contact of aegee-europe – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. AEGEE's Online Magazine Sun, 16 Apr 2017 09:19:36 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.7 ../../../wp-content/uploads/cropped-The-AEGEEan_logo-FBprofile-32x32.png contact of aegee-europe – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. 32 32 AEGEE Contact in Sheffield – a Great Team Eager to Expand and Be Successful ../../../2017/04/17/aegee-contact-in-sheffield-a-great-team-eager-to-expand-and-be-successful/ Mon, 17 Apr 2017 06:00:29 +0000 ../../../?p=39806 Less than a month ago, a new AEGEE Contact was born. This time in Sheffield, the UK. Four girls are behind this, they dream big and have already done some things with the brand new contact. We asked them a few questions so we can find out more about them and their plans. The AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit… Read more →

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Less than a month ago, a new AEGEE Contact was born. This time in Sheffield, the UK. Four girls are behind this, they dream big and have already done some things with the brand new contact. We asked them a few questions so we can find out more about them and their plans.


shefThe AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

AEGEE Contact in Sheffield: We are four girls from different corners of Europe – Hanna from Finland, Anne-Sophie from the Netherlands, Chiara from Italy and Oksana from Ukraine. We are all students at the University of Sheffield, which is offering us a lot of support. We are all here only for either a semester or a year, which is not ideal but we will hand over our antenna to the future generation with pleasure!

What other people are behind this new local?

Hanna, Anne-Sophie and Oksana have already been active in AEGEE – in Helsinki, Maastricht and Kyiv respectively. So we met through common friends – AEGEE networking does work in reality! Chiara is new to AEGEE and is inspired to experience Summer Universities. Although we all met less than two months ago, it already feels like a great team. We have also found enthusiastic new members who are eager to help us out, which is fantastic!

Why a contact for AEGEE in Sheffield even if it had struggles in the past?

Well, we felt like this city fits AEGEE perfectly! The students’ community is great here with lots of people from all around the world. We knew about struggles in the past of course, but we have gotten many positive reactions so far, so we feel like we can definitely make it. The good thing is that three of us were already quite experienced in AEGEE, so a lot of things were easier for us like presentations and promotion.

How many members do you have now and how did people in the city react to the association?aegee s2

Last week, we had a meeting promoting Summer Universities and recruiting new members. It went even better than we expected, so by now, we have 14 members! There is a lot of activity besides AEGEE in Sheffield, as the Students’ Union here is exceptionally active so people never get bored. However, we do have something special to offer, so our aim is to expand and to prove that we can be a successful local!

What is your strategy to get the contact known in your city and get more people involved in it?

For now, we are focusing on the promotion of Summer Universities as we were lucky enough to jump onto the AEGEE boat when our fresh members can still apply for this great project. Therefore, our aim is to make new members that apply for Summer University and also are enthusiastic about becoming active locally. The strategy which worked best so far is to share stories about AEGEE among our friends in Sheffield, which motivates them to join and experience it all themselves!

What are your plans for the near future?

During the last weekend of March, we had a party to celebrate the birth of our contact – with the birthday cake of course! Some members from the UK antennas came as well, so it was a great chance to bring some AEGEE-spirit to Sheffield! Other than that, the next step is to get upgraded to Contact-Antenna at Agora Enschede and we are working hard on it!

We wish them all the best of luck!

You can find them on Facebook here!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

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Welcome to Sunny Southern Spain, Welcome to Málaga ../../../2016/11/21/welcome-to-sunny-southern-spain-welcome-to-malaga/ Mon, 21 Nov 2016 06:00:13 +0000 ../../../?p=37860 During the Network Status Update at Autumn Agora Chisinau, Network Director Tekla Hajdu, gave everyone during the plenary some good news: a new city joined the AEGEE-Network: Málaga. Situated on the Costa del Sol in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia in Spain, it is one of the oldest cities in the world, founded as Malaka by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC. We… Read more →

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During the Network Status Update at Autumn Agora Chisinau, Network Director Tekla Hajdu, gave everyone during the plenary some good news: a new city joined the AEGEE-Network: Málaga. Situated on the Costa del Sol in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia in Spain, it is one of the oldest cities in the world, founded as Malaka by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC. We asked some questions to two of the founders, Natalia Torres and Rafael Adrián Garcia Martin, after their participation at NWM Barcelona.

 

natalia-and-adri-ii

Natalia and Adri

The AEGEEan: What’s the story behind the contact in Málaga?

Natalia: We were just two young people interesting in travelling cheap and meeting other people from all over Europe. So we went to the Summer University (SU) in Bulgaria. There, we realized that AEGEE was much more, and we loved it. So we decided that we wanted a local in our lovely city. In fact, three weeks later I went to the event of University for Youth Development in Mollina (Málaga), which was tremendously inspiring, and this just reaffirmed that our decision of creating a local in Málaga was great.

 

How did you discover AEGEE?

Adrián: A friend of mine from the university told me in class what AEGEE was and all the possibilities that this organisation offered to students. Then I told Natalia and it seemed to us a really interesting way of discovering Europe cheaply. Our priority was just that, and we kept in mind the idea of taking part in a Summer University. But once we discovered what AEGEE actually was, it impacted us and we decided to create a local in Málaga.

 

natalia-and-adri-iHow is your local doing so far?

Adrián: We are somehow shocked and surprised of the quick growth of our contact of AEGEE-Europe in Málaga. Since we received the university support, we started to give informative sessions, which have been a success, having more than 20 applicants on the intranet and almost 40 people interested in joining the association. At the moment, we are finishing the statutes in order to accomplish all the requirement for being upgraded to contact-antenna, keeping in mind our objective for being an antenna in a mid-term period.

 

What makes you, as a contact, unique from any of the other student organisations in Málaga?

Adrián: Even thought there are nearly 100 young organisations in the university, only a few of them have an international scope. We feel unique in the sense that not being an official association yet, we have received the university support really quick, letting us to communicate with the student community and offering us all the help that we need. Besides, the contact of AEGEE-Europe in Málaga is in partnership with the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs of the University of Málaga. We cooperate to organise events and communicating them to all the students. We are different from the rest of the associations, because we can offer all kinds of events, giving all the students the possibility of travelling abroad and enhancing competences in our courses.

nwm-barcelona

 

What are your future plans?

Natalia: We are already planning a Local Training Course (LTC) in December, so new members can know each other and we are looking forward to organise an event about gender equality in collaboration with our university. In our planning report, we have also emphasised the possibility of organising and exchange with another local. But our real objective is achieving the status of antenna as soon as possible.

 

Describe your local in three words.

Natalia: Potential, enthusiastic, energetic

 

Malaga Mirador

Malaga Mirador

Describe your city. What is the most special thing about it?

Adrián: Málaga is just wonderful: 300 sunny days per year, calm beaches, and a lively nightlife (and of course fresh barbecue sardines, our typical dish). The most special thing about Málaga in our opinion is its people. Los Boquerones, [The Anchovies, ed.] is how they nicknamed us. We are kind, charming, lovely and likable people. You are all invited to Málaga, you have to visit it [He smiles, ed].

 

Written By Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

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New Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Vinnytsia! ../../../2015/11/23/new-contact-of-aegee-europe-in-vinnytsia/ Mon, 23 Nov 2015 14:22:28 +0000 ../../../?p=32228 We are proud to announce that we have established a new contact of AEGEE-Europe in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Vinnytsia is a city situated in the Western Centre of Ukraine, the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. The city exists since the Middle Ages and it is now known for its industrial centre, particularly for the Roshen company and the… Read more →

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We are proud to announce that we have established a new contact of AEGEE-Europe in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Vinnytsia is a city situated in the Western Centre of Ukraine, the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. The city exists since the Middle Ages and it is now known for its industrial centre, particularly for the Roshen company and the headquarters of the Ukrainian Air Force. We talked with Oleksandr from the newly-formed contact in Vinnytsia to tell us more about the tourist attractions and the story behind this new contact in Vinnytsia.

woqbF5nkX0MOleksandr is a student in the sixth year at Vinnytsia Institute of Trade and Economics, the Department of Management. He is also a member of the Students’ Parliament of Vinnytsia Region, where he is responsible for development of international cooperation.

“Our city is considered the “European capital” of Ukraine, and of course we have a lot of foreign students here”, he says. But when he started work in the Parliament, it appeared that they had “only a few international organisations”, the best of which, “AIESEC and BEST are well-functioning”, he further adds. 3When asked about his story, Oleksandr told us that he had heard about AEGEE before and he knew that it will enable him to discover a lot of great opportunities, as this was also the reason for initiating the creation of a new contact in Vinnytsia.

Moreover, he told us about their future plans for the newly created contact. Being at the moment only “a small team of three people”, all of which are members of the Parliament, their future plans include organising a Local Training Course (LTC) in their city to recruit new members, inviting “our friends from AEGEE-Kyïv, and also members from other locals.”

At the end of the interview we asked Oleksandr to tell us a few things about the city of Vinnytsia that would make us 1want to visit it, and he said that considering the fact that Vinnytsia is considered the “European capital” of Urkaine, “it’s the place where Ukrainian traditions and European tolerance meet. We don’t have a big city, but it is beautiful with its own spirit. And, of course, we have here the biggest floating fountain in Europe”, he concludes.

 

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

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A New Contact in Croatia: Welcome Split to the Network! ../../../2015/03/30/a-new-contact-in-croatia-welcome-split-to-the-network/ Mon, 30 Mar 2015 09:59:22 +0000 ../../../?p=29554 Just a few weeks ago, Split, the second largest city in Croatia, was added to the network as a new contact. Next to AEGEE-Zagreb and AEGEE-Zadar, it is now the third part of the network in Croatia. The AEGEEan talked to founder and President Teo Šarić about the contact’s cooperations, events, and future plans. For Teo Šarić, president of the… Read more →

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Just a few weeks ago, Split, the second largest city in Croatia, was added to the network as a new contact. Next to AEGEE-Zagreb and AEGEE-Zadar, it is now the third part of the network in Croatia. The AEGEEan talked to founder and President Teo Šarić about the contact’s cooperations, events, and future plans.

For Teo Šarić, president of the contact, Split is more than just a random addition: “With a population of more than 200 000 people and around 25 000 university students Split has the potential to become an active and productive antenna!” Teo, who was already active in AEGEE-Zadar before, was one of the founders of the contact. Together with his board members he has been working on fulfilling their plan to become an official antenna.

By now, the contact in Split has around 25 members from all fields of studies like arts and design to IT, law and management. But of course, they want to attract even more new members. There was already one meeting in Split which was open for public and they also started a cooperation with „info-zona“, one of the biggest organisations in Dalmatia. Moreover, members of the contact were to hear via radio since they gave interviews for several radio stations. Finally, they also printed flyers to give away to interested people. In the end, their PR strategies seem to work well, especially because of the highly motivated members and their friends who are willing to help, too. „People from Split are really interested in AEGEE and I just know that in the future we will be an excellent AEGEE-antenna“, Teo says.

Another plus point for the contact is their cooperation with the rector and pro-rectors of the University of Split for which the AEGEEans are really thankful. By now, they even got their own office to work in by the student council. Also, AEGEE-Zadar cooperates with the new contact in Split, as well as some other locals from the region or even further away. Just recently, AEGEE-Amsterdam let the contact know that they were interested in an exchange.

And that is only one thing that people from Split have in mind for their upcoming time. First of all, Teo hopes to sign the Convention d’Adhésion as soon as possible to become a contact antenna. Then, there are already some ideas for local and international events to be put in motion. For sure, they will organise a Summer University (SU) next year to prove what a great culture Split has to offer. Moreover, there is already one specific idea. “Maybe we’ll organise an international event around (the 6th of) June, when it’s time for the Pride parade in Split. It will be a thematic event since the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) situation in Croatia is not great”, Teo explains.

Finally, Teo concludes: “We are very excited to contribute and to be a part of organising new, interesting and meaningful projects and events on a regional level but also on a European level.”

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

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Welcoming the New Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Lugano ../../../2013/12/09/welcoming-the-new-contact-of-aegee-europe-in-lugano/ Mon, 09 Dec 2013 17:49:32 +0000 ../../../?p=20908 This past week, our Network woke up with some very good news coming from Switzerland. A new Contact of AEGEE-Europe has just been established in the beautiful, Italian-speaking city of Lugano, known for its stunning natural scenery. The AEGEEan has spoken to Abdulla Abdullayev, who had already known AEGEE in his homecountry, Azerbaijan, and now he is looking forward to… Read more →

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This past week, our Network woke up with some very good news coming from Switzerland. A new Contact of AEGEE-Europe has just been established in the beautiful, Italian-speaking city of Lugano, known for its stunning natural scenery. The AEGEEan has spoken to Abdulla Abdullayev, who had already known AEGEE in his homecountry, Azerbaijan, and now he is looking forward to making the new Swiss Contact of AEGEE-Europe grow.

Abdulla (first one on the left) and Raffaele Tardio (third one) are president and vice-president of the new Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Lugano

Abdulla Abdullayev had known AEGEE-Europe back in 2008 in his hometown in Azerbaijan. A friend of his, being a member of AEGEE-Bakı, was promoting the Summer University Project, and he became immediately interested in it and applied to what he would resume as “an amazing experience with international students abroad”. He currently lives in Switzerland, where he has just started his Masters’ studies. The university of Lugano, according to him, is “relatively young and in need of international relations; and it’s actually quite open for different kind of projects”.

However, he was shocked that there was not an AEGEE local at the USI (Università della Svizzera Italiana), so he saw in this a great chance to learn more and to get involved in AEGEE again. According to him, it was not really that hard to set up the Contact and obtain the agreement from the university. “Except for the case”, Abdulla says, “that it was really hard to grab a hold of the director of the USI at his office. He was always extremely busy and elsewhere!”.

“Not many people are involved in our AEGEE activities right now”, he says. Nevertheless, he has managed to motivate a bunch of his friends and classmates in order to make the new Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Lugano grow; he counts it to be a group of about ten people. The next stage is promotion of AEGEE’s projects in the university: “honestly, I don’t feel myself very confident how I should present the organization”, he admits, but his team plans to start their first members’ campaign after the winter break.

Monte S. Salvatore in Lugano

The new Contact has also felt very supported inside AEGEE: “I would especially like to express my gratitude to Mattia Abis, the Network Commissioner of our region, since he was very helpful in creating the contact indeed”. Lugano is the second city in Switzerland where AEGEE will be established, after AEGEE-Fribourg. When we ask Abdulla about the reasons behind the lack of activity of the organization in Switzerland, he answers that “it is hard to create antennae in Switzerland probably because of the different state model of the country, as well as not being a member of the European Union”.

Lugano is a “really special place for Switzerland” and definitely a spot not to be missed for future AEGEE events. It is the biggest town of Ticino (the Italian-speaking canton of Switzerland), and at the same time it is its main financial center. Another important reason is “the location of Lugano, as, it is not classic Switzerland and it is not Italy yet”, not to mention its undeniable beauty and natural scenery.

Talking about the future, Abdulla says that their next goal will be to become a Contact Antenna and to participate in further more important events of AEGEE. We will hopefully get to meet them very soon – meanwhile, we wish them lots of luck in their plans!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

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