Outstanding antennae organising outstanding events – just a couple of weeks ago, AEGEE-Yerevan organised the Armenia Model European Union (AMEU) for the fourth year in a row! Armenia is one of the countries from the Eastern Partnership (EaP) that aims to strengthen the cooperation with the EU within the next few years, so organising a MEU, with more than 140 members coming from several countries from Europe and beyond, and making it a ‘tradition’ for the past four years is considered a huge achievement and a “cornerstone” for the EU-Armenia relations. The AEGEEan interviewed Armenak Minasyants, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AEGEE-Yerevan and one of the people behind the AMEU’s success.

Armenak Minasyants

The AEGEEan: Armenak, the first AMEU was launched back in 2011. Do you remember how the idea of organizing it came up?
Armenak Minasyants: Yes, of course I remember it! It was one of the craziest days in my life. Actually, back in August 2011, me and Julia Beglaryan (the Co-Founder of MEU in Armenia) were having our usual Saturday coffee meeting and after surfing on Facebook for several minutes, we noticed that there would be simulation conferences organized by the UN and OSCE offices in Armenia, which would simulate the activities of these international organizations. Being members of AEGEE, we automatically had a question: why do we still not have a Model EU Conference in Armenia? The answer was even faster: if we do not have it – LET’S ORGANIZE! Thanks to the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia our initiative got full administrative, financial and institutional support from the European Commission, thus allowing us to establish a project, which has already existed for four years and has proved its full sustainability!

This year is already the fourth edition. Which lessons did you learn from the past ones?
The patience, hard work and dedication are keys for success. If you focus more on the organizational matters rather than on the self-promotion you are always able to succeed and achieve any goal, no matter how non-realistic and ambitious it may look like in the beginning. At least this was the lesson I and my team have learned from the past years.

Which were the topics covered in this year’s MEU?
The suggested topic of AMEU2014 was the “EU Common Foreign and Security Policy in Light of the Ukrainian Crisis”. In our belief each conference should have a message inside, and our message was clear: peace and security are cornerstones to develop a democratic society and sustainable democracy on the European continent. During the activities of AMEU2014 itself, the participants had three plenary sittings, discussed the ongoing political situation in Ukraine, debated about the NATO Wales Summit 2014 and adopted a resolution in regard of the pressure exercised by the Russian government on the Eastern Partnership countries and in particular destabilization of Eastern Ukraine.

The participants also took part in the high level panel discussion titled “Where does the EU EaP Programme Lead to?”, with the participation of the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia H.E. Mr. Traian Hristea, representatives of the Armenian civil society and the Youth Advisory Council of the Council of Europe.

How many participants did you have? Were there also participants coming from other countries?
This edition was a very special one, as first of all it was the biggest thematic political simulation conference ever organized in Armenia, gathering 140 young people from 16 different countries in Yerevan. The countries geography was huge: from Spain to Kazakhstan. I think this multicultural segment of the project is the most important one, as it allows first of all the local Armenian participants to get to know their future colleagues, as well as to experience something truly European.

You have also cooperated with the EU Delegation to Armenia. Do you think that organizing events such as MEU are meaningful for Armenia’s relations with the EU?
I consider this type of events to be the cornerstone of Armenia-EU relations, as they allow firstly the Armenian young people to get better understanding about the European Union and how its policies impact our country. Whenever we talk about the European integration process of any non-EU member states, it is vital to have a high level of political integration matched with the required level of civic integration.

And talking about it – can you tell us a bit about the current status of these relations (Armenia-EU), and what is expected in the next few years?
Well, one of the foreign policy priorities of Armenia is the integration with the European family, on the basis of the commitments and common values, undertaken within the framework of cooperation with the European Union. In July 2013, Armenia and the EU successfully finalized talks over the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, which however were not signed due to Armenia’s decision to join the Russian-led and newly formed Eurasian Economic Union. It is worth to mention that in Armenia this decision is mostly considered to be an exclusively economic decision, which also means that Armenia remains totally open to develop and accordingly sign with the European Union the political segment of the Association Agreement.

Currently, after one year of stalemate caused both with the formation of the new European Commission as well as with the finalization of Armenia’s access to the Eurasian Economic Union, it seems that the Armenian and European sides are getting back to talk. Now it is very important to understand what type of cooperation we would have. I personally think and hope that very soon we would have much more material information in this regard and hopefully by the EU-EaP Riga Summit 2015 the sides would agree over a new legal framework of cooperation. I would also like to emphasize the role of the new Erasmus+ programme, which opens up a huge window of opportunities for the Armenian students.

Last but not least – what about AEGEE-Yerevan? How many members does it have, and which activities do you usually organize?
Well, AEGEE-Yerevan is definitely blossoming now! Currently there are around 50 members registered and more than half of them are directly involved in the everyday activities of the organization. We of course organize classical AEGEE events (SUs, LTCs and etc.), but what is much more important is that we are regularly implementing the EU funded local short and long term programs, mostly tackling civic education and youth mobility, which are also included as Focus Areas in the Strategic Plan of AEGEE-Europe for 2014-2017. Accordingly, this leads also to a higher level of professionalism of our board and members. I do not want to say that we perceive AEGEE in a different way, but we are trying to be very professional with any event and hopefully the future boards would keep this good tradition.

Which are the future plans for the antenna?
We always aim as high as it is possible! AEGEE-Yerevan really wants to host one of the upcoming Network Meetings in 2015, and why not? We also want to bring one of the statutory events to Yerevan in the future! At least we surely have both the human resources and professional capacity to make this happen.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

If we take a look around our own musical tastes, most of us will agree that there are so many songs, from traditional ones to pop musicc, that don’t reach a major audience because of the language barrier. What is more, we would find it hard to find any song related to European integration at all, or barely no European symbols in the latest videoclips.

With these ideas in mind, AEGEE-Düsseldorf member Benjamin Feyen has decided to take up again an idea he had many years ago in order to connect two of his passions: music, and AEGEE. He has found in music a perfect channel to spread ‘Europtimism’, and he is currently looking for motivated members that would like to embark on his project called FAME, which stands for the multilingual  name Fabrik AEGEE-ènne de Müzik Europea. The AEGEEan has just had a chat with Benjamin about the idea behind this new musical project.

Benjamin, how did you come up with the idea of launching a project about music?

I love music, so it is quite obvious to combine this with another thing I love: AEGEE. However, the basic idea of what will now be the FAME project came up already six or seven years ago, even before I joined AEGEE. At the beginning there were two things that I noticed: I would probably never have known many great songs written in languages other than English if my friends from abroad hadn’t introduced them to me. And, feeling more and more European, I became aware of the fact that there are not really any famous pop songs dealing with Europe or aspects of the European integration, neither are songs that make the European flag appear in a music video clip (which I believe it deserves, just as the US flag, for instance).

Connecting those two things, the basic idea for this project was born, and after I joined AEGEE I felt our association was the perfect environment to make it possible. Together with other AEGEE members (at this place I should not forget to mention Alperen Yavuz, Rüya Beril and Dawid Sierzant), the idea was then further developed during the “European Ideas Factory” of AEGEE-Europe which took place in Gliwice in 2010. Unfortunately, we never managed to start off with the project. But I believe it is never too late for a good idea, so now the time has finally come.

Which is the main aim of the project? Would you like to promote European integration through music?

Yes, that’s the main aim indeed – and music is a perfect tool to spread Europtimism, because everyone listens to music and it can be used in many ways. But even more than that, FAME also wants to foster the variety of European languages and musical traditions. Music is an important part of our culture, but at the same time it also carries culture, e.g. languages, typical sounds, rhythms, instruments or dances, and thus tells stories.

Besides that, worldwide hits such as Dragostea din tei or Gangnam style prove that it is not crucial to understand the songs’ lyrics if the tune is catchy enough, so why does the English language have to be so dominant in modern pop music? Personally, I would also love to hear more non-English music in the clubs during AEGEE events, but that’s a different topic…

And which are the type of musical creations you would like to see in this project? 

Everything is possible, as long as the songs fulfill two criteria:

1. The lyrics have to be written in at least two European languages;
2. and they have to deal with Europe or any aspect of the European integration in a positive or constructive way, taking AEGEE’s values and mission into account.

The rest is open to the creativity of our participants. The “perfect” FAME song would actually combine those two criteria and even refer to it in the way it is produced. To give an example: A love song ballad about – let’s say – a Russian and a Spanish who meet in Greece. It could be a duet between the two of them with the verses sung in Russian and Spanish and the chorus in Greek, using the balalaika and flamenco guitar and combining it with some syrtaki-style rhythm.

Or, to give another (less complex) example: a hip hop song about the EU’s founding father Jean Monnet, using sound samples from a speech. Or a hard rock song complaining about still existing borders in Europe that need to be overcome. You see, there is lots of space for the FAME participants to unleash their creativity.

Each song will be a little project on its own, providing the greatest possible freedom for the participants (i.e. songwriters, musicians, producers etc.) within the basic guidelines of FAME, as well as ensuring an individual sound.

Do you look for members who are experienced in music, or any AEGEE member can join?

Indeed there are many ways to contribute for every AEGEE member, even if you’re completely non-musical. Of course we need songwriters, musicians and singers, too. But in order to promote the songs in a proper way, many more things have to be done. An important aspect of the project will be the production of video clips for the songs – therefore we need e.g. screenplay writers, film editors, actors and actresses, costume designers and many more.

Of course this also depends on the money we’ll be able to raise, thus we also need people experienced in fundraising as well as experts for social media and viral marketing. This project definitely has the potential to become really huge, but even if it attracts only a few AEGEE members and if we have no money at all, it can still be realized on a small scale. In fact it could be just me recording a little song at home with my guitar, but of course it would be so much more awesome to get dozens of AEGEE people from all over Europe involved.

As you have mentioned, the project could not be possible some years ago in your first attempt. Why was it?

When we developed the project during the “European Ideas Factory”, we were all very enthusiastic, but quite soon we realized that we were too busy with other stuff, inside and outside of AEGEE. Even though we had already started promoting the project within AEGEE, it was still not too late to stop it without harming anybody. Concerning my personal situation, from April I will be out of the AEGEE-Düsseldorf board after three years as its president, so now there is some space for me to dedicate myself to the European level of AEGEE.

And why do you think AEGEE needs a project related to music?

Because there is none yet, at least not such a big one, and I know many AEGEE members who make music and would certainly like to join such a project. Whenever I told somebody about FAME in the past, the reactions were very positive. Plus, the idea behind this project perfectly matches the “Spreading Europtimism” part of the new Strategic Plan.

Do you expect to make it an official AEGEE project?

That would be great, but of course it depends a lot on the project team I’m about to start forming. As I said above, I believe that FAME has the potential to become a big project, and it would be awesome to have it as an official project of AEGEE-Europe. But step by step, first let’s see if anybody is interested in joining me in the project team.

And have you already found some members interested in it?

Indeed the first participants already joined and started working on a song, however in the project team I am currently the only one. But it’s been just two days now since the project was officially made public within the AEGEE world by sending the open call for team members via ANNOUNCE-L, so I’m expecting the first applications during the next days.

Apart from that, it’s definitely nice to see that the number of “likes” for the Facebook page as well as the number of subscribers to the mailing list FAME-INFO-L has begun to grow constantly. So I assume there must be a general interest in this project.

So, as soon as you have your first team members, which are your first plans going to be? Will we see the FAME project in Patra?

I hope we will be able to get into work very soon: preparing fundraising activities, making the project known among AEGEE members, building up a communication infrastructure, starting to cooperate with other bodies in AEGEE, sending out a first open call for songs, and so on.

Without promising too much, I can say that the plan is indeed to release a first FAME song including a videoclip already in April! I mentioned above that some people are currently working on a song, and I am confident that the final result will be impressive. I hope that the song will also help to make the FAME project popular among AEGEE members, and it would be great to present the video clip at the AGORA and maybe even play the song during the parties. But that depends on the Chair Team and the local organisers, of course..

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona/AEGEE-Leuven

The Eastern Partnership Project concluded last November in Autumn Agora Zaragoza, where their results were presented. But that does not mean it is over. The latest developments in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, and especially the EaP Summit in Vilnius, have shown that there is still a lot of work to do, and so The AEGEEan has spoken to Adrian Browarczyk (AEGEE-Poznan), Project Manager of the new Eastern Partnership Project, about their future plans.

The AEGEEan: Adrian, the Eastern Partnership Project concluded in Zaragoza with a standing ovation to the team. Now is the turn for the EaP[2]: why was it decided to launch a second ‘edition’ of the EaP?

Adrian Browarczyk: Since 2010 many things have changed. The EU program developed into an important diplomatic tool in frames of the Neighbourhood Policy. A significant number of binding agreements has been signed between interested sides and the level of bilateral cooperation between EU and EaP countries is quite gratifying even though some of the target countries proved their independence of choice in a surprising way (i.e. Armenia suddenly assigned to Customs Union roadmap at the end of 2013). Nonetheless, internally we also managed to step further by bringing the issue closer to an ordinary AEGEEan by means of a series of conferences, workshops, trainings and cultural events. In total we did a great job we are still proud of. Such backpack filled in with valuable experiences made us feel that we cannot leave the matter that quickly – it appeared that many crucial challenges are still far ahead which obviously means we are obliged to keep going with the undertaking Alla Resheten and others are parenting.

Which points is this edition going to have in common with its predecessor?

First of all, I would like to emphasise that even if we decided to keep the name of the project, we share the logo in a refreshed version and the team structure to a certain point resembles the previous one, we are basically a new creation issued by people who significantly didn’t contribute to EaP before. Nevertheless, as for the points we do share, I am proud to state that some of the members of EaP, namely Alla Resheten, Daryna Skryl and Armenak Minasyants, granted us with their support and advice – they form today a consultancy body which i.e. points out things we could focus on and motivates us to work further on things they find important. Furthermore, regarding the thematic sphere, a new project crew came up with the idea of centering on civil society development in six program countries as well as on promotion of active citizenship and raising awareness of its importance within our network, mainly in the EaP area. These points coincide with the priorities EaP had before, yet we aim at developing them by adding the value of structured dialogue and studies on gender equality in target societies.

And which new things are you planning to introduce?

I would like to begin with the team structure. Firstly, we introduced a position of the Impact Measurement Manager. This move was motivated mainly by our willingness to examine the impact we have in a structured way, keeping it transparent and helpful for generations to come. Secondly, when I was thinking about the strategy our project should implement, I realized that we need a group of people helping us in seeking for materials, analyzing resources and supporting in content creation. These are the reasons our Research team was constituted. Thirdly, as for the project’s plans, I would see us closely cooperating with locals from EaP region in terms of promoting liaison relations, organizing events related to main project aims and also sharing an overview on things we may not be aware of. Being visible externally by strengthening links with our partners (i.e. Civil Society Forum) and taking active part in shaping policy AEGEE-Europe strives for are among goals I would like to achieve with our team.

Can you tell us about activities that you are currently planning?

As we are currently brainstorming about the action agenda I am only able to name these ones we really would like to happen. Apart from organizing a series of trainings on youth participation and related topics, we are planning to help locals in hosting Active Citizenship Action Days. The event formula will be chosen in cooperation with hosting antenna, nonetheless we would like to follow the example of the convention YVote 2014 Project has created. Moreover, as we do see the importance of democratic processes, we have established already a link with the Election Observation Project which allows us to contribute to a wide range of election observation missions. Some of our members participate in the Short-Term Observer E-Learning course organized by OSCE /ODIHR in order to gain the knowledge that will allow them to legally examine elections’ reality mainly in the Eastern Partnership region. Regarding other initiatives we plan to undertake I would mention a two-week long “Bus/Train tour” through Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova with participants from the Eastern Partnership area and other European countries. The event will target the promotion of the structured dialogue at all levels and  will also underline the importance of being an active citizen in mentioned countries. Panel discussions with experts, different workshops and trainings will be organized in order to achieve the main project goals. As for the activities we would like to hold in a bigger external perspective I would name the ones where we are considered as partners: the side event of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum that will take place this autumn in Tbilisi and a series of initiatives mentioned by Armenak Minasyants, the Policy Officer on European Integration, in his Action Agenda. Eventually I am sharing with you our current action achievements: apart from publishing a couple of articles, participating in EaP Young Leaders Forum, organizing workshops at Zaragora and NWM Poznan, we recently supported the conference on recent Ukrainian events in Lille and we set up a cooperation with AEGEE-Bratislava in order to provide them with content during their SU organized along with AEGEE-Lviv and AEGEE-Odessa. Two other ‘work-together’ suggestions appeared lately from Europe On Track 2 and EuroArab sides – stay tuned and do not miss updates on our brand new website!

At the same time, the protests in Ukraine struck short after the Agora in Zaragoza. Has it influenced the ideas of the project in some way?

We feel much more motivated and eager to follow the thematic direction we have chosen. Recent events in Ukraine proved that the state of active citizenship there still remains a challenge to work on. Both sides of these clashes showed that Ukrainian people are not fully acquainted with the model of civil society other European countries share. Therefore, we would like to contribute to changes that will surely happen not only in Ukraine but also in the whole region. We would like to support the EaP youth in their call for democracy and the rule of law. I feel that with our project we are able to have an impact to a certain extent on the birth of the societies completely aware of their rights.

What about you, Adrian: what motivated you to be the Project Manager?

Adrian Browarczyk

It was a conjunction of different circumstances. The main reason I considered becoming the Project Manager was Alla’s suggestion at the previous EaP live meeting in Brussels last spring. I was thinking about it a lot during summer holidays, noodling over whether my leading skills and strengths are sufficient for such task. When I counted up the possibilities this challenge brings along I decided on stepping further and taking the responsibility of managing the project. From the very beginning I had people around who supported me with so much needed advice at that time. With Roland Papp (AEGEE-Budapest) and Marta Wnuk (AEGEE-Poznań) we dealt together with the first tasks and shaping the idea we would like to implement straight after Spring Agora Patra. I would also like to mention my personal interest in the Eastern Partnership issue, which has been developing since I was accepted as a member of the project’s team in 2012. My motivation grew when I had a possibility to represent AEGEE-Europe with Armenak Minasyants at Eastern Partnership Youth Forum in Kaunas last October. Since then everything seems to be moving in the right direction.

During your time in the first Eastern Partnership Project, which were the most valuable lessons that you learnt?

I finally got used to function in the international environment of youth activists who really did see the importance of the matter they worked on. We faced many quaint questions which I liked a lot as at the same time I was developing my interest in specific areas (I did research on Moldovan and Transnistrian youth and topics related to the internet freedom in Azerbaijan). We used to work late with grant applications and other tasks which actually determined my further work profile – EaP team mates receive my emails even at 4 in the morning. Another lesson I learnt is that while cooperating with partners from EaP region you must be very patient because some of the topics you touch are sometimes differently perceived. Nonetheless, over one year of active membership made me feel that I acquired enough knowledge to work on my own from now on.

Which are the outcomes you would like the project to have?

As a team we are certain that adding a youth perspective to the Eastern Partnership initiative of the European Union will be a significant contribution to building a united European society. I believe that we will be able to influence the recognition of youth power in target societies and that our work will contribute to establishing a strong civil society based on youth engagement. Consequently, I do hope we will successfully raise awareness on the role that active citizenship has in the transition states and that we will obtain young people with knowledge and tools regarding citizens’ rights and duties. I also believe that, by means of our actions in cooperation with the Election Observation Project, we will prove the importance of the participation in voting processes. Finally, I wish we will effectively promote and therefore increase effectiveness of Eastern Partnership program youth involved in the structured dialogue led with EU and regional stakeholders

Team structure of the Eastern Partnership Project:

CORE TEAM:

• Project Manager – Adrian Browarczyk, AEGEE-Poznań
• Content Managers – Roland Papp, AEGEE-Budapest and Marta Wnuk, AEGEE-Poznań
• Impact Measurement Manager – Léa Hannaoui-Saulais, AEGEE-Lille
• Financial Manager – Claudio Armandi, AEGEE-Napoli
• FR Manager – Zoltán Hradszky, AEGEE-Budapest
• PR Manager – Mert Can Yilmaz, AEGEE-Ankara

TEAM MEMBERS:

• FR Support team: Izawetta Manuel, AEGEE-Poznań and Cerem Çavdar, AEGEE-Ankara
• PR Support team: Clemens Adler, AEGEE-Karlsruhe and Alice Nitsch, AEGEE-Bamberg

RESEARCH:

• Damiano Deidda, AEGEE-Cagliari
• Saskia Heller, AEGEE-Hamburg
• Mara Bubberman, AEGEE-Groningen
• Ferran Huidobro Casamitjana, AEGEE-Tarragona
• Ivan Bielik, AEGEE-Brno

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

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

I am meeting Ana Dragic just after a basketball tournament. She has just arranged the interview, but then surprises me with a filled questionnaire early in the morning. I don’t know Ana very well, but I can see that she really gets along with Marijana Roscic, the current Network Commissioner (NetCommie), so I am sure she will also inherit Marijana’s strict habits and strong structure, which make her work very structured and organised.

So here it is – Ana Dragic candidating for Network Commission (NetCom):

You are candidating for the NetCom. Do you feel experienced enough?

After a one year term as president of a strong local such as AEGEE-Beograd and six months as Subcommissioner responsible for some very nice locals, after dealing with many difficulties of the locals in this region and being a participant, organizer and coordinator of many events, yes, I am sure I am experienced enough for this position.

From what I’ve seen, you are in very good relations with Marijana. Do you plan to take responsibility for her locals?

As I have already mentioned, I have been working in Marijana’s team for the last six months, and I am familiar with the situation of ‘her’ locals. When it comes to taking responsibility for them after Marijana’s term ends, that is something for the whole NetCom team to decide together. But I would surely love to continue working with them in case I get elected.

 And what about the Eastern Balkans – Bulgaria, Romania, Greece?

The same applies for them… after the elections, the NetCom team will decide and distribute the locals.

 Do you see any potential in this region for future locals?

“Svakoga dana u svakom pogledu sve više napredujemo.” – “Dolly Bell”

Every day, in every moment, we are progressing more and more.

Of course I am going to support Bridging Europe, and I will support any other project which benefits the locals in this area.

 We can see that now, and also during the last few years, most of the Comite Directeur (CD) candidates are former NetCom members. Do you have such intentions in mind?

At the moment, I don’t have such plans, but you never know.

How do you plan to fit the NetCom responsibilities into your timetable?

As I am playing my last basketball tournament this week and finishing my bachelor studies this year, my main responsibility will be AEGEE and hopefully master studies in Belgrade, so there
won’t be any problems with my schedule for sure.

It is said that AEGEE-Academy is the most attractive body in AEGEE. Also, through a joke, the Public Relations Committee became the tallest body and The AEGEEan – the sexiest. What would the Network Commission be like?

The most active, of course!

Thank you and good luck in Enschede!

Written by Liliya Buyukliyska, AEGEE-Sofia