Autumn Agora Budapest, members of AEGEE-Budapest have proven on various occasions their role as one of the most integral parts of the AEGEE Network – a lively group of enthusiastic activists from the capital city of Hungary. Now, with the Christmas period approaching, let us settle back in a nostalgic mood, reminiscing about the Autumn Agora and how AEGEE-Budapest has been – a very well-deserved acknowledgement! – selected as the Local of the Month for November.

The antenna has come a long way since its foundation in 1990, being the first AEGEE local founded in the eastern region and organising the very first General Assembly of the Association behind the “iron curtain” in 1991. Back then, the political turmoil of the region had posed a stern challenge on the development of a student organization representing the (back then condemned) western ideals and European integration. Yet, today the local is blooming and is changing lives of young Hungarians – who choose to be a part of this Network of progressive thinkers and thus bring a new perspective into their nations’ chaotic political disputes that have been carried out recently. 

Asked about memorable achievements of the local – besides the recent Agora – the President of AEGEE-Budapest, Szabolcs Kerekes replied:
Internationally, it was the Human Resources European School in 2010 and the YVote project in 2009. Both of them were quite successful, and they also indicated that we are ready to organise something bigger for the network! Locally, we are proud to be the third biggest local among the AEGEE antennae, and luckily we could keep that position in the last years. On the top of the previously mentioned achievements we are also very happy that we have enthusiastic members, thanks to whose fresh ideas the work of AEGEE-Budapest is improving year by year.

The AEGEEan: Certainly, the Network wants to know when they can visit Budapest again; what are some of the upcoming events – both international and local?

Interview with international environmental lawyer Polly Higgins

Workshops at statutory events are all about innovative methods, topics, and techniques. Once in a while, their content is so politically and socially innovative, that they give participants a peek into the future. What will the world look like in 2020? How will our actions today have influenced society, business, and the environment? Award-winning international author and environmental lawyer Polly Higgins (UK) came to talk about the emerging law of ecocide—or how a small action could have enormous benefits—during the workshop of the Environmental Working Group at Agora Budapest.

You just gave a workshop at Autumn Agora Budapest on ecocide. Can you tell us a bit about this session?

It was absolutely excellent! The Agora participants shared a real sense of excitement and engagement around the idea of international law and ECI in Europe. We had around 25-30 participants from all over Europe, which gave a very diverse crowd of students, asking lots of questions. It was fantastic to be able to engage with them on this important topic. Afterwards I also heard from people that the session really motivated them to become more active on environmental topics in AEGEE in the coming months.

This was your first experience with any big AEGEE event. What is your impression?

I loved it! As a student I was one of the first Erasmus students, going from Scotland to Utrecht in 1988. This really put me in touch with other cultures, but I would have loved to have the opportunity of meeting people like in AEGEE. Actually, come to think of it, I probably met some early AEGEE members while studying in Utrecht!

What was the best moment for you at Autumn Agora Budapest?

Without a doubt, the dancing at the beginning of the closing plenary! I loved it, everybody was so full of energy, and it really set the tone for the rest of the evening. But also that short moment I was able to address the entire plenary. Speaking to those hundreds and hundreds of young, active Europeans is what our Eradicating Ecocide campaign is about: telling as many people as possible of the positive change they can achieve in our world.

We have heard a lot about ecocide in AEGEE. But remind us again, what is it exactly?

The term ecocide is really a contraction of “environmental genocide”. The name itself has been around since the 1970s—what I did, is giving it a legal definition, using commonly accepted elements from international law. Thus, ecocide is “the extensive damage to, destruction of, or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.”

As a lawyer, you used to represent many companies—not really an ecological job. How did you end up fighting for our earth, campaigning to end ecocide?

I was seeing some of the practices of corporations, and the quality of lawyers they could afford to get away with it… And I found myself thinking the earth is in need of a good lawyer as well. This realisation completely changed my life. I had identified a legal duty of care towards the planet, meaning that we have to make sure we are not causing it unreasonable harm, and I just could not get rid of that thought. Nobody was doing anything about it, so I decided I had to try and do it myself.

You are campaigning to make ecocide a crime, but why? What will be the result of it?

Our aim is to make ecocide the 5^th International Crime Against Peace, alongside with genocide and war crimes. This will make it punishable in every country, either before national courts, or the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It puts a superior responsibility on CEOs and  government leaders to align their companies and countries with sound environmental practices in order to prevent ecocide. Because this is the final aim: preventing future ecocide.

Will corporations not lobby hard against this?

On the contrary, they are supporting this. Many companies are greener in their thinking than in their actions, but mainstreaming new technologies is simply unaffordable in the current economic system. What the law of ecocide does, is create a level playing field. It rewards those companies who already take care of the environment, and gives incentives to those who are lagging behind. It also stabilises the markets in a sense, as it sends out long-term investment signals: We need to take better care of our environment, and this is not going to change anymore, so let’s invest in green technologies. As such, an international law of ecocide really has the potential to trigger the switch to a green economy.

So we will need massive public support. Tell us, what is the current state of political and citizen initiatives to end ecocide?

Politically, a number of countries are really engaged, but we need world leaders to stand up and speak out in favour of making ecocide an international crime. So far, however, this has not happened. In sensitive topics like this, politicians always need a public mandate, which means they need to hear the voice of the people. This is what can give them the confidence to stand up. That is why we need citizen initiatives like WISH20 and the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to show people’s support on this topic and push our leaders to speak up.

Barack Obama just got re-elected in the US. Are we going to see some initiative on ending ecocide from that side of the Atlantic anytime?

I think we will. America will want to be there in the new world. An international law of ecocide will give Obama the power to do what many of his supporters want—what he wants. Now he is being held back by Congress, but this can give him a mandate to speak for the people. Plus, he is a lawyer as well, so he knows that because of the majority voting of the Rome statute, the US do not have a veto in this matter, and American businesses will also have to adapt.

If all of this works out, what will your perfect world look like?

The perfect world for me is a world where we have peace, where we no longer fight over land. It is a world of abundance, with sustainable permaculture instead of today’s monoculture and industrial agriculture. With transition towns and decentralised energy generation, where education and health are free for all. In my perfect world, bees will be back in abundance, organic food will be the norm, and we will all be happier. And of course, students won’t have to pay such high fees to go to university.

Finally, what are some ways a member of AEGEE can contribute to making ecocide a crime in Europe?

There is a really easy way, which is to seed this out to everyone in your network. If every AEGEE member can put even 10 other people on the WISH20 map, we will generate 130.000 new dots. When those people reach out to another 10, we can round the cape of a million people in no time. So go to the WISH20 site, put your action on the map, and invite all your friends to join you. This is more than just another petition, this is creating change in a big way. Or get involved in the ECI, and check out the Youth Matter tools on our website, written especially for you.

I really want to call on everyone to create the world they want to see. We now have the choice to sit back and watch the destruction of our planet, or stand up and be a voice for the earth. So please stand up and support WISH20 by mapping what we are doing. We need you to make this one big wish come true!

For more information and more ways to get involved, contact Prisca Merz (AEGEE-Passau) for the ECI, or Mathieu Soete (AEGEE-Leuven) for support to organise an action in your local.

Written by Mathieu Soete, AEGEE-Leuven, Policy Officer on Sustainability & Former Speaker of Environmental Working Group

Photos are kindly provided by Gabriele del Carlo, Polly Higgins and Dasha Onokhova

Fall Agora Budapest 2012 was the Agora of going back to the past. Returning to the exact location of the first Agora in Eastern Europe as we are dealing once again with resistance to European ideals. Debating on our identity in order to better understand ourselves. Launching new initiatives which will help AEGEE reclaim the prominent, strongly thematic place it once held in the European society. New ideas, new initiatives, new positions—for example the newly elected Policy Officers of AEGEE-Europe. At a progress meeting on Saturday afternoon, they presented themselves and their thematic fields to participants.

With six they are, working on four thematic fields: Youth Participation (Felipe González Santos), Bridging Europe (Armenak Minasyants), Social Inclusion (Lucia Sobekova, E.G., and Stephanie Müller), and Sustainability (Mathieu Soete).

Unfortunately, not all of them were able to make it to the Agora on such a short notice—they were elected after the applications had closed—but their topics were skilfully introduced by their sparring partners from the CD. During this meeting, they presented the future steps and actions planned, and discussed with participants regarding the subtopics to be tackled.

Youth Participation

After a brief introduction to the positions of Policy Officer and a general timeline of their work, Lucille Rieux kicked off the progress meeting with the topic of Youth Participation, representing the unfortunately absent Felipe González Santos (AEGEE-A Coruña). Youth participation is so much a part of AEGEE’s daily work that we take it for granted. Therefore, it would be good to question this obviousness, and to discover what we actually mean by it. “Participation” can be very wide, and finding a common definition is not an easy task.

Moreover, Felipe defined two main topics in which he believes there is room for advocating for AEGEE’s vision: participation of young people in the decision making process—including ideas such as the age of vote, e-democracy, education on the democratic process and systems as such—and participation of young people in their community, which encompasses the question of volunteers’ rights and recognition of volunteering. Finally, one more question was raised which will be interesting to focus on: should we encourage young people to participate using new forms of participation, or rather focus on the existing tools and try to understand why and how they could actually work better.

Bridging Europe

Even though accepted for the Agora, due to the recent diplomatic breakdown between Hungary and Armenia, the Policy Officer on EU enlargement and integration Armenak Minasyants (AEGEE-Yerevan) was not able to secure a visa to enter the country, and was therefore represented by Anna Gots. Her first challenge was the definition of the policy field itself. In order to clarify his field of work to externals, Armenak considered renaming it “EU Enlargement and integration,” but how far are we prepared to go in promoting a larger and stronger EU, and its resulting changes to our lives? In order to better understand this, an online consultation and discussion was proposed, to gather the opinion of the network on this sensitive, though very important topic.

Within this field then—or as a first step towards it, perhaps—participants agreed a lot of work still remains to be done in tackling visa issues in non-EU countries—the absence of Armenak himself being a living proof of this. In order to focus on a specific topic, it was suggested to cooperate with other youth organisations, and work on shaping clear regulations for obtaining visa for youth workers and volunteers.

LGBT

Next up were the three Policy Officers working on Social Inclusion, starting with E.G. (AEGEE-Leiden). Introducing the topic of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues during the Policy Officers progress meeting, several potential subtopics were discussed. Leading for this discussion, as well as for the future research on LGBT issues for the Position Paper that is to be written, was the roadmap published by the European Parliament titled Towards an EU roadmap for equality on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. Identifying both problems faced by LGBTI persons, and EU actions that have and can be taken in this area, this roadmap proposes five policy themes: equality and non-discriminatory access to employment, education, health, goods and services, and housing; trans and intersex issues; diverse families and freedom of movement; hate speech, hate crime, and violence; and, lastly, fleeing homophobia and transphobia.

Having explained these themes during the meeting, homophobia turned out the be the topic AEGEE was considered most likely to work on, both in terms of changing perceptions in Central- and Eastern Europe, as well as in striving for transborder recognition of same-sex marriage. Important is to opt for a European scope, finding views that relate to AEGEEans across the entire network.

Racism and Xenophobia

The second Policy Officer on Social Inclusion, Stephanie Müller (AEGEE-Heidelberg), proposed to focus on writing a position paper against Racism and Xenophobia. AEGEE, with its 27 years of existence as a student organisation, is the best proof that everyone can overcome prejudices and xenophobia. We should therefore clearly state that racism is not acceptable. AEGEE is an organisation proud of being open to everyone who is tolerant and respects each other’s cultural differences, without prioritising one culture over the other.

It is seen with a big concern how, in this current economical crisis, radical racist parties are winning disproportionally large votes in the national parliaments of European countries.  It is time for AEGEE to express our condemnation of racism and xenophobia. The topic was accepted with positive feedback by the audience of the progress meeting, giving Stephanie plenty of motivation and support to continue her work.

Human Rights

Concluding the Social Inclusion policy field, Miguel Gallardo presented the first work of Lucia Sobekova (AEGEE-Bratislava) on the topic of Human Rights Approach, as the way to decrease social differences between European youth. Current formal education does not cover the topic of human rights deeply enough in most of the European countries, which leads to the fact that they remain a foreign topic for most of the European youth. On the other hand, non-formal education can often be the best way to learn about human rights, in an experience-based, peer-surrounded environment, leading to a more tolerant society.

Consequently, there is a wide field where only NGOs can provide information, raise awareness and create mobilisation. In this field, most of the big NGOs do a great work for the society in general, but their messages have not always reached the youth sector. The work of Lucia will therefore be to establish a bridge between human rights and the European youth.

Sustainability

Last but not least, Mathieu Soete (AEGEE-Leuven) introduced his field of Sustainability. As sustainability is the only policy field not firmly rooted in the Strategic Plan, participants first discussed about its relevance for AEGEE’s work, agreeing that in today’s world, this topic cannot be overlooked any longer.

As a first subtopic, sustainable entrepreneurship—the theme of this year’s European School on Entrepreneurship—not only creates unique opportunities for young enterprising minds with a heart for green business, but also offers sustainable solutions to people looking to start up their own non-profit organisation or youth project.  Second, more attention and support is needed for education about sustainability, which can equip current and future generations with the tools needed for a more sustainable future, and which fits within the wide reform of our educational systems, formal and non-formal. Furthermore, in order to  increase the internal possibilities, the sustainability of youth organisations was taken on board as third subtopic.

4 fields, 6 Policy Officers, and enough topics for each and every AEGEE member to find a thematic focus for the upcoming year. We are ready for it, and are looking forward to your input!

Written by Anna Gots, Armenak Minasyants, E.G., Felipe González Santos, Kathrin Renner, Lucia Sobekova, Lucille Rieux, Luis Alvarado Martínez, Mathieu Soete, Miguel Gallardo Albajar, and Stephanie Müller

One of the pre-event organised before Agora Budapest took place in Bratislava. As the very first event of Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) it confirmed once again that AEGEE events can be thematically oriented.

During the event hate speech in Europe and the online combat against it were the main topic discussed and it clearly pointed out that freedom of expression is still not granted in many countries.  Participants, together with guests from other associations, realised that young people are currently the ones who should raise their voice and act. We hope that our discussions will not stay just behind the door of working group, but that the message of this event will be spread around AEGEE.

We wonder, have you ever realised in how many photos you are tagged on Facebook? Are you shocked sometimes, how homophobic comments that appear on social networks can be? The Internet offers us a possibility to publish and distribute any kind of information and one might have  thought that nowadays we can reefer to the  Internet as to a space where freedom of expression is granted. However, sometimes unconsciously it can be spilled over. Online space like any other public space forms a part of society. Human rights should apply there as much as in the rest of the society. Unfortunately, because of the difficulty to control it, many times we can come through hate speech proclamations, racist notes or other discriminative comments.

The current campaign of the Council of Europe called “Young People Combating Hate Speech Online” brings a new dimension to act on hate speech crimes.  Becoming a young blogger of the campaign gives you a chance to influence directly protection of human rights online and be a human rights activist. Projects focused on raising awareness, complaints gathering and monitoring of abusive content were launched under the campaign and next year young people will have a possibility to join seminars and training courses. The project should result in policy guidelines on prevention of hate speech and the risk it posed on democratic citizenship and young people’s equal opportunities to participate in all spheres of society. “I, personally, think that people who are responsible for these speeches are somehow limited in their mind, it means they don’t have enough information” said Aneta Caltová from AEGEE- Plzeň. “I love the idea of the campaign and I might be interested to take part in it,” she concluded.

Brighten your horizons in Bratislava raised attention about the campaign and thanks to other NGOs, which introduced us to their work in the human rights field during our first HRWG event, we were very glad to organise it. “For the future, I’d like to stay updated with the activities and developments of HRWG and probably cooperate with them on some event,” mentioned Anne Stikkers from AEGEE-Groningen.

What about the participants? Of course, serious work means serious fun afterwards! AEGEE- Bratislava rocked the event and prepared untypical conditions – too much food and great programme for us to clear our heads after the workshops and comfortable beds to have enough energy for the gym at the Autumn Agora Budapest. New friends, new cooperation between AEGEE-Bratislava and HRWG, new partnerships and fun made a nice memory from time in Bratislava for all of us.
And now what? The show continues and not only us can become an active protectors of our rights online, but we invite you all to join the fight.

Written by Lucia Sobeková, member of AEGEE-Bratislava and the Human Rights Working Group

The pictures used in article are in courtesy of Aneta Caltová from AEGEE-Plzeň and Dasha Onkhova from AEGEE-Moskva

Imagine you are not at the Agora and catch the opportunity to watch the live coverage of the Agora’s closing plenary. The aim might be to see which proposals have been approved to change the future of the organisation, and who will be leading the different commissions, but that is not exactly what you witness when you press the “start” button….

What you do see is a chaotic scene. Members standing near the stage, close to the chair team, the juridical commission etc. in a big pile of madness trying to demonstrate to the rest of the Agora how successfully they have managed to “borrow” a flag or mascot from another antenna and/or project.

The flag-stealing game has been popular in AEGEE for years, and is part of what people would consider the (in-)famous AEGEE spirit. In order for antennae to get their items back there have been several creative punishments throughout the years. Some had to sing a duet, others had to write a poem, and some had to provide mattresses for others at the Agora. However, it seems nowadays that the rather “light” punishments are disappearing and the aim seems to be to embarrass the other part as much as possible. But what seems to be left unconsidered is that it is not only the other part who is left embarrassed but the whole organisation in general.

Can you imagine how the Juridical Commission feels, presenting the ratified and non-ratified proposals of the Agora after people being told to drop their clothes in order to get their flag back, and more importantly, can you imagine how the president of AEGEE-Europe feels like, presenting a special message from the president of the European Parliament for AEGEE, after he has witnessed people encouraged to put items which were meant to be digested all over your body, creating a big mess not only for the image of the organisation? This also appears to be extremely disrespectful towards the organisers putting their effort into hosting this general assembly.

It seems hard to imagine, but it is not far away from what happened at the Autumn Agora Budapest. The chaos occurred not only because of the inconvenient punishments but also because of the high amount of people who had a flag and/or mascot from another antenna in their hands. It is of course a good thing that people take part in the AEGEE family, in the AEGEE spirit, and this game which is part of our organisation, but a question should be raised. Does the flag-stealing sequence need to be a part of the closing plenary? Keep in mind that this is live-streamed, a place honouring the improvements of our organisation, and think of the candidates elected as well as the people who have made such a big effort in order to make this general assembly a reality for the members of our organisation.

Just as the European Night dilemma, this question was also raised in the post-Agora committee/commission’s meeting, and it is an interesting discussion in which you, the members of our organisation are encouraged to take part! Should the flag-stealing sequence take place in the closing plenary or should it be moved to the last party? Should there be rules of which punishments can take place or should that just be common sense? Come forward with your opinion, and help create a fruitful discussion by commenting below. This way we can hopefully prevent what happened at the closing plenary in Autumn Agora Budapest from happening ever again!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Four days in Budapest and probably less than three hours of rest at night. On the plane back to Paris, I slept like a log even before we were up in the air. It was not my first time among the Magyars. I visited the city many years ago with a group of friends and went back ten months ago to spend some rather romantic post-Christmas time there with my boyfriend and some “Föralt Bor”. But the experience was different on those rainy days in the beginning of November 2012.

I had never been to an Agora. I remember the first night, just after the arrival to Budapest; how the crowd was standing around waiting for the buses to take them to the opening ceremony at the Corvinus University. How I was overwhelmed by the mass of 700 people, some of which I actually knew, and how nice it was to see them again. I was listening to bits of conversation… English, French, German, some Polish… There were groups of chatty people next to other people looking around shyly. Some had never been to a European event, just like me, and I think all of us to some extent, had come there to see what AEGEE “really is all about”.

Before Budapest, I have come across AEGEE only on local level. I was therefore positively surprised not only by the amount of people travelling to Budapest to be part of this assembly, but also by the people caring for the idea of a united European youth and their will to make the authorities consider us. I myself grew up in Luxembourg, where the exchange of cultures and European ideas is of high importance. While I had never thought about some points that were heavily discussed during the plenaries, I liked the atmosphere of the workshops where we would not beat around the bush, but openly share ideas, tools and concrete advice on how to work, to plan or to communicate with others. A simple question about which local you belong to could lead to new acquaintances.

During the parties, again I was surprised with how people largely remained close to their local friends while having fun before warming up a little. It is understandable though. Sometimes, one is in a rush and just does not have the time for a deeper conversation; sometimes, one just wants to chat with people without having to introduce himself/herself first. I was running around a lot to find out about the programme, to see at least some parts of beautiful Budapest and its raw charms again, to meet our journalist team and to bathe in the Gellért spa. After the day’s programme and very little free time, we were having fun all together; tired, but happy. And I eventually did get to know some people better. I mostly enjoyed the differences between us and how they would lead to very nice moments of laughter or conversation.

Looking backwards, I recall the Greek condom collector whose aim was to beat the Guinness record, a very young girl already happily married or the laughter of my Italian friends while an Estonian girl chose a cappuccino to go with the goulash we ate… At the Agora, each of those over 700 people has their own story to tell. That is, I believe, the most important and interesting part of what AEGEE is all about.

Written by Edmée Dopfeld, AEGEE-Paris