As every year, the European Charlemagne Youth Prize (ECYP) took place in the city of Aachen, under its 7th edition. After Europe on Track’s major success last year, some AEGEE members gathered in Charlemagne’s city in order to know which project would be its successor. Youth unemployment, selfies, remarkable guests, journalism and the situation in Ukraine have just been some of the major highlights of this event that took place in late May.

1. Our Europe takes the legacy of its predecessor, Europe on Track

Peter Laugesen (Our Europe), with VP of the European Parliament, Anni Podimata

Denmark was the winner of this year’s edition of the Charlemagne Youth Prize, with the project Vores Europa (‘Our Europe’). This project consisted of a 12-month long journey taken by Peter Laugesen and Elena Askløf, who travelled through 24 European countries and interviewed young people about their expectations and wishes for Europe. They published radio podcasts, films, articles, interviews and pictures on their website, and even took up a experimental Skype session in collaboration with 21 Danish schools, involving 2,800 young students whom the creators talked to. It was a truly outstanding project, self-funded by its own creators and it was certainly one of the ‘favourite ones’ to achieve the biggest prize.

The story of Our Europe might seem familiar to many of you… yes! Many of us recalled the Europe on Track project of AEGEE-Europe, which won last year’s Charlemagne Youth Prize. Looks like the recipe for success in a ECYP candidature is very simple: involve young people from several countries, talk about their concerns and reach the policy-makers with audiovisual material and social media.

2. Youth (un)employment, the hottest topic

The three winners: Denmark, the Netherlands and Cyprus

One of the biggest topics addressed by the Danish Our Europe project was with no doubts youth unemployment, which has reached staggering figures in countries such as Spain or Italy. However, this topic was the main issue by several of the 28 projects presented. Both the second and third place winners of the ECYP, the Netherlands and Cyprus, had youth unemployment as their focus.

On the one hand, JouwDelft & Co., the Dutch national winner, hosted a European youth congress in November 2012 which aimed to find local-scale solutions to reduce youth unemployment in Europe and brought young active citizens and policy advisors from several countries together. The outcome of the conference was a resolution on these recommendations, which was issued to the European Parliament in November 2013. On the other hand, Youth Dynamics is a Cypriot youth organisation that hosted a training course in April 2013 that involved seminars, presentations, workshops and discussions based on the same topic, gathering 26 participants from nine EU countries.

3. EBM Valleta, our AEGEE Representative

Mariella getting the award in Aachen

Mariella Rapa (AEGEE-Valletta) was the representative of AEGEE in the list of nominees for the final Youth Prize, representing the European Boards’ Meeting that took place in Valletta in February 2013, which gathered around two hundred AEGEEans under the topic of ‘the future of Europe’.

Previously interviewed by our journalist Cosmina Bisboaca (AEGEE-Torino), AEGEE-Valletta stated that it was “a very big honour” to be the National winner in Malta, especially taking into account that other strong organisations such as JEF Malta submitted their projects too.

Chucky Bartolo told Cosmina the reasons why EBM Valletta decided to run for the Charlemagne Youth Prize: “The organising team that worked on the EBM spent a lot of their time and energy to make the event as great as it could be. Knowing that we had worked so hard to make an event like this meant that we were able to recognise that the EBM was worth submitting. Inspired by the success of “Europe on Track”, we submitted the project for the Charlemagne Youth Prize”. Despite not making it to the ‘final three’, Mariella got the National Award out of the hands of Anni Podimata (vice-president of the European Parliament), and showed the pride of the whole local for being among the 28 finalists.

4. Youth at the back… but not afraid to ask

The 28 national winners of the Charlemagne Youth Prize were afterwards invited at the Charlemagne Forum, which gathered several ‘top’ guests. Unfortunately, the young representatives were forced to be sitting in the back, whereas the jury and guests were right on the front, sitting comfortably and having snacks and drinks next to them. For many, that was the vivid image that young people were merely playing a secondary role in this Charlemagne Prize, but we were not afraid to take the driver’s seat, ask questions and confront the opinion of the older experts… even if we had to stand up and there was no microphone available for us at first.

Especially significant was the speech given by Luis Alvarado Martínez, president of AEGEE-Europe and representative of Europe on Track as the ECYP winner of 2013, who encouraged the organisers of the Charlemagne Youth Prize to involve young people more actively: “It’s them who should be sitting on the front”. Moreover, he suggested the idea of them selecting the winners of the ECYP – after all, what is a ‘youth prize’ if it is not selected by youth representatives?

5. ‘Top’ guests… taking AEGEEan’s selfies

“A selfie is the picture you take yourself, right?”

Besides Ms. Podimata, who was replacing the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, there were other remarkable guests among the visitors in Aachen. One of them was the former president of the European Central Bank, mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, who was taking part at the panel discussion of the Charlemagne Forum. But specially striking was the appearance in the middle of the Forum of Herman van Rompuy, president of the European Council. During the question round, two AEGEE members (Anna, from AEGEE-Barcelona, and Erik, from AEGEE-Bratislava) were sending their questions to the pannelists, when all of a sudden people started to applause. Van Rompuy arrived, the question round was interrupted and he gave his speech where several topics such as the previous Sunday’s EP elections were tackled.

In fact, Mr. Van Rompuy embarked in a small inter-generational dialogue with our AEGEEans Luis and Mariella, when they asked to take a selfie with him. “You mean, the picture that you take yourself, right?”, rumour has it that he asked.

6. The situation in Ukraine in the Charlemagne Youth Prize

Once Herman Van Rompuy had arrived at the Forum, Luis asked him about the situation in Ukraine, and he gave an answer paraphrasing Tolstoy (“we, Europe and Russia, have one thing in common – Christianity”), that our member of AEGEE-Bratislava, Erik Redli, reported perfecty in his article at Foreign Students.

Those were not the only remarkable guests of the week – in the Charlemagne Prize ceremony, there were the prime ministers of Moldova and Ukraine, Iurie Leanca and Arseniy Yatseniuk, right on the aftermath of the Ukrainian elections. In fact, the event gathered a few hundreds of protesters from Ukraine and Russia in the main square of Aachen, protesting against the war – but from different sides. Both were divided into two blocks and the police had to intervene, as reported by our friend from OneEurope Yuliya Kosharevska, even though there were no major incidents.

7. AEGEE-Aachen and OneEurope, a top cooperation for a ‘top event’

A journalists’ “newsroom” moment

Under the special request of the city council of Aachen, AEGEE-Aachen organised a ‘side event’ for journalists who would cover the Charlemagne Youth Prize for their national media and other internet platforms, in order to give more visibility to a prize which has proven to be of a major importance. Our ‘polar bears’ seeked the cooperation with the OneEurope magazine, who also reported actively about the happenings in Aachen and brought their expertise in journalism.

The atmosphere between AEGEE and OneEurope members was great and it truly felt like a real newsroom sometimes. Moreover, AEGEE-Aachen provided a wonderful social programme with a city tour around the city, a party with the national winners of the ECYP… and the members of OneEurope could experience for the first time what a European Night was. Congratulations, AEGEE-Aachen, and thank you for such an effort!

And next year… it can be you! This year’s Charlemagne Youth Prize event has proven that a project that gathers young people from several European countries, that deals with some of the ‘hot’ topics in European youth and also involves policy-makers and advisors can be eligible to win. It is acknowledged that we have taken part in many AEGEE projects with a big potential that comply with these same characteristics. So, what are you waiting for? Maybe the next Charlemagne Prize could be in AEGEE’s hands again!

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

A few weeks ago AEGEE-Burgos organized their 5^th anniversary. A small but nice event in which participants got to visit the city that will be the host of next year’s EPM, which will take place mid February 2015. EPM stands for European Planning Meeting, the event that we called EBM (European Boards’ Meeting) until Agora Patra.

Participants during the 5th anniversary of AEGEE-Burgos

What will happen in Burgos in the middle of February next year? There are several answers to that question. It will be an event where everything is covered by the budget that AEGEE-Burgos has planned, an EPM that has the full support from the University of Burgos and, most importantly,  an event that the members of AEGEE-Burgos and nearby cities are very motivated to host.

For this reason small events, like AEGEE-Burgos celebrating their 5^th anniversary together with participants from Oviedo, Madrid, Zaragoza and more, are really important to bring people together, because everybody knows that having a strong team is the basis of a successful event.

The AEGEEan interviewed the former President of AEGEE-Burgos and main responsible of the EPM, Ruben Sanz, about the event next year and what the Network can expect.

The AEGEEan: You already considered organizing an Agora Burgos but in the end did not apply. Why was that?

Ruben: We were planning first to apply to organize an Agora because we had all the support of Burgos University, but organizing it means that we would have to gain a lot of new members or ask for a lot of help from other antennae. Burgos is one of the smallest cities and universities in Spain, and AEGEE-Burgos has not yet reached 100 members in its short history, so we have to know our limits.

NWM Burgos

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to candidate to host EPM Burgos?

Ruben: Because it is the ideal situation for us. During the last three years we have organized a lot of events, Network Meeting, our yearly event (Morcillote’s birthday) and even the last Renove for more than 100 participants. We have several members who have been main organizers of events, who have a lot of experience and are very motivated people. Compared to ZarAgora we have about a quarter of the amount of members that AEGEE-Zaragoza has, but at least we have members with lots of experience, especially in organizing events. 

The AEGEEan: Do you have people that were part of organizing Agora Zaragoza that would like to help with the realization of EPM Burgos?

Ruben: Of course! Three of us have been organizers in Agora Zaragoza, and many of us have attended a lot of statutory events so we know how to do things, we know what to do and what to avoid. We understand the strengths and the weak points of one event for such a great amount of people. I think that you go back home with a smile if you have good food, you don’t have to walk for long distances or use buses to go from the gym to plenaries and of course a nice place to rest with hot showers.  And we have all of this!

Rubén (To the left) during Agora Zaragoza

What experience and knowledge do the members of AEGEE-Burgos have about previous EBMs?

Ruben: We have sent envoys to Izmir, Malta and Lublin, so we know what the Chair team needs. People who attended  all of them know that they were completely different in logistics, so we will try to pick the best things from each, even though we cannot book a hotel for participants as it was the case in EBM Valletta.

The AEGEEan: Personally, you have attended three EBMs, what do you like about the event?

Ruben: For me it is the best event of AEGEE! Izmir was my first and I had no idea what I was getting into, and when I started listening to the lectures my jaw dropped. I’m very interested in geopolitics for example, and Lublin was awesome! I am a bit worried about the feeling that is growing in Europe where people say “We’d have a better life if we were alone”. I am very Euro-optimistic and hearing different opinions has made me very open minded to different problems of countries.

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to be the main responsible of the EPM?

Ruben: I’m the most experienced member in our antenna and I have been very involved in all of our events all these years. I joined AEGEE three years ago, when AEGEE-Burgos was only a seed, now we are a tree that keeps growing and growing. Now we are a normal antenna in terms of members, active people, participants in events, budget etc. I think it was a normal process. You know that the ideal situation is that a leader emerges from the group, but in this case I’m just the head of a group, and the project and the direction is set by the whole group of organizers.

During the 5th anniversary of AEGEE-Burgos the participants celebrated the “White Night” of AEGEE-Burgos. What will participants celebrate during EPM next year?

The AEGEEan: How many active members do you have in your antenna? How will you ensure that you have enough organizers and helpers?

Ruben: Now we have 12 board members, but the number of active people is 20. We have some new members who will go to different Summer Universities who we would like to turn into active members.

We organized the 5th anniversary of our antenna last month, and some new members were there too, and we made one twinning trip to León and to Oviedo and more new people came. After summer we hope to be near 30 really active members! Anyway we will ask some very experienced members from nearby cities to be helpers too, all the north area of Spain is one big AEGEE family, we take care of each other, we have a lot of unofficial events as twinning trips and now we are a very big group of friends.

The AEGEEan: What is special about your city?

Ruben: Burgos is one of the main stops of Saint James walk, and it is the capital of the old kingdom of Castile (the seed of Spain of nowadays). Burgos cathedral appear in all art books and we are famous because of our wines and traditional food. Last year New York Times marked Burgos as one of the top 25 places to go. I know that people will have to check on a map where Burgos exactly is, but I’m sure it will be a great surprise for all the people who will come here.

SU in Burgos 2012 in front of the beautiful cathedral of Burgos

The AEGEEan: Will it be easy for participants to go to Burgos?

Ruben: Yes, Burgos is just in the north part of centeral Spain, we are only a bit more than two hours away from Madrid (there are even direct buses from Madrid airport every hour), and we have some daily buses and trains to Barcelona. In less than 1 hour we can reach the low cost airports of Bilbao, Santander or Valladolid. So we have a lot of ways to arrive, and I’m sure some nearby antennae will organize awesome pre-events! AEGEE-León has already confirmed that they would like to organize a pre-event.

The AEGEEan: What experience do you have in organizing events?

Ruben: Our team has organized several big events during the last years. One Network Meeting, Summer Universities as a yearly event, as well as “Burgos me pone Morcillote”, and most recently Renove (social post-summer event in the area of La Nave) last autumn and 5th anniversary of our antenna last month. I think now we can say we are the most active and experienced antenna in our NetCom area.

The AEGEEan: What do you already know for certain about how a potential EPM Burgos would be like? (Lodging, plenaries, parties, etc.?)

Ruben: We will have all buildings in the same area, so it will take us only two minutes to walk from one place to another, and we are in the negotiating process of places for a great social program. You know, it is Spain! It will be unforgettable for all.

The AEGEEan: You hosted Renove for many people last year, what does this extra experience mean for your antenna?

Ruben: That was the forward step in order to be ready for one big statutory event, so maybe the next one would be an Agora in some years? Hahaha…

President Ruben Puras of AEGEE-Burgos with their mascot during Renove last year

The AEGEEan: The Spanish economy is not at its best, how will this affect your event and how will you make sure that you will be able to organize the EPM?

Ruben: It’s not really important because we thought of this events for the participants, we are really focused on members and not on external matters.  We have a minimal budget, and all the help that we need, and we promise to organize a big event with all the qualities that the participants expect and we do not depend on official aid in kind or companies subsidies.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

 During the last Agora in Zaragoza, ‘Nationalism‘ was elected as the topic for the upcoming EBM in Lublin. Different thematic sessions workshops have been prepared to give a deeper insight to EBM participants about it, such as the workshop ‘Branding nationalism the American way’ that Réka Salamon (AEGEE-Aachen/AEGEE-Debrecen and Speaker of the Public Relations Committee) will give.

The AEGEEan: How exactly do you brand nationalism the American way?

Réka Salamon: The name of the workshop aims to refer to the spectacular American fashion of wearing their national identity on their foreheads (sometimes literally!). We are often mislead by a biased media presentation or misguided by our own stereotypes against the Americans but the massive amount of their national symbols and their reapparance in every possible surface, penetrating every possible aspect of their daily lives from food commercials to cinematography, from political speeches to civic education… the concept is simply astonishing. But is the USA really the greatest nation on Earth – how the Americans are often trying to present it – or it is only based upon a series of exaggerations and blind patriotic images?

AEGEEan: Why is it important for Europeans to learn from this American way of branding?

Réka: Not only AEGEEans, but also young Europeans in general tend to be caught up in the ‘continental mindset’, meaning, we possibly have a great knowledge of the European culture and it’s 1000-year-old traditions and tendencies up until nowadays, during the time of the EU integration and crises. One aspect of bringing the American viewpoint into all this is to discover what is behind the nowadays commonly used annotation of ‘United States of Europe’ and how Europeans can learn from the American model mainly by means of establishing a unified pro-European vision for all the citizens. The other aspect the workshop is to provide the Europe-bubbled mindset with a fresh global perspective by drawing a comparison between the European and the American model.

The AEGEEan: What can AEGEE members learn from your workshop?

Réka: AEGEE members will be introduced to the background concept of American patriotism from a brief historical perspective up until nowadays. The participants will be invited to take an active part in sharing their own impressions and stereotypical thoughts about the American culture, which ideas will be challenged and eventually “lessons” will be learnt. What is the impact of the iconic American patriotism in the everyday lives of American citizens? Is it a wildly manipulative articifial imposition or a heartfelt attachment for their motherland? From reenacting famous speeches to debunking the idea behind Captain America, learning and entertainment is granted!

The AEGEEan: What makes you the perfect person to give this workshop?

Réka: I have already given various types of presentations and was presenter at progress meetings during our statutory events. I completed my Masters in English and American Studies at the University of Debrecen, Hungary. I was also working in the US for a few months and had the opportunity to meet the living-breathing images from my textbooks. Yes, they are normal human beings (smiles), with a very unique mindset when it comes to their attachment to their country and this is something i have always found admirable and intriguing at the same time. Learning about the American culture in its past and current developments is one of the personal interests of mine.

The AEGEEan: What do you epect of participants joining the workshop?

Réka: I expect the participants to bring a lot of enthusiasm and dare to share even the craziest ideas they might have! I am also curious to meet fellow American Studies students, but in any case, the only thing is to be active! I would like to fulfil the participants’ expectations and meet the learning objectives of the workshop and have a mutually satisfying and fun time together!

Interested in this workshop? The exact infomation about time and place of the workshop will be announced during the EBM, but will also be available online in the EBM Lublin 2014 – Official Group

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

As the EBM Lublin 2014 is getting closer, more details are coming out about the workshops and different topics that will be tackled. The AEGEEan has interviewed the two Content Managers from the EBM, Lavinia Manea (AEGEE-Bucuresti) and Marije Arentze (AEGEE-Leiden) about their plans and expectations for this event.

Lavinia and Marije have been working hand in hand for a little less than two months in order to bring their expertise in the field of nationalism to this event. They have been planning the topics for the panel discussions, assisting the Comité Directeur with the selection of speakers and workshop proposals, and creating a survey about AEGEE members’ perception of nationalism.

The AEGEEan: Marije, Lavinia, what made you so interested in applying as Content Managers of this EBM?

Marije Arentze

Marije Arentze: I was looking for a new challenge in AEGEE. I have wanted to become active in the thematic field of AEGEE for a long time and I was instantly enthusiastic when I read about Thomas Leszke’s (AEGEE-Köln) topic proposal, as I am dealing a lot with nationalism in my studies. But where in university the approach is mostly  theoretical and the focus lies more on philosophy and intellectual history of nationalism, I am always looking for a practical angle. Being Content Manager surely gives me some practical work!

Lavinia Manea:  Talking about the position of Content Manager in general, now that I have the time, I looked at my previous contribution in AEGEE and felt I could bring it to another level. As a recent Master (MA) graduate with relevant work experience, I wanted to use my knowledge and skills for a cause in which I believe. I was happy to see that the EBM has become (more) thematic and I wanted to be a part of that change. In addition, I have a special interest in the topic of nationalism and a passion for content creation. Quite obviously, this was an opportunity which I couldn’t have missed.

Which is your background in the field of nationalism, and how do you think you can complement each other?

Marije: I just started studyin European Studies and I just finished a course on national thought, which dealt with the intellectual history of nationalism, the emergence of nation-states, its different manifestations all over Europe and its related ideologies such as fascism and racism. It taught me that present-day manifestations of nationalism are the result of a cultural process that has been going on for centuries, and that the line between practicing nationalism and just expressing your national identity is very vague and thin.

Lavinia: I hold two MA degrees, both in International Relations, one with a minor in European Integration and the other in Diplomacy. As you can imagine, the issue of nationalism sprung in different forms during these years and thanks to my academic background, I am able to look at it from different points of view: historical, ethical, pragmatic etc. Apart from that, during the final conference of the Where Does Europe End (WDEE) project, I designed and  facilitated sessions on the topic of nationalism throughout the duration of the event.

Why do you think there is such a strong interest in nationalism in AEGEE?

Lavinia Manea

Lavinia: I believe this is owed to the high extent to which AEGEEans can relate to this issue. This is not a reality of “some” but a reality of all of us. We live in a world of nations but we are experiencing  both forces pushing for a “regionalization” as for a “supranationalization” of Europe. Both of these question the relevance of the nation-state and trigger nationalist reactions on different levels. While this seems to be a very political subject, it is far more than that, given that we live and feel the consequences of these dynamics in our daily life. I believe many of us perceive these times as a crossroad, when decisions need to be made in one direction or the other and this was an additional factor which placed this topic on top of others.

Marije: In addition, nationalism is a big deal about personal identity. It’s about knowing who you are and where you belong, which becomes increasingly important for young people in a globalizing environment. The line between expressing national identity and practicing nationalism is very thin and full of shades of grey. In Lublin, with the topic on the agenda and 300+ students from all over Europe in one place, we are in the ideal environment to recognize and become familiar with all these nuances and subtleties.

The applicants of the EBM were asked about their visions of nationalism. Have you found that they have a similar concept on what nationalism is?

Marije: No, not at all. We had as many different answers as there were applicants, varying from “a sense of belonging” to “the attachment to national symbols” to “a dangerous kind of egoism”. And that is exactly what we expected, in fact it is why we asked the question. The word nationalism has a different meaning to every individual. It is a concept that is hard to define. We don’t have the illusion that as AEGEEans will reach an agreement on this, let alone during the EBM, but we wanted to inventory how AEGEEans perceive the concept.

Lavinia: Indeed. A small off-topic addition which I find important is that those questions not only for us to understand people’s vision on nationalism but also to be able to share these visions with them during the EBM. We believe that it is important to know not only what we discuss, but also with whom. The applications and the survey were a means of understanding better the state of play in AEGEE and we plan to be as transparent as possible as to the results we obtained both from the applications and the survey.

And, according to their views, do they consider it as a good or a bad thing?

Marije: The answers were 50/50, also depending on which definition they gave. Participants who perceive nationalism as “a sense of belonging” of “being proud of your country” usually described it as a positive phenomenon. People who described nationalists as “eurosceptics” or “dangerous egoists” usually described it as a negative phenomenon. None of the answers are wrong of course, but they were no less inspiring!

You have also recently launched a survey about nationalisms, with other concepts such as racism and xenophobia: how are you planning to use the results?

Lavinia: As mentioned previously, the survey as such will be presented to the whole network and will constitute a starting point of debate during the EBM. We hope to offer AEGEEans a broader perspective on the state of play in AEGEE, regarding the topic. We are –of course- aware of the limits of the survey and yet, we believe it will prove to be a very useful barometer for our network.   As for why we included related concepts (racism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism etc), I will refer here to a popular saying: “a problem never comes alone”. We believe it is hard to tackle nationalism while excluding related concepts which essentially respond to a similar logic.

Can you tell us any first details about panel discussions in the EBM?

Marije: We will have two Panel Discussions, both tackling nationalism from a very different angle. The first one will be about Exploring the importance of nationalism for individual identity. We will deal with how much nationalism is intertwined with our personal identity. Questions are for example: “What is it that nationalists identify with? What is a nation? How important is national identity for individuals?”

The title of the other panel discussion is Questioning the relevance of nationalism in a changing world. In this Panel Discussion the place of nationalism will be questioned in an era in which we have “forces” asking for decentralization and forces asking for the opposite. Is “the nation” still as relevant as it was before? Will the sense of “belonging to a nation” ever fade away, or will it always be present?

Do you plan to address the topic of nationalisms in specific countries?

Marije: There will be workshops dealing with Ukraine and Belarus (by the Eastern Partnership Project), branding nationalism in America (by the PRC) and Catalonian secessionism (by Núria Fenoll Domingo and Ferran Huidobro Casamitjana from AEGEE-Tarragona). In addition, in a lot of sessions will deal with case-studies from different countries.

Lavinia: We are exploring ways in which we can create a useful learning experience for everyone. We will come with specific examples and in choosing them, we will try to be fair and careful, so that no country will be specifically targeted.

What about separatisms in the EU? In 2014 we will have the referenda in Scotland and Catalunya: do you have any ideas on that?

Marije: As said, we will have an excellent workshop from two members from AEGEE-Tarragona, which will deal with the subtleties around having an independence referendum. They will hold a simulation of the Catalonian referendum and with this they want to show how extremely difficult it is to deal with all the nuances that surround a topic as delicate as secessionism.

How are you planning to make this EBM an interactive and dynamic event?

Lavinia: The EBM will consist of plenary sessions, panel discussions and parallel sessions, all of which will allow for interaction among the participants. We will reduce our thematic input to the minimum possible so that we leave space for debates, while still providing participants with useful information which will enable the least informed ones to take part in the discussions. Furthermore, we will avoid creating “dead” content, as I call it, that is information which doesn’t have an impact on participants. Therefore, we will not include sterile classifications and more generally, information which cannot be further assimilated and used by them. We consider the content to be a set of tools which participants will make use of, and we hope that our approach will turn as many people as possible into active contributors to the EBM.

And which are your desired outcomes from this event?

Lavinia: If we should make a difference between outputs and outcomes, then our desire is for AEGEE members to become more aware of the multifaceted issue of nationalism. We also hope that increased awareness will lead to an increased capacity and desire to counter the negative aspects of nationalism. Paraphrasing an existing idea, the evil exists not only because of “the bad” minority who does harm, but also because of “the good” majority who watches passively and fails to react. In this sense, we all have a responsibility, firstly as humans and secondly as citizens of our countries.

If we should look at the output as well, there will be a follow-up document with information, conclusions and possibly recommendations. We are looking at ways in which we can involve the whole network and not only EBM participants. Following the idea that “scripta manent” we will pay close attention to the creation of outputs, both in terms of their comprehensiveness as their usefulness overall. We certainly do not want this topic to be forgotten once the EBM is over.

Marije: If you expect to learn out of this EBM how nationalistic AEGEE is and how nationalistic you are, you might have chosen the wrong conference to attend. But if you are looking for eye-openers, for a deeper understanding of the society you are a part of and of your behavior towards others, you should definitely be in Lublin!

For the ones who won’t be present at the EBM, remember that you can follow the discussions and the output from the event in the following links:

• EBM Lublin 2014 – Official: Created in cooperation between The AEGEEan, the Public Relations Committee and several other European level bodies.
• Nationalism at EBM Lublin: where the team of Content Managers are sending the latest updates on workshops and will be streaming the live discussions.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

Last summer the Scandinavian locals, AEGEE-København and AEGEE-Helsinki, organized the Summer University ‘Scandinavian Dream’ that turned out to be the most popular Summer University in 2013, having 242 applications. This is a good reason to get to know these locals in the north of Europe and find out how they managed to have such a successful Summer University, but also to broaden our horizon and learn more about other locals of AEGEE-Europe. Patricia Anthony, president of AEGEE-København, member of the Network Commossion and Incoming Responsible for the Summer University, and Seppo Hälikä, PR-Responsible at AEGEE-Helsinki, let us in on the details about their locals.   

Seppo (AEGEE-Helsinki)

The most important question here would be: how do you gather 242 applications for your Summer University? Good cooperation and a lot of original promotion without turning it into spam are the main reasons according to Patricia. Next to that, the fact that this SU was the cheapest option to visit big cities in the north of Europe (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Nurmijärvi and Tallin) had an important role too. Seppo says it was an unique chance that turned out to be appreciated by AEGEE members. A good new start for the organizing locals, because a Summer University in Sweden or Denmark had not been organized in years. Nevertheless both Seppo and Patricia agreed that they expected their Summer University to be a popular one, having 200 to 250 applications. Mission accomplished!

Just like the Summer University, the cooperation between the two organizing locals turned out to be a success too, even with a 800 km distance between the two cities. Locals in the north of Europe aren’t close to each other and spread over quite a big area, which doesn’t make cooperation easy, but AEGEE-København and AEGEE–Helsinki made it work. The successful example, of their collaboration, will hopefully be followed by other locals in the future, so that there will be more cooperation between our Scandinavian locals.

Patricia (AEGEE-København)

It looks like ‘Scandinavian Dream’ became so popular because of a good cooperation between the two locals, a fantastic program and original ways of promoting it to members. This way, Patricia and Niklas Vaalgamaa (AEGEE-Helsinki) turned the dream they had, while studying in Madrid, a reality in the world of AEGEE. All this was possible even without having a local in Stockholm to make the program, Copenhagen having only a small amount of members and having to deal with a distance of 800 km between both cities. AEGEE clearly made the impossible possible.

Next to making cooperation happen, Summer Universities are also a good chance to travel and meet other people from all over Europe. A fact that members of both locals knew about. AEGEE-København had ten members going on Summer University, whereas AEGEE-Helsinki saw fourtythree of their members travelling around Europe. Both Patricia and Seppo didn’t go on a Summer University, but did explore Europe by doing an internship in Valladolid, Spain (Patricia) or working in Ibiza (Seppo).

Luckily local members who don’t go on a Summer University have enough opportunities to meet new people and have fun in their own town. AEGEE-Helsinki organizes “Masterchef” events on a regular basis, having two teams compete with each other. Next to that they will participate in the Restaurant Day project in November and open a temporary AEGEE-Helsinki restaurant. Also the local organizes social drinks and travels to Stockholm, Tallinn and other cities. Because the local has around forty active members, there are enough people to set up these activities and promote the local. Seppo even sees the possibility to organize a second EBM in a few years.

Board Members of AEGEE-København

AEGEE-København is a far smaller local, having less than ten active members, but that doesn’t mean they are inactive. On a regular basis there are language cafes organized, just as other activities to get to know each other. Next to that the local has plans to organize activities with the Enviromental Working Group (EnWG), because Copenhagen will be the green capital of Europe in 2014. A theme that the local would like to work with. Even though there are already activities organized, Patricia would like to see AEGEE-København have more active members, so they will do their best to promote AEGEE in Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark. The chance that the local will organize an Agora or EBM is still very small though, because it’s hard to find a sleeping place in Copenhagen and it’s forbidden to sleep in gyms (thé place to sleep at Agorae.)

Although both locals organize other activities next to their popular Summer University, the question remains what makes them unique within AEGEE-Europe, an organization spread over more than 150 cities? Seppo says AEGEE-Helsinki is unique because it’s the only local in Finland and they are crazy enough to survive, while AEGEE–København is unique not only because it’s the only local in Denmark, but also because of the many international members they have. Members from AEGEE-København come from Estonia, Italy, Latvia and even China, so the local tries to put a focus on the importance of cultural exchange that AEGEE-Europe stands for.

Both locals and their members are clearly different when it comes to the place of origin, amount of members and activities, but got (and will be) connected by a united goal of promoting AEGEE in their countries and showing other members more of Scandinavian countries. Both Patricia and Seppo also want to see more of Europe, whether it is the Balkan region (Patricia) or London, Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Belgium or Malta (Seppo). AEGEE-Europe clearly unites, no matter where you are from or where you are going.

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Board member on the local level, vice-chairperson of AGORAe and EBM, subcommie in the Netcom team, representative of the Dutch locals towards the Dutch Youth Council, always energetic, optimistic and ready to have fun. This is our new member of the month – Paul Smits from AEGEE-Enschede. Let’s see what he had to say to the AEGEEan:

The AEGEEan: Tell me about your experience in AEGEE.

Paul: It started when I came to Enschede to study. I wanted to join an association, meet many people, make a lot of friends and get to see a bit more of the world. AEGEE soon turned out to be a perfect means for achieving those early goals. While I was having lots of fun, AEGEE more and more became part of my life. I became active on the local level, went to my first Network Meeting and after my first year I went to my first Agora as a Delegate for AEGEE-Enschede. Back then in Enschede I organised some trips, a Summer University and a conference and I soon wanted to commit myself to a year on the Board of the loveliest association of Enschede. As External Affairs responsible, I was responsible for all external affairs of AEGEE-Enschede, except for those concerning Europe. After gaining experience in the Board, I moved on to the European level as sub-commissioner of the Network Commission and Vice-Chairperson of the Agora and EBM.

What was it like to be Chair of two statutory events? Was it a lot easier the second time? 

I enjoy preparing and chairing the events with the rest of the Chair Team a lot! There is a lot going on in the months before a statutory event, which I had observed only from the point of view of the organising local in Enschede in 2012. It is a great experience to be in another essential part of the huge group of people involved in organising statutory events. This applies also to actually chairing the Agora and being at the cool side of the Chair table looking at all those lovely AEGEE faces.

The EBM is of course very different from Agorae. There are less people to entertain, less decision-making going on and fewer days than at the Spring Agora. On the other hand, there are more thematics and interesting discussions, which are awesome, but not very much connected to the work of us as the Chair Team. The EBM Valletta therefore was an easy start for us as Chair Team. The Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar was a bit more challenging, but since I am working with some thoroughly experienced members and the local organizers delivered a very well structured event, we were able to have a quite smooth Agora.

What are the different sides of working in the Board team and in the Chair team?

Working as a Board member of AEGEE-Enschede was a full-time job. We had fixed office hours, meetings all the time, and a lot of quality time with each other and our members. Naturally, this is very different from working in the Chair Team, which is more like any other body on the European level, I guess. Skype and Hangout meetings, dividing tasks and executing them on your own, in between the other things in day to day life.

Also after a while in the Board, each week became more and more like every other week. In the Chair Team however, we are working towards a single big goal with various steps along the way there.

Did you enjoy being a subcommie? Do you plan to conquer NetCom soon too?

Being a sub-commissioner was very enjoyable. I had lots of fun with Wieke, Marije and Mathieu in supporting our part of the network. It was a good way to broaden my horizons beyond the borders that surround AEGEE-Enschede for most of its members. In addition, because I was already a sub-commissioner, it was a fitting choice also to apply to be the very first representative of the Dutch AEGEE locals towards the National Youth Council (NJR). In that position, I am trying to achieve mutual benefit for the organisations. In AEGEE, strong Dutch locals can put their strengths to use in new and better ways and weaker locals can improve through cooperation opportunities and new funding options. AEGEE now also has a big say in selecting the Dutch Youth Representatives on European Affairs.

The Network Commission might very well be the coolest (and best-looking?) body of AEGEE.

Now I do not think I will be running for Network Commissioner in the near future. After my year as subcommie and after representing the Dutch locals towards the National Youth Council (NJR), I feel like its maybe not my time anymore to interfere with the Dutch-speaking locals. As long as there are good candidates for this part of the Network, I will be happy to leave the opportunity to discover and experience AEGEE as a Network Commissioner to those others.

What do you do apart from AEGEE? Studies? Work?

I finished my Bachelor thesis on modelling Single Pulse Electrical Stimulation of the brain cortex last week and after summer I will start my Masters in Technical Medicine, which will take me at least three more years. I have an interest in almost everything, so choosing studies and projects is not always easy. Discovering the world, enjoying it in every way and contributing to it as I see fit, that is my job. Studying is a hobby, which I do in my spare time! Who knows what will come on my path next.

AEGEE seems to fill a huge part of your life. Do you have a separate group of non-AEGEE friends that you spend time with? Sometimes getting some AEGEE-free air can be very refreshing.

If it were not for AEGEE, I would be a total hermit. Most of my friends nowadays have some connection with AEGEE in one way or another. Apart from my housemates and some fellow Technical Medicine students, it is all AEGEE for me. I do not consider this a bad thing, at all. Is AEGEE-free air supposed to be refreshing? In my opinion, AEGEEans are diverse and versatile enough to be refreshing in their own right. If I only compare some of my local fraternity friends with some European active AEGEE members, there is already a great variation in people. This is one of the key characteristics of our organisation that makes it so amazing!

Do you have a motto by which you live or strive to live by?

Last November, AEGEE-Valletta had its 15th anniversary. This antennas’ history is quite varied and successful. Despite being a very small antenna, comprising of only around 100 members, of whom only about 20 are active, big results are still achieved. During the previous years, the antenna has successfully organised an Agora in 2007, a Network Meeting in 2009 and many more events. The latest pride lies in the Best TSU (Travel Summer University) of 2012 and EBM (European Boards’ Meeting) 2013, which is the reason why AEGEE-Valletta is the Local of the Month of April 2013.

After the EBM we had more than 50 people nominating you for Local of the Month, congratulations! What does this honor mean to your antenna?

Martha Mifsud (PR responsible of AEGEE-Valletta): AEGEE-Valletta has always strived to maintain its reputation, a reputation which precedes it and a reputation which is evidenced by the high quality events organised periodically throughout the year. Having more than 50 nominations is a great honour for us. After all, our activities are for you, the participant, and each AEGEE member to enjoy. The greatest satisfaction for us is the appreciation of all those who participated in the EBM.

If you were to explain the experience of organising EBM Valletta what would you say? How was it?

Simply amazing and very enriching! The friendship forged while working together and attaining the same goal is the one which lasts the longest. On another note, it was very professional and each one of us had the opportunity to discover his/her potential in relatively new areas.

What were the best things about organising the EBM?

The team work! It was the most effective asset we had and the bond which will last for all subsequent events. The EBM team was a relatively new team, having old members like me and the rest of the board being the strong points of every sub commissioner, but the rest was composed of new members.

Last year AEGEE-Valletta had the best Summer University and now it has organised a successful EBM. Why is it that you are so good at organising events in your antenna? Can you share some tips for other antennae?

As Vice-President of AEGEE-Valletta I have been a main organiser in both events. The best tip I can offer to other antennae is to be professional and do not take matters lightly. We do our best to achieve the best. Moreover, the other tip to achieve a holistic result is to put passion is the work you do. If AEGEE was a job, we would be working among colleagues, and the attendees would be our clients. In AEGEE-Valletta we enjoy organising events among friends to welcome our participants, who are at the end new friends in our country.

What have you been doing in AEGEE-Valletta after organising the EBM?

After the EBM we had a well deserved break. However, it was a very short one and now we’re back to our full potential. We organised a short course, an Local Training Course (LTC) which lasted for a whole weekend. We have also set up board meetings and also monthly meetings to inform our members what course AEGEE-Valletta is planning on taking.

What lies in the future of AEGEE-Valletta, which events are you working on?

Yet another summer event! After winning the best Travel Summer University of 2012… we’re heading on to organising another fabulous event for Summer 2013! So everybody get ready to set sail to our little Mediterranean Island! We also have planned local events for our local members and loads and loads of parties for our Erasmus friends!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

“She has been responsible for the successful revival of the Cultural European Night at the EBM”. Who is this mysterious person, you might be wondering? It is Alice Bednarova from AEGEE-London. The European Night during Autumn Agora Budapest raised many questions and gave way to many discussions. The Culture Working Group (CWG) has decided to take things under control starting with EBM-Valetta and return the initial spirit of the event. This time the very person who helped in the revival of the CEN concept has been elected member of the month, and The AEGEEan was glad to interview Alice.

The AEGEEan: Could you start with telling us a bit about your life in AEGEE?

Alice: I became an AEGEE member in 2010. To be honest I found AEGEE only by chance. I remember I was browsing through the internet searching for what am I going to do in the summer and I found the Summer University (SU) project, so I joined. After the SU I became very active because I wanted to and because I was doing my Erasmus in Athens.

And you are also active in the CWG?

Yes. I started with the CWG in 2012. I was looking for the way I can get involved in AEGEE and at the same time how this activity can correspond to my interests.

So you are into culture. Any other hobbies?

That’s my huge hobby and also my job since I am studying about galleries and museum sector. The course – Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture – is a new project of the University of Westminster. I spend my free time in galleries where I either work or simply enjoy my free time. Of course, I love travelling too. I also work in a little coffee shop. There is no way to survive without a job here.

 You were the one responsible for the Cultural European Night (CEN) at the EBM. What’s the story behind it?

I answered the open call for a person that would be in charge of the CEN at the EBM. We all knew that the last CENs were not successful so far and many voices had risen after the last European Night at the Agora Budapest. There was even this article in the AEGEEan questioning the original purpose of this event and it has been even broadly discussed whether this kind of event in this form should be kept on the program of statutory events. Since the whole CWG see the huge importance of having the CEN we have decided to try to bring a new concept to it- keep the ‘fun elements’ such as the drink and food fair but also, more importantly, –  show that CEN is more a celebration of cultures than just a party with free booze.

As far as I understand, you started dealing with the CEN as soon as you joined CWG? Or did you help out with other things first?

No, actually, this was the very first event. There were many ideas how we could change the EN to make it more cultural. I thought we needed to make it more interactive, to encourage people to join the program. I have requested a projector from the organizers where we played for the first time the CEN video (that was an amazing work from Dasha, AEGEE-Moskva). The most difficult part, however, was to make people join the program. I do not even remember how many times I have sent a reminder saying the same worlds: always asking people to bring their folklore and perform. A week before the event we had only one performance confirmed! I felt that this was going to be a disaster.

During the EBM some guys from Turkey came to me willing to show their dances and not only I had to limit their part because they would make the whole night only Turkish. The Dutch part was also amazing thanks to the organization of Hanke, from AEGEE-Enschede. It started with three – Turkish, Dutch and Greek.

I counted on having more, but was happy with at least three. But then more and more people started joining. Beata organized the Hungarian performance, followed with Anna Gots with the Ukrainian folklore.

Every single performance was so well done. Some of them were simply breathtaking.

 Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?

I would like to say how happy I am for being part of AEGEE. It means a lot to me. Even though we are often working very hard, we end up being rewarded greatly afterwards. I would like to thank also to Danae Matakou and Guillermo Tabares Garcia for their support in the CEN project.

Thank you for all the efforts to Alice and the Cultural Working Group. We are looking forward to the European night at the next AGORA!

 Written by Olga Volovyk, AEGEE-Kyiv

The topic of participation in workshops at statutory events was raised recently in The AEGEEan, and we continue to focus on this interesting topic. Questions concerning the quality of workshops, the topics and the golden recipe of a workshop will be answered in this interview that The AEGEEan did with Gunnar Erth, who throughout his many years has participated and hosted a large number of workshops.

He has hosted very different workshops, from simple brainstorming sessions regarding a project to creative ones, where people display their ideas with performances or posters. He describes them as the ones that are the most fun.

In Agora Rhein-Neckar Gunnar will host a workshop but it is no classic workshop. It will be a mixture of a presentation and group discussions and the topic will be the history of the summer universities. Since the Summer University Coordination Team will be at the Agora, the hope is to have lively best-practice discussions with the participants regarding participants’ management and a SU programme design. Hopefully, ending up with the best formula for a SU.

Gunnar says that “a good workshop should not primarily transmit knowledge, but rather be about developing ideas together”, but what other golden rules are there to workshops? Let’s have a look.

The AEGEEan: How many times have you hosted a workshop?

Gunnar Erth: Oh, many times. I did the first one was when I was president of the Human Rights Working Group. We were discussing projects about former Yugoslavia. Most of my workshops were either related to PR matters, antenna management or project management.

And what is it that you like about organising workshops?

It’s the best way to directly involve and motivate people in AEGEE! People see each other eye to eye – and thanks to this aspect workshops add the human touch to discussions, which otherwise would happen online. The most fascinating thing about workshops is that they can get their own life and go to directions that you did not expect. When you organise a workshop then you usually have an idea and preferred outcome in mind. But as soon as the people discuss, they take over, they develop ideas and these can be totally different from yours. This can be great, but also frustrating.

Why is that the case?

Sometimes you have some high goals in mind, which require a lot of work and initiative. And then the participants don’t catch the hint and rather go for a simple solution with less impact. If it’s only a training workshop then it’s not a big deal – you can just tell them what else they could have opted for. However, if the purpose of the workshop was to develop a new project, then it’s a pity. But there is nothing you can do as a workshop leader, since the participants are the ones to carry the project out.

You have organised and been in many workshops. What is the golden recipe to make a workshop good?

First of all, you need a good topic. Without it, you don’t get participants. The potential participants must feel that they can either learn something for themselves or help shaping a great initiative. The second factor is making catchy PR before the workshop. The third thing is the way you structure and lead a workshop – currently Fabian Brüggemann is the best workshop leader in AEGEE. He is brilliant! You need to set out a clear goal of the workshop, keep in mind your own ideas and nudge the participants in a certain direction – but you have to let the people develop the idea. Because if it’s theirs then the chance is high that they catch on; if you present a ready-to-use idea, the chance is lower. You need to be able to adapt the workshop to the ideas of the participants, if things go in a different direction.

To give an example, I can tell you that in the Network Meeting in Mainz some years ago we discussed PR ideas in a workshop. Nearly all participants were from the Rhein-Neckar region. Some people suggested a printed AEGEE magazine for the region as a joint PR tool. That was in 2004, so before people made WordPress blogs. Since there was so much enthusiasm, I changed the workshop right in the middle and we discussed the form and content of this magazine. After the event we kept on discussing the idea online, but since no one wanted to coordinate it, the idea died.

That’s a pity.

Yes. And this leads us to the final ingredient of the recipe for a great workshop: a good follow-up. In every workshop you should discuss concrete steps how to follow-up, if you developed new ideas. But as you can see from the example, even then success is not guaranteed.

It is sometimes difficult for workshop organisers to get participants of the Agora to take part in their workshop, because it is not compulsory to go. How do you face this problem, and what is your advice to other workshop hosts?

Good PR, before the event. During the Agora it’s too late, because unfortunately there is only little time to present the content. There were so many Agorae where I didn’t really know what the next workshops were about so I just followed my friends – sometimes we went to just any random workshop or we had a coffee… So the participants must know about the workshop before the Agora. You must promote it like a big event. Social media help a lot. You can create a Facebook event and invite people, you can create a Facebook group, you can present the workshop in The AEGEEan or Golden Times, and you can even present it on AEGEE-L. If the topic is related for example to current issues, for example human rights, you can use existing discussions in AEGEE to make people aware of your workshop. There is no limit.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København