be recognised by the Agora as honorary members of AEGEE. However, due to the fact that  honorary membership is perpetual, these members are still part of AEGEE, even after the termination of their original antenna or their own life for that matter. Franck Biancheri, for instance, is thus still technically a member of AEGEE, despite being dead for three years. Examples of members without antennae are Kamala Schütze (AEGEE-Grießen & AEGEE-Termoli, both no longer existing), and Gunnar Erth (AEGEE-Szeged).

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Many things have changed about AEGEE during its thirty year existence. However, instead of looking back at its rich history, this article will take a look at five things concerning AEGEE, and by extension Europe, from 2015 that you might not already know.

Improbable spelling. Everyone who is participating in the Agora in Kiev in October may have noticed that the local organising it is called AEGEE-Kyïv. This seemingly weird spelling has everything to do with the spelling rules for AEGEE locals. The rule, in a nutshell, is that all AEGEE locals must use the local or national name for the city, in which they’re located, hence not the English name for the city. Then this name has to be converted to the Latin alphabet, if it’s not already. This is why AEGEE-Киïв is written as Kyïv, instead of Kiev. Other examples are AEGEE-Москва as Moskva, instead of Moskow, and  AEGEE-Αθήνα as Athina, instead of Athens. AEGEE-Minsk, however, is still AEGEE-Minsk, because the transcription of the local name happens to be the same as the English one.

Not all countries are represented. Members from various locals have or are going to visit at least one of the two Agorae during this anniversary year, while some countries are not represented by members of their locals at all. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Montenegro are, for instance, not represented, but to be fair, all of these countries have only contacts or contact-antennae. The two countries with AEGEE-antennae that have not been represented at either Agora are Albania and Lithuania.***

No locals in Scandinavia. AEGEE-Helsinki, of course, is still an active and vibrant antenna in the network. But Helsinki, or Finland for that matter, is not part of Scandinavia, but of the larger geographical region of Fennoscandia. According to the 2015 version of AEGEE’s map of the network, the last AEGEE local in Scandinavia, AEGEE-København, no longer exists, thus AEGEE’s presence in Scandinavian is missing.

King of democracies. One of the central themes, and slogan of the autumn Agora in Kyïv is ‘rebuilding democracy’. However, of all the countries in Europe that are considered to be “flawless democracies”, according to the 2014 democracy index, half are technically monarchies. These are Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, the United Kingdom and Spain. The three countries in Europe that by the same index are considered to be authoritarian regimes are Belarus, Russia, and Azerbaijan.

This land is mine. Considering the theme of ‘rebuilding democracy’, the most infamous land dispute in Europe of 2015 is arguably the question of which country has the rightful claim to the Crimean Peninsula, located in the northern waters of the Black Sea. This, as should be noted, is not the only disputed land area in Europe at the moment. Most notable are the self-declared independent regions of Transnistria in the east of Moldova, and the Nagorno-Karabakh in the west of Azerbaijan, and some disputed border areas between Croatia and Serbia. Some may know one of these unclaimed areas as the location of the self-proclaimed independent and libertarian territory of Liberland.

Many other interesting events concerning AEGEE, and by extension all of Europe, have of course happened in 2015. Feel free to comment about those you think that should have been mentioned below.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

*** Data were retrieved using the participants list of both Agorae, that can be found here.

In 1994 honorary member Michael Merker made a benediction for the future of AEGEE, saying that “hope is always on our side”. He made this statement, when he was writing about AEGEE’s first decennial anniversary that would take place one year later. When we look back on AEGEE’s history of its third decennial anniversary, it becomes interesting to see if and how this optimism was shared. How has hope always been on our side?

In 1995 a total of 170 antennae celebrated AEGEE’s first ten years of existence. Six of which: AEGEE-Aachen, AEGEE-Baja, AEGEE-Bucureşti, AEGEE-Sevilla, AEGEE-Stockholm and AEGEE-Utrecht had special celebrations somewhat comparable to the Night of the Seven Antennae in 2015. AEGEE-Istanbul celebrated AEGEE’s ten year anniversary with a large cultural festival, there was a cycling tour from Basel to Maastricht, and AEGEE-Brussels/Bruxelles organised a large reception inside the European parliament.

One reason the individual events during the ten year celebrations were a bit more modest, compared to the first Night of the Seven Antennae on AEGEE’s first anniversary in 1986, might be that AEGEE-Brussels/Bruxelles nearly bankrupted itself by organising that one.  As a possible consequence there was not to be another edition of the Night of the Seven Antennae until AEGEE’s thirty year anniversary in 2015.

If living through the first decade of the twenty-first century has taught us anything, however it is arguably that hope cannot be expressed or diminished by wealth. The twenty year anniversary edition of the Key to Europe with two hopeful benedictions by the then MEP and Patron of AEGEE-Europe, Bronisław Geremek, and then President of AEGEE-Europe, Silvia Baita, was therefor unsurprising.

Geremek praised the democratising of Europe, and AEGEE’s role in this, as he reflected how twenty years before, his native country of Poland was at best a de facto oligarchy under the Communist Party. Baita also reflected on therole of the past as a teacher, but furthermore stresses the solid basis it forms to continue to build a splendid future.

During AEGEE’s second decennial anniversary the network had expanded to 241 antennae all over Europe. The year was also largely shaped by the pro-European Orange Revolution in Ukraine, much like how 2015 is shaped by another pro- and contra-European conflict in the same country.

Aside from the hope for a greater democratisation in Europe, the twentieth anniversary was also characterised by and known for the largest ‘Gala Event’ the network had ever organised in Prague, and by a twenty minutes documentary on the history of AEGEE.

The third decennial celebration is arguably like all those before. There is a ritualization of the past, as a sense of belonging is created by a recreation of past events. There was another instalment of the Night of Seven Antennae, just so as it is liked to have been 29 years ago. There was a conference in Brussels, which mimicked those gatherings in ‘the Capitol’ of Europe before, and in the Ukraine a political conflict, somewhat similar like the one of 2005, uncannily erupted.

Yet, as the previous anniversaries can be seen to be reflected in the thirtieth, perhaps as a result of the spirit of AEGEE, or possibly as a side effect of the invention of tradition, there is another benediction. While the first decennial celebration spoke of a universal hope, and the second about a greater democratising of Europe, this celebratory year speaks of improvement.

There is no shortage of optimism in this generation, but a decade of an even starker economic recession, and the possibilities of an increased European diversity have created an eagerness to shape the future for the better. For this generation it could be said, that hope has not always been on their side, and that the past has not always been a solid basis for a splendid future. Yet we press on, gazing hopefully at the future, remembering a troubled, yet celebrated past.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

If you want to know more about the first and second editions of the Night of the Seven Antennae, check out these two great articles by Gunnar Erth and Svenja van der Tol respectively in the links below.

The first Night of the Seven Antennae:

http://www.aegeegoldentimes.eu/seven-antennae-1986/

The 2015 edition of the Night of the Seven Antennae:

../../../2015/02/01/repeating-the-history-of-aegee-with-the-night-of-the-seven-antennae/

In the last few years, the Dutch local AEGEE-Eindhoven wasn’t very active at the European level, but the new board decided to make a change and discover AEGEE beyond their own city again. Last November, they already organised a European event for their 25^th anniversary, and now they got selected to host one of the upcoming Spring Network Meetings (NWM). We spoke to European Affairs responsible Roos-Anne Kniest to find out more about their plans!

The AEGEEan: First of all, can you tell us a bit more about your local? When were you founded, how many members do you have and what kind of activities do you do? What’s special about your local?

Roos Anne: AEGEE-Eindhoven was founded on 22 November 1989, so this year we celebrate our 25^th birthday! We have around 120 members at this moment and around 40 of them are active. We organise weekly dinners and drinks and try to have a bigger local activity once in a while. We have around five weekend exchanges per year and invite other locals if there are interesting activities in Eindhoven (like Glow, a light art festival taking place in Eindhoven every year) or a national festival (like Kingsday, a national celebration in honor of our King). Besides that we had a Summer University each year, in the last few years, and we’d like to keep organising one every summer. Our antenna has a mix of different people and diverse cultures and those members make us special. The connection between the board and our members and the connection between the members themselves is very strong and remarkable and our members help the board with a lot of stuff. They are creative and have original ideas. During our history, our members were very active as well. For example AEGEE-TV was founded by AEGEE-Eindhoven members and AEGEE.fm [a web radio, ed.] was also set up by one of our members.

Why did you apply to organise the NWM? When did the idea come up?

In the last few years we haven’t been very active in the network and on the European level of AEGEE, and we wanted to change that. Since we have a European Affair responsible in the board this year, we thought it would be a good opportunity to show other antennae that we can mean something at the European level too! We also want to get our own members more involved at the European level and show them how important it is. The idea started at the end of summer: we had our 25th anniversary in November and wanted to combine that with the Autumn NWM 2014, but unfortunately we didn’t get selected. Luckily our anniversary year wasn’t over yet and we saw a new possibility, the Spring NWM 2015! We are really motivated and so happy that we can organise this NWM!

When will the NWM take place and how many participants are you looking for?

Our NWM will be from Friday 12 until Monday 15 of June. We had some problem with picking a good date but luckily we found one. We hope to have around 30 enthusiastic participants.

Do you already have plans for the NWM?

As said we have our 25^th anniversary this year, so we want to combine it with the NWM. The activities will be related to our anniversary theme: In the Light. It’s already visible in the name of the NWM: City of Light (bulbs), referring to a product our city is known for, namely light bulbs.

Why should people apply for NWM Eindhoven? What makes you special?

We have a lot of experience in organising event and we love doing it. There are quite a lot of antennae that keep coming back to Eindhoven because they enjoy our events so much. We are really motivated to organise this NWM and we put as much time and effort in it as possible and we think this will be shown during the event. Besides that, we really want our NWM to be a complete and outstanding event, with a clear theme and vision connected to our anniversary. That’s what makes our NWM different than other NWMs.

Last autumn you had your anniversary. How did you celebrate it?

During our anniversary, we had an event with around 40 participants. We visited Glow and held a city tour with a typical Dutch tradition: the arrival of Sinterklaas [a saint whose birthday is each year celebrated in December with presents for the children, similar to Santa Claus ed.]. And of course we had traditional Dutch birthday games! We had beer tasting where the participants got their own special AEGEE-Eindhoven beer glass. On Saturday we had our big 25^th birthday party: we rented a café, invited a DJ and a band and every AEGEE member was welcome. It was a huge success.

Next to all this, you are also organizing a Summer University. What is the plan for your SU, and how do you manage to combine the SU with the preparation for the NWM?

This year we organise the SU together with AEGEE-Mainz-Wiesbaden and AEGEE-Darmstadt. We will try to visit as many amazing cities as possible, including Frankfurt and Amsterdam. We have a lot of new activities planned, like biking to Belgium and creating your own pizza. We have two different committees to organise the SU and the NWM. I am the only one who is in both committees, but as European Events Responsible of the board I feel I should be involved in both events. And of course it is a lot of fun to do it!

How is the cooperation with your Network Commission team going?

Really good! We have a lot of contact and get answers very quickly. We are really happy with our NetCom!

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Thirty years ago, a dream was born. A dream conceived by a man who wanted to see a better Europe for its citizens: Franck Biancheri. With this aim in mind, and after a conference in Paris (EGEE 1) about overcoming Europe’s integration paralysis, the Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l’Europe (AEGEE) was created. Up to this day, it brings together more than 13000 students from all around Europe. This year, AEGEE-Paris, one of the founding antenna, wants to celebrate this fact by organising an event about it. With the cooperation of the Association des amis de Franck Biancheri, a promising event is presented. The AEGEEan asked Léa Charlet, main organiser of the event, about it.

The AEGEEan: What will the main topic of the event be?
Léa: Nowadays, the EU is going through the most serious crisis in its history, and it seems that if it fails to rebuild itself, helped by the European citizens, there is no way out of this situation. Just like Erasmus would not have been possible without AEGEE-Europe members, we believe that our democratic, influential and sustainable Europe, will not see the light of day without the Erasmus generations of which we, in AEGEE, are the representatives. Our event will therefore be an occasion to discuss the future of Europe as AEGEE, the Erasmus generation.

What can the participants expect from the event?
To discuss a lot on subjects of which we are not always talking about in AEGEE, but it doesn’t mean that as citizens we do not have an opinion. To get out of their comfort zone in terms of ideas and debate about essential subjects which might get us further in our emphasizing project. To meet a lot of people from all over Europe. And of course to celebrate the 30 years of our amazing association in the beautiful city of Paris!

Tackling the situation of the future of Europe is always a difficult point, how is it going to be presented?
The idea is to tackle the different problems by theme: Europe of jobs, Social Europe, Europe of the Media, Political Europe etc. We also want our participants to prepare their own recommendations on saturday (following the same good practice from Y Vote 2014). The recommendations will be presented to the whole assembly on Sunday during the final conference. A speaker will then give his arguments and we will have small debates. We do not pretend to redress Europe in one conference, but want to state that it’s time that politicians, journalists, european citizens, civil society and many more actors start working together.

What do you, as main organiser, expect the outcome of the event to be?
For people to enjoy the discussion and feel that they learned something during this weekend, to enjoy the whole event and Paris, and also to feel part of this big 30 year anniversary celebration!

AEGEE-Paris was one of the founding antennae of AEGEE. How do you feel to be part of this milestone, and how do you think it influences the members of AEGEE-Paris?

I personally always felt it was fun to be able to speak French during Agora(she laughs). More seriously, I don’t think it’s changing anything except that we can brag about it sometimes.

The Association des amis de Franck Biancheri is cooperating with you on organising the event. What is their role going to be?
First, in the framework of the Franck Biancheri year, we received a consequent financial help, without which this event could not happen. The help is mainly for the final conference: speakers, venues, content. They will also be present for a little while during the preliminary debate, in order to bring the ideas supported by Franck Biancheri to the debate.

Franck Biancheri was certainly a role model in most aspects regarding this AEGEE life, how is he going to be present during this event?
As I mentioned, some of the members of the association, who worked with him for twenty years, will be the representatives of his ideas saturday morning. He will also be part of the celebration retracing 30 years of AEGEE!

If you want to apply for it you still have time untill the 15th of February. For more information, check their event on Facebook!

Written by Ruben Navarro, AEGEE-Tarragona

The year 2015 marks the year that AEGEE-Europe turns 30 years old, although we surely don’t look that old yet! To prepare the birthday, the Anniversary Team has been created, which organises several events throughout the year to pay tribute to the history and future of our organisation. One of these events is the Night of the Seven Antennae, which commemorates the Night of the Seven Cities of 1986 and will be taking place on the 18th of April.

Before we can take a look at the future plans for this event, it’s time to delve a bit into our past and take a look at the very first edition. During the night of March 7^th, AEGEE (at that moment still called EGEE) and the newspaper Le Monde cooperated to broadcast political debates about the future of Europe between students and high level politicians from seven different cities. In 1986, these locals were located in München, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Brussels and Nice. The history is repeating itself, because once more there will be debates about the future of Europe in seven different cities. Except the cities have changed, because the locals elected to host the event are: AEGEE-Aachen, AEGEE-Bergamo, AEGEE-Catania, AEGEE-Eskisehir, AEGEE-Kyiv, AEGEE-Leiden and AEGEE-Sofia.

AEGEE-Aachen

Why did you apply to be part of the Night of the Seven Antennae?
We organised a political debate last year for the Karlpreis, and now we have a discussion group about politics in Europe in AEGEE-Aachen. We wanted to take it to the next level!

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?
We’ll talk about the place of young people in Europe, and because there are a lot of students in Aachen, we’ll try to answer this question: is Europe a place where youth can flourish, regarding jobs, mobility, family, retirement?

What other things do you have planned for your participants?
We’ll write our wishes for how Europe should be and put them in a time capsule, protected for the next 10 years. We’ll also have a nice birthday ceremony to celebrate properly, and of course a party! Some other things too, but if you want to know, you have to come!

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?

There will be 25 places for participants from other antennae, but all workshops and debates will be open to every student in Aachen. We hope we can reach a broader audience and share points of view with people who don’t have AEGEE experience.

AEGEE-Bergamo

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?

The topics we have chosen are: Europe needs youth, mobility programs shaping European identity and old/new Europe. Bergamo is going through a period of strong internationalization programs, our antenna has recently launched an Erasmus Buddy Program, so we feel this topics best describe us and are interesting to examine in depth. With the topic of old/new Europe we want to give an insight in the major transformations that have happened during the last century.

What other things do you have planned for your participants?

We will have a city tour and are also working on the organisation of a live concert for the opening ceremony in the evening. The second day there will be three conferences each on the different topics and thematic discussions.

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?

We will host 50 participants. Members from other antennae will be warmly welcome, but also applicants that aren’t a member of AEGEE will be accepted in order to make this event fully open and memorable.

When does your own local have its next anniversary, and what plans do you have for it?

We have had our 25^th anniversary this year. We celebrated it with members of others antennae, during a regional dinner event we organized for Christmas. However for most of all it was a surprise, because our President discovered only recently that AEGEE-Bergamo was earlier founded than we all believed and she kept it a secret. It was a really beautiful revelation and moment of celebration.

AEGEE-Catania

What was your first reaction when you heard your local was chosen?

Surprise and satisfaction! We knew that other Italian antennae had applied, so we were aware of how difficult it was to get the event, but I’m sure that the anniversary team understood our great motivation to host this important event, and they probably liked the “mission impossible” video! 

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?

We have chosen “Europe in me – Me in Europe”, since we are working hard on the involvement of our members in Europe, pushing them to be active and interested also beyond our borders. At the same time we also believe that being European gives us a lot of great opportunities.

What other things do you have planned for your participants?

The event will be thematically full and very interesting, but aside from the theme, we won’t forget our origins and will fill up the event with our known AEGEE-Catania spirit! Funny activities, great team-building, and an unforgettable party will distinguish our weekend.

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?  

We are able to host up to 50 participants, and of course we want this event to be open both to our members, but also to all our European new and old friends. This is an event of everyone!

AEGEE-Kyiv

Why did you apply to be part of the Night of the Seven Antennae?

First of all, we would like to take actively part in celebrating a really important date of our organisation. AEGEE is 30 years old this year and together we achieved a lot, so there is something to celebrate! Moreover, we would like to show our members and Ukrainian students that AEGEE-Kyiv is a serious NGO. We are well known for our Summer Universities and Local Training Courses, but our aim for this year is to change that image. Another reason is that we would like to check how the team will work for this event to be prepared for the upcoming Agora. Finally, we are really interested in the topic and would like to share our interest with others and create an event with space for communication and discussion.

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?

We chose the topics that are interesting to our audience: “Europe Needs YouTH” and “The state of Ukrainian democracy”. Young people are the ones ready to change the present, to dedicate their efforts and contribute to Ukraine’s and our future. The lack of knowledge and experience is the problem, so we would like to dedicate the event to exchange experience with other countries, not forgetting about Ukrainian realities. Of course, the role of AEGEE and Frank Biancheri will be highlighted as, striving for a European future, we have been supporting the main values and aims of AEGEE for twenty years.

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?

We are planning to host around 70-100 participants. 30 places are open for participants from other antennae, the other places are for AEGEE-Kyiv members and students from Kyiv universities.

When does your own local have its next anniversary, and what plans do you have for it?

AEGEE-Kyiv turns 20 on February 17th! The Ukrainian way of celebrating is always surprising for Europeans. We invite everyone to our house, prepare lots of food and drinks and go out until the morning and all the guests feel like it’s their birthday. We prepared something huge for our friends: an event from the 13th to 15^th, with a huge party, city tours, games, interesting content and of course Ukrainian AEGEE spirit!

AEGEE-Leiden

Why did you apply to be part of the Night of the Seven Antennae?

AEGEE-Leiden has always been active on the European level and in the last few years the interest of our new members regarding AEGEE-Europe has grown significantly. By organising this event, we hope to show all of our members and the rest of AEGEE how awesome this European Network of ours is and what we all can achieve if we work together, thus creating even more awareness of AEGEE-Europe among our members. Also AEGEE-Leiden is one of the founding locals of our beautiful association, so who can give a better history lesson about AEGEE than us? We think it’s a nice way to show the Network how much we like AEGEE and that we are here to stay for another thirty years.

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?

We’d like to use the topic ‘Old Europe, New Europe’, because we, as an antenna, have a lot of history inside AEGEE, so we have a lot of topics to put into perspective. Of course it’s not all about AEGEE, but also about Europe itself. We have good connections with a few European Parliament members and with the head of the Dutch Information Desk of the European Union. We are going to contact them soon, so hopefully we can present the participants some experts on the ‘New Europe’.

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?

At the moment, we want to host a maximum of 40 participants from all over Europe, but we cannot confirm this number yet.

When does your own local have its next anniversary, and what plans do you have for it?

AEGEE-Leiden was one of the founding locals, so our own 30th anniversary also takes place this year. Our birthday is on the 31th of October and because of that we are going to organise a whole lot of awesome activities till November. Organising this event is one of our bigger activities and it fits really well into our own anniversary year.

AEGEE-Sofia

Why did you apply to be part of the Night of the Seven Antennae?

We strongly believe that Europe’s future mostly depends on the actions and ideas of the youth, so we would be honored to host an event on the topic “Europe needs youth!” Almost thirty years ago, the Night of the Seven Antennae wasn’t just a big historical event, but the moment when Europe understood, in practice, that young people have the power to change the present and build the future. The foundations were laid, so we should not only discuss, but show that “Europe needs youth!”

What other things do you have planned for your participants?

First of all, we think that Europe needs healthy, open-minded and active youngsters, so we are planning some sport activities in order to promote the great importance of health and an active lifestyle. We have also planned other outdoor activities like a flash mob in the center of Sofia, to promote the importance of youth in Europe and the Night of the Seven Antennae as an event. Our participants will have the opportunity to show the power of young people to bring change by helping other people. Separated in groups they will make people exercise on the street, talk with them about human rights or help people with disabilities. One more of our intentions is to gather the participants in the non-formal atmosphere of a concert of a Bulgarian youth band during one of the evenings.

How many participants will you receive, and are you open to participants from other antennae too?

We are expecting to have around 50 participants. This includes members of our partner youth organisations, students from universities in Sofia and, of course, participants from our own network who will bring the AEGEE spirit from all over Europe.

When does your own local have its next anniversary, and what plans do you have for it?

Next year AEGEE-Sofia turns 25. At the last couple of awesome Balkan events our members visited (Shtafeta Novi Sad and Network Meeting Skopje), we learned that most of the antennae in the Balkan network were founded in the same year and we are one of them. So, this sounds like a nice opportunity to celebrate our 25th anniversary together!

AEGEE-Eskişehir 

Why did you apply to be part of the Night of the Seven Antennae?

Firstly, we want to take part in one of the most important night for AEGEE. Secondly, in 30 years period this is just the second time of  live streaming, that means that our hearts will palpitate at the same time with seven different antennae. And finally, with the topics chosen, we would like to make our participants more informed about both, an angle from Europe and different perspective from East by inviting important people from politic and academic life.

What will be the topic of your part of the event? Why did you pick this topic?

Our Main topics are ‘The State of Turkish Democracy’ and ‘Europe Needs Youth’. We believe that we should show our differences as a big organization, AEGEE. First of all, in Turkey, İt is really difficult to organize and manage kinds of discussions. Secondly, this is hard to deny the fact that democracy is not working properly in our geography. But there are so many examples for this situation all over the world. Thanks to panels and discussions we are planning to show process of democracy for young active individuals with blending experiences of politicians and academicians. Besides, as AEGEEans , to be respectful for all and to understand their ideas and feelings, with the target of representing one of the biggest aim of AEGEE, Europtimism, our event will be opened for all sections.

What other things do you have planned for your participants?

In the light of Democracy and Europe we have panels, discussions etc. but this is just beginning because we are organizing the event as a youth fest. Kind of games and entertainment and of course party!!! With the spirit of AEGEE in Eskisehir you will see a perfect birthday ceremony in company with a huge fest.

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Five years ago, four brave guys from Bilbao, namely Guillermo García, Txaber Tavera, Sara Ortega and Zulema Rebollo formed a team and all together took a step forward by creating AEGEE-Bilbao, in March 2009. It wasn’t easy, and doubts and difficulties were appearing all along the way, but thanks to the enthusiasm of so many people in the past five years they have been able to achieve what AEGEE-Bilbao is now.

Txaber Tavera, one of the founders of the antenna, former Vice-President and Secretary, is proud to see how the antenna has grown in the past years: “It’s good news that AEGEE-Bilbao is a reality five years later, thanks to the time and enthusiasm dedicated to the project. The key, and also the luck, has been to boards continuity between boards and between people who decided it’s time to give new members the chance to replace them. And that’s not easy. Now, I can see there’s a group of people who enjoy, get excited and live new experiences around AEGEE. That’s the most important thing! But I also have to say that there’s a long way to ride yet: AEGEE-Bilbao is not perfect, and it has to get better step by step. It’s true that we can improve, but we will never try to be perfect in any aspect; the important thing is that we can keep AEGEE principles. There will be strong boards and weak ones, less active moments and great projects to come… But the point is to always try to keep the wick on.”

The small antenna currently has 60 members, with 15 of them being active. In the past two years they managed to achieve several goals, like a Travel Summer University (together with AEGEE-Santander and AEGEE-Oviedo) and a RTC. The last event was the celebration of the locals 5th anniversary, which took place in april and was open to all AEGEEans. More than 50 participants from Spain and Europe came to Bilbao to give the local their best wishes.

Amaya de Arcos, currently president of AEGEE-Bilbao is very happy and satisfied with the event: “The fifth anniversary of AEGEE-Bilbao was a really important event for the antenna and also for me personally. Watching so many members working together to make the best event we could made me feel really proud of my antenna and I think that we will be able to do bigger things in the future. I would like to thank all the people involved in the anniversary – participants, helpers, and organizers – as they were all essential for making this event unforgettable. I hope everybody had as much fun as I did”.

The event consisted of a weekend full of culture, activities and parties to celebrate the first five years of the local, while – of course – hoping for at least another five years to come. All the members of the antenna agreed that when things are done by an enthusiastic team they are much easier.

After the celebration, it is time to continue working hard, while trying to reach more goals in AEGEE. For that, AEGEE-Bilbao is lucky to have “La Nave” (the name for the Spanish-, French- and Portuguese-speaking locals ed.) in the region as an example of unity, dedication, motivation and good work, with so many incredibly active antennae: Burgos, which is organizing dozens of events with only five years of experience (like AEGEE-Bilbao), Oviedo, Zaragoza, Alicante… and a long etcetera that gives us some models to learn from.

Written by Nerea Gutiérrez, AEGEE-Bilbao