More Intercultural! Your Participants can Learn Even More!

Jorge Miguel Vielva, Civic Education Working Group, is the moderator of this workshop which will be on the 21st of May, starting from 15.45 in the “S.Giacomo” room. 

One of AEGEE’s main ideas is intercultural exchange. The organisation creates a space for members of different backgrounds to meet and learn about cultural differences, in order to foster mutual understanding, to break stereotypes and strengthen tolerance, show respect and solidarity. This is possible to achieve with the help of Summer Universities and other AEGEE events. The topic might seem easy, but given today’s reality it is very complex and crucial. During the workshop the participants will dive into the intercultural communication theories and reflection exercises. This will help to embrace differences, diversity on a deeper level and truly understand other’s and your own culture. You might learn not only how to say “Hello” in any language, but also how to co-live peacefully in this dynamic and fast changing world with people from all around the globe.

For more information you can download the Agora Agenda and the Workshops and Progress Meetings booklet.

Written by Dariia Kogut, AEGEE-Kyiv

The EUth Project wants to develop a new platform in order to enhance the e-participation of young people. This platform will also help AEGEE with internal communication. Even though the project started in March 2015 and it will last for three years, AEGEEans don’t know that much about it, so we asked Andrea Ferrara, Project Manager at EUth and Ander Guerrero Ruiz, the appointed member of the Comité Directeur (CD) to tell us what is this project all about and how can we benefit from it.

The AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit about the EUth Project and its aims.

Andrea: EUth – Tools and Tips for Mobile and Digital Youth Participation in and across Europe – is a project funded by the programme of research and innovation of the European Union Horizon 2020. The project is aimed at developing an online platform to enhance the e-participation of young people. This platform will facilitate their involvement in the political and social processes.

Ander: On a more internal side, the EUth project will help AEGEE internally to develop a new platform that will unify the different tools we have for internal communication and will also help with statutory events’ voting and performance. In the long term, it may be useful to change the way and place decisions are taken in AEGEE, enhancing a direct participation of the members in the decision making and fostering debates within AEGEE.

What is AEGEE’s role in this project?

Ander: The role of AEGEE is to pilot the project among young people and students around Europe. The key moment for this year will be the piloting of the project at Agora Bergamo. But, as many of you have probably saw, we have already had some sessions at the Autumn Network Meetings (NWM) and we will have much more at the spring ones and at the European Planning Meeting (EPM). Let’s be prepared!

With all the input that we will receive, AEGEE will write down some guidelines that we will be taken into consideration with the other pilots of the project when the project will be launched for implementation.

 What is your role in the project?

Andrea: I work as the Project Manager of EUth. As a project manager I need to ensure that all the activities are completed on time and that the project’s objectives are accomplished. In other words, I work on the pilot of the platform in statutory events of AEGEE-Europe together with Ander Guerrero Ruiz, the CD member appointed to work on this project.

This pilot is done on a double level: local and European. For the local level, we will involve several antennae (for the time being seven: Aachen, Bergamo, Berlin, León, Osnabrück, Oviedo and Paris). They will use this platform starting from March the 1st for internal discussion. The platform will be also tested at European level in the preparation phase of the Spring Agora 2016 in Bergamo. From April 2016 the platform will be used to upload, comment and modify proposals for our general assembly. In order to get the members familiar with the features of the platform, this will be presented during the European Planning Meeting in Leiden and during the Spring 2016 Network Meetings.

Ander: I am the appointed CD member. My task is to support and directly help the Project Manager, Andrea Ferrara, in the implementation of the project and to deal with Andrea with the rest of the partners of the consortium. Also, as Financial Director, of course I have the control of the finances of this project.

How can this project benefit AEGEE and its members?

Ander: The EUth project will answer also the interest and concern of our members in the topic of e-participation and e-democracy. As we have seen recently in many countries, the establishment of some governments is jeopardized and it is challenged by the direct participation of their citizens in taking democracy. The future is already here and we are the ones that have to take the decisions that affects us; in other words, let’s become real citizens!

Are there members involved in this project? Can they be a part of it?

Andrea: Yes, all the members of AEGEE are involved in the project! At first, the seven antennae which applied to be the first one to test the platform. Afterwards, from April, all the members can be involved, using the on-line platform, publishing and commenting proposals in view of the preparation for the Spring Agora in Bergamo.

How was this project implemented so far?

Andrea: The project lasts three year and started in March 2015. In this first year we had three meetings with the partners to define the features to be included in the platform, the activities of the pilot and promotional activities. Concerning the features of the platform, this will include a cooperative tool for text editing, discourse, delegation and voting. The organisation using this platform will have the opportunity to customize it according to the needs, to add user roles and functionalities.

AEGEE is responsible of testing the platform with our members, with the aim of involving 1800 young people. There are other three partners involved in the pilot, in France, Italy and Slovenia. During this first months of the project we agreed on the strategy to involve young people and citizens in the process, in order to get as much as possible from these tests and to contribute to better developing the platform.

We have developed a market the name (www.opin.you) and a logo for the platform.

Where can we find the last news about the project?

Andrea: We have several communication channels. The first one is the webpage of the project, where it is possible to find some general information and the main activities. Then we have social media channels, a FB page and a Twitter account.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca