Réka Salamon – President

November was a month I was looking forward to – not only because of the quiet time in office that left me with more time to work on project ideas and applications, but also because it is NWM season, and during such an intense month with so many events around AEGEE, the network really comes to life!

I used a bit more quiet time to review the workload of CD, have meeting with CD members, update the task division and review the progress in our Activity Plan. While work-wise it was easier to check data, it was also difficult to work on our daily tasks since half of us were away for NWMs all the time.

I spent November also on research and development of project grant ideas, including collaboration opportunities with other organisations (capacity building on Erasmus+), and submitting a grant application for Agora Enschede. Together with following the policy processes on the European Solidarity Corps, submitting AEGEE’s contribution to the EU Skills Agenda and preparing for the general assembly of the European Youth Forum, the hub of the youth policy and participation sector: November felt like I was up to speed in Brussels to the extent that AEGEE needed to be. And that speed is a hyperactive one.

December started with the amazing adventure of taking a Network trip, visiting some of the Turkish-speaking locals around the time of attending NWM Ankara. This trip has not only grown my understanding of the struggles and needs of the network, it has also given a new boost of motivation to continue the work for strengthening our network, our locals, and bring the spirit of AEGEE to all parts of Europe, which is more important than ever today.

From inspiration, I arrived back to Brussels for the Christmas Party in our headoffice (external and alumni relations, ahem), the evaluation meeting of AEGEE’s activity in UYD Mollina, and meetings on AEGEE’s involvement on the anniversary of the Charlemagne Youth Prize.

The last week before closing the headoffice for Christmas holidays was spent in a strange feeling with all of us still working, but Christmas lurking around the corner. We were all ready to take a rest. Except that, for me, rest once again meant I only sent half of the usual amount of emails during the holidays. Happy new year to all of you!

Katarzyna Sokołowska – Secretary General

In the second part of November I went to NWM in Beograd where I could see how various is our network. It was a very valuable experience to be present on 2 NWMs in different parts of Europe. I can truly recommend you to participate in more than one NWM in the next semester. After that, I stayed in Brussels quite longer than during the previous months. At the end of November I helped with packing the General Mailing and went with Tekla to AEGEE-Delft to send them. I represented AEGEE on a few events at the European Commission about youth work and entrepreneurship of young people. During my time in Brussels I also solved all questions regarding staff management and our employee. The last task, which definitely brought me a lot of happiness and positive energy, was the Christmas party. Together with other CD members, on the 9th of December we hosted our Christmas party, so the first days of December my main task was to coordinate the preparations. During the last working day of 2016, with all the people from the office – with our employee Andrea and assistant Maria – we went for a Christmas dinner to sum up our year and integrate for the next year.

I would like to wish all of you happy, merry Christmas and amazing New Year’s Eve. [she smiles, ed.]

Zvonimir Canjuga – Financial Director

November started by attending the NWM organized by AEGEE-Cagliari. Numerous workshops and awesome participants made this NWM special. We also started coordination of EPM together with AEGEE-Zagreb organizers. Besides regular finance work, I was also focusing on the work with E.Q.A.C. and CIRC, and we have new teams with new work plans and results that you will see soon.  Also, together with the AUDIT Commission, I started to work on the concept of a new toolkit that will ensure proper KT for treasurers in locals and offer help with fundraising. The biggest point of this period was writing and submitting the Operating Grant, that is of highest importance for AEGEE. Together with other CD members, we successfully finished and submitted it. In November I also had the opportunity to travel to Athens for the Coca Cola Hellenic stakeholders annual meeting. After that, I participated to my second NWM organized by AEGEE-Aachen, and I can only say it was awesome event, and I enjoyed my time on both NWMs together with AEGEEans from all around the Network. I spent the end of my year repairing ALEX (one of our servers) and checking other IT infrastructure around the Head Office. In addition, GREAT and MY-WAY projects finished and it was time to recheck reporting systems and finish the transactions. Lastly, together with Lia we worked on the selection of the Interim Chairpersons for Agora. What is happening in January you will read in our next CD telegram.

Maarten de Groot – Vice-President and External Relations Director

In November and December I have been busy with the first preparations for EPM Zagreb: selecting the Content Managers and starting to work with them, discussing and determining the overall outlook of the event together with the rest of CD. Moreover, I have been coordinating the selection of the Franck Biancheri Award 2017: there were many good applications, but there could only be one winner – AEGEE-Budapest. The first preparations for the conference ‘Education for the Present, Democracy for the Future’, taking place in April, have already started. Additionally, I have started to work with the newly formed Agora Reform Task Force. Currently, we are still in the process of defining the exact direction of the task force, but more is to follow soon. A major highlight of these months was the Network Meeting in Moscow: just like many other participants, it was the first time I got to apply for a visa, and it took me some time and nerves to get it. However, it was totally worth it: it was a great opportunity for me to get to know another side of the AEGEE Network, and of Europe.

Apart from these internal AEGEE processes, Réka and I have represented AEGEE at the European Youth Forum General Assembly in Varna (Bulgaria). Apart from the board elections, the Work Plan of the Forum was finalized and adopted, and – interesting for us – advocacy on civic education is included in it. I have also contributed to a workshop on e-participation that was hosted by us within the framework of our participation in the EUth project. Lastly, the event provided an opportunity for me to talk to other youth organizations about the state and future of the ‘Free Interrail Ticket’ idea that is being developed inside the European Parliament, and that the Agora asked us to actively follow and contribute to. Apart from this event, I also attended the Members’ Council of European Movement International, the European Angst Conference and the Steering Committee meeting of the European Civic Forum. These different events have helped me to get a better understanding of the playing field in Brussels: who the relevant players on certain topics are and how we as AEGEE can effectively work together with some of them in order to realize our own thematic priorities. Our European Citizens’ Initiative ‘More than Education – Shaping Active and Responsible Citizens’ is currently the main project for which we look for partners in the civil society. I hope to be able to work more on this from January onwards, together with the task force.

Joanna Pankowska – Projects and Communication Director

In the period of November and December I travelled twice to Berlin to attend the Communication Seminars organized by European Movement International. Just as my colleagues, I also attended a Network Meeting and I must admit that it was a very nice break from our daily work. Both AEGEE-Leiden and NetCom Loes did their job faultlessly. By the way, during the NWM we went to the streets to collect signatures for ECI! At the beginning of December, I also had a live meeting with the ECI Task Force, and a week before the Europe on Track team visited Brussels. I went to a few conferences and meetings, of which the most relevant were the Meeting of the Education Network of European Youth Forum and the Europe Angst Conference by European Movement. Shortly before Christmas break, I organized a skype session for all the Interest Group Moderators in order to discuss the place that Interest Groups have in our Organisation. Thought this whole period I was collaborating closely with Maria – our Communication Assistant.

Evangelia Touska – Human Resources Director

Coming back from NWM Zielona Gora, I had to finalise the preparations for the Hackathon. In the end, we had 11 people attending the event and they got the chance to improve their knowledge about the current status of the Online Membership System and share their views about the Project. Later that week, I helped with preparations for the General Mailing.

The following week, I attended “Greek-Turkish Relations and the Geopolitical Aspirations of Turkey” by the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, where I got updated about the current status of the Greek-Turkish relations. At the same time, I was in contact with the Human Resources Committee and the Academy, participating in their internal meetings.

At the beginning of December, our server ALEX, after three months being in a coma, finally got back to functioning, so I had to check if all its functions were working properly, together with Zvonimir. Meanwhile, with Tekla we participated on the selection of participants for EPM Zagreb 2017.

The last week in office was intensive, we had our last monthly evaluation for 2016, which I moderated. With Zvonimir we worked on the selection of the Interim Chairpersons for Agora. Last but not least, I had the Information Technology Committee’s live meeting on the last weekend before I left the house for Christmas holidays. We got the chance to clarify the tasks of each person in the committee and to plan for the future.

Tekla Hajdu – Network Director

For me, November finished with two major tasks to concentrate on (apart from the regular ones): helping out with the Operating Grant by collecting the plans of locals for 2017 and coordinating the General Mailing. Making the packages might have taken some time indeed, but thanks to the help of my fellow CD members, our CD Assistant Maria and AEGEE-Brussel-Bruxelles for the transport, we managed to take and deliver the packages to Delft, where AEGEE-Delft helped us sending them to the addresses of the locals. [she smiles, ed.] On the 6th of December, I attended the Startup is MY-WAY conference, which was held in H-Farm, Italy, and where I spoke in a panel about the role of student organisations and how implementing your own ideas plays a role in AEGEE. The following day, I participated with Pablo Hernández -CD 53 member- in the partners’ meeting of the MY-WAY project, in order to prepare for the reporting and the closing period in early 2017. During December, I was also working on EPM preparations with supporting the selection process of participants and planning the Drafting part together with ACT. I also managed to attend the Christmas party of AEGEE-Aachen, which was a lot of fun for the end of the year. In the last weeks of December I hope to enjoy my holidays but also to continue working on the EPM, supporting the NetCom Speaker Team for the preparation of the NetCom Meeting in Brussels, supporting the new Speaker Team of PRC and evaluating the term so far with JC.

Written by the 54th Comité Directeur of AEGEE-Europe

CD 54 has arrived. The AEGEEan had the privilege to interview each member separately and, although much of their programme is still being drafted, one thing became abundantly clear; this CD might be more inclusive than ever. Check it out, down below:

Réka Salamon; President AEGEE Europe,

Could you introduce yourself?

Hello, I’m Réka Salamon from AEGEE-Debrecen and AEGEE-Aachen, I’m 26 years old, and I’ve been a member of AEGEE since 2011. Originally, I’m from Hungary, but I’ve moved a lot through Europe. I have moved a lot around Europe working from Finland to Germany and ended up in Belgium for these two years. Last year I was the Projects Director for AEGEE and this year I’m starting as the president of AEGEE Europe.

Why did you become a CD Member?

Last year, I was able to closely observe a lot of the complex processes at work in the board as an insider, which will be quite convenient for my role as president this year. I still have a lot of ideas for the future of AEGEE; I would like to try to get back to the roots of AEGEE, to make the CD more approachable to the network, more engagement with locals, and to rethink some structural things in AEGEE, to ease some of its hindering aspects. Lastly I would like to have a deep reflection on the structure of the network; we shouldn’t forget to also achieve a lot, if not all of our goals, instead of endlessly talking about them: “less discussion, more action”.

How do you want to accomplish these goals?

The entire CD team should closely collaborate with the network; provide support to some key points at a local level. We need to put a strong emphasis on the education of practical elements within AEGEE. Lastly, we would like to strengthen our relationship with external groups and to get involved with important European anniversaries as AEGEE, like the thirty years of Erasmus in 2017.

I hope that members feel free to approach the CD and collaborate more with the network. Please, don’t be scared to talk with us; we’d love to be more inclusive.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

It’s my hope that we can think of AEGEE as a “Europe of Cities”; without any national politics: that we can be one inclusive group of like-minded members across borders. Moreover, I hope locals will be able to create a dialogue and connections with their local authorities, representatives of their cities and the local community to make AEGEE’s presence stronger s an organisation that connects a huge network of cities.

Katarzyna Sokołowska; Interim Secretary General,

Could you introduce yourself?

I’m Katarzyna (Kasia) from AEGEE-Kraków. I’m the interim secretary general of the fifty-fourth CD, because I replied to the open call, joining only after the election. I’m originally from Gdańsk and I joined AEGEE-Kraków in the autumn of 2013.

Why did you become a CD Member?

I actually already became a board member of AEGEE-Kraków after four, maybe five, months, and afterwards, I became an advisory board member. However, I later went to Macedonia as part of the European Voluntary Service, EVS. I, furthermore, went on Erasmus to Strasbourg, where I did an internship at the Council of Europe.

So, I sort of drifted away, but, while I wasn’t an active member, I still kept in touch with my local as a ‘member who’s active’. When I saw the open call, I knew that I still wanted to be active in AEGEE, help to change the world in whichever way I could. It felt like the perfect moment to apply.

How do you want to accomplish these goals?

First of all, I need to fulfill my duties from the head offices as the secretary general of AEGEE. However, I would also like to support Working Groups: youth employment and youth mobility. Moreover, I will work with the LGBT and Gender Equality Interest Groups. Another one of my tasks is to do the institutional fundraising: to apply for grants. In this respect, I will closely work together with Zvonimir, who is responsible for the corporate funds: the sponsorships.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

I speak some basic Macedonian. When I was there, I also travelled to Greece, which doesn’t recognise Macedonia as the name of the former Yugoslavic republic. This caused for some confusion due to the fact that some Greeks didn’t understand where I was coming from, including one creepily friendly bus driver. Some even gave me the advice to say that I arrived from Skopje, the capital, instead of Macedonia.

Zvonimir Canjuga; Financial Director,

Could you introduce yourself?

Hey, my name is Zvonimir Canjuga of AEGEE-Zagreb, I’m the financial director of CD 54. I started AEGEE on the sixth of March 2012. I’ve been a board member of AEGEE-Zagreb for three years. Once as the head of HR, followed by a two term presidency. Afterwards, I’ve joined the advisory board, became a member of the HR Committee and a speaker of EQAC.

Why did you become a CD Member?

It’s always been my wish to become the financial director -I have a background in finances- Initially, I decided against running for the position, though. I was already in Milan, when I heard that there was a vacancy for the position, I called my parents to tell them that I wanted to run for it -it was probably the first time that they were supportive of my going for such a position in AEGEE bodies-

How do you want to accomplish your goals?

With a systematic programme: (1) provide a new version of a funding strategy and the Financial Resources Toolkit for the use of locals: tailor make these things for them; (2) provide financial education and a proper knowledge transfer of financial matters, and make it available to locals: think of ‘webinars’, how-to-finance workshops, et cetera.

In the Comité Directeur, we already use stuff like cost-control, comprehensive budgets and sophisticated accounting skills; we want to make this available to all of our locals. We want to help our locals in financial matters by educating them, but also to make prefabricated forms that are easy for them to use in their daily financial affairs.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

I hope that from the first of August this year till the first of August next year, the CD 54 will remain close friends, has turned out to be a great team, and that we have accomplished all of our goals.

Maarten de Groot; Vice President & External Relations Director,

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Maarten de Groot, I am born and raised in Hengelo, a small city in the east of the Netherlands, and I am a member of AEGEE-Amsterdam. I joined AEGEE in September 2013, but Agora Cagliari was my first real encounter with AEGEE-Europe. Together with Réka, I will keep the overview of the external relations of AEGEE-Europe, which also entails supervising the work of our Policy and Liaison Officers. In addition to that, I have taken over the coordination of the Ideas Factory / Planning Meeting León and I will also supervise the content development for the thematic conference of EPM Zagreb. Lastly, I am responsible for initiatives in relation to European integration, which includes supporting the Your Vision for Europe project team.

Why did you become a CD Member?

I wanted to become a member of the CD in order to develop myself personally, and to contribute to the development of an organisation I believe in. I have been interested in the question of democracy in Europe for a long time already, and I believe an organisation like AEGEE is a concrete manifestation of European democracy and democratisation, by creating generations of active European citizens. In my year in CD, I would like to contribute to bringing European discussions closer to AEGEE-Europe, and to bring AEGEE-Europe closer to its members. This is connected to the idea that any project, whether it is the European Union or AEGEE-Europe, can only be legitimate and effective if it is based on the broad support of its constituent parts, its members.

How do you want to accomplish these goals?

It should be clear that this is an ongoing challenge, and furthermore a challenge for which there is no golden key. It requires continuous evaluation and a balancing of priorities: how we can use our own internal resources, such as time and money, most effectively in order to generate the most resources for our network, and thus reach the highest impact both internally and externally. This may not be a satisfying answer, but for concrete ideas I will have to ask you to wait for our Activity Plan.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

I have a fraternal twin brother, and we both turned nine on 09-09-1999.

Joanna Pankowska; Projects & Communications Director,

Could you introduce yourself?

Hello, my name is Joanna Pankowska. I’m from AEGEE-Warszawa, AEGEE-Aachen (A-Warszawa’s ex-twin local) and AEGEE-Toruń. This year, I’ll be the projects and communications director, which means that I’ll be taking care of social media; the newsletter, webpage, et cetera, and the thematic bodies; the working groups, the interest groups and the projects. I joined AEGEE-Warzawa three-and-a-half years ago, but I’m originally from Chełmża, near Toruń. My home town is pretty important to me; one day I might return there as a social worker or as a local politician.

Why did you become a CD Member?

It felt quite natural for me to become a CD member. I’ve been doing a lot in AEGEE; being active on both a local and a European body. This feels like a natural next step.

How do you want to accomplish your goals?

We’re currently still in the process of drafting an activity plan, but I’d love to give the thematic bodies a boost; provide more training and opportunities for them. Lastly, I’d like to make the Comité Directeur more approachable.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

I’d like to ask all of you to send us loads of feedback, because we really want the CD to become in touch within the network.

Lia Tuska; Human Resources Director,

Could you introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Lia Tuska of AEGEE-Sofia and AEGEE-Kastoria, I’m the new HR director of AEGEE Europe, meaning that I’ll be doing a lot of the internal education, HR and the non-formal education. I’m also responsible for the IT in the head office. I’m originally from Heraklia, a small city near Thessaloniki, and I’ve been a member of AEGEE since May 2012.

Why did you become a CD Member?

I really wanted to develop myself, and AEGEE is a great tool for improvement. I also want to use my position to help increase the interest in non-formal education: European schools, training courses, tools to develop soft skills, and opportunities to increase skills in internal and external fields.

How do you want to accomplish these goals?

One of my personal goals is the  online training system. Nowadays, we already have ‘moodle’, but it’s no longer used due to a lack of content. I’d also like to collaborate with AEGEE-Academy and the Human Resources Committee in order to create content, improve internal education and give all our members, wherever they are, the opportunity to learn how AEGEE works.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

There is one weird fun fact about me: I’m allergic… but to strawberries and pears.

Tekla Hajdu; Network Director,

Could you introduce yourself?

Hey, I’m Tekla Hajdu from AEGEE-Budapest and I’ll be the Network Director for the upcoming year. I’ve been a member of AEGEE for three-and-a-half, almost four, years. I’ve served as the Vice-President of External Relations in my local board. I’ve been a member of the Network Commission; one year as a Network Commissioner and half-a-year as an Assistant; I’ve been the Vice-Speaker of the Network Commission during my second term as Network Commissioner. This year, I’ll maintain contacts with the Network and I’ll be responsible for the Action Agenda.

Why did you become a CD Member?

I wanted to become very active in AEGEE; after my term as Network Commissioner, I wanted to further develop the skills I’ve learned. Plus, I still had some ideas that I wanted to implement: I would like to make a survey of the Network, check how to give more support and share more experience with locals, and I would like to improve contact acceptance: finding new contacts and help them and the current ones to develop into antennae. In addition, I think the NetCom Team is really good and I want to support them more.

How do you want to accomplish these goals?

I think the most important part is to begin with the survey and to check in with other locals to work with them on certain issues. Our plans as the current Comité Directeur are still being drafted, but it would make sense to ask the NetCom to collaborate on, at least, certain bits of our work plan. We’re also thinking of supporting the Network by providing it with training materials, such as online courses and knowledge transfer materials.

Do you have any fun facts or benedictions you want to share?

I want to get in touch with as many people as possible, I really like it. Plus, I’d like to see more people in AEGEE events.

If you want to stay up-to-speed with the Comité Directeur, why not like their Facebook Page? You can do so by clicking the link, right here.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen.

Starting on the first of August 2016, the new members of the fifty-fourth Comité Directeur have started working, and one thing is for sure; they want to become more inclusive in the network.

Talking to the members of CD 54, it has become clear that they want to show themselves more to the members of AEGEE. Past CD members have often stated, and arguably acted accordingly, that they wanted to serve the network.

In the past, when AEGEE was substantially smaller, this may have been an easy feat. But, today, there’s a lot more of AEGEE and a lot more bureaucracy. That’s why it’s one of the primary goals of this CD to break through the bureaucracy and be directly in touch with the locals.

To the average member of AEGEE, the CD members are often some far off, possibly elitist bunch that are doing some stuff for AEGEE and are networking with the moguls of Europe during the rest of their time. This is a negative stereotype that this CD wants to break; they really want to show who the face behind the emails is.

The AEGEEan got a chance to see all of the faces of the new Comité Directeur and to ask them some questions. The interview will be published on the 20^th of August, and it contains some really interesting and exiting plans. Surely worthwhile to check out.

If you want to stay up-to-speed with the Comité Directeur, why not like their Facebook Page? You can do so by clicking the link, right here.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen.