As Ireland’s citizens were voting to legalize gay marriages in a what has been called a historic referendum by international media, a group of students from AEGEE-Frankfurt flew over to Dublin to show their support of LGTB rights on this politically significant day for Ireland. “It was definitely a highlight to be in Dublin at the time of the referendum. We could basically feel the enthusiasm and the positive atmosphere of the city, as we saw supporting flags and posters on every corner as well as students distributing stickers” says Carolin Eißler, member of AEGEE-Passau who joined Frankfurt especially for this occasion.

The vote took place on Friday, May 22nd with the results being published the next day, showing a strong 62,07% majority in favour of gay marriage. Despite the positive response from the Irish population, a significant part of voters held on to their rejection of homosexual marriage by promoting the importance of traditional family structures. In between slogans such as This is about love and Equality and nothing else, contra posters with Nothing can replace the love of a mother covered the streets of Dublin.

Therefore, the main focus of the trip, in which half of the board of AEGEE-Frankfurt participated, was to promote sensibility for the importance of equality and human rights within the network and the world, especially because laws affecting LGTB rights vary a great deal internationally, ranging from death penalty to laws recognizing same-sex marriage. “Educational trips like this are a helpful way to bring a certain message across. In this case, it is the fact that homophobia and gay stereotyping are still existing, be it within AEGEE or internationally”, explains Alexander Sieber, who is Special Affairs Officer in the board of AEGEE-Frankfurt.

Julia R. Moniri, president of AEGEE-Frankfurt, who is very passionate about this topic, initiated the four day tour. She thinks that the referendum will fuel a big debate about LGTB rights. “Only 20 countries worldwide offer marriage equality. That’s why I think it’s good that a new debate started and people get the opportunity to reflect and rethink their positions. I can only hope that through new discussions and by spreading emotions, homophobia will get reduced. Anyway, I feel that at the end it is really all about love and equality and nothing else.“

Apart from the excitement of the referendum the local engaged in team building activities by exploring the pub culture in Dublin and the vast nature of Ireland.  “After an adventurous driving experience on the left side of the road, we stopped at a keltic settlement and then walked through a forest to see the upper lake of Glendalough – a breathtaking scenery and a good occasion to rest and calm down after the busy city life”, Caroline fondly remembers.

Frederic Renisch, former member of AEGEE-Mannheim, was exited about visiting the European branch of Facebook in Dublin, where around 1000 Europeans are working at this time. “Thanks to my friend, who works at Facebook for a little over a year now, we were able to enjoy a free lunch and later a guided tour through the offices.”

According to Julia the trip was a big success because everyone flew home with a positive feeling. After the completion of the Dublin trip, the board of AEGEE-Frankfurt is planning to continue their LGTB advocacy work by incorporating their experiences in local debates and events. They are hoping to create more tolerance and understanding within the AEGEE network.

Written by Alev Özdemir, AEGEE Frankfurt

Dear AEGEEans,

On the second week of September 2012 AEGEE-Europe was represented at the European Association for International Education (EAIE) Conference, which is the biggest Education Conference in Europe gathering more than 4300 participants and representatives of more than 1500 Universities from around 100 countries. The EAIE organises the conference on a yearly basis. This year it took place in Dublin.

Next one will happen in September 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey.

During the conference, President of AEGEE-Europe Luis Alvarado Martinez was invited by ETS as a speaker for one of their sessions called:

21^st century skills: Are students ready to succeed?

During this session, AEGEE presented to other European Stakeholders, like the European Parliament, European Commission, Universities around the world and other educational platforms, how we work with Non Formal and Informal Education in AEGEE to provide opportunities for our members to acquire skills and competences.

These help our members to have a better and smother transition from higher education toward the labor market. The abilities and experience we gain in AEGEE, are something which Universities of nowadays cannot provide. We develop and grow by using different approaches and methodologies as in Formal Education like horizontal learning (peer to peer, where the teacher and student are on the same level) and a lot of practical work (learning by doing). This allows us to be more prepared for the labor market´s needs.

Therefore, AEGEE is the perfect platform for our member to develop and prepare themselves for what is waiting for them in the outside world.

Our President took this opportunity to make a call upon European and International Stakeholders toward a further recognition of Non Formal Education and the role of Civil Society Youth Organisations like AEGEE, as well as of the need to allow students and young people to become co-managers of their own learning.

The organisation which invited us, ETS, advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research.

ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® General and Subject Tests and The Praxis Series assessments — in more than 180 countries, at more than 9,000 locations worldwide.

Stay tuned for more news soon.

Written by Luis Alvarado Martinez, President of AEGEE-Europe 2012-2013 & member of AEGEE-Las Palmas