If we take a look around our own musical tastes, most of us will agree that there are so many songs, from traditional ones to pop musicc, that don’t reach a major audience because of the language barrier. What is more, we would find it hard to find any song related to European integration at all, or barely no European symbols in the latest videoclips.

With these ideas in mind, AEGEE-Düsseldorf member Benjamin Feyen has decided to take up again an idea he had many years ago in order to connect two of his passions: music, and AEGEE. He has found in music a perfect channel to spread ‘Europtimism’, and he is currently looking for motivated members that would like to embark on his project called FAME, which stands for the multilingual  name Fabrik AEGEE-ènne de Müzik Europea. The AEGEEan has just had a chat with Benjamin about the idea behind this new musical project.

Benjamin, how did you come up with the idea of launching a project about music?

I love music, so it is quite obvious to combine this with another thing I love: AEGEE. However, the basic idea of what will now be the FAME project came up already six or seven years ago, even before I joined AEGEE. At the beginning there were two things that I noticed: I would probably never have known many great songs written in languages other than English if my friends from abroad hadn’t introduced them to me. And, feeling more and more European, I became aware of the fact that there are not really any famous pop songs dealing with Europe or aspects of the European integration, neither are songs that make the European flag appear in a music video clip (which I believe it deserves, just as the US flag, for instance).

Connecting those two things, the basic idea for this project was born, and after I joined AEGEE I felt our association was the perfect environment to make it possible. Together with other AEGEE members (at this place I should not forget to mention Alperen Yavuz, Rüya Beril and Dawid Sierzant), the idea was then further developed during the “European Ideas Factory” of AEGEE-Europe which took place in Gliwice in 2010. Unfortunately, we never managed to start off with the project. But I believe it is never too late for a good idea, so now the time has finally come.

Which is the main aim of the project? Would you like to promote European integration through music?

Yes, that’s the main aim indeed – and music is a perfect tool to spread Europtimism, because everyone listens to music and it can be used in many ways. But even more than that, FAME also wants to foster the variety of European languages and musical traditions. Music is an important part of our culture, but at the same time it also carries culture, e.g. languages, typical sounds, rhythms, instruments or dances, and thus tells stories.

Besides that, worldwide hits such as Dragostea din tei or Gangnam style prove that it is not crucial to understand the songs’ lyrics if the tune is catchy enough, so why does the English language have to be so dominant in modern pop music? Personally, I would also love to hear more non-English music in the clubs during AEGEE events, but that’s a different topic…

And which are the type of musical creations you would like to see in this project? 

Everything is possible, as long as the songs fulfill two criteria:

1. The lyrics have to be written in at least two European languages;
2. and they have to deal with Europe or any aspect of the European integration in a positive or constructive way, taking AEGEE’s values and mission into account.

The rest is open to the creativity of our participants. The “perfect” FAME song would actually combine those two criteria and even refer to it in the way it is produced. To give an example: A love song ballad about – let’s say – a Russian and a Spanish who meet in Greece. It could be a duet between the two of them with the verses sung in Russian and Spanish and the chorus in Greek, using the balalaika and flamenco guitar and combining it with some syrtaki-style rhythm.

Or, to give another (less complex) example: a hip hop song about the EU’s founding father Jean Monnet, using sound samples from a speech. Or a hard rock song complaining about still existing borders in Europe that need to be overcome. You see, there is lots of space for the FAME participants to unleash their creativity.

Each song will be a little project on its own, providing the greatest possible freedom for the participants (i.e. songwriters, musicians, producers etc.) within the basic guidelines of FAME, as well as ensuring an individual sound.

Do you look for members who are experienced in music, or any AEGEE member can join?

Indeed there are many ways to contribute for every AEGEE member, even if you’re completely non-musical. Of course we need songwriters, musicians and singers, too. But in order to promote the songs in a proper way, many more things have to be done. An important aspect of the project will be the production of video clips for the songs – therefore we need e.g. screenplay writers, film editors, actors and actresses, costume designers and many more.

Of course this also depends on the money we’ll be able to raise, thus we also need people experienced in fundraising as well as experts for social media and viral marketing. This project definitely has the potential to become really huge, but even if it attracts only a few AEGEE members and if we have no money at all, it can still be realized on a small scale. In fact it could be just me recording a little song at home with my guitar, but of course it would be so much more awesome to get dozens of AEGEE people from all over Europe involved.

As you have mentioned, the project could not be possible some years ago in your first attempt. Why was it?

When we developed the project during the “European Ideas Factory”, we were all very enthusiastic, but quite soon we realized that we were too busy with other stuff, inside and outside of AEGEE. Even though we had already started promoting the project within AEGEE, it was still not too late to stop it without harming anybody. Concerning my personal situation, from April I will be out of the AEGEE-Düsseldorf board after three years as its president, so now there is some space for me to dedicate myself to the European level of AEGEE.

And why do you think AEGEE needs a project related to music?

Because there is none yet, at least not such a big one, and I know many AEGEE members who make music and would certainly like to join such a project. Whenever I told somebody about FAME in the past, the reactions were very positive. Plus, the idea behind this project perfectly matches the “Spreading Europtimism” part of the new Strategic Plan.

Do you expect to make it an official AEGEE project?

That would be great, but of course it depends a lot on the project team I’m about to start forming. As I said above, I believe that FAME has the potential to become a big project, and it would be awesome to have it as an official project of AEGEE-Europe. But step by step, first let’s see if anybody is interested in joining me in the project team.

And have you already found some members interested in it?

Indeed the first participants already joined and started working on a song, however in the project team I am currently the only one. But it’s been just two days now since the project was officially made public within the AEGEE world by sending the open call for team members via ANNOUNCE-L, so I’m expecting the first applications during the next days.

Apart from that, it’s definitely nice to see that the number of “likes” for the Facebook page as well as the number of subscribers to the mailing list FAME-INFO-L has begun to grow constantly. So I assume there must be a general interest in this project.

So, as soon as you have your first team members, which are your first plans going to be? Will we see the FAME project in Patra?

I hope we will be able to get into work very soon: preparing fundraising activities, making the project known among AEGEE members, building up a communication infrastructure, starting to cooperate with other bodies in AEGEE, sending out a first open call for songs, and so on.

Without promising too much, I can say that the plan is indeed to release a first FAME song including a videoclip already in April! I mentioned above that some people are currently working on a song, and I am confident that the final result will be impressive. I hope that the song will also help to make the FAME project popular among AEGEE members, and it would be great to present the video clip at the AGORA and maybe even play the song during the parties. But that depends on the Chair Team and the local organisers, of course..

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona/AEGEE-Leuven

Armenak Minasyants (AEGEE-Yerevan) has done many things in AEGEE and recently was re-elected as Policy Officer on the topic of European Integration. The AEGEEan interviewed Armenak to hear more about his time in AEGEE and his interest in the Eastern Partnership Project and more. 

Why did you join AEGEE?

Good question! In the mid of 2010 I was looking for Yerevan-based youth NGO working and dealing with European projects. Sad to say, but at those times in my country (Armenia) we did not have many independent and politically non-affiliated youth NGOs, as even the student councils in our universities were very politically affiliated. So, just to be short, I accidentally found out that AEGEE-Yerevan’s first president, Shushan Khachatryan, was going to establish an AEGEE Contact in Yerevan, so I approached her and automatically became part of this family.

What have you been doing in AEGEE since joining the organisation?

Perhaps one of the most difficult and complicated questions to ask: for two years I was a Board member and President of AEGEE-Yerevan, twice elected as the Speaker of the International Politics Working Group (IPWG), for another year as the Main Team Member of the AEGEE Eastern Partnership Project, and last but not least, already for more than an year I have assumed the position of the Policy Officer on European Neighborhood Policy of AEGEE-Europe.

You have done many things on the local level of AEGEE, what good tips do you have when working on AEGEE in your local antenna?

My biggest advice to everyone involved on the local level of AEGEE would be to trust your colleagues and teams. I have been in many projects with huge amount of participants, and every time to get through any difficulty and to make a project happen you should dedicate yourself, work hard and first of all trust your team members.

How do you activate members in Yerevan?

If I were brutally honest, we have never had any problems with activating our members at AEGEE-Yerevan. Everyone joining AEGEE-Yerevan knows that it is some kind of a serious youth organization, which is considered to be the very leading one in the Armenia-EU relations youth sphere, thus every new member since the very beginning knows why he/she is joining the association, and the most important – what the Local Board expects from him/her. I am not mentioning the very good opportunity for all members to work in close partnership with the EU Centre in Armenia and the EU Delegation to Armenia, which are the partners of AEGEE-Yerevan and accordingly get much more professional skills. In general, this gives us strong and very motivated members, who are ready not only to attend local and European events, but also run their own in Yerevan.

You recently took part in the Eastern Partnership conference in Lithuania and also another one in Brussels at the European Parliament: how do you make time to attend different conferences?

I have a life motto “If I do something, I do it the best” and if I have been appointed to any position within AEGEE, day by day I should make my best to prove everyone that it has been a right appointment. Additionally, both projects were some kind of a landmark youth events on the Eastern Partnership, to which AEGEE-Europe must be present. As you mentioned, I took part in two conferences in a row: the first one was the EaP Youth Forum in Kaunas, which was convened within the frames of the Lithuanian Presidency in the Council of the European Union. It was a side event of the EU-EaP Vilnius Summit and the joint conclusions of our forum were sent to the heads of the EU and the EaP member states. The second one was the EU-EaP Young Leaders Forum, organized by the European Parliament. We had a big AEGEE delegation to this event and had a chance to meet up with the President of the European Parliament, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy and groups of MEPs.

What makes you interested in the EaP topic?

Probably my home country’s direct involvement in the EU Eastern Partnership Programme is one of the most important points. In AEGEE I have worked on the EaP thematic already for three years and to be honest I still see lots of room for our development and involvement.

What made you apply to become a Policy Officer on European Neighborhood Policy?

Personal and professional interest, good opportunity to work in close contact with the Comité Directeur and definitely the willingness to contribute to the thematic and policy work done within AEGEE.

What will you focus on as a Policy Officer on this topic within this term?

During the term of 2012-2013, I have already managed to develop a well-shaped and inclusive position paper of AEGEE-Europe on European Neighbourhood Policy, which was successfully ratified at the Autumn Agora Zaragoza 2013. I would like to state, that within this term I would try to follow up of the mentioned Position Paper of 2012/2013, through attending relevant meetings, conferences, events and/or sending it to the respective stakeholders. Another key point of my actions would be sustainable monitoring of news, reports, developments on EU Eastern Partnership Programme and Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The interaction with the Network and development of the effective cooperation is one of the key priorities of this term. The experience of the past year shows, that without constant and active communication with the Network, it is quite difficult to imagine any success while drafting and presenting a comprehensive position paper not only to externals stakeholders, but also to the AEGEE Network.

How have you been following the situation in Ukraine?

I picked up the easiest way to follow up the situation in Ukraine: I visited Kyiv and EuroMaidan on December 6th-7th. Frankly, the scenes, enthusiasm and European spirit which I saw and felt at Euromaidan in Kyiv could not be simply described by words. Ukraine is an amazing country, with a huge territory, hard working people and natural resources, but on the other hand now it is in the middle of political speculations done by a third party. Once again I would like to state my strong commitment and belief that Ukraine’s future is connected only with the European values and the EU. Only civil dialogue could lead to overcoming this deep political crisis in Ukraine, and hopefully it seems now that the good conclusion to this story is very close.

How do you think AEGEEans can help each other when such situations occur?

We first of all should show our solidarity with our locals and members who are in such situations, as for them even one very short letter coming from Copenhagen, Brussels, and Yerevan or from any other place may be a very strong inspiration. At the same time, I strongly believe that it is already high time for AEGEE not only to react but act, when such situations occur. At least for Ukraine, I would just suggest to take a very short break and follow up on the situation development, but be sure, we would act if we would see the necessity.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København