17 participants, 6 trainers, 6 main organizers, 9 days, many guests and helpers. From  the 17th till the 25th of May 2014, the AEGEE-Academy,  together with AEGEE-Enschede had organized one of the most important  trainings in our association – “European School 1” aka ES1.  

Two years after the Agora in Enschede, AEGEE was back to the University of Twente,  where  participants gained new skills and  knowledge, getting ready to become future leaders. Leadership, Project Management, Human Resources and Fundraising; those were just a few of the sessions that took place during the training. Along with the sessions, the participants were working on different Case Study tasks, that helped them to put the newly-aquired knowledge into practice right away. Moreover, thanks to the local organizers, a lovely social  programme  followed  each  hard working  day.

Among  the  guests  of  the  event were representatives from the AEGEE­-Academy  board, the  board of FATF (Foundation AEGEE Trust Fund ed.) and trainers from the Dutch National Youth Council. The event would not have been the same without Urša Svetelj (AEGEE-Ljubljana),  Training  Manager  of  the ES1  2014.  Urša  was  ensuring the smooth  process from the very first preparations on, being a bridge between the trainers and organizers involved in this ES.

It is somehow hard to describe European School 1 with just few words, but the feedback received from  the  participants  speaks  for itself.  Nevertheless,  this  event  would not  have  been  that  successful without their strong motivation, commitment and endless energy.

“You rocked! The best AEGEE event I’ve been to ­ from trainers’, participants and organisational aspects. Good job!”

“Awesome! Inspiring! enriching! a great time! great people!”

“You guys are awesome and especially the organizers. Please pass my thanks because without them this event would not be as amazing as it was.”

“I  am  extremely happy to having been here!! ES1 changed my life and it will define my future! Thank you very much for selecting me cause I really had to be here! And thank you for making this event so awesome and useful!!! Looking forward to meeting you all again somewhere in Europe! I really admire you for what you are doing! Keep up improving the world!!! ;) And good luck with everything!”

“A big hug to everyone! Thanks for this outstanding experience!”

“I am very thankful this happened to me. And I thank you for realizing it. I find everything I want to find in my life in AEGEE. Thank you for making this true.

“Organizers  and trainers, I must say a huuuuuuge thanks for the hard work. I learned a LOT and had awesome time while doing it :) Thank youuuuu all! :)”

“I will suggest my local Antenna members apply for ES.”

“European School 1” is already over, but more AEGEE trainings will follow! Stay tuned and keep the AEGEE energy alive!

Written by Elena Antova, AEGEE-Academy

Each of us has a story about how we joined AEGEE. Whether it was for a Summer University (SU), a local event, a conference, even an Agora or anything else – we have all ended up in AEGEE. For some of us, it has completely changed our lives. One of these people is Astrid Schrader from AEGEE-Passau, and this is her story.

Astrid, please, tell us – why did you join AEGEE?
I joined AEGEE in 2005, but I have never gone to an SU. I joined because of an Agora and the European School 1 in Passau.

For those who do not know you after all those years – what was the most important thing you did in AEGEE?
I was the Speaker of the Education Working Group (EWG). I organised 15 international events/trainings as coordinator and I held around 500 hours of workshops. To be honest: I wasn’t very active in AEGEE. I didn’t do anything crazy on European level (no flagship projects, no Comite Directeur, no AEGEE-Academy Speaker)…

Even though you have never been to an SU, how would you describe what it means for you?
Students from all around Europe share an authentic, intense  and life-changing intercultural experience. SUs are organised by students for students. You see the bars and places local students go to, not tourists. You do workshops and get involved in topics which as a tourist you would never engage in. SUs are political tourism. SUs are AEGEE at its core!

Still, AEGEE has changed your life. How?
At the moment, I am a management consultant for public sector institutions, and AEGEE has transformed everything in my life. AEGEE encouraged me to believe in my ideas, AEGEE taught me how to be entrepreneurial, AEGEE has made building and improving Europe my defining life mission. AEGEE had the biggest impact on my life of all organisations, companies, universities and friends I have ever had, attended, led or worked for.

Some years ago you were also one of the Youth Delegates of the German National Committee for International Youth Work (DNK) and the German Society for United Nations (DGVN). Could you tell us in a couple of sentences about your work there?
UN Youth Delegates are the voice of youth towards the United Nations. We are usually part of our national delegations and we take part in the formal and informal meetings of the UN General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council. It is our task to mainstream youth issues within the negotiations of the UN Member States and amongst other stakeholders. In order to be able to do so, the German Youth Delegates organise a national consultation tour in their own country and in neighbouring countries where they talk to young people, youth organisations, political parties, the public sector, companies etc.. During this consultation tour, we collect as many hopes, wishes and demands towards the UN system as possible and we put them in a speech that is held right in front of all UN Member States.

Written by Anita Kalmane, AEGEE-Ogre

Since the 14th of December I have a virus… A very contagious one… It’s the AEGEE virus!
And it all started in the lovely city of Passau in December 2011…

I only joined my antenna AEGEE-Utrecht in August 2011, but immediately fell in love with AEGEE. It offers limitless possibilities like travelling, meeting new friends from all over Europe, self-development, and of course a lot of fun. Within AEGEE the sky is the limit!
When I read the open call for the European School (ES1) in Passau, I immediately applied.
After I got selected, I realised I actually had no idea what I could expect. I travelled to Passau with just my suitcase and an open mind. I have to honestly say that I never expected what I actually experienced this week. Friendship, knowledge, motivation, inspiration, self-development, emotions, trainings, parties, and a lack of sleep are the keywords that perfectly describe what this event was like for me. In just eight days I gained a new international family and learned so much more than I thought I could, thanks to all the very motivated participants, the enthusiastic organizers, and a team of very skilled trainers.

Of course it was a week of great fun but also one of hard work. The schedule was incredibly intense. A regular day looked like this:

– wake-up call at 7.30 (some participants had a very creative way of waking the rest of the group, varying from morning yoga to singing Christmas songs in five different languages);
– breakfast in our lovely little hostel at 8.00 (although some of us never managed to be in time so we invented the ‘walking breakfast’);
– trainings from 09.00 till 13.00 (subjects included public relations, fundraising, presentations techniques, intercultural communication, HRM, budgeting etc.);
– a nice warm meal for lunch (cooked by the amazing AEGEE-Passau girls);
– case work in the afternoon until the early evening (four fictional antennae were created who had to organise the Mobility Flagship project;I had the honor of being a member of AEGEE-Glühweinberg);
– dinner, followed by clubbing, game nights, or baking Christmas cookies.

The trainings and case work were incredibly interesting, even though some of us often had some trouble staying awake as we usually only had about five or less hours of sleep per night. Luckily for us, Red Bull was the sponsor of ES1. So, all in all, after making many new friends, learning a lot of new and useful stuff and finding out what I would like to do for/within AEGEE in the future, I can conclude that it was a very successful event.
To the ES1 people I would like to say: waterfall, excellent, o yeah! You know what I mean ;)

In short: I hope you will catch the AEGEE virus and will spread it to your antenna members as well.
See you at the next event!

Ciao!

Written by Maartje Natrop, AEGEE-Utrecht