Delegate – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. AEGEE's Online Magazine Sat, 14 May 2016 06:18:41 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.7 ../../../wp-content/uploads/cropped-The-AEGEEan_logo-FBprofile-32x32.png Delegate – The AEGEEan – AEGEE's online magazine – AEGEE-Europe ../../.. 32 32 Being a Delegate for Dummies ../../../2016/05/16/being-a-delegate-for-dummies/ Mon, 16 May 2016 14:29:39 +0000 ../../../?p=35264 We already gave you some tips on how to be a good visitor, but how should you be a good delegate (according to us)? The Agora is a magnificent creature, but it is also very complicated to follow every single thing that happens, especially if you are a newbie. But also experienced members has some troubles from time to time.… Read more →

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We already gave you some tips on how to be a good visitor, but how should you be a good delegate (according to us)? The Agora is a magnificent creature, but it is also very complicated to follow every single thing that happens, especially if you are a newbie. But also experienced members has some troubles from time to time. It can be long, it can be boring, but it is also an engaging opportunity to share your knowledge and to learn new things. 

 

Prepare yourself before the Agora. JC, CD, CT, AR, KT, SP, AA, FR, FP, MedCom, NetCom… Should we continue? Those are just some of the acronyms we use and you will hear them a lot. But also proposals, CIA, candidates… The content of an Agora can be overwhelming. Especially if there isn’t a proper preparation beforehand. Two weeks before the Agora, the Secretary General sends out booklets in which you can find all sort of information you might need. The Chair Team is also sending delegates a quiz, which you can take to test your knowledge, or an Agora for Dummies booklet. You should also organise an Agora preparation with your local, where you can study the items on the agenda and share your thoughts on what will be discussed and what will be voted.

 

Plenaries, prytannia and attendance. Delegates represent a local during the Agora and they are required to be present at plenaries and prytannia. If you ask, ‘what are those’, you either are at your first Agora or you never attended either of them. Plenaries are the moments when all the members of the Agora gather together, for instance, the opening plenary, the candidatures, the ratification of projects and other. Prytannia are smaller gatherings, normally used to discuss proposals or papers, which will be voted on. Delegates should be there all the time because in those moments, we discuss the present abd future of our organisation. And because your time will be counted as participation during the Agora. Be careful to scan your badge every morning before entering the plenary and state your local at the beginning of each prytanium. But most of all, make sure to be there because you want to, not because you have to.

 

Ask questions (to oldies). If you are at your first Agora or if you are the sole delegate of your local, and you don’t understand something, just look around and approach some more experienced members. Normally you can recognize them, because they speak a language you don’t understand or they clearly declare to have attended 10+ Agorae. They will be more than willing to listen to all your questions and to explain to you all the procedures that are obscure to you. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know them! We are AEGEEans, we simply talk to everyone.

 

Ask questions (on stage). If you have some doubts, another thing that can actually be very handy for you is to ask your questions straight at the source. If you like numbers and there are some figures that don’t match, or if you read a candidature and you are not entirely sure on how that thing will be implemented, take the chance to go on stage and ask a question (or more). Maybe your doubts are shared by other delegates and the discussion can be benefit by everyone. And if you are telling yourself “My English is not the best”, don’t worry! A native English speaker in AEGEE is very rare and we, generally, all speak European English, with different accents and vocabulary. As long as you can make a sentence with a subject, a verb and an object, everybody will be able to understand you.

 

Don’t sleep. Lack of sleep is the most common disease during the Agora and it is physiological. We sleep around three hours per night and our brains are constantly bombarded with new information in a language that is not our mother tongue. That’s why we often enable the automatic pilot and fall in the sweet arms of Morpheus. The truth is that it is not pleasant to present something you worked towards for months in front of hundreds of “sleeping beauties”. Therefore you can drink zillion of liters of coffee, energy drinks or be a rebel: skip some parties. You will find yourself rested and ready to rock.

 

Vote properly. Delegates have the honour to vote and give direction to the Network. Delegates should represent the will of their locals, but also they should have the future of the organisation in mind. When voting for candidates, you should focus less on the appearance, and rather on their experience and their program. When voting for a proposal, try to understand whether the entire Network can benefit from its outcome. Voting is harder than it seems, because it is not enough to just fill in a ballot or to click on ‘in favour’. Follow your conscience.

 

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

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Member of the Month – Maarten de Groot: “Once I Get Excited About Something, I Tend to Get Absorbed by It” ../../../2015/04/30/member-of-the-month-maarten-de-groot-once-i-get-excited-about-something-i-tend-to-get-absorbed-by-it/ Thu, 30 Apr 2015 13:07:14 +0000 ../../../?p=30568 It is often said that the Member of the Month should be someone who “moved mountains” in our association, but there are several ways to contribute to it. Also, it is often said that there are no active people during our statutory events and boredom spreads through delegates and envoys. Our Member of the Month of March is Maarten de… Read more →

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It is often said that the Member of the Month should be someone who “moved mountains” in our association, but there are several ways to contribute to it. Also, it is often said that there are no active people during our statutory events and boredom spreads through delegates and envoys. Our Member of the Month of March is Maarten de Groot from AEGEE-Amsterdam, who showed in the past three statutory meetings (Agora Asturias included) that it is possible to step on stage and have your voice heard.

The AEGEEan: Please, introduce yourself: who you are, your hobbies etc.
Maarten: Hey, my name is Maarten de Groot, I am 24 years old and I study (primarily political) philosophy in Amsterdam. I grew up in the east of the Netherlands, in a place called Hengelo. I like to do sports: running, cycling and sailing mostly. Moreover, I like to talk with people, ranging from casual conversations with customers of the fruit stalls at the market I’ve worked at part-time for almost 8 years, to meetings with strangers, to at times heated discussions with friends. I feel like I’ve managed to combine these two “hobbies” by making long distance cycling trips through Europe. It is a great way to explore both the diversity and the interconnectedness of our continent, in terms of its landscapes as well as the cultural mentalities and living conditions of its peoples. I also like a good party, by the way.

When, why and how you did you join AEGEE?
I joined AEGEE in September 2013. I had just moved to Amsterdam for my masters, and I more or less accidentally bumped into an AEGEEan. He seemed like a nice guy and invited me for an open social drink of AEGEE. Although, initially, I had no intention to join a student association, the social drink persuaded me that it was indeed an easy way to get to know some people in Amsterdam, so I saw no reason not to give it a try. In other words, I joined because I felt I could leave at any moment, without any harm, but right now I realize it’s a fraud: once you’re in, there’s no way back.

You were elected as Member of the Month, how do you feel?
I feel greatly honored, especially because my contribution to the European level of AEGEE is clearly rather limited up until now.

You were nominated because of your active participation during both Agora Cagliari and EPM Burgos. Why are you so involved?
Part of the reason is that I have harbored an interest in the European project since my time at high school, during which I participated in a couple of Model European Parliament conferences. Over the years, I have only become more intrigued by the question of the future of democracy, and more particularly the question of transnational, European democracy. The two statutory meeting that I attended so far have challenged me to translate some of the (rather abstract) ideas about ‘Europe’ that I have gathered over the years, into communicable form and to relate them to our student association. The other part of the reason is that, once I get excited about, and feel committed to something, I tend to get absorbed by it. I’m afraid that’s what happened.

Most of the time the participation in statutory meetings is limited to ratifying things and some sporadic questions. How important is it, in your view, to have active participation during Agorae and EPMs?
In my view, the main merit of AEGEE is that it brings students from all over Europe into contact with one another. The primary purpose of statutory events, in turn, is that it allows these people to come together and to exchange viewpoints on topics that matter to them, in ways that are respectful of each others differences, and to ensure that the institutional structure of AEGEE is such that it accommodates for this. In such a context, participation will thrive, but only as a welcome side-effect.

From a delegate perspective, why do you think one should be active and ask questions during the Agora/EPM?
First of all, if you are actively participating during the plenary sessions of these events, your chances of falling asleep drop significantly. Secondly, I think it is just way more fun: (you feel like) you’re part of the process, rather than a mere bystander. Lastly, it is a great learning experience, a balancing act: on the one hand it challenges you to get yourself heard in front of a large and diverse audience, but at the same time you try to be respectful towards others, to leave sufficient room for them, and to be aware of your own limitations.

If you could do something to enhance the participation, what would it be?
The most important condition for active participation, I would say, is to create a safe environment in which people feel free to speak up. However, this is easier said than done, especially within groups as diverse as ours during. Dutch, for example, are known for their direct style of communication, which may come across as offensive to others. Although I have neither the will nor the capacity to change the Dutch mentality, an enhanced self-awareness nonetheless allows you to be self-critical, and consequently, to adjust your style, if only by trial and error.

In Agora Cagliari you asked for 8 minutes to discuss within the delegation of your local, the motion on allowing for an exception to the rule of having a minimum of 6 weeks in between statutory events in the case of EPM Burgos and Agora Asturias. What was your idea behind this request?
The motion had been presented, questions had been asked and a general discussion had taken place for a while. Although I had a general idea about how this motion was going to be voted upon, and how I felt about it, I nevertheless felt the need to discuss it briefly with my fellow delegates before the actual vote. For I believe that it is important to have a moment at which you actively say, with your delegation “we’re going to vote such and such”. Without having such a moment, the voting can turn into something that somewhat passively overcomes you as a delegation, whereby every delegate may have made up his or her mind individually, but there’s no proper moment to turn this into a collective act.

Last but not least, let’s do a small game. Explain you and your personality using the letters that compose your name.
M from Meticulous
A from Ambitious
A from Adventurous
R from Responsible
T from Tenacious (sometimes a pain in the neck)
E from Engaged (in the social sense)
N from Nonconformist
[for the R and the N I’ve picked the same ones as last month’s member, Ruben: thanks for the suggestions!]

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

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First-Time Delegate at the Agora ../../../2012/05/19/first-time-delegate-at-the-agora/ Sat, 19 May 2012 11:12:44 +0000 ../../../?p=8023 AEGEE-København members asked me before I headed off to the Agora if I had been a delegate before at a statutory event. Despite being my second Agora, Agora Enschede was the first time that I was a delegate for AEGEE-København. My antenna tried to prepare me but there is no way they could have ever prepared me for Agora Enschede.… Read more →

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AEGEE-København members asked me before I headed off to the Agora if I had been a delegate before at a statutory event. Despite being my second Agora, Agora Enschede was the first time that I was a delegate for AEGEE-København. My antenna tried to prepare me but there is no way they could have ever prepared me for Agora Enschede.

Wake up in the morning looking like…

This being my second Agora and yet another AEGEE event to add to the list, I already knew it consisted of waking up early in the morning after just a few hours of sleep. The very first day of the Agora was eventful for me. I started out by hitchhiking from Amsterdam to Enschede with people from the pre-event, then I was overwhelmed with the excitement of seeing familiar faces all over the place, and then getting ready for the first party.

You know you have to wake up early in the morning, right?

All these familiar faces approached me, first of all to catch up, but also to let me know that I had to wake up early in the morning. This was due to the task of being the AEGEE fair manager, which required me to rise and shine at 6 in the morning. After having more people that I can count on my hands reminding me of this, I decided to head back to the gym and sleep. I must have been beyond exhausted because I did not hear at all when people returned to the gym from the party, but little did I know that this exhaustion was nothing compared to what would hit me the forthcoming days and after the Agora.

Registering and picking up ballots

AEGEE-København had prepared me for the task of registering myself, obviously, but also the antenna. That I had already experienced at the EBM so I knew the process of answering questions such as “Who is your Network Commissioner?” “Are you a board member?” “How much is the membership fee of your local?” etc. In addition to that I was to pick up the voting ballots for AEGEE-København, which went smoothly as well.

La gente está muy locaaaaa, what the ****?

In the evening it was time for the roll call. During the day people had been practicing, whispering in the corners with smiles of excitement for being the ones remembered for their roll call at the Agora. However, Agora newbies seemed confused about what was going on. Roll what? And despite the effort of trying to explain what it is, I think it is one of those things that you have to witness before you understand. Being a member of both AEGEE-Madrid and AEGEE-København I situated myself amongst all the Spanish locals. We were getting ready to scream and sing for AEGEE-Madrid but I did not have anything special planned for introducing my Danish local. In lack of guts of doing something extraordinary, alone, in front of 700 AEGEEans, I chose to just stand up, say “present” and smile whenever Yvonne Antonovic called my local. A few locals afterwards it was time for AEGEE-Madrid. One Argentinian girl, one Danish girl and a bunch of Spaniards stood up and started screaming “Yoli, la gente está muy loca,” and I suppose the audience very fittingly thought “What the ****?” but also started cheering along.

“I have never seen the Agora this silent”

However, the cheers, smiles and laughter faded quickly after the announcement of Vote of Confidence by the Comité Directeur. As I recall a person said “I have never seen the Agora this silent,” and it was in fact quite a sight seeing 700 people almost afraid to take a breath in fear of being too loud. Despite being a first-time delegate, I am quite active in AEGEE, so I was lucky to know what the CD is and I have profound knowledge of what they already do in Brussels. However, this was an Agora with so many people, and there were a lot of newbies that had no clue what was going on. This was most definitely visible in the voting session where stress spread amongst the people in the room, questions were raised (some several times) and it was not an easy task for organisers, the Chair Team and the Juridical Commission (JC) to try to control the situation.

No food

The numerous questions, the attempt to describe the voting procedure, the division of boxes ready for the ballots, all this of course took time. Unfortunately for the organisers, it took too much time, which made them unable to serve dinner to the delegates. However, they did make an effort to feed the hungry participants who were looking at colorful papers rather than delicious food. In the end voting was done and the delegates rushed back to the gym getting ready for the party while the Chair Team, JC, and kind vote counters headed off to start calculating who had received the vote of confidence and who had not.

VIP bus to the center

So there was food provided by the organisers to the delegates but they did manage to get a discount on Turkish kebab for the participants at a local place in the city which the delegates reached after taking the VIP (party) bus to the city center of Enschede. People got food, and also smiles after seeing Turkish participants guiding them to the local place, which was a flashback to EBM Izmir to some.

 

In the end, nobody could have ever prepared me for this Agora. The first two days were only the beginning of an experience that will be a memory of a lifetime for better and for worse.  Some details may be placed in the wrong connection, wrong day, but this only proves how difficult it is to describe what exactly happened because to this date, despite having slept countless hours and regaining energy after the Agora, I still have difficulties answering some of the questions: who, what, why?

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Pictures courtesy of Léa Charlet, AEGEE-Paris

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