A few months went by since the Culture Working Group chose Sibiu as the AEGEE Capital of Culture, and host of its 15 years anniversary event. And I can even remember how AEGEE-Sibiu’s proposal attracted us, by showing a perfect understanding of how intercultural dynamics really functions, emphasizing the need to create an open and tolerant society and supporting cooperation and mobility. And what better way to do this will there be, other than meeting up and getting to know each other’s cultures?

Our collaboration with AEGEE-Sibiu has been amazing so far. We discovered very inventive and enthusiastic youngsters, many of them new members, but who also get the support of older ones who have a background in cultural studies. How was it for them to win? “It’s that can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world-class feeling! We’re so excited! Sibiu gets to be Capital of Culture one more time!” said Raluca Roca, the President of AEGEE-Sibiu. And indeed, Sibiu was actually European Capital of Culture in 2007. Therefore, it is a city with a rich cultural heritage, with unique architecture and landscapes, and artistic manifestations taking place throughout the year. Not to mention that Sibiu is located in the heart of Transylvania, which is Romania’s most beautiful and most famous region. If you wonder how to reach Sibiu, we must tell you that it has its own airport, but it is also quite close to the cities of Tirgu-Mures and Cluj-Napoca.

And of course, the two teams, AEGEE-Sibiu and Culture Working Group got together in order to come up with a special programme for participants. And, in a city like this, the ideas were pretty numerous as well. Think about… the city tour of Sibiu, cultural games, a workshop on international humour, theatre improvisation, Romanian movie night, museum rally, traditional Romanian party, and, for the most active participants, a visit to the Paltinis ski resort. What you also must know is that the dates of the event are 28 November – 2 December, which means that it will include Romania’s National Day, which is the 1st of December, and which brings lots of celebrations on the city streets.

This is an event you wouldn’t want to miss! You can find out more about our event and the application procedures in the intranet. But hurry up! The last day to apply is the 28th of October.

Written by Alexandra Vilcu, AEGEE-Milano

In a previous article the Culture Working Group said that 2012 would be a very important and very challenging year for them as they would be celebrating 15 years of activity. They said they needed an idea for a celebration, because this way they could highlight the multicultural potential that AEGEE has and that can be found everywhere. So the team came up with a competition titled “The AEGEE Capital of Culture”.  Culture is everywhere as they so eloquently put it!

Now that the competition is over, we are sure a lot of people want to know what happened. Therefore, we asked Alexandra Vilcu, the Speaker of the Culture Working Group, about the new Capital of Culture.

The AEGEEan: How was competition for AEGEE’s Capital of Culture?
Alexandra: It went better than expected. When we started to think about it, we didn’t even dream that we would have these results. It started off more like a game. But when we started promoting the competition, writing about it in various mailing lists, and afterwards in The AEGEEan, or sending updates in the Working Groups’ monthly newsletter, we realized we were very committed to the competition and that we wanted to make it happen. In the end, receiving nine applications from all parts of Europe, each of them special in their own way, proved that the competition was a success.

The AEGEEan: So how will you celebrate the 15 years of the Culture Working Group?
Alexandra: The Capital of Culture competition ended in May, and now we are preparing the anniversary event together with the Antenna that was picked as AEGEE Capital of Culture. The event will take place in the month of October, more specifically between the 10^th and the 15^th 2012.

The AEGEEan: Have you had any similar events in the past?
Alexandra: This event is something totally new for everyone, so it may not be particularly familiar. The only things that may have been encountered during other events, especially the ones that the Culture Working Group collaborated with, and which will be present during our event,  are some activities that are meant to highlight cultural diversity, making the participants discover new aspects of the cultures of their international friends. We are talking about games, workshops, and thematic meetings. Otherwise, it will be an event that mixes learning and fun,  the international cultures with the local one, in a place that is already famous for its cultural heritage.

The AEGEEan: And the most important question: What were the results of the competition?
Alexandra: Reaching a final result was not easy. We had nine applications and I would like to thank all of these Antennas. They were: Athina, Beograd, Bilbao, Kiev, Leipzig, Salerno, Sibiu, Sofia and Tbilisi.  Each of them put a lot of effort into creating a good application and highlighting their local culture and the beauty of their city. In the end, the winner was the Romanian Antenna of Sibiu, with whom we already have a very good collaboration in the organizing process.

The AEGEEan: What is going to happen next?
Alexandra: Last month, the members of the Culture Working Group had a Skype meeting with AEGEE-Sibiu, and we established the basis for the event and its programme. The formalities for approval have already started, and now we are just expecting the event to be published online on www.aegee.org, so those who would like to participate will have to stay tuned this summer and…apply!

The AEGEEan: How will this event affect us, AEGEE members, in the long and in the short term?
Alexandra: In the short term, we are committing ourselves to organising an event that should be one of a kind: we want our participants to have fun celebrating with us, and to discover other cultures. I am not only talking about the hosts’ culture and Romanian traditions, but also each other’s cultures, as we are expecting a variety of nationalities at our event. In the long term, I hope that future members and board members of the Culture Working Group challenge their own creativity towards future actions and events to be organized, understanding that culture embraces various forms, and its resources are unlimited, especially in an environment like AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Do your plans for the next year involve making not just AEGEE members, but youth in genereal more interested in culture?
Alexandra: I believe that people are interested in culture, and are practising it with or without realizing. It is reflected in our willingness to learn, to travel, and to discover what the “other” is all about. Also, whatever creation comes from a person’s heart, such as a work of art, and which we discover, counts as culture. So, this year, next year, and…always, people are discovering and creating culture all the time, and all we have to do is to make them aware of that, through various methods. On the AEGEE level, I want to mention that this autumn we will start preparing another event, which will be completed in the first part of next year, under a new board, but…everything is going to be revealed when the time is right!

The AEGEEan: Is there anything else you care to share with our readers about your lovely Working Group?
Alexandra: Exactly, “lovely” is the right word. Being the Speaker of the Culture Working Group is an awesome AEGEE experience. I had the chance to work with amazing people from different countries and backgrounds, with an endless desire to learn, and who have different abilities, so that we complete each other. I am very thankful for having met them (even if some of them just online), and for working with them.

Thank you, Culture Working Group, and best of luck for the future!

Written by Andra Toma, AEGEE-Bucuresti

2012 will be a very important and very challenging year for AEGEE’s Culture Working Group. We are celebrating 15 years of activity, and we like to think we are getting better every year.

So, we needed an idea. Actually, we needed THE idea for a celebration. We wanted to make it important, entertaining, but, most of all, we wanted it to highlight the multicultural potential that is present in AEGEE, and the fact that culture can be found everywhere. After several glimpses of ideas and brainstorming sessions, the CWG team came up with a competition, entitled “The AEGEE Capital of Culture”.  As we all know, culture is everywhere, even in the least obvious forms or famous places. This is why we decided to give every Antenna the possibility to participate in  our competition.

What makes your city special? How would you promote your local culture? These are the questions to keep in mind when applying, and if you convince us that your city is indeed special, your antenna will be declared the AEGEE Capital of Culture and hosting local of the Culture Working Group anniversary event, taking place this autumn. If you wish to make the most of your local culture, please apply in writing, at cwg.aegee@gmail.com until the 30th of April 2012, 23:59 CET. The winner will be chosen in May. We also encourage applications from cities which may not be particularly famous for a rich cultural or artistic heritage!

Here is what the application must contain:

1.      Your Antenna/City name.

2.      3 pictures of 3 landmarks or cultural spots from your city.

3.      A draft idea for a cultural event which could be held in your city.

4.      Your motivation to get involved in the project.

As soon as we have a winner, the Culture Working Group will establish the event’s programme together with the hosting local, according to the particularity of the chosen city. We already had quite a few antennae expressing their interest in the competition, and we are looking forward to receiving their applications.

Culture is everywhere and no city is an exception! Think about it. You don’t have to find something spectacular, but something special to you and your city. Don’t miss the chance and make the most of it: become the AEGEE Capital of Culture!

Written by the Culture Working Group