The Sports Working Group (SWG) is preparing for this autumn by encouraging antennae to take part in interesting events such as the MOVE Week and Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) while also preparing for Autumn Agora Zaragoza and the upcoming elections for the SWG. In this interview the members look back on the last year.

Sabina Begic has been the PR responsible, Ángel Rodríguez has been the speaker, Özgun Kaplama has been focusing on FR, and Patricia Anthony has been the secretary of the SWG since October last year.

How has it been to be part of the SWG Board?

Patricia: It has definitely been a challenge but very rewarding as well. When SWG was created in Agora Enschede it was difficult to start a Working Group from scratch, but with the board of this past year it has developed a lot! Motivation was high in the beginning, and I hope to see the same happening for the next board – developing SWG even more.

Sabina: It was challenging and exciting. We started highly-motivated, had an enthusiastic and friendly team. During the year a few things changed in the board, so that also influenced us and our work.

Özgun: Very good for me. In SWG I learned that sport is not only sport. There are some sports events focusing on civil rights and social problems. This is a really nice opportunity to work on these problems from the perspective of sports.

Ángel: Many things have been done in the last year, it was really active at the beginning, but with time the members of the board became less active. I have learned many things about sports projects in Europe and met people from special organisations that fight for the evolution of social and civil rights in society. During this past year I have become active as volunteer for sporting events in my city and in AEGEE events, so it has opened my eyes and I have learned more how to focus on helping people.

What were the highlights?

Sabina: For me definitely the organisation of AEGEE Games together with AEGEE-León, and our Skype meetings with Daniel García Rodriguez from León.

Özgun: During Statutory Events’ Fairs, I could discuss with some people about the vision of fighting problems through sports. It was a nice experience.

Patricia: Developing different ideas that SWG can do for AEGEE and for the European youth. It has been amazing to see the working group grow.

Ángel: Meeting Adam Wide, a 60-year-old man who has more energy that a lot of AEGEE members… which is very difficult in my opinion.

What has been the most difficult part?

Sabina: The disappointment after finding out that we needed to cancel the AEGEE Games.

Özgun: Sometimes you cannot agree on a certain subject because of different opinions and different lifestyles but it is how you learn the most in volunteer work.

Ángel: Keeping the spirit on the European level is difficult when you do not have your mates by your side to discuss about the Working Group.

Patricia: Working together in a team that does not meat regularly and working across cultural borders is definitely a challenge. It continues to be a fight to activate AEGEE members on the European level and it was sad to see that events with great potential such as the AEGEE Games or International Day Against Homophobia could not be realized. However, the ideas are there and they will not get lost so hopefully it can happen next year!

Would anyone like to continue being in the board?

Özgun: Yes! I want to because I think I have many things to do for SWG.

Sabina: Yes, very much!

Ángel: I would love to continue, but it is time to end my PhD and I cannot focus on it while being in the board of SWG.

Patricia: After 1,5 years in the Sports Working Group I think it is time for some new people in the board other than me. However, I will continue as a member and help out as much as possible to see the projects that we have been working on will become reality.

Why would you encourage others to become part of SWG?

Ángel: To understand that AEGEE is more than fun and traveling, and show to them that Europe needs volunteers to improve the society and make life easier for people with difficulties of all kinds.

Patricia: Because being a part of a Working Group is an experience where one can learn a lot and develop skills such as creativity, teamwork, learning about cultural differences and so on. In the board there is a need for many different skills, and thus there have been difficult times, but I have really enjoyed working together with Ozgun, Angel and Sabina during this past year!

Özgun: It is a new part of your AEGEE experience. It gives you a nice start on the European level and it is great for those who love sports. Sports events are not only about physical activity, they can also help us create a better future.

Sabina: Because sports are the best tool to connect healthy activities, possibility for establishing contacts very quickly, to provide uncomplicated get-togethers, overcome language barriers and cultural reservations.

Written by Patricia Anthony, Secretary of the Sports Working Group

Board member on the local level, vice-chairperson of AGORAe and EBM, subcommie in the Netcom team, representative of the Dutch locals towards the Dutch Youth Council, always energetic, optimistic and ready to have fun. This is our new member of the month – Paul Smits from AEGEE-Enschede. Let’s see what he had to say to the AEGEEan:

The AEGEEan: Tell me about your experience in AEGEE.

Paul: It started when I came to Enschede to study. I wanted to join an association, meet many people, make a lot of friends and get to see a bit more of the world. AEGEE soon turned out to be a perfect means for achieving those early goals. While I was having lots of fun, AEGEE more and more became part of my life. I became active on the local level, went to my first Network Meeting and after my first year I went to my first Agora as a Delegate for AEGEE-Enschede. Back then in Enschede I organised some trips, a Summer University and a conference and I soon wanted to commit myself to a year on the Board of the loveliest association of Enschede. As External Affairs responsible, I was responsible for all external affairs of AEGEE-Enschede, except for those concerning Europe. After gaining experience in the Board, I moved on to the European level as sub-commissioner of the Network Commission and Vice-Chairperson of the Agora and EBM.

What was it like to be Chair of two statutory events? Was it a lot easier the second time? 

I enjoy preparing and chairing the events with the rest of the Chair Team a lot! There is a lot going on in the months before a statutory event, which I had observed only from the point of view of the organising local in Enschede in 2012. It is a great experience to be in another essential part of the huge group of people involved in organising statutory events. This applies also to actually chairing the Agora and being at the cool side of the Chair table looking at all those lovely AEGEE faces.

The EBM is of course very different from Agorae. There are less people to entertain, less decision-making going on and fewer days than at the Spring Agora. On the other hand, there are more thematics and interesting discussions, which are awesome, but not very much connected to the work of us as the Chair Team. The EBM Valletta therefore was an easy start for us as Chair Team. The Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar was a bit more challenging, but since I am working with some thoroughly experienced members and the local organizers delivered a very well structured event, we were able to have a quite smooth Agora.

What are the different sides of working in the Board team and in the Chair team?

Working as a Board member of AEGEE-Enschede was a full-time job. We had fixed office hours, meetings all the time, and a lot of quality time with each other and our members. Naturally, this is very different from working in the Chair Team, which is more like any other body on the European level, I guess. Skype and Hangout meetings, dividing tasks and executing them on your own, in between the other things in day to day life.

Also after a while in the Board, each week became more and more like every other week. In the Chair Team however, we are working towards a single big goal with various steps along the way there.

Did you enjoy being a subcommie? Do you plan to conquer NetCom soon too?

Being a sub-commissioner was very enjoyable. I had lots of fun with Wieke, Marije and Mathieu in supporting our part of the network. It was a good way to broaden my horizons beyond the borders that surround AEGEE-Enschede for most of its members. In addition, because I was already a sub-commissioner, it was a fitting choice also to apply to be the very first representative of the Dutch AEGEE locals towards the National Youth Council (NJR). In that position, I am trying to achieve mutual benefit for the organisations. In AEGEE, strong Dutch locals can put their strengths to use in new and better ways and weaker locals can improve through cooperation opportunities and new funding options. AEGEE now also has a big say in selecting the Dutch Youth Representatives on European Affairs.

The Network Commission might very well be the coolest (and best-looking?) body of AEGEE.

Now I do not think I will be running for Network Commissioner in the near future. After my year as subcommie and after representing the Dutch locals towards the National Youth Council (NJR), I feel like its maybe not my time anymore to interfere with the Dutch-speaking locals. As long as there are good candidates for this part of the Network, I will be happy to leave the opportunity to discover and experience AEGEE as a Network Commissioner to those others.

What do you do apart from AEGEE? Studies? Work?

I finished my Bachelor thesis on modelling Single Pulse Electrical Stimulation of the brain cortex last week and after summer I will start my Masters in Technical Medicine, which will take me at least three more years. I have an interest in almost everything, so choosing studies and projects is not always easy. Discovering the world, enjoying it in every way and contributing to it as I see fit, that is my job. Studying is a hobby, which I do in my spare time! Who knows what will come on my path next.

AEGEE seems to fill a huge part of your life. Do you have a separate group of non-AEGEE friends that you spend time with? Sometimes getting some AEGEE-free air can be very refreshing.

If it were not for AEGEE, I would be a total hermit. Most of my friends nowadays have some connection with AEGEE in one way or another. Apart from my housemates and some fellow Technical Medicine students, it is all AEGEE for me. I do not consider this a bad thing, at all. Is AEGEE-free air supposed to be refreshing? In my opinion, AEGEEans are diverse and versatile enough to be refreshing in their own right. If I only compare some of my local fraternity friends with some European active AEGEE members, there is already a great variation in people. This is one of the key characteristics of our organisation that makes it so amazing!

Do you have a motto by which you live or strive to live by?

While Agora Rhein-Neckar took place, the new board of the Academy was elected trough online voting by the Academy members. Costas Deltouzos from AEGEE-Patras is the new secretary / IT-responsible, Patrick Scholz from AEGEE-Aachen is the new treasurer and Maartje Natrop from AEGEE-Utrecht,  whom I spoke to over a nice cake dinner, is the new speaker.

Firstly, can you tell us a bit more about yourself?

I’m Maartje and at the moment I am doing my masters in communication science, which I hope to finish end of 2013. But what I love to do much more is put my hours into AEGEE-work. For example, I’m main organizer of the Self-development European School in Utrecht this May. Next to my part-time sales job, my studies and AEGEE, I love working out at the gym pretty much every day!

Why did you candidate for speaker of AEGEE-Acadamy?

I have been training in AEGEE  for a year now, and I felt like I wanted to take the next step and get active in a board position on European level. Since training is my passion I though the Academy was the best place to do this.

Why did you candidate after the deadline?

To be honest, first  I wasn’t planning to candidate at all, because I didn’t think I had the time this job deserves. But at the Network Meeting in Leiden two weeks ago I spoke to Kathrin from the CD. We had a really inspiring talk, in which she convinced me that the Academy is one greatest resources AEGEE has, and I agree. This made me realize that I do actually really want to do this. After that I thought long and hard, and decided not to continue my work in several local commissions next year, making room for fresh blood and which gives me much more time to devote myself to the Academy. So I was really happy the deadline happened to be reopened.

Why do you think AEGEE-Academy is one of the best bodies of AEGEE?

Because in the Academy we help organize training events, like Training for Trainers (T4T) where we train those within AEGEE who want to be trainers, or European Schools (ES) where we train many AEGEE members and prepare them for board positions or other important functions. Trainers,  in their turn, deliver so much knowledge, skills and inspiration to all other people in AEGEE during trainings in these events. We basically facilitate Human Resources Manaement in AEGEE so I would even go as far as to say the Academy is in some way the backbone of AEGEE Europe.

“The Academy is the backbone of AEGEE” 

What makes you so passionate about the Academy?

I’ve always been passionate about teaching others, and I realized this even more during the ES1 I attended in 2011. The T4T I went to inspired me even more. Training makes me so happy, because you give so much, but you get so much in return. To help others become their best selves; being able to do that is one of the best things there is in life. Taking things to the next level for me is also being able to ensure that the Academy is working at its best so the other people can do this as well!

What are you hoping to achieve in your time in the Academy?

Well, a lot, which is why I can already state that I will be re- candidating in half a year. An Academy board member stays in his or her position only for half a year , but I have so many plans, that I definitely want to stay longer. With Patrick and Costas and hopefully some assistants (we already have some interested), we have an amazing team and we already did some brainstorming. We think the Academy has so much potential, but it has to be revived. Many members do not know what we do. At the end of my term I want everybody in AEGEE to know what the Academy is, what we do and how we do it!

Do you have some concrete plans?

We have a few important goals we want to concentrate on in our time as board. Firstly, to get people more aware of what the Academy actually does. For this, I want to make a communication / promotion plan that informs the network about our activities. Also, I want to improve the online training database with trainers profiles and create a new one with training materials. Furthermore: communication with trainers, I want them to know we, as a board, are there for them. I would love to introduce regular online chat-sessions. We also want to work together with the CD and some other people on impact management. Then improving the website is also one of our goals. Lastly, I really want to invest in both quality and quantity, to get as much qualified trainers as possible, and really invest in their education. Make sure we have optimal human resources.
And of course, I will still give trainings myself, because that is what I love to do.

“Strategic planning, action, structure, coordination, promotion and communication are keywords for our term!” 

You made the decision two weeks ago, but you have so many plans, so I take it that you must have thought about it before. 

Somewhere deep down I knew that I wanted to do this position all along, I only didn’t do it because I didn’t think I had the time. So the ideas have been in my mind for a long time. Plus, the brainstorming with our team and during the general members meeting brought up a lot too! I am so happy to have the guys on board, we are all equally important in realizing the many plans we have.

How are you planning to celebrate your election?

Actually I already did, with the cake we are having now and with a celebration ouzo-shot from AEGEE-Patra, even though I actually don’t even drink, but for this occasion, I gladly made an exception!

Written by Roos Tamis, AEGEE-Utrecht 

Mirosław Krzanik, former Audit Commissioner, former member of Comité Directeur and former Liaison Officer toward the European Youth Forum, has been elected as board member of the European Youth Forum by its General Assembly in Maribor in December 2012, representing AEGEE in the European Board. The European Youth Forum (YFJ, from Youth Forum Jeunesse) is the biggest representative youth platform in our continent. It strives for youth rights in international institutions. In its daily work the European Youth Forum represents the views and opinions of youth organisations in all relevant policy areas and promotes the cross-sectoral nature of youth policy towards a variety of institutional actors. In this interview, Mirosław talks about the current projects of the European Youth Forum, his main goals for the upcoming term, as well as the role that his involvment in AEGEE played in reaching the goal of becoming a board member.

Please enjoy!