Since 2012, when the Health4Youth project was founded, it aimed to make young people aware about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, from a physical up to a psychological level. As water is a basic element of life, the Health4Youth team, with the collaboration of the Environmental Working Group, decided to plan an entire day dedicated to it on March 22nd, in honor of World Water Day. Great initiative, for which they get also the United Nations partnership.

World Water Day takes place once a year on March 22nd, since 1993. This single day celebrates something that is constantly in our lives : WATER. The importance of this awareness event is huge because it tries to promote in 24 hours a way of thinking and of acting we should  always adopt. This is why during the year The United Nations inter-agency coordination mechanism for freshwater and sanitation (UN-Water) provides ideas, resources, projects and more to inspire the celebrations of March 22nd around the world.

Water Day is observed shining the spotlight on a different issue every year. “Water and Sustainable Development” is the theme of 2015. It is about how water links to all areas we need to consider for creating the future we want (health, nature, urbanization, industry, energy, food, equality).

Since the event has also become a popular Social Network trend, Health4Youth decided to promote online awareness campaigns to celebrate Water Day. Join them in this initiative by:

– organizing a one/half day event with workshops and discussions about one/all these topics: water and health, water and hydration, water and sport activities, water as economical, political and social elements in conflicts around the world, water and pollution, experiments with water, water and clean water, water and current situations, etc.

– creating a flashmob in your city to make people aware of the importance of water;

– taking selfies, pictures, videos in your personal and original way with elements that refer to your connection with water or just express a message about this topic you would like to share

“The involvement of Health4Youth on this day is due to the relevance of the topics covered by World Water Day, to the closeness of the issues with our project and to the desire to get knowledge. As the initiative will be held all over the world, this will be an outstanding occasion to connect each other in the name of water’s importance in our health.” said Christian Spagnol, event manager of Health4Youth.

In March 22nd, AEGEE-Udine and AEGEE-Ljubljana will collaborate to organise a Water Day Event in Nova Gorica. A concrete realization of these ideas, a day of discussions and workshops about water and the issues connected with it. Everyone can participate!

If you want to take part in such an important initiative, make suggestions or simply get more information, write to health4youth@aegee.org!

Written by Karina A. Silivas, AEGEE-Udine

The last Member of the Month of July left many exceptional nominations and AEGEE members that stood out – one of them, Laia Garcia Montufo, is currently President of AEGEE-Tarragona, member of the Pool of Representatives and Liaison Officer towards the United Nations.

Laia has been nominated due to her involvement in several youth platforms. Moreover, she is now fully absorbed in the Travel Summer University organised by AEGEE-Tarragona and AEGEE-Valencia, which is due to start on the 15th of August. And still, she is currently working on her thesis, as she has studied Architecture and Urban Planning with a minor in Sustainable Development.

Presenting a message from the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon at the   Autumn Agora Zaragoza

Like many other members in our Network, Laia joined AEGEE right after her post-Erasmus blues. “Erasmus is a lifestyle, which I suppose many AEGEEans know. During my exchanges I got to know a lot of people around the world, I made friends, I travelled and I learnt how to live on my own or with other nations in a foreign country”. But Erasmus also has a difficult side, as she says: “After returning, I was missing the international vibe so much that life back home seemed utterly boring. Soon I realized that in my city there were also a lot of Erasmus students, so I started looking for them and I found out about the existence of a group who helped foreign students. Of course, I joined it right away!”.

And it was not long until she got in touch with the European level of AEGEE. It was back in May 2012, at the final conference of the ‘Where Does Europe End?’ project in Utrecht. According to her, it might be the best event she has ever been to: “I remember thinking to myself: I am skipping a full week of classes before the finals… but after a while I just understood there are times when the benefits of skipping class are greater than the negatives as I was actually learning more than at the university! These trainers taught me how powerful Non Formal Education (NFE) can be and that learning experience triggered in me a strong desire to become active at European level”.

The Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and its situation

Laia has been very involved in the past year with the Spanish Youth Council (CJE in its acronym, from Consejo de la Juventud de España), mostly in the Structured Dialogue process, an instrument to ensure that the opinion of young people is taken into account when defining youth-related policies of the European Union by bringing together young people and the policy makers across the EU. She was involved at the national consultation in Palencia last January, and she was also chosen as Spanish National Youth Delegate to attend the EU Youth Conference in Thessaloniki in March.

On holidays!

“Unfortunately, the Senate has just given green light to its closing as it has definitively approved the text of the draft law concerning the Rationalization of Public Sector, which regulates the closing of the Spanish Youth Council with the support of the comfortable majority of the People’s Party and the abstention or the vote against from the rest of the opposition groups”. Laia explains about the situation concerning the CJE, which was threatened of being closed by the Spanish government. However, she adds, “at the very last moment, two amendments proposed by the People’s Party and endorsed by the rest of the parliamentary groups were passed, where two important points concerning the regulation of the CJE were modified, so the framework improved with regard to the initial proposal”.

She adds that, luckily, none of the more than 60 organisations that are involved in the CJE have given up: “A new framework must be found, but until the creation of the new organism that replaces the CJE, we must be careful not to have a period of time without a platform that canalizes the youth participation.”

The World Youth Conference in Sri Lanka

Moreover, last May Laia took part at the World Youth Conference in Sri Lanka, where young people from over 170 countries gathered together with Ministers of Youth from around the world, high-level officials from the UN and other civil society organisations and the private sector, around the topic of the next development agenda beyond the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) which expire in 2015. The outcome of the conference was the Colombo Declaration on Youth.

According to Laia, for the first time youth representatives were included as equal stakeholders: “In my opinion, WCY 2014 was unique with regard to the degree of youth influence over official negotiations. Rather than youth meetings in advance of negotiations and producing separate outcome documents, this conference produced a “joint declaration” endorsed by both youth and governments. It was definitely a compromise between these two ends: but an important one at that, because now we have a commitment from governments to implement the recommendations enshrined in this declaration”.

She adds that, as a result, “the declaration has strong language on youth engagement: for example it calls for the establishment of a permanent youth department within the United Nations with representations in member countries to support and follow up local youth programs and also calls on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to establish a permanent forum on youth, for youth and governments to facilitate a sustained dialogue including on the Post- 2015 Development Agenda”.

3rd Council of Members of the Great Silk Way

The Great Silk Way organisation

If all of her activities and involvement have not been impressive enough, Laia recently became representative of the Great Silk Way International Youth Union, an organisation established in 2012 in Azerbaijan which connects more than 30 youth-led organisations from Asia, Europe and North Africa based on and designed for strengthening intercultural dialogue, cross-border cooperation and increasing role of youth in these issues on a global level.

She was elected as the focal point of GSW in Spain. These focal points are youth organizations or active young individuals “who coordinate the activities of GSW in that particular country. This means we ensure participation of local young people in international projects organized by GSW, make sure to disseminate information on opportunities (youth exchanges, volunteering, internships etc.) that can be useful for young people”, Laia explains. “In addition to this, the focal point has the right to initiate and coordinate national or regional level projects and events with the support of GSW. Basically we become the voice of GSW in our country at the same time feedbacking on the needs of local young people to be then reflected in decisions taken by the organization on high level”.

…and still, time to devote for AEGEE!

AEGEE-Tarragona members at the Agora

Laia’s involvement in youth platforms doesn’t stop her from being very active in AEGEE. As president of AEGEE-Tarragona, she is currently very busy organising the Travel Summer University in cooperation with AEGEE-Valencia. She has done a big task by promoting the European level in her antenna, since there are some AEGEE-Tarragona members that have become active in bodies such as the Language Working Group, the Eastern Partnership Project and the Action Agenda Coordination Committee. “I try my best to minimize the gap between my local and the European level. Therefore, I keep the members updated about all the relevant information on the many opportunities our association offers throughout our local meetings and social networks”.

According to her, AEGEE-Tarragona has around 30 members, “but the core team of the most active ones is smaller, so it is easy for me to be in contact with them and try to motivate everyone to contribute. Also, the fact that I am active on the European Level  makes things a bit easier when it comes to promotion as interested members can always come to me and ask for personal advice. And you know what? Some people just need a little push!”

When asked about her future plans, Laia says she is currently finishing her tasks as Liaison Officer towards the UN and the Pool of Representatives, but she plans to keep involved both in the local and in the European level. “Wait, I forgot something!”, she adds. “I do know one of my next steps in AEGEE! After having organized two Summer Universities and one Summer Event… I think next year will be about time to apply for my first Summer University as a participant!”.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

Do you remember the article ‘Be the change’, which was published in The AEGEEan a few weeks ago? Did you have the chance to attend the workshop ‘Impact your university’ during the Agora in Patra? In case you didn’t, we got you covered with this article!

‘Impact your university’ was a workshop conducted by rootAbility, a social business that drives the sustainability transition of the European higher education sector by establishing and coaching student-driven and staff-supported sustainability units, teams and projects. They believe that universities and colleges should create new knowledge to solve complex sustainability questions. Universities and colleges are educating the decision-makers of tomorrow on relevant sustainability competencies. They should therefore reduce their organisations’ ecological and social footprints and assist regions in their sustainability transition.

Do you believe that you can change the world with a simple students’ project? Perhaps it sounds a bit difficult, but if you start small you can have an impact! As university students we are one of the biggest stakeholders in our society. With this manpower behind us, starting with our own institution can be a smart idea when changing the way we live. Later on you can always make it bigger. When rootAbility started, it began with the Maastricht University’s Green Office in 2010. They took sustainability matters into their own hands, the student’s hands.

In the workshop, rootAbility communicated the tools and steps you need to implement your own project. We learned that it is not so much about having ideas but more about executing them. Concrete planning should therefore play a major role before jumping right ahead and try to change things. Thinking about possible problems, strategies to mitigate them and ideas on how to engage the stakeholders for the project are necessary activities to ensure later success.

Photo by: Elise Bessieres

Using a project canvas, sustainability projects were identified through problem analysis, planned according to their needed resources and activities that were mapped corresponding to the desired outcomes. However, no one can plan a whole project in such a short period of time completely. Learning that further steps such as writing a project plan or proposal are required to move on was also a part of the workshop.

We can learn a lot from the business world, even when implementing sustainability projects. Taking the tools you need from different disciplines and working together with students from various study backgrounds further contribute to a project’s realization. With resources that are accessible at your university such as its infrastructure, the knowledge from professors and peers, its reputation or the university’s network, every student is in a unique position to impact their direct surroundings, while also improving your university experience.

Besides, the life skills learned in project management are widely applicable, and more and more employers are seeking graduates that have such additional skills. So, the knowledge acquired when executing a sustainability projects can be used later on and complement university curricula. At the end of the day you have the power to have an impact on the society! Think big, start small and change the world for the better!

In case you have any questions regarding student-driven and staff-supported change projects for sustainability, do not hesitate to contact iris.hordijk@aegee.org, or visit Rootability.

Written by Iris Hordijk, Policy Officer on Sustainability

A few months ago, the Environmental Working Group (EnWG) launched their new action, called GO GREEN, with asking for environmental issues as its main goal. To do this, the EnWG organises a social Skype meeting about a determined theme. In the meeting they share advices and ideas, which locals can use to organise their own workshops, discussions or seminars or any other activity fitting with the monthly topic. The AEGEEan talked to Dasha Onohova (PR Responsible) to find out more.

For the months May & June the working group wants to focus on the topic of ‘Green Transportation’, so they launched the idea of a Bike Week. “Sustainable transport options make a positive contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the communities they serve”, Dasha says. “The most pleasant and healthy way of green transportation is actually bicycling!” For this reason, all AEGEEans are encouraged to go to work or university by bicycle instead of bus, car or train from the 16^th until the 30^th of June.

“It’s a fun activity for a social members meeting, that will also help out the environment”, Dasha points out. “Getting together and advertising your antenna with your flag and/or mascot in the streets sounds like a good time to us!” To join in on the good time, locals are encouraged to follow the example of AEGEE-Kyiv and AEGEE-Voronezh by organising a bike tour in their city. The working group has created posters and badges for those who want to join and let the rest know too, which can be found here. Pictures you take during the event can be shared with the EnWG by sending them an e-mail with two or three pictures!

For the locals who want to do more to contribute to a greener world, the EnWG has thought of more ideas to do in June: showing members what blablacar and carpooling are about, organising a hitchhike competition, doing a treasure hunt in public transport or watching a video on green transport together. “We want to encourage AEGEE members from all over the Network to go green”, Dasha says. “A greener you, is a greener world!”

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Just close your eyes for a few seconds and think about nature on our planet. Do you see the glistering of the oceans in the sun, the colourful flowers in the fields and can you hear the birds in the forest? Amazing, isn’t it, what our planet looks like today? A source of life and diversity on all different levels and in different appearances…

From the beginning of our existence the human race has always put its stamp on the earth by changing the environment. With the growing world population and the consumption based economy there is no spot on the earth which is not influenced by us. Nowadays, humanity consumes the resources of 1.8 planets and we will need 3 planets by 2050 if the present trend continues.

A solution for this problem would be a more sustainable lifestyle and mind set. Sustainable means that the things we do right now could go on forever and don’t deplete the resources we have. Sustainability will increasingly determine the way we live, do business, vote and understand ourselves as a human species. The change to a sustainable way of living in this world therefore is the challenge of our generation.

University of Lund , Sweden

What could be a better place to start with the change to sustainability than universities? They are the institutes where our knowledge and understanding expands every day by research and teaching. Universities create knowledge to solve sustainability questions. Universities should practice what they preach, so be sustainable themselves as well.

Being a sustainable university goes further than separating the garbage and insulate well, education is a very important factor too. Students are important agents of change to steer the sustainability transition of universities and colleges. As Europe’s largest interdisciplinary youth organisation, AEGEE has a huge potential to sensitize students for the opportunities that the sustainability transition offers and how they can positively contribute to it.

Logo RootAbility

Are you challenged to make your university more sustainable? At the Agora in Patra the organisation rootAbility will conduct a workshop on how to make your own student driven change project possible. RootAbility is a social business which drives the sustainability transition of the European higher education sector, by establishing and coaching student-driven and staff-supported sustainability units, teams and projects. They believe that universities and colleges should create new knowledge to solve complex sustainability questions, educate the decision makers of tomorrow on relevant sustainability competencies, reduce the ecological and social footprints of running the organisation and assist regions in their sustainability transition.

Ever thought your university could do more with sustainability? Learn how to actively impact your university’s transformation process with your own student-driven change project!

Be the change!

What: Workshop Impact your university
When: Thurday the 1st of May
Where: Spring Agora Patra

Written by Iris Hordijk, Policy Officer on Sustainability

A conversation with rootAbility about the Green Office model and their work.

Hey Felix Spira and Arian Meyer, together with two friends you established rootAbility. You were also behind the creation of the first Green Office, at Maastricht University. For those who have never heard of it, can you introduce rootAbility and the concept of a Green Office?

Felix: The Green Office is a student-driven and staff-supported unit that implements sustainability projects and policies at a university or college. As students, we have founded the first Green Office at Maastricht University in September 2010 (www.greenofficemaastricht.nl).

Arian: After all the successes and international acclaim we achieved in Maastricht, we established rootAbility as a social business to work together with students, staff and faculty from universities around Europe to help them set up similar sustainability units (www.rootAbility.com).

How did the idea of rootAbility come àbout?

Arian: When we graduated from Maastricht University in the summer of 2012, we decided to take our experiences and ambitions to the next level. After a lot of brainstorming we agreed to establish an organisation that would inspire, motivate and assist students, faculty and staff in taking the sustainability efforts of their university or college to the next level.

What was the most difficult moment in the life of the organisation so far? How did you overcome it?

Felix: In the first year, the most difficult thing has definitely been the constant ups and downs we experienced, which also relates to the fact that we were quite naive about how easy it would be to establish a Green Office.

Arian: What is important for us now is to share our vision, inspire and motivate people to act and set up a Green Office, while at the same time being quite realistic about how long it takes and how much work it is.

rootAbility aims at implementing student-led and staff-supported Green Offices at universities around Europe. What would you say is so special about them, and why do we need them?

Felix: What is special about a Green Office is that it empowers students to become drivers of a university’s sustainability transition, while at the same time closely involving staff and faculty. This way, the Green Office model allows for a more integrated and collaborative approach to sustainability, drawing on the strengths of existing initiatives from students, staff and faculty, while expanding existing capacities through the widespread mobilization of students.

What cities are you already active in, and what cities do you think could be joining the network next?

Arian: Sustainability units inspired by the Green Office already exist in five cities: Maastricht, Wageningen, and Utrecht in the Netherlands, as well as Exeter and Greenwich in the United Kingdom.

Felix: We are now also in contact with students, sustainability staff and academics from universities in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. So hopefully many more Green Offices will follow soon!

What possible cooperation do you see between rootAbility and AEGEE?

Arian: As Europe’s largest interdisciplinary youth organisation, AEGEE has a huge potential to sensitize young people for the opportunities that the sustainability transition offers and how they can positively contribute to it.

Felix: There are ample opportunities for collaboration between AEGEE and rootAbility, starting with joint workshops, summer schools, campaigns, or policy proposals related to sustainability in higher education, sustainability student engagement, as well as social and ecological entrepreneurship.

What are the top 3 tips you would give people interested in setting up a Green Office at their university?

Arian: First, go out, connect, and get inspired. We would like to encourage you to have a look at the existing Green Office models, as well as the sustainability projects that result out of them.

Felix: Second, do not settle for a second best solution. Do not get discouraged by the size of the task or the amount of obstacles your will be facing while interacting with the institution.

Arian: Third, start your own local movement, by creating an action group including students, staff and academics. But do not worry, we will work with you through all the different stages of the process.

Any other remarks you would like to make?

Felix: We would like to thank everybody that has so far supported our work and the Green Office Movement, especially profund – the incubator of the FU Berlin -, Maastricht University and our close allies in the student, staff and faculty community.

Arian: For all those that are interested in the Green Office model and our work, please connect with us and let’s get started in transforming the higher education arena in Europe.To learn more about the Green Office model, please watch the four minute video we made: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cOI8S-e5CI&feature=youtu.be

Written by Mathieu Soete, member of AEGEE-Leuven & AEGEE-Enschede

You might have heard about protests against fracking already. Romania is the most recent case of big protests this week, where an American gas company has started to explore their big reserves which may consolidate the country’s role as the largest gas producer in Central-Eastern Europe. But at what cost? What are the negative effects of Fracking?

Since the industrial revolution, our energy consumption has increased unceasingly. For many years this energy has been mainly produced by combustion of fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. After exhausting most of the natural conventional reserves around, every day many European countries look for more and more costly importation trades. Prices are reaching never-seen values, beacause of this new extraction techniques -with extra costs- have now started to become profitable. One of these methods is hydraulic fracture: ‘fracking’.

Photo by: ebachetti

What is fracking about?

Shale gas is natural gas in sand or shale horizontal-layer formations. It is usually trapped, so conventional vertical drilling does not work. To make it easier to understand, imagine this: you have a cake and you love icing. So you first go for the top of the cake and since it is easy to reach, you eat all the icing pretty quickly, but you want more.

All that is left is a thin layer right in the middle, and if you drill a hole down into the cake you will only intersect a tiny little bit of icing, but if you have the capability of going down till that layer of the cake and then go sideways: you are in business. The current fracking method combines horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracture. The hydraulic fracture makes it possible to get the horizontal layers of gas out, by injecting huge quantities of water mixed together with sand and some chemicals under incredibly high pressures to crack over the rocks which keep the gas trapped, allowing to pump it up to the surface.

Why is fracking that controversial?

• As we said, huge quantities of water are transported (an average of 7-8 million litres, similar to a daily consumption of more than 60.000 people)  and pumped into the ground, with a significant environmental cost.
• Together with the water, thousands of litres of chemicals (some of them very toxic and potentially carcinogenic such as benzene) are also pumped underground to facilitate the process. Even though the majority of the fluid is pumped out again, some of the chemicals stay behind (or might even flow somewhere else). This used water is so contaminated that it cannot even be cleaned in a treatment plant nonetheless, often -after the gas source is exhausted- the used liquid is pumped back inside and ‘sealed’.
• Not only these chemicals, but also gases like methane, may dissolve in water and trickle down through the soil and reach water sources. In some cases concentration of chemicals is so high that water may become flammable!
• The methane that might be released in the process is also a greenhouse-gas, and one with a much, much bigger negative effect on global warming than CO2.
• There are worries that the fracking process can cause small earthquakes due to the aggressive techniques of cracking the underground layers. And there have been cases of small tremors following fracking in different countries like the USA and the Netherlands.
• Last but not least, fracking is another a commitment to hold on to the use of fossil fuels a non-renewable energy source, instead of investing on cleaner energy production.

And in Europe?

Last October, the European Parliament voted in favor of an amendment which imposes impact studies before any shale gas or other unconventional drilling method  is used in a EU-memberstate. Until now this was for every Member State decide themselves. Now the amendment’s fate is in the hands of the European Council, who will make a final decision whether or not make it an EU law. Further proposals for legislation on shale gas are expected to be announced in January by the European Commission as part of its 2030 energy and climate-change strategy.

However this new method of gaining energy is really attractive for the EU as it is now strongly dependent on fossil fuel supplies from Russia, Norway, North Africa and the Middle East. Some governments like the ones from the UK, Poland and Ukraine have publicly expressed their support and interest in a development of fracking. This despite the fact that there are more and more protests and anti-fracking movements all over Europe.

Should EU reconsider fracking? Would you like to know more about this technique? Do you know or would you like to know more about your country’s situation? Then join the next EnWG Social Skype Meeting Sunday 15^th at 19h (Brussels time). Fracking will be the topic this time! There will be a short documentary/video and right after there will be an informal discussion where everybody is welcome!

Written by: Pablo Laborero (Speaker of the Environmental Working Group)

Do you know that 45% of our life one is dreaming? We dream about the future, about the perfect job and an amazing vacation. Most of us do. But the AEGEEan is lucky to introduce: Mathieu Soete  – ex-board member of AEGEE-Leuven, currently Speaker of European Working Group of Enschede,  who not only dreams about the sustainability and improvement of the environment but does a lot every day to achieve it. 

The AEGEEan: Fisrt of all, please introduce yourself to the AEGEEan readers!

Mathieu: Some may know me as the green guy in a suit, asking questions on an Agora stage, but I’m mostly working behind the thematic scenes of AEGEE, giving trainings on environmental topics or pushing AEGEE into a more sustainable direction. Or outside the association, representing AEGEE at environmental events in Brussels or elsewhere.

That’s what a lot of people say about you! Were you always so dedicated to sustainable and environmental work and was it the reason why sustainability also appeared during Europe on Track?

Actually it is AEGEE that got me on this track. My very first event – in fact, the very reason I joined AEGEE – was the case study trip to South Africa with Beyond Europe, our flagship project back in 2010. For two weeks we discussed with Europeans, Africans and Indians about the United Nations Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), and their implementation in Southern Africa. Through some other events and trainings I went from international development to envinromental issues and sustainability, and even ended up in Rio de Janeiro last year, representing AEGEE in negotiations of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). I would like to think my work on sustainablility within AEGEE is what inspired the Comite Directeur (CD) to choose this as one of the topics for Europe on Track, but the truth is Luis Alvarado Martinez and of course Miguel Gallardo Albajar from the CD are very much concerned that topic as well.

Such a great example when AEGEE changes your attitude towards something important and you dedicate your time and efforts to succed in this field! I also know that you work for 350.org and even organized your first screening for them, right?

Well I don’t exactly work at 350.org, but I have promoted their activities in the past, also within AEGEE — probably some will remember the huge climate dot picture we took at Agora Enschede. 350.org is a grass-roots campaign on climate change that started in the US some 5 years ago. Their goal is to solve the climate crisis by organising people everywhere around the globe, using online tools to facilitate offline action. Next to taking part in some of these actions, I’m also doing some translation from time to time and as you said, we organised an online screening with Environmental Working Group (EnWG) of their Do the Math documentary, which deals with the numbers of climate change and the way people are taking action.

That is so impressive! And you work for Greenpeace Belgium at the moment, right?

That I do! I started working with them some weeks ago as Ambassador, going round cities and towns in the country, talking to people about the campaigns and actions of Greenpeace in Belgium and around the world, trying to convince them to join Greenpeace. Because Greenpeace is one of those truly independent organisations, accepting money from neither states nor companies, so we only rely on our members to continue our work.

There are some pictures where you support the Arctic30. What do you think of this terrible situation and how in your opinion it will be solved?

In the words of Russian president Vladimir Putin: “I’ve always admired people who devote their lives to environmental problems.” These 30 people — 28 Greenpeace crew and activists, and 2 freelancers — have done nothing but peacefully protest against what is likely to become a big environmental disaster: drilling for oil in the Arctic. Clearly these are not pirates as the Russian authorities are now trying to prove, which we will hopefully see in the coming weeks. Only time will tell how this will be solved, but with over 1 million supporters they are not alone in this. Also AEGEE has added its voice to the call for their immediate release, you can read more about this in the opinion I wrote two weeks ago.

We all hope for the best! And talking about you what is really amazing is that you are also a part in CIA Reform Team at the same time, can you tell about this experience as well?

The aim of this team was to restructure the CIA, after years of editing and adding to it. Don’t get me wrong, having a dynamic set of rules is a basic requirement of a democratic association. But if you let subsequent generations of members edit a document without control, you end up with something which can be hard to understand. That’s why we set out to bring back some internal coherence into the CIA, and to create a strict yet logical separation between the Statutes and the rest of the rules. The work is not done yet, but the Agora in Zaragoza will already see the first results… and perhaps some more people will be inspired to help out.

Now when the readers  have gotten a possibility to know you better, I can reveal that you were voted as a Member of a Month! What are you feelings about that and plans for the future in AEGEE?

It is great to see that, even though sustainability is quite a new topic within AEGEE, my work on it is being appreciated. Especially since much of it takes place behind the scenes or even outside of our own events. Until Agora Zaragoza I will still be AEGEE’s Policy Officer on Sustainability, after that I don’t know yet. I was recently elected as Speaker of AEGEE-Enschede’s European Working Group and there’s the new Strategic Plan where sustainability will hopefully figure more prominently, so I guess you’re not rid of me just yet!

We are happy to know that! What are your hobbies apart from AEGEE and work? Cycling as far as I know?

Well, working at the European level of AEGEE means quite a lot of sitting behind your computer. So when I have the time I try to be outside as much as possible, which is where most of my work with Greenpeace takes place as well. Next to this I took up rock climbing and mountaineering last year and Wieke recently introduced me to long-distance cycling. This summer we spent 4 weeks crossing the UK from the south of England to the north of Scotland, and I can tell you: cycling is the best way to appreciate a country. Slow enough to still enjoy the local life, but fast enough to cover big distances. And you learn that outside of Belgium and the Netherlands, “flat” does not exist!

Good ending! And the last question – what is your motto in life?

Reaching the summit is just one thing, it’s the coming back down that matters!

Thank you it was really nice to talk to you! Lot’s of luck and see you on ZarAgora!

Written by Annie Pykhtina (Smailikova), AEGEE-Kyїv

Do you know the story of the girl who silenced the world for five minutes? Her name is Severn Cullis-Suzuki. At the age of 12, she stood before representatives of all countries of the world, gathered in Rio in 1992, and told them: “My father always says ‘you are what you do, not what you say!’ Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us. I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words…”

In 1992 in Rio the Janeiro a conference was organised by the United nations called the ‘Earth Summit‘ . The topic of the conference was the Environment and Sustainable Development. During this conference 172 governments and 2.400 NGO’s were present; and 17.000 people attended the parallel NGO Forum. This incredibly large conference resulted in Agenda 21, the ‘Rio Declaration on Environment and Development’, the ‘Statement of Forest Principles’, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Perhaps you heard once about one of these documents. All these plans, declarations and statements are intended to make sure that the people living on this earth will treat the earth in a more sustainable and environmental friendly way like Severn Cullis-Suzuki asked.

Now, more than 20 years later, how have we really responded to her call for action? Is Europe on track towards sustainable development?

We Europeans do live longer, eat more, enjoy technology and we travel like never before. But at what cost? In 2012 alone, each European consumed on average 14.6 tonnes of ‘stuff’ (roughly the weight of four elephants) and generated as much as 500 kg of waste. We recycle over one and a half times more than in the 1990s, and the share of renewable energy more than doubled over the same time. However, the electricity needed every year by a European household increased by almost one third and the number of cars in circulation by 40%. As a result, we now import more than half the energy we use and we are no more sustainable than we were before.

Last year, annual GDP per capita stood at 23.300  Euro. At the same time, the average government debt per person was 21.908 Euro (almost the fee for one year of Global Business studies at Oxford) and twice as much as in the 1990s. At the same time, almost a quarter of Europeans are at risk of poverty or social exclusion and roughly one in four young people don’t have a job. As this happens, the richest 20% of the population earns five times (!) more than the poorest 20%.

AEGEE takes sustainability seriously. Not only is it striving to make itself a more sustainable organisation, but with the milestone project Europe on Track, it has helped raise important questions with other young people across Europe: “what is sustainability?”, “are we on track towards a sustainable future?”, “how can we live more sustainably?”.

The survey carried out after Europe on Track has shown that three out of four respondents feel there is not enough attention for sustainability within formal education. Other respondents consider non-formal education to be better suited to provide people with the necessary knowledge about ways to live more sustainably.

For these reasons, at this Autumn Agora in Zaragoza, the Environmental Working Group (EnWG) will organise a workshop on sustainable development in Europe, with the participation of an experienced external facilitator from the European Commission. For more information see the Agora Booklet or contact them at enwg.aegee@gmail.com

So come and find out more at Saturday the 2^nd of November from 14:30 to 16:00 in Zaragoza!

Written by Iris Hordijk from AEGEE-Utrecht, Speaker of the EnWG

Pictures provided by Caio Macedo

John Eikosidekas is one of the Agora Patra organisers. He is originally from the big land of USA but resides in Greece while his dream is to reside in Denmark in the future. In this article you can get to know more about John’s history and his interest in the European Level of AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a bit about your background? Studies, interests etc.

John: Well then, I was born close to Chicago, in Illinois of the USA. I moved to Greece in 1999 when I was 10 years old. I moved to Patra in March 2008 to study Accounting. Although accounting turns out to be something that I don’t like as much as I thought, I always found ways to keep myself entertained, and having a hobby is one of them. One of my biggest interests, which I guess doesn’t surprise many AEGEEans, is travelling! I took my shot and went on the Erasmus program, a program I had heard about in High School and I always dreamt of doing this at some point in my future when I would be studying!

For how long have you been in AEGEE?

John: Unofficially, I have been in AEGEE since April of 2011 as a helper for different things (meetings, SU etc). But officially I joined AEGEE that year in September to apply for the Autumn Agora Skopje that would be going on. Since then I have been quite active on the local level. But after giving my services to the board for one year, I needed more! So I spread my wings and took my chances on the European Level.

How did you join AEGEE?

Once my Erasmus was over in February ’11, I became as miserable and depressed as any average Erasmus student when he/she returns to his/her hometown, the so-called “Post-Erasmus Depression”. But then, while I was speaking to a polish friend of mine via Skype, she mentioned this thing called AEGEE, and travelling, and having fun… I didn’t understand much of it, but it sounded good enough for me! So I came in contact with AEGEE-Patra, and my adventurous AEGEE journey began!

You have done an exchange in Denmark, what is it that you like about the North of Europe?

Is there something NOT to like??? Seriously, while living in Herning for my Erasmus I had a great experience. Bikes everywhere! And during any season! Usually in the south of Europe, especially in my region, if there is no sun, it seems to them “ridiculous” to use your bike to go somewhere. Meanwhile in Herning, people biked to go to school, biked to go to work, biked in the rain, biked while it snowed, biked with a briefcase, biked for sport…  PS. Biking when drunk is awesome! The chilly wind in combination with a possible rain or snowfall can really help your senses kick back in again!

What have you done on the European Level of AEGEE?

Well, I was the HR for the Environnmental Working Group (EnWG) for the past term (Budapest-Zaragoza). I am also a member of the Sports WG (SWG) and the Human Rights WG (HRWG). I helped out with proofeading for the SU 25th Anniversary booklet, and am also a writer and proofreader for the new Key2Europe coming out. Finally, I lately joinedThe AEGEEan team of freelance proofreaders. I have much in mind about the future, but it seems that for this year those plans will be taking a ride in the back seat, since I’m trying to finish my courses and find an internship abroad starting in September.

What is the EnWG about?

The EnWG is all about spreading awareness on environmental subjects. This may be the sole aim, but there are many means used to reach this goal. Firstly, we like having social meetings with a specific subject every month. Social meetings are a place where all members meet (via Skype), and discuss environmental issues. Either they have questions, facts or would like to share something about the subject, our social meetings are the place to be.

Secondly we all help out with spreading awareness within and outside of AEGEE. This may be in many different forms, whether it’s an article for our online magazine, or putting up posters at the Agora, even supporting the booth at the AEGEE fair… There are so many things people can do as individuals, and ideas are always welcomed if something innovating hits you!

Finally, as a local there are quite a few things you can do! Organizing a Green SU with your local, or having an environmental Action Day, even creating an EnWG within your local would be great!

Why would you encourage others to join the EnWG?

NWM Thessaloniki

For “Seizing the Day” of course! You can learn so much by joining the EnWG, and everyone learns and adapts other things from it. But what I gained were three things:

a) learning how to work in a different format than what I was used to. My local has a totally different way of working in comparison to the European Level, and that way I managed to bring ideas back to adapt to my local.

b) Meeting new people. Yes, sounds a bit cheesy, but meeting new people can do no one any harm! Like with anything that is done on the European level, you meet people from around Europe, and it brings us all one step closer to unite the people of this continent we all live in.

c) and last but not least, the environment! Daily, you learn new facts and figures about the environment, learn how to keep everything sustainable, and help spread the awareness to other members as well!

Interested in joining the EnWG? Don’t hesitate to send an e-mail showing your interest, or even asking any possible questions that may come to your mind! Contact us at: enwg.aegee@gmail.com

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn.

Originally posted in the Nordic Stars blog