Agora Bergamo is approaching day by day and you’d better prepare yourself both physically and mentally for it, because it’s about to become real in less than a week! Beside the necessary things you need to take with you undoubtedly, we want to help you with a few cool tips which you have to take into account once you are there in order to survive! So, take notes because you will need them! Especially if you are a newbie at your first Agora! 

#1 Tip: Drink A LOT of Coffee!

Every oldie in AEGEE knows that at each Agora, during morning plenaries, half of the people in the room are sleeping, or are half asleep because of last night’s party, of course. Whether it’s on the floor, on the chairs, on someone’s lap, it’s the same scenery. The “Sleeping AEGEEans” Facebook page is full after each statutory events with weird sleeping faces on weird positions or even places. Yeah, we have seen a lot of creativity among those people! So, as you can already imagine, the most essential thing to do at an Agora is drink COFFEE and A LOT OF IT! There are lots of intensive activities which require your attention and full cooperation sometimes. So drink a cup or ten or you might lose a lot of insightful information or the key moments of this event!

#2 Tip: Take an External Battery everywhere with you!

That’s right. You will need it to charge your phone during the event, so as be able to use it during boring times or if you need to check some important issues. If you don’t own an external battery, you can also buy one from the Summer University Coordination Team (SUCT) who are selling them during the Agora! Dibs!

#Tip 3: Take Vitamin C every morning! 

It’s well known the fact that if you take vitamin C after a long night of party and alcohol, it kills off the hangover. It couldn’t be more true! Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Alcohol depresses your immune system, leaving you wide open to colds and other viruses. As alcohol metabolizes and our body detoxifies itself, a substantial number of free radicals are released into our body. Vitamin C’s antioxidant qualities help fight free radicals in our body and generally alleviates headaches. So, you can say it’s also a good way to prevent getting the flu or other illness. It’s a win-win!

#Tip 4: Take earlier showers in the morning or later during night! 

It’s not a surprise that during every Agora there is a queue of people starting from the gym and all the way to the bathrooms. People in their towels wait in line for their limited time to use the showers. It’s crazy. It’s messy. It’s hot. It’s Agora’s most often problem, not enough showers, not enough time. However, it has been said since “ancient times” that you would have a better chance at taking a normal shower, if you wake up in the morning earlier than the others, or during the night when everyone is at the party or even sleeping.

#Tip 5: Don’t come late to the European Night!

Yes, we have arrived to the most important tip of an AEGEE event. European Night! It’s always great when people bring a little bit of taste from their own culture and nation during a nice small event organised in AEGEE. However, when it comes to an Agora, it’s the mother of all European Nights in one place! With large quantities of alcohol and all kinds of sweets, you cannot be late for this party! No, sir! Everyone knows that the best drinks finish first and fast! Come late and you will also miss the chance to enjoy your time with others at the same time and it will be sad for you when everyone is really enjoying themselves and you are still sipping some weird drink from Finland.

We gave you some tips, now you figure out the rest! See you at Agora Bergamo!

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

Between 7th and 12th of March the members of AEGEE-Lviv visited AEGEE-Aachen. Along with being a cultural exchange event, it was also held within the framework of Eastern Partnership Project. Fellow members got to spend a few days filled with activities aimed at discovering the German culture and exploring the charming city Aachen and it’s surroundings. Next to that, members of AEGEE-Aachen got the opportunity to follow workshops and discussions on history, recent events and the current situation in Ukraine. Both organisers and participants shared their thoughts about the event.

What are your impressions of the part of the exchange held in Aachen, people you have met during it and the atmosphere of the event in general?

Kostas Tsoleridis (AEGEE-Aachen): I believe that the atmosphere was beartastic. Despite the fact that most people did not really know each other from before and only a few of us had met previously, there were no problems like a “slow start” in the beginning. After the first day (or better said, the first few hours) the atmosphere was very warm. I think the various activities that we had planned for the beginning (ice breaking games and a rich, tasty and with love prepared brunch) helped a lot.

I want to strongly encourage other antennas to do their own exchanges. It is a fascinating experience, a wonderful way to understand other people’s traditions, culture and habits and the next action agenda encourages it as well!

I am really looking forward to go to Lviv in June and meet all the wonderful AEGEE-Lviv members again!

Olya Ilnytska (AEGEE-Lviv): It was really amazing. Although I couldn’t stay with these fun, mega kind, curious and slightly crazy people untill the end of the exchange, these few days were enough to understand that a certain piece of my heart (or soul – still undecided) will forever remain in this city. The organizers, with the help of some magic (or typical German potion), managed to make us, at least me, feel like home all the time. The atmosphere was as if I came to visit my beloved cousins for the weekend and I didn’t want to go home. You know what? My impressions are not amazing, they’re fantastic, certainly fantastic.  P.S: But still one question is unanswered: what does the fox say?

Sarah Buchmin (AEGEE-Aachen): In my opinion, the exchange between AEGEE-Lviv and AEGEE-Aachen was great and we all spent some really nice days together. The exchange students were really friendly, open minded and seemed to have enjoyed their stay in Aachen a lot. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant on all events and trips, which shows that the participants of both countries got along with each other very well. For me the best events were the European Night as well as the day trips to Monschau and Cologne and the city rally. The exchange students told us a lot about their country and culture, so now I am really looking forward to visiting them, too.

Nadiia Stasyk (AEGEE-Lviv): I am very excited while recalling the Aachen exchange and these cool people that made it real! Friendly and sunny atmosphere while discovering Germany, eating currywurst in the morning, playing Flunkyball and sunbathing near Aachen river. I couldn’t feel my legs after exploring new places and dancing all nights and in the end I even lost my voice after singing karaoke like a rockstar! I miss Aachen and these lovely people that created the sweetest memories for me and I have a strong desire to come back again.

Was the exchange effective for you in terms of gaining knowledge about the history of Ukraine and getting a better insight on what’s been happening there during the last four months?

Christian Schumann (AEGEE-Aachen): As usual, we only know what the news reporters say. Hence, we know Vladimir Putin is bad, Yulia Tymoschenko was on hunger-strike and Vitalyi  Klitschko is fighting with words for democracy. As always, only superficial knowledge. However, for the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to get first-hand information about the current crises. The by far most important point to mention, is why Ukrainians are disappointed by late action of the European Union. Back in 1994 Ukraine gave all their nuclear weapons up to gain acceptance of their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independency. Russia seems to have forgotten this. Complemented by an open discussion, the members of AEGEE-Lviv invited us all to ask questions and to discuss the current situation. Overall it was a very important experience.

Maria  Lüke (AEGEE-Aachen): Yes indeed, there was definitely a lot of great cultural exchange! It was especially intense, because during the exchange Russia was just preparing the voting at Crimea and the theme “Ukraine” was (and still is) very omnipresent in the German Media.

Especially interesting was the talk our guests prepared and the discussion that followed. I liked it a lot, that they explained us a lot about the Ukrainian background. Now I know for example, that Cossacks are not necessarily typical for Russia, but also for Ukraine and that there are a lot of special religious groups like the Greek catholics, who acknowledge the Pope in Rome and different Orthodox groups. I liked it a lot that we could discuss even difficult themes, as “how to deal with a transient government, that is authorised not in the typical way” or “reasons for and against being hard with Putin” or “what role do economic interests have for the European governments” in a positive atmosphere.

Also, I enjoyed the chats about the political situation while walking through Aachen and Köln during the following days and I think talking face to face is really good, because it becomes obvious that even if specific views might differ, everyone is caring very much and wants the same thing in the end! For me personally there is a dilemma: on one hand I really want to help Ukrainian people to ensure their sovereignty and support them standing up for more democracy and justice. But, on the other hand I really want to de- escalate a possible conflict between Russia and Europe, especially from a German point of view with the history of brutal fights against Russia during the Second World War and the positive political experience with Russia with the slogan “Change through rapprochement”.

Still, during the exchange I got the point, that for Ukrainians the preventing war argument is not so strong, if there are already some war-like situations in their country. Also for me it was tough to hear, that some were disappointed by Europe, because of the restrained strategy and very tentatively planning of sanctions. I really felt for them when someone said, that it can be exhausting to hear again, that “Europe is deeply concerned“ but doesn’t do something.

If I can make two wishes: firstly, it would be great to have a more neutral and more multi-faceted reporting and commentatorship, because every country seems to have a leak of some pieces of information somewhere. And of course secondly, I wish that after all there will be a good end for Ukraine.

Another cultural highlight for me was the Ukrainian movie- night, where our Ukrainian friends showed us Firecrosser. It is a love story taking place during the second world war in the Ukraine, and very interesting, e.g. because of the diversity in language, with the Ukrainian, Russian and Tatar language and because of the unexpected twist, which is definitely not the predictable Hollywood end we were expecting somehow!

What impressed you the most during the event?

Nataliia Bidnyk (AEGEE-Lviv): Since it was only my second experience as a member of AEGEE and I have never been to Germany before, this exchange was really full of new impressions. I was amazed by the friendliness and hospitality of AEGEE-Aachen members and the beauty of all German cities we have visited. The program of event was very intensive and interesting, which made everyday an exciting adventure. Also I was pleasantly surprised by their profound knowledge about the current political situation in Ukraine and genuine interest towards it and the Ukrainian culture and history. I really liked the first part of exchange held in Aachen!

Sarah Buchmin (AEGEE-Aachen): I was impressed the most by the way people from different countries get used to each other in such a short period of time. The exchange students from Lviv were in Aachen only for a couple of days, but this time was still enough to get to know them pretty well and to take them into ones heart. I was positively surprised by that, because up to that point I only had a comparable experience during my Erasmus semester abroad, which took more than four months. Now I am more convinced of the great value of exchanges, even if they only last four or five days. Additionally, I was impressed by our guests’ ability to speak English. Most of them speak really fluently and hardly any problems came up with regard to communication.

Victoria Horiachko (AEGEE-Lviv): It’s challenging to choose one thing that was the most impressive for me – travelling to a foreign country, living and spending all that time with its citizens and getting to know their culture always brings loads of impressions. Thus I wouldn’t bore the interested reader with my subjective observations and rather concentrate on what amazed me the most about the people who were hosting us, organising everything, showing us around and keeping an enjoyable company.

Probably the most astonishing for me about our friends from Aachen was finding out their deep awareness of the situation in Ukraine. Sure, you would say, everything that’s been happening there has been a hot topic for months already – everyone is acquainted with what’s been going on. However during the workshop and discussions not only were they listening to our points of view but they were also taking active part in those conversations and expressed their attitude to the discussed topics.

Ana Isabel Ramones (AEGEE-Aachen): I was impressed the most by the enthusiasm of the AEGEE-Aachen people. In every part of the programme Aachen people were involved and it was great to see what an active and motivated local we are at the moment! I am really looking forward to the other half of the exchange in Lviv and to see the great spirit of AEGEE-Lviv and Aachen together again!

For five days you were hosted by students in Aachen and have spent all that time with them. How would you compare your everyday life with theirs?

Natalka Kinash (AEGEE-Lviv): People in Aachen seem to be magical creatures, who live in a wonderland, where you have beer instead of water and summer instead of spring. I’ll try to be an unbiased observer, who just compares some obvious facts.
First and foremost, the average age of an university graduate in Lviv varies between 21 and 22, whereas in Aachen people graduate from university when they are already 25-26. The main benefit, of course, is that they can enjoy an independent joyful life without many responsibilities longer than people in Ukraine. On the other hand, if you are willing to start your career as soon as possible, then education in Ukraine is much better option. Aachen is full of students whose studies have more or less a technical orientation. That’s not true about Lviv, because we still have lots of classical disciplines such as history, philosophy, culturology, etc. The next important issue is money. Many Ukrainian students get paid scholarships from government if they pass their exams successfully. You don’t have to apply for it, it’s just a part of our system of education. In Aachen the situation is quite different: you have to pay some fee for your studies and normally you work during your studies. Most students are employed by the university and their job is connected with the topic of a course paper. In my opinion, that’s a really big benefit for them.

Finally, I want to describe my personal impressions. All the people from Aachen are more mature, than we are. Most of them live apart from their families, so they are more independent. They live, work, study, socialize and have fun. Students have to multitask a lot. None of them behaves like a closed strict German from the stereotypes. Everybody is so open-minded, ready to dialogue, that I simply admire that. Leo, who was hosting me and Nadiia, was doing his Erasmus in Barcelona, his diploma is about photoeffect, he teaches children maths at the weekends. Leo is always smiling. I can’t say that many people live like this in Lviv, but maybe it’s just about being in AEGEE, about being active. But anyway I like it!

Oksana Stuha (AEGEE-Lviv): Well, during the five days of the incredible stay in Aachen we have come across a lot of similar and divergent features of life styles among the Ukrainian and German students. I would say that it was not so apparent since the time we have spent with our new friends was not enough for a deeper look into the real everyday life, but still some of the differences were obvious.

The most striking distinctive feature lied in the issues of where to live. It puzzled me that the dorms in Germany are almost the same price as the hired apartments, whereas, the dorms in Ukraine are extremely cheap but correspondingly they are in a bad condition as well. Moreover for Germans the possibility to have a job, at least part-time, is pretty high, notwithstanding the fact that it has some limited hours per week. Sometimes Ukrainian students have to choose between work and studies, but it is not always the case.

And what I liked most in their everyday life was the fact that they are always positive. They always look on the bright side of their lives. This fact inspires a lot! On the contrary, our youth is lost in their problems, which gives an impression that everyone lives in her or his own shell and never wants to put her/his nose out of it. One more thing, Aachen people were very punctual! What interests me too is the fact whether German girls are as punctual while getting ready for a date as they are on the daily basis. I dare to say that it is something that all the girls from all around the world have in common. And last but not the least, both Germans and Ukrainians are very friendly. They are friendly not only every day, but every hour, every minute and every waking moment in general and this is the fact that unites everyone!

Written by Victoria Horiachko, AEGEE-Lviv

Time is ticking out and summer is over but I cannot feel bad, thanks to good memories, I enjoyed the summer while it lasted. Well, actually I’m still tangled up in Alicante.

I don’t know where to start. I can say my travel ritual is to get lost so I didn’t want to break with tradition. I called the organisers from the bus station and in ten minutes my summer university started with two smiling faces and warm hugs.

It was quite hot and we were almost climbing but at the top with the sweet wind and incredible view I kept dreaming about how many heads and how many different cultures passed on that stairs.

The Castillo de Santa Barbara is a castle where you can feel really close to the sky if you still haven’t been in Calpe (city close to Alicante)  or on the top of one of the highest aqua sliders. Now I’m sure we all believe that we can fly! Maybe the relaxation work shop helped and gave us the energy for the parties. And we jumped into coldest water with hungover participants. On the whole, everything is arranged to help people get ready for another activity.

There were many participants who could talk Spanish but I have to admit that I attended the Summer University with a Spanish level near zero. But on the way back home I did not only gain more knowledge about the language, I also felt more Spanish. Maybe that is the best part about non-formal education for example learning a language by doing karaoke and trying to say those tong twisters and use local expressions in daily life… All of these things just make this process the most fun.

We had the chance to learn how to make tapas as the sine qua non of a Spanish culture. After learning some recipes we had the chance to practice with a competition. All groups did a great job- at least we all tried! – but the best part was being a group. There was a photo contest in Elche too, it was a combination of a historical and a cultural adventure, following the instructions and trying to take the most original photo, which results in the funniest ideas.

European Nights (EN) are the best ways to get to know traditional drinks and foods but we also nourished our souls with the songs, the stories and dances. Traditional songs and their stories were so inspirational for me because you don’t need any translation to feel the melody. In my opinion music is the best language that doesn’t have any borders and during the EN I realized it one more time.

There were many parts of this Summer University that amazed me: Partying in Benidorm, exploring in Elche, singing Macarena on the stage of ancient theater in Cartagena, understanding siesta logic in Murcia and meeting with all these great people and create fantastic friendships. This Summer University was such a great experience and I have already started to plan my next summer.

I applaud AEGEE-Alicante not just for this experience also for being themselves and all the participants who made this summer unforgettable. 

Written by Selin Hacıoğlu, AEGEE-Izmir

On the 21st of October an e-mail was sent by the Incoming Responsible of Agora Zaragaoza to the participants. The mail contained information about the Social Program and all parties’ themes. Today The AEGEEan brings you an interview with the Agora team’s PR responsible, Silvia Sierra (AEGEE-Zaragoza) about these parties. 

How has it been working on the social program for the Agora? What difficulties have you overcome? 

Actually, it has been very hard. It’s not easy to find a place where one can organise a party for around 800 people and, above all, to find a place that also isn’t very far from the Congress Palace where participants will spend the night and where the rest of the Agora will take place. But in the end, the amazing team of the Social Program has succeeded.

It is well-known that there are people in AEGEE-Zaragoza who are not so interested in theme parties, why is that the case?

It’s because when we travel, we are used to take ‘Ryanair-suitcases’ (e.g. very small suitcases), and it’s very difficult to find space in your suitcase for normal clothes, shoes etc., so if we don’t have to take special clothes for parties it’s easier to prepare the luggage.

Has this affected the decisions regarding the social program? 

Yes and no. We have chosen some parties which cannot be omitted because of the dates of the Agora, or just because it is an Agora, but with the rest of parties we have tried to find some themes of which the costumes are very easy to find and to put into a small suitcase.

Which themes will there be for the parties?

Suit up Party (of course), Halloween (be ready to be scared…), Cultural European Night (with all countries’ tradition, but without typical alcohol or food from the rest of places) and White T-shirt Party.

Why have you chosen these particular themes?

As I have said previously, we have chosen these themes because some are “compulsory” in an Agora (Suit up) and some in the Autumn Agora (Halloween) and the rest of themes have costumes which are very easy to find and don’t take up a lot of place in the suitcase.

Where will the parties take place? Any special places?

Almost all the parties will take place in places very near from the Congress Palace, so participants won’t have to walk a lot to get there (some days about ten minutes, other days, just one minute), except one day, where the participants have go to the party in buses.

Organizing European Night must be difficult, have you found a place for it?

We’re not going to have traditional style European Night because, indeed, it’s very difficult to find a very big place where we would be allowed to drink our own drinks and and eat our own food. So we are going to celebrate a Cultural European Night, in which people can just show us their traditional costumes and dances. We have chosen the idea for the party and the place but it is the Culture Working Group that selects the performers.

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

Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar organizers might be quite busy these days but not too busy to share details about the preparations. This time Amra Sadikovic who is responsible for the social program shares information about how it was prepared.

The AEGEEan: In Valletta the suit up party was very formal and impressive settings. Can you tell us a bit about where the suit up party will take place in Mannheim and how it will be?

Amra: After the Opening Ceremony and the official reception, the suit-up party will take place at “Baton Rouge”, which is well-known as an exclusive club with a strict dresscode. It is located in the centre of the city and has a red carpet at the entrance. Everything will be elegant, as it suits such a party.

Will all the parties be at the same place, or do the locations differ?

The locations differ, but not every evening. The first two parties will take place in the same club (“Baton Rouge”), the third party in another location (“Club Orange”) and the last two parties will be in the “Katakomben”, the catacombes of the castle of Mannheim. We hope that especially this last location will be an unique experience for the participants, something different compared to previous Agorae.

Fitness party is a very innovative idea, how did you come up with it?

To be honest, I don´t really remember. It just came up in a conversation with friends. We were thinking about the mottos for the parties, but in the direction of not complicated costumes and such. So we came up with the idea of having a party to which the participants can come in sports clothes. We thought this would be one of the most comfortable solutions and everyone would have the chance to show his/her athletic body. 

Well, I don´t think it´s that difficult. I think it will be more funny than complicated. Every guy can borrow a dress or elegant top from a girl and I think the girls wouldn´t refuse to do the make-up for them. The girls on the other hand can borrow clothes from the boys. This will lead to an interesting and fun preparation for the party and to a great atmosphere in the gym. Besides, the male organisers are thinking about wearing heels.

Cultural European Night is a very controversial decision. Why did you chose in your team to leave out the drinks and food of the European Night?

We tried to keep the concept of the European Night, but in our locations it was impossible to bring our own food and drinks. Therefore, we are trying to make the best out of the situation. And actually I don´t think that going back to the roots of the European Night is a bad idea, after all.

How are you preparing for the CEN?

We are currently in touch with the Culture Working Group, who is preparing the concept for the performances. I think that the location in the castle is perfectly suitable for such a party. Furthermore, our DJ (dj-jiro@gmx.de) has been collecting music from the participants, in order to create a colorful mix of European contemporary music. So as an additional appeal to the people who have not sent any music yet: You still have the chance to do so and contribute to a unique party atmosphere.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Do you still feel hungover from European Night (EN) or has the aftermath of enjoying alcoholic beverages from all over Europe already left your body? Ready to take up the discussion about this famous AEGEE night taking place in all AEGEE events but which some believe should not have a place in a statutory event such as the Agora? Here we go!

European Night, according to AEGEE founder’s famous blue book, was created in order to have a place for a social meeting in order to carry on informal discussions about Europe. These days the only things people seem to discuss in such nights is the percentage of alcohol in the different liquids that one have the opportunity to “pour down the drain” on this cultural night. Most would agree that taking European Night out of AEGEE would be wrong, but removing it from the Agora is an idea you can find many people in AEGEE to be in favor of!

1. 1.       “Hello, we would like to organise a party in your club, there is just one minor detail that we want to be able to bring our own alcohol”

Can you imagine the difficulty of making such a proposal to a club owner in your own city? I couldn’t! In the last two Agorae there has been a lot of discussion about the European Night, mainly because of the limited opportunity to bring alcohol from all over Europe. This seems to result in emotions such as disappointment and anger from parts of the Network who want to have the opportunity to bring 20-25 liters of Sangria, or people who want to bring homemade Pálinka, but one should consider the above mentioned question and predict the answer. It is likely to be “no” in many cases, leading one to think – why give the organisers the responsibility to use loads of energy on something that could be used on something better than granting people the opportunity to get wasted?

1. 2.       When should the European Night take place?

In Budapest it was the last day of the Agora where people had slept 6-8 hours in total during the prior days, meaning exhaustion was spread amongst the 800 participants and it seemed that many participated in EN more due to a pressure of obligation rather than a wish to party hard. Moving the EN to another day of the Agora would increase the number of exhausted delegates and visitors who then would pay even less attention to the programme the following day.

1. 3.       European Night without the culture

In events with fewer participants, there is a greater opportunity to present the drinks as well as food, telling the stories behind them rather than just bringing alcohol that will be gone in less than 10 minutes. The Culture Working Group has fought to make EN more cultural during the last Agorae without succeeding, which is a pity because little by little the purpose of EN has been lost, and today it is solely focused on the drinking.

1. 4.       Ryanair – (un)official airlines of AEGEE

It seems that the majority of AEGEE members use low-cost airlines to reach events like the Agora, decreasing the opportunity to bring food/drinks from the country they depart from. This means less people bring something to the event, making it unfair for those who give and do not get anything in return.

European Night is a part of AEGEE, but that does not mean that it has to be part of everything we do in our organisation. Should an important general assembly such as the Agora really have a European Night? Or can people do without drinking Pálinka, Ouzo or Raki in these important statutory events? This is an interesting discussion and hopefully people will be brave enough to state their opinion on the topic!

This article only argues in favor of removing the European Night (EN) of the Agora and represents journalist Patricia Anthony’s arguments in favor of changing the concept of EN. The possiblity is there that the concept does not need to be changed, and people are entitled to their own opinion. The main purpose of this article is to open the discussion, and hear AEGEE members’ creative ideas on how to improve EN. It should also be noted that the discussion was one of the many interesting topics that members of AEGEE discussed in the post-Agora Committee/Commissions meeting, and hopefully it will continue here where you can comment below with your opinion. 

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

The last day of Agora Enschede was eventful. Not only because of the fact that the results were revealed but also because the diplomas were handed over to the winners of The AEGEEans Choice Awards, two new Working Groups were approved by the Agora, and the day ended quite late, maybe a bit too late in accordance with the expectations of the organisers.

After the results were revealed, hugs were exchanged among the 700 participants, and most participants rushed to dinner, in order to be able to rush to the gym to shower and prepare for European Night. A European Night that will be remembered for many things, but for the Spanish participants the brightest memory of that night will be the outdoor party they managed to start.

Too little too late

Rumors have been going around that the Spaniards were denied access to the club which led to them starting the above mentioned party. There is some truth in that but also some things that need to be clarified. Alvaro Espinosa, who was one of the participants in the outdoor party, and one of the representatives of the Spaniards helped us clarify the situation. He was among the ones who believed that scheduling the European Night on the last night of the Agora should not be repeated. It is common that the last day is long: long plenaries, plenty of celebration of the results, and combining that with having to rush to dinner, shower and party is in some people’s opinion not a good combination. However, that is what happened. The last plenary ended at around 21 or 21.30 and then the preparations for the party started. After preparing for the party, the Spaniards left the gym to enter the club, at 23.00 o’ clock instead of 22.00 which had been announced. They were then told that they could not enter the club with the 10+ liter of Sangria that they had brought because there was no more space for alcohol inside.

Never denied access

It is important to stress that the participants were of course never denied access to the party; they were simply told that they could not enter the party with the amounts of alcohol that they had brought so they had to leave it outside. In order not to throw it away, they started the party outside. Nice music from the ongoing festival next to the club provided a great atmosphere, and soon the Spaniards were joined by German and Polish representatives who could not enter with their alcohol either. After a little while the clubbers heard about the sangria and joined the outdoor party creating an “extra” European Night outside with participants from Finland, Denmark, Spain, Macedonia, Poland, Germany, Greece, Turkey and much more.

A Split European Night

So despite managing to have fun outside the European Night, this did create issues for the participants of the Agora. As Alvaro Espinosa answered to the question regarding whether or not the organisation prevented him from enjoying the European Night: “Well, I missed half of the party so yes, it could have been better if everybody were able to bring their drinks inside the club. In addition, that night was really cold so people there really tried hard to make a good party. The point is that the organisation has to plan these kind of things, you cannot do this when people already bought and brought all the drinks from their countries. We had a fantastic night, but you cannot split people and leave some outside the club. Even if they did not deny access, it was obvious that people were not going to leave their drinks outside and go inside – that would not be a real European Night if half of the people tried to introduce their countries without their products.”

Hard to find a place for European Night

Anybody who has previously organised an event probably knows that finding a club to host it, allowing people to use the space of the club, asking to get specific music played and even bringing alcohol on their own is a difficult task. The organisers of the Agora found “Vesting Bar”, or VB in short. The owner of VB agreed for European Night to be organised at this place, but of course there were conditions. The first was that he required the organisers to try to limit the amount of alcoholic drinks brought by the participants. The second was that the participants’ alcoholic drinks should be removed by 23:30. Both make good sense if one were to see things from the perspective of the VB owner.

The participants already knew

One of the organisers Bart Koornwinder explained that he and the rest of the organising team felt that they did everything they could to very clearly communicate these limitations towards the participants. It was first pronounced at the closing plenary. Later in the gyms the intercom was taken in use, stressing that all the participants including German, Polish and Spaniards were aware of the limitations of that evening. When explaining what happened with this particular situation Bart says this: “Until 23:00 we were very lenient with the amount of alcoholic drinks brought in. Only after 23:15 participants with alcohol on them were denied access. This was because the owner of the VB told us to do so. The reason is that these participants were extremely late and were carrying shopping bags full of alcoholic drinks. They broke both ‘rules’; they had too much alcohol on them, and they would never be capable to drink everything within the given time.”

At the same time when that was happening, the organising team started cleaning up the European Night. No drinks were confiscated but instead the organisers helped the participants decant their drinks into plastics cups. This way they could finish their drink, without the VB’s employees knowing.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København