In May the honour of Local of the Month goes to AEGEE-Istanbul, an active AEGEE body, full of enthusiastic fresh and experienced members. Read more about AEGEE-Istanbul in this article…

The AEGEEan: Before we start talking about your successful Network Meeting (NWM) in Istanbul, can you tell us more about AEGEE-Istanbul? What are the things well-structured  for AEGEE-Istanbul?

AEGEE-İstanbul was founded in 1992 and signed the antenna contract at Agora Praha. We celebreated our 20th Anniversary with a beautiful ball. From the very beginning, in 1996,  AEGEE-İstanbul campained for Turkeys’ inclusion in Socrates, Leonardo and Youth programs. In the end AEGEE-İstanbul managed to do it all. But probably the most popular AEGEE-İstanbul event was the Autumn Agora İstanbul 2010. We also had a twin antenna project with AEGEE-Beograd. And we are planning to establish a new twin antenna project with a surprise antenna! We have a nice office at İstanbul Technical University and where we are having our meetings. Almost every day we have our project and working groups (WG) meetings. Recently we organized the Spring NWM with a dedicated organisation team. Furthermore, what I can say about AEGEE-İstanbul is that every Friday we are making a presentation of AEGEE to the people who want to join us.

What project and working groups do you have in your local?

We have Public Relations WG, Education WG that is currently giving French courses thought by one of our member, Summer University Project Team, who work with great effort. Besides we have Yeni Nesil Yolda ( Young Generation is on the Way) Project Team. With this project we are making agreements with high schools and holding seminars that present what kind of opportunities pupils will gain when they begin university and we are presenting AEGEE, Erasmus, Youth in Action Projects, European Voluntary Service (EVS), Socrates and Leonardo in order to make them aware of Europe, of ways in which they can gain their mobility, before the university. We also have Turkey- EU discussion session in our local and at our weekly meetings we are having discussion sessions on topics that we choose during the week on purpose to keep our Active Citizenship part alive.

Do you also promote the European projects or working groups of AEGEE to your members in order to make them become more active in AEGEE?

During our Local Training Courses and presentations for new member, we are giving detailed information about European level of AEGEE, how they can join projects and working groups and we are also advising our members one on one depending on their personal interests. We are promoting European level events, projects that are announced, on our mailing list to make sure that our member don’t miss out on them. This year we were the partner for the Youth in Action (YiA) project organised by AEGEE-Köln. In December the ‘Europe on Track’ final conference was organised by AEGEE-İstanbul and the Visa Freedom WG also made a fruitful session gathering information about EU- Turkey relations and visa problems. And lastly there was the NWM.

Spring NWM

Can you describe to us what makes NWM-Istanbul different than the other NMWs of the Network?

In the past the NWMs in our area were not that international, especially the ones organised by Turkish speaking locals. A high percentage of the participants were mostly from Turkish speaking locals. But this NWM had a lot of participants from locals from the  Caucasus area and also the rest of the Network, from AEGEE-Sankt Peterburg to AEGEE-Zaragoza. This is why Spring NWM-İstanbul was different than the other NWMs in our network. Also the thematic part was very successful. Tika Kukhianidze and Beata Matuzska worked really well on that. We focused on problems of the locals and on creating permanent solutions for these problems.

So, what or which project(s)/ event(s) is the next stop? Can you tell us about the future plans of AEGEE-Istanbul?

During our LTC, our members came up with an idea for a new project named “PRESS the Button”. Since we are having a lack of freedom of speech in our country, this project will be a way to raise our voice. And also we want to spread it to our Network. On the other hand we are planning  to establish a new twin antenna project with a surprise antenna. We will keep being partner for YiA projects for the next year. An Exchange with AEGEE-Thessaloniki  and AEGEE-Köln is in progress as well. And of course we are working on our SU project with great effort.

Besides talking about AEGEE-Istanbul, The AEGEEan also talked with Meltem Darakci about the success of the Turkish antennae.

Meltem and her sub commissioners

Firstly, can you tell us more about how you feel as a new elected Network Commissioner (NetCom), Meltem? Then, would you like to give us a hint(s) about AEGEE-Istanbuls’ success, you being board member of AEGEE-Istanbul?

When I was elected it was a great joy at first and then I began to feel the responsibility of being a NetCom.  Now, we, the whole new elected team, warm to our work and are getting ready for a fruitful term. It is all about our members. We, as AEGEE-İstanbul, put an emphasis on spreading volunteering ideas and AEGEE spirit to our members. Because when you organize any kind of event or project, you need to have a dedicated team/ members. Otherwise a local can not move forward… I can say that this is our certain achievement.

In 2013, Eskişehir, Ankara and now Istanbul were honoured as local of the month from the Turkish speaking and Caucasian network. Would you like to share your feelings about that success, as being their Netcommie?

Our Network is implemeting indeed good  thematic events, projects based on active citizenship. AEGEE-Ankara and  AEGEE-Eskişehir are very good with their thematic parts. And that is the result of it. Thanks to Tikas’ and the locals’ effort at the Agora Rhein-Neckar four of our contact antennae upgraded and more will come. That also motivates me a lot to put my all effort to support locals and develop them more. Most importantly that is pushing all of us, members, locals, the Network to prepare even more successful events, projects, cooperation.

Written by Erman Berkay, AEGEE-Mağusa

Organising an event for 200 people is no easy task. However, it is a task that is possible to overcome, and it does not matter whether or not the antenna hosting it is young or experienced. The secret recipe is to have a strong supportive network and motivation, and the result is Renove. An event that you could read about in The AEGEEan the other day and an event that made The AEGEEan team choose AEGEE-Valladolid to be honored as this month’s Local of the Month.

For many members of the Spanish speaking locals this “Renove” event has gained a special place in their hearts, despite only being an event organised once in 2011, and the second time about two weeks ago. However, this event might be even more special for AEGEE-Valladolid members because it is the first event that this antenna has organised since being “brought back from the dead” when they became an antenna in Spring Agora Enschede 2012, and the succesful organisation of this event made them deserve the title as this month’s “Local of the Month”.

One of the organisers, Patricia Garcia, is new in AEGEE too, and she told The AEGEEan about how she joined the Network more or less one year ago: “It all started in September of the past year. One day I was thinking about joining a student association, something I always wanted, but in Valladolid I only knew about Board of European Students of Technology (BEST, for engineers). Then I remembered that my cousin told me once how she had travelled to Brussels with one association that existed in León. I phoned her and she told me about AEGEE. I liked what I heard so she told me about Sergio Oliveros who was trying to create an antenna in Valladolid. Half an hour later I was talking to Sergio on Facebook, a week later I met him and Alberto Cuesta Noriega (AEGEE-Oviedo) and the following week I went to Renove in Madrid.”

Soon she became a part of the team trying to bring AEGEE to Valladolid, and together with Sergio and others she kept fighting for the creation of the antenna because they were all convinced that it was possible and worth it. Then, as history tells us, the antenna was fully created in May and soon the preparation for Renove 2.0 began. A big event to host for a new antenna, and possibly an even bigger event to handle for a first-time organiser, but Patricia managed to enjoy it:  “My first event in AEGEE was Renove so I was looking forward to assisting Renove 2.0. When we knew it would be in Valladolid I was enthusiastic about organising it. I must say it was overwhelming. It was my third event and my first time organising so I had to learn while doing everything, which made things a bit… chaotic,” she laughs and continues “It was really difficult on some occasions to manage with more than 200 people but we did our best and Renove had stuck us together. Besides people from AEGEE-Valladolid, there were helpers from other antennae that made things easier. Organisers, helpers, participants…  Thank you all!”

Another organiser of the Renove 2.0 was Sergio Oliveros, president and founder of AEGEE-Valladolid. The AEGEEan managed to catch him as well, congratulate him on being president of Local of the Month, and hear about the future of AEGEE-Valladolid.

The AEGEEan:  Congratulations on becoming “Local of the month” – what does this mean to you?

Sergio: First of all, thank you very much for this award. This is something very very special and important for us. We are a new antenna (just since Agora Enschede). It was our first event, and the challenge was very big: 200 people. As president, and one of the most experienced members or our antenna, I am proud of AEGEE Valladolid’s team, and all of our helpers of almost all the Spanish antennae, for being able to organise and manage such a big and amazing event.

Last time you told The AEGEEan that you had tripled your number of members, what does the member situation look like in AEGEE-Valladolid today?

Well, summer is a difficult time to recruit members, because of the holidays, Summer Universities (SU) etc. But after summer is the perfect moment to activate them, and the aim of this event was exactly to do so. The situation is almost the same since SU campaign but thanks to Renove 2.0 we have motivated some more people, almost all of our members were helpers/organisers in the event, and their motivation right now is close to the sky. Thanks to that we will be able to organise a lot of activities during this season and we hope to increase our number of members with them. We will also organise a Local Training Course (LTC) in November for all of our new members and newbies of the closer antennae.

Also, last time you said that AEGEE-Valladolid was interested in having a volunteer through European Service Voluntary (EVS) in your city, what does the situation look like today?

Yes, and we still are very interested in it, but it is a hard process. We have every document, and whatever we can do, but now the biggest problem is that the university cannot provide us with one office, and that fact is blocking our plans. But anyway we are going to re-start the dialogue with the university in the next week trying to get it, and finally use the possibility of EVS in our antennae, only option of EVS in the city.

You organised Renove 2.0 last weekend, how did it go? Did you have any difficulties organising the event?

AEGEE-Valladolid members at Renove in 2011

Well, all of the members of the team were newbies in organisation of events (also the main organiser), so we had to do our best to learn very fast and not to make mistakes. A big event like that requires very important logistics and coordination, but finally we got good places for sleeping, workshops, activities, meals and social programme, and all of them closer than 150m to the gym.

Organising the groups for team-building activities, dividing them and moving them for the cultural visits due to the huge amount of people, coordinating an interactive wine tasting with all the participants… But luckily, we were able to do everything thanks to the support of Serrada’s City Hall, the village where the event took place.

At the beginning we felt nervous, also sometimes kind of lost, but bit by bit everything was better and better – the nervousness became fun, and we got a nice event.

So what lies in the future of AEGEE-Valladolid?

Our feelings are amazing right now. Our motivation is really high, our team spirit is completely alive. The team is meeting once per week, increasing our motivation. Our next activity will be an LTC, to be organised the week after Agora Budapest, and then we will develop our activity plan and strategy during the upcoming season.

We will explain to our new members what AEGEE is, on a local and European level. Moreover we will have workshops about how to manage the antenna, how to work as a treasurer or a secretary, how to work in group… Everything needed for being active in our antennae.

Part of your antenna is your mascot Chazo… Why is it called Chazo and what kind of an animal is it?

The newlyweds

It was not easy to find a name for our lovely mascot. First of all we wanted to choose something representative of our city, and that animal is the most typical of our gastronomy. A lechazo is a baby lamb that has not eaten anything but milk. It is a typical meal in this province in addition to wine. Then, the name of Chazo comes from this animal, but the original name is “Chazo le Chazo” (like the 007 agent), but Chazo for friends.

Is it true that he got married during Renove 2.0?

Yes, that is true, in Renove Chazo he got married to Latxa Pela, a beautiful sheep from Bilbao, and the wedding was like a real one. We sent invitations to all of our participants, including them in one group depending of their relation with the couple, for example “Ex”, “Singles”, “Family”, “Lovers” and so on for 12 groups.

The event started with the open ceremony, presentation and live music. It was followed by an interactive wine tasting, European night and stag party, and a full programme on Friday night. After cultural visits and team-building games in the afternoon, the wedding ceremony took place. It included speeches and presents of every group. Finally the whole thing ended with a joyful dinner and party. But the wedding was much more than that. We are going to start new activities with our “wife antenna”, exchanges, and we are also thinking about the next Travelling SU (TSU) Bilbao-Valladolid.

It seems that AEGEE-Valladolid has many plans in store for the future. The AEGEEan congratulates them once more on being the Local of the Month and on the wedding of their mascot… May everybody live happy ever after!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Attention: If you think you know an antenna, which deserves to be honoured as “Local of the Month”, send an email with the locals’ name and the reason for nominating to aegeean@aegee.org.

A Spanish city not too far from important AEGEE cities such as Madrid or León used to be an important brick of the AEGEE Network. This city was the host of the Spring Agora 1996 and the home city of AEGEE-Europe president Pedro Panizo in 2001/02. This city is called Valladolid and they signed the Convention d’Adhésion during the recent Network Meeting (NWM) in Burgos, putting them back on the AEGEE map.

When The AEGEEan editor Patricia Anthony visited Valladolid during the autumn of 2011, Sergio Gomez Oliveros had already been lobbying for a year to bring Valladolid back to the AEGEE Network. Getting the support from University of Valladolid proved to be quite a difficulty for Sergio despite having great motivation to sign the Convention d’Adhésion and making people of his city realise how great AEGEE is. He describes it as a vicious circle in which there was always an obstacle in their way, which was anything from requirements from the University of Valladolid, AEGEE-Europe, or a third party. However, Sergio kept going because for each disappointment there was always a reason to keep going. This came in the form of help from people interested in helping, or newfound motivation from an AEGEE event such as the Summer University of AEGEE-León or Renove organised by AEGEE-Madrid.

It all began in the mountains of Madrid

Actually the idea of intention to (re)create AEGEE-Valladolid originated in the same small village in which AEGEE-Madrid organised the famous event “Renove” last October 2011, gathering more than a hundred AEGEE members. The year before Renove, in October 2010, AEGEE-Madrid organised NWM Madrid which was the first NWM that Sergio attended. After enjoying AEGEE in a few more events such as European School 1, Agora Alicante, and EBM Riga, Sergio knew that he had to create AEGEE-Valladolid so that all Europeans of the AEGEE Network could enjoy events organised by him and his city the same way as he had enjoyed their cities. “Furthermore, whenever I set a goal for myself I never stop before I achieve it, and this was a wish that I really wanted to make come true”, founder and president of AEGEE-Valladolid version 2012 Sergio Gomez Oliveros tells The AEGEEan.

The potential of AEGEE in Valladolid

If you had asked Sergio and the rest of team Valladolid one week ago about the potential of AEGEE in his city they would have responded that the potential was based on numerous good ideas but that there was a lack of team members and actual help. However, the situation has since then changed because the Summer University campaign has tripled the number of members of AEGEE-Valladolid and what is even better is that in the all of the presentations about AEGEE there are people interested in becoming engaged in AEGEE beyond Summer Universities. “When I spoke about the needs for an upcoming Local Training Course in one of the upcoming weeks in order to explain everything about AEGEE, one of the new members offered to organise the event in a big house in her village”, Sergio tells The AEGEEan with a smile on his lips, and he continues “In reality I am very impressed by the motivation of the people, and I might not know where it will take us, but I do know that the eagerness to bring back AEGEE-Valladolid is very big!”

The mascot of AEGEE-Valladolid in his home city

Valla-do-what?

Valladolid is both the capital and the biggest city of the region Castillá y León with around 340.000 inhabitants, located in the middle of Northern Spain. Valladolid is furthermore a well-communicated city having University of Valladolid connected to four cities (Valladolid, Soria, Segovia, and Palencia) giving plenty of opportunities which is a good guarantee to begin with. In the beginning this university was not too fond of AEGEE and giving their support, thinking that it is just another association organising parties for Erasmus, but after numerous personal meetings with the responsible their opinion changed little by little and AEGEE-Valladolid reached the opportunity to speak with the vice-principle of the University of Valladolid. This meeting was used wisely to explain their local and international objectives and they hope to receive their definitive support.

When asked about what is so special about Valladolid in comparison to other Spanish and other AEGEE cities Sergio responds that he believes all cities are special in their own way, each one of them has something to share, something to teach, and none is greater than the other. They all become a part of our memories, and take a place in our hearts. For Sergio that is the spirit of AEGEE and the spirit of AEGEE-Valladolid.

AEGEE-Valladolid members at Renove

Renove 2.0

As previously mentioned, Renove organised by AEGEE-Madrid last October was one of the events that kept Sergio going in the fight of establishing AEGEE-Valladolid. Actually, he enjoyed the event so much that team Valladolid is applying right now to become the host of Renove 2 this September. But that is not the only event in plans of this Spanish city in the middle of Northern Spain. Right now they are finishing the express campaign for Summer Universities, but also working on organising a local training course in May, and a trip to Brussels in October.

Other than working on future events AEGEE-Valladolid is also working on becoming the host and sending organisation of the European Voluntary Service (EVS) program. “The EVS program is a very interesting opportunity which is not present in the city of Valladolid yet. It is a great service in which our volunteers can become ambassadors of Valladolid thanks to AEGEE and this EVS program. It is another great opportunity to get an international experience, similar to the Erasmus program, and it is an opportunity that we in AEGEE-Valladolid definitely are going to take advantage of, if possible”, Sergio comments on the effort of AEGEE-Valladolid for this program.

Welcome (back) to the Network, AEGEE-Valladolid!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København 

The Youth in Action Programme offers young Europeans a chance to make a real difference in the world – and to change their own lives – through the European Voluntary
Service .

About EVS

The European Voluntary Service (EVS) is a programme offered by the European Union to all people aged 18-30. Main focus is on the process of intercultural learning by sending young people to different countries of Europe, where they work as volunteers in a project of their own choice.

The EVS spans a wide range of working areas, including projects about culture, sports, the environment, youth, social care, cultural heritage, arts, civil protection, development, co-operation, etc. Depending on the wishes of the volunteer and his/her hosting organisation, the duration of the engagement can be between two and 12 months.

A successful EVS project requires close co-operation among at least three key players: a sending organisation, a host organisation and the volunteer. One of the organisations involved in this partnership also plays the role of coordinating organisation and applies for an EU grant on behalf of the partnership. Organisations perform a number of roles: they identify volunteering opportunities and develop projects that benefit the local community. They also recruit and prepare the volunteers, host them, and ensure the follow-up.

EVS activities can be carried out both individually or in group. Up to 30 volunteers can now participate in the same EVS project!

Here are some testimonials of  AEGEE members:

Agne (EVS volunteer in AEGEE-Las Palmas)

” Hola! My name is Agne! In February I came from Lithuania to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to be a volunteer in AEGEE organization. I will stay here for 11 months and I believe that this period is going to be one of the best in my life! I have met some people who understood volunteering, they were happy, active, intelligent people, but I have also met a lot of people who heard about it, but did not realise what it was. The main message of volunteering is experience, learning, and cultural exchange. I have it all and even more! No one asks me ARE YOU HAPPY, because they see a smile on my face. At the moment I am starting to be a volunteer and it is amazing – I am meeting new people every day, seeing new places, preparing new tasks. I have energy to do things that I have not done before, do new activities, new ways to express myself, to find new beauty in life. Being an EVS volunteer means breaking the language barrier, travelling, communicating, exploring new lifestyle, finding a new inner self. Can volunteering change the world? YES, because we are the world!”

Gulay (EVS in AEGEE-Las Palmas)

“l am Gulay from Turkey. No, l am not a European but that does not matter in EVS. Everything is possible for you with AEGEE members. EVS is a huge space of opportunities. lt opened a new door for me.  It brings mutual understanding (empathy) and friendship between me and young people from different cultures. This article is an amazing chance to share my experience, to act and react and to show my power and it is the best way to discover myself during my project with AEGEE-Las Palmas. l am so happy that they are involved in youth exchanges. Finally, l feel freedom in my blood with European people. Life is meant to show respect towards other cultures and lifestyles. l am volunteer and l am proud of being a volunteer every day.”

Thomas from BEST and AEGEE Santander (EVS in Santander, Spain)

After graduating as an engineer Thomas felt that he did not know the world well enough. He wanted to travel and heard about the EVS program which he wanted to take advantage of so he sent some e-mails, prepared his suitcase and his EVS adventure was ready to start. In the Spanish city of Santander he helped supervisors at a youth centre in a disadvantaged area. A centre in which young teenagers aged 11 to 17 receive help for homework, they go on excursions, they practice sports and much more. By helping out with this, Thomas learned about this environment but also about himself whenever he felt useful helping others. The EVS experience also gave Thomas the opportunity to discover a new country (he got to visit cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza), a new culture, a new language and new people. About the experience Thomas says “This adventure helped me grow as a person and made me look at life in a completely different way, I definitely recommend it to everyone to grab this opportunity!”

Ezter from AEGEE-Pécs and AEGEE-København (EVS in Lille, France)

“Wanting to prolong your AEGEE experience but you don’t know how? Do you want to live an international life, be creative and help others do the same? Are you
passionate about ecology? What do you think of saving turtles in Turkey? Are
you all crazy about rhythm and salsa? How about giving dance classes in Sweden? Are
migration studies your thing? Would you be up for working with refugees in
Spain? You can have it all and even more with EVS! The “L’auberge espagnole”
feeling and the improvement in many different languages are really only
pleasant side-effects of the long term adventure, an adventure which is more
than highly recommended.”

So the question you may ask yourself now is why is my local not already an EVS host organization? And why are we not already bringing volunteers from all over Europe to help us with our local antenna projects?

You can also go abroad and have an amazing European experience. Find more information on the

following website or contact me at luis.alvaradomartinez@aegee.org

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-in-action-programme/european-voluntary-service_en.htm

Try it out! Go on EVS, and bring EVS to your AEGEE Local!

Let us all EVS! VAMOS!

Written by Luis Alvarado Martínez,  AEGEE-Las Palmas