The workload of the Comité Directeur can be demanding and they might need some extra help to do their duties. It can happen that open calls are sent out and willing and courageous people join the CD and work for our association. Maria Maris from AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca is one of them, working on communications since October. Her term was extended also for February and we took the occasion to ask her some questions. 

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself.
Maria: Hey, I am Maria from AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca (hearts, hearts, hearts) or you can also call me Dani, as the Civic Education Working Group does.

Why did you decide to apply for the position of CD assistant?
Last year I finished my bachelor’s studies and decided to take a gap year before my master’s. Until now, I would say it was an amazing idea, because I managed to invest a lot of time in things I enjoy, which means AEGEE too. At the end of summer I was looking at many possibilities of internships and decided to apply for the position of Communications Assistant for the CD. I think it was a great opportunity because the internship is in my field of studies and I was always curious to see how the CD life and experience are.

What was your experience before joining CD as an assistant?
My first experience with AEGEE was the Summer University organised by AEGEE-Istanbul and AEGEE-Skopje in 2014. Afterwards, I slowly started to get more active in AEGEE and last summer I also joined the CEWG.

What are your tasks?
Most of the time I try to help the Communication and Project Director Joanna Pankowska as much as possible. There are always so many things to be done, even very small details that sometimes take quite a while to be done. Mainly, I was taking care of a part of the communications, such as social media, and worked on the ECI-More Than Education. Even though I was just a communications assistant, in the CD, as an assistant, if you wish to also work for other projects or teams, you are free to do so.
Besides these everyday tasks, another task was to cook for the Christmas party that we hosted. What I really liked about it was the moment when all of the people in the house started to prepare for the party, decorating the house and signing carols. Those moments make you feel like home.

What does one typical day in your life in Brussels look like?
Maybe you would expect something super interesting… Sorry, it is quite monotone. You have to go to the office and work. The nice moments of the day are the ones when you take a break from work, go into the kitchen and become sort of a magician trying to cook something very quickly from what you have in the fridge or left-overs. Also, what I love about the CD is that I do not have to attend the board meetings, because they seem to take so long it looks like an eternity. As an assistant, I just have to go for the first 15 minutes, when we update each other on our work. The weekends are more exciting, actually. EU-bodies come for their live meetings and other visitors are in the house. One weekend, we had something like 40 people who entered the house.

Name one good thing in AEGEE and one bad thing.
The best thing are the people. I am so happy and grateful to have met amazing and interesting people in AEGEE.
One bad thing is Tim’s French. Tim, one of CD house renters, improve your French [she smiles, ed.].

Let’s play a game. Describe yourself by using adjectives that start with the letters that compose your name.
Mysterious
Agreeable
Responsible
Intelligent
Awesome

What is next for you?
In February I will be back in Brussels for another month as an assistant and in March I will start another internship in Berlin.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Katarzyna Sokołowska (just Kasia for friends) has been a board member of AEGEE-Krakow, responsible for fundraising. The experience that she gained from her antenna and her internship at the Council of Europe motivated her to dedicate one year to the association in the AEGEE house. Here are the questions The AEGEEan had for the current Interim Secretary General who is running for the same position. 

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to run for Secretary General and why you didn’t do during Agora Bergamo?
Katarzyna: I did not consider to candidate during Agora Bergamo because I was not present there and I also had an internship at the Council of Europe. This experience was very valuable for me and during that time, I found out what I exactly want to do in my life and what I want to focus on. It is not an easy decision to move to the AEGEE house and spend one year of your life there.

What makes you the best candidate for the position you chose?
I think that my experience, which I mainly gained in various organisations, gave me the skills to manage AEGEE with the other CD members. Thanks to that, I also know how the world of NGOs works and what we, as a network of young people, can do to spread our voice throughout Europe.

Can you tell us something more about your previous internship in Council of Europe? Which skills did you earn from that work experience?
My internship was mostly focused on No Hate Speech Movement. I was based in the European Youth Center – the place where young people are most important. I had a chance to experience how the Council of Europe organises seminars, study sessions or preparations meetings before their projects. I also saw how the European Youth Foundation works and supports NGOs.

How could you improve AEGEE with your experience from others NGOs?
Thanks to the experience gained in different NGOs, I can contribute to make our work more smooth and productive. As a professional employee, I also developed knowledge about staff management which is obviously present in the AEGEE office too.

Do you have some plans for the Working Groups, especially Youth Mobility and Youth Employment?
Youth Mobility and Youth Employment are the two Working Groups that are closest to my interests. I would like to support them with their work, share my knowledge with them and also give them a space (opportunities for training or conferences) to develop in their fields. I hope that my cooperation with coordinators and members of those WGs will be very fruitful.

Why would you like to cooperate with Interest Groups about gender equality and LGBTQ+?
I would like to cooperate with these two Interest Groups because I am simply interested in those topics. I had a chance to participate in a few events about it and since then I see the need to focus on these topics more. I think that nowadays, more and more young people want to fight for their rights and want to feel respect. In my opinion it is very important to live in an equal world where everyone feels comfortable.

You entered in office two months ago, what did you achieve in the past months of your term?
The beginning of the term is not easy. Firstly you need to get to know each other, on both fields: not only how we want to work together, but also how we will be living together in one house. After that difficult time, all of us went to León where we drafted the new Strategic Plan. I think that in the beginning, it is hard to achieve your personal goals – it is rather the question what we achieved as the team that we created since then.

What are your plans for fundraising?
I am responsible for institutional fundraising. I would like to support European Bodies as much as I can. Moreover, I would like to make an overview of all locals which applied and received institutional grants. I hope that the cooperation with our motivated network will let us apply for lots of grants this year.

What do your parents and your friends think about your dedication to AEGEE in the famous AEGEE house with the CD for one year?
People who are close to me support my decision. Sometimes they still do not understand what I am doing exactly, but if I am happy, they will see the sense in what I do.

Do you really feel ready to cover the position of Secretary General for the rest of the term?
I think that I am ready. You never can be sure that you know what is coming, so I would say that there will still be a lot of things which will surprise me during the year, but I am aware of it and prepared for it [she smiles, ed].

You can read the full candidature here.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

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.