Being the Financial Director for AEGEE-Europe is not something that everybody wants, unfortunately. But the ones that do want are extremely motivated. We have Teresa Carene Kiambu from AEGEE-Udine as a candidate for this position, and below you can find her motivation for becoming the next Financial Director of AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: Teresa, can you describe yourself in five words?

Teresa: For who does not know me, my name is Teresa, but everybody calls me Terry. I am 25 years old and I come from Udine, a small city in the North-East of Italy, even if I have African origins. About myself I can say that I am ambitious, perfectionist, open minded, dynamic and a cheerful person. I love to make new experiences and to improve myself and the environment that is around me, so I hope that running for the Financial Director’s position will be for me a chance for adding something positive to AEGEE.

You started in your local as treasurer and then president. How do you think that this influenced you in deciding to run for Financial Director?

Since I was treasurer in my local, I dreamt to be Financial Director one day, because I really believe in the impact and in the power of AEGEE, but I didn’t have the possibility to run for it until now because I was focusing more on the local level and on the other responsibilities that I had. Being in the local board as Treasurer and then President and having to deal with many tasks, issues and experiences at local level, but also having the possibility to be part of the Audit Commission as SubCommissioner and of the Migration Interest Group at the European level, and seeing the good results I achieved with my mates at local and European level, despite some difficult moments; all these things, little by little increased my desire to become Financial Director. So, working in teams for so much time gave me the opportunity of experiencing teamwork, ripening the sense of responsibility, respecting deadlines.

You are the only candidate for the position of Financial Director. Why do you think is that?

I think that financial stuff has always been seen as something difficult and unintelligible within AEGEE and in the world. All things related to numbers, calculations, accounting have always been not appealing for people in general, and AEGEE as the mirror of the nowadays young Europe reflect this fact, the small appeal that finance has within people.

You have experience in the financial department, but mostly at local level and theoretical. How will the knowledge that you have help you manage some unknown situations at a higher level?

The theoretical knowledge I have about the financial subject is a strong foundation for the position I am running, as I will be engaged, in case I am elected, in accounting, budgeting, reporting. I have been studying economics for almost five years at University, and since I have started my master’s degree, I have been learning economics from the theoretical point of view but even from the practical point of view, as I attended some practical courses that gave me the opportunity to get in touch with some firms, analysing their balance sheets, budgets, reports and having to solve and give advice on some issues they had: in a few words, I can say I was engaged in consultancy manner and problem-solving processes, and this is a quite important part within AEGEE and the Comité Directeur, as AEGEE-Europe is comparable to a “firm”, where not every future situation is known in advance, but despite this, is faced. In fact, I know that not having been in the Comité Directeur before I will face some unknown situations, but it happened even at local level; this fact didn’t make me give up, rather made me understand that for achieving the best results you should fight and use the knowledge you have as a starting point. Let’s also not forget that I will be part of a team.

One of your direction in your programme is fundraising. How do you see fundraising as a candidate for Financial Director and for AEGEE-Europe?

To be Financial Director means to be the one who is engaged in the management and control of the economic flows, outflows and inflows. In fact the balance sheet, the budgets and the reports are documents that show people which was the performance of the entity they refer to. As I see the fundraising, it is a way of improving and increase the inflows, not only in monetary terms, but even in terms of having more opportunities for AEGEEans all over Europe, making some agreements and partnerships. In fact, AEGEE-Europe, meant as our European network, has the possibility to do all these things, as it is the biggest youth association and it is a huge network of young people spread in about 200 cities on our continent. Fundraising is also an instrument that can allow our network to do many other things and activities that we are not doing for now, or improve the ones that we have been doing for many years.

You are doing your master’s degree now, and next year by this time you will have to present your thesis, which is not something easy to do. In case you will get elected, how do you think that you will manage your duties as Financial Director and writing your thesis?

First of all, my idea is to write my thesis on my experience in AEGEE as Financial Director, in order to make a thesis that could be useful for some young people who are scared of starting the experience I have, to get them motivated and this can also be useful to make AEGEE well known. Secondly, we all know that being Financial Director, I won’t have so much free time but if I am running for this position now it is because I feel enthusiastic and ready for it. In fact I almost finished my exams, which were according to me the most important part of my master’s degree, so the thesis will not be a problem. If I don’t manage to write the thesis and being Financial Director at the same time, I will still have time to write my thesis after my experience in the Comité Directeur and finish my studies almost on time. It is worth to write my thesis not in the time I was thinking, but get the experience of being the one who can improve AEGEE and do something more for the association.

Tell us the most relevant aspects of your candidature and why should people vote for you.

My candidature is based on few important points as: continuing the job done by the previous Financial Directors, managing,  AEGEE’s money and finance in the best way that I will be capable of, having a good budgeting and planning scheme at the beginning of my mandate, so that everything will be clear from the beginning and we could save money; doing good fundraising and arising the awareness about the importance and how to deal with financial matters within the locals. Using few words, I can say that, on the one hand, I want AEGEE to be known and supported by more and more entities, so that will try to guarantee to AEGEEans many other opportunities that we don’t have within the association, and on the other hand, I would like to make financial matters less difficult to understand among the treasurers within AEGEE.

As conclusion, I would like to say that I am ready for being the Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe and work with other people in the Comité Directeur House. I am motivated and enthusiastic for it and I really want to work for AEGEE, for its improvement and wellness. I have the background needed for the position I am running for and the motivation. I have been in AEGEE for three years before taking this decision and I think that now is the right time for doing something bigger for and with AEGEE, to arise our power and influence within Europe and the world. Don’t forget I am perfectionist, so I will invest myself to be as perfect a treasurer as I will manage to be.

You can read is full candidature here.

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Lovely 13th of February. A day like any other but not for CD54. Réka, Tekla and me started our little adventure, CD on Track, the Comité Directeur first trip in part of the Network. Maybe it will sound like something new and something that had not been done in the past, but you would be surprised to know that CD had so-called “Network trips” years ago. Every local in our Network is having their own challenges, problems, but also strengths. I wish we can make cross-local cooperation stronger and learn from each other, and make our Network stronger, more active and more diverse. That is why also three members of CD are taking part to this trip. We want to understand the situation in locals better, as our overview from the desks in Rue du Noyer 55 is really limited.

Zvonimir

AEGEE-Leon office

My first local to visit was AEGEE-León. Not the closest local to Brussels I must admit, but it was nice to be back in beautiful León after Ideas Factory in September 2016. Already on planning phase we encountered the distance problem from Brussels, but this was also solved by our dear partner Interrail who is supporting us on these trips. Between me and León there were 1500 km, and trains took me from Brussels to Lyon, from Lyon to Barcelona and finally to the first destination, León; or, to put it in hours, 18 hours spent on trains.

But what about AEGEE-León? The local was founded in 2003 and currently they have between 100 and 150 members depending on the fluctuation rate of members during the year. The Board consists of eight board members and two advisory members. They also have active members in European Bodies of AEGEE-Europe, such as a Subcommisioner of the Network Commission, member of ACT and coordinator of a Working Group. Alongside organising Summer Universities in last few years, the majority of their work is based on Erasmus students at the University of León. They are organising a type of Buddy system, trips, parties, but more importantly, the office of AEGEE-León is also a centre of information for incoming Erasmus students.

Zvonimir with AEGEE-Leon members

Last but not least, AEGEE-León is a hosting and sending EVS local, so if you are interested in doing EVS one day follow them: who knows, maybe one day you will do EVS in AEGEE-León.

During my time here, I had also the luck to participate in the Valentine’s day  pub crawl edition organised for Erasmus students. In total more than 90 people participated and had a great time.

Laura, president of AEGEE-León, welcomed and hosted me during my time in the city. Thank you Laura for this, and also thank you AEGEE-León for having me, I only wish i had time to stay in every local longer. Also, I am inviting you to check the short video with Laura and check what message she has for you!

Tekla with AEGEE-Lille board members

Tekla: Day 1 and 2 – Lille (14th-15th February)

As my destination was the closest, I was the last CD member to leave the House, which had its advantages (being able to work almost two days more) and disadvantages (leaving the packing to the last minute). After a rather comfortable train ride – I had to switch only once- I arrived to Lille in the evening of the day which is in many cultures the day of love – Valentine’s day. After a nice traditional French dinner and a get-together/night out in a dormitory, the next day we had a meeting with the Board of AEGEE-Lille for a training about the role of CD, Board management and Event management. Apart from these topics, we discussed how to make new members active and how to keep the active members interested to go for international events, as in France universities are really strict with class attendance.

Tomorrow I will start my day early in order to reach Torino, my second stop, where I will be reunited with Réka and Zvonimir for a while to give a joint session to AEGEE-Torino about the opportunities in AEGEE for new members and what Comité Directeur is doing in the Headoffice in Brussels.

Next stop is AEGEE-Torino! Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Written by Zvonimir Canjuga, Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe, and Tekla Hajdu, Network Director

The closing of Agora Asturias 2015 brought the newly elected Comite Directeur with it, composed of seven people who will begin their mandate on the 1st of July: President Aleksandra Kluczka (AEGEE-Kraków), Secretary General Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), Financial Director Ander Guerrero Ruiz (AEGEE-Zaragoza),  and as Member of Comité Directeur: Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona), Pablo Hernández Rodríguez (AEGEE-Thessaloniki/Alicante) and Réka Salamon (AEGEE-Aachen). In this article you will find out a few personal details about them and also about their program plan for AEGEE.

  President: Aleksandra Kluczka (AEGEE Krakow), 24 years old, describes herself as “an experienced passionate of youth work and AEGEE in particular, willing to unleash AEGEE’s potential together with the team and the Network”

She has been a member of AEGEE since 2009, the organization that empowered her through every passing experience. Her ascent in AEGEE went on as she joined nine Agorae and three EBMs/EPMs, advanced from being a CD assistant to being the current Vice-President & External Relations Director of AEGEE Europe. She was also the Vice – President and Fundraising Board Member of AEGEE-Krakow.

Aleksandra expresses her plans in the Candidates Booklet: “I decided to run for the position of President of AEGEE-Europe and devote one more year of my life to AEGEE, in order to ensure the development and continuity for the organisation. I have a vision for the organisation that I would like to offer to the members and develop it together with the elected team. I observed that one year of CD term is relatively short, as you do not always see the results of the processes that you start. I am running for this position, as I want to have a feeling of a fulfilled mission and that I did everything I possibly could to improve AEGEE, before I leave it.”

Secretary General: Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), 22 years old,  who describes herself as „a happy, optimistic, honest fluff puff” girl full of energy who loves rainbow unicorns, talking, eating, laughing and travels.

She has been a member of AEGEE since 2012, the organization which has changed her life a lot in many positive ways.

The most relevant experience which recommended her for Secretary General was the practice she gained as Secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen (2012-2013), member of the Advisory Board (2013-2015), being a Chair of the Internal Formal Committee and being in the Chairteam of AEGEE Europe. Currently, Svenja is the Secretary of the Agora/EPM, a member of the Advisory Board and also a journalist and Proofreader at The AEGEEan. One of the most important aspects on which Svenja wants to focus during her term is the communication, not only among the CD, but also in the Network.

  Financial Director: Ander Guerrero Ruiz (AEGEE-Zaragoza), 24 years old, who describes himself as “a positive, idealistic, down-to-earth, smiling guy from Zaragoza (Spain) who really believes in the potential of AEGEE and who expects to improve the association next year in Brussels.”.

The experience of AEGEE, after joining in 2012, taught him that there is always an opportunity for everything, you just have to look for it.

The experience Ander gained as an AEGEEan, being the Treasurer for three Erasmus Trips in 2012 and 2014, member of the Core-Team for Autumn AGORA Zaragoza 2013 and Corporate Fundraiser, recommended him for the job. Also, he is currently the CDs’ Fundraising-assistant and President of AEGEE-Zaragoza.

Asked by The AEGEEan about his plans for AEGEE Ander replied: “I want to continue ensuring the financial stability of AEGEE in the short and long-term in order to keep on carrying out our activities, looking for more funds and using them wisely, and also dedicating my time and ideas to increase our activities.”

Member of Comité Directeur: Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona), 22 years old, who describes herself as “someone caring, idealistic, a good listener, extremely clumsy, and enthusiastic”.

AEGEE made her feel like home since 2011 and, according to her candidature, she wants to give back to AEGEE all that has been given to her.  She was Editor-in-chief at The AEGEEan (2013-2014), a CD-assistant, Vice-President of AEGEE-Barcelona and responsible for Human Resources (2013/14, 2014/present).  Her focus lies on communication and motivation of the members.

In the interview for the candidates, Anna declared: “in terms of internal communication, I want to strive for transparency and to ensure that our members are well-informed what these seven people in the CD are doing in Brussels, as well as to strengthen the dialogue with our members and locals.”

Member of Comité Directeur: Pablo Hernández (AEGEE-Alicante/AEGEE-Thessaloniki), 24 years old, considers himself as “another European citizen who wants to actively contribute to the development of our society and the defense of youth rights.”

After joining AEGEE in 2010, his evolution began quickly: from being the Secretary of AEGEE-Alicante (2011-2012) he became President the next year and in 2014, he moved to Thessaloniki and became a Member of the Advisory Board of AEGEE-Thessaloniki. He has been a Policy Officer since 2013.

In the interview for the Candidates taken by The AEGEEan, Pablo speaks about his programm: “In my candidature I have tried to transversely show three different aspects: First, I am confident about my knowledge, abilities, experience and motivation to assume the responsibilities linked to the position I am applying to. Second, as I exposed in my programme, I have ideas to improve the current organisation of this association in order to maximise our impact.” 

 Member of Comité Directeur: Réka Salamon (AEGEE-Aachen/AEGEE-Debrecen), 24 years old, defines herself as a meticulous and perfectionist person who “became the right balance of realistic-idealist over the years”

After joining AEGEE in 2011 she became the Coordinator of the ‘Europe on Track’ project 1st and 2nd edition, joined the Public Relations Committees’ Speaker Team (2012-2014) and she has been a CD-assistant three times.

She reveals her thoughts for The AEGEEan on being a CD Member: “The main role is to keep an overview of a hopefully ascending line of improvement on a certain field the CD member is responsible for.

Being one of the ‘directors’ means a constant load of intertwined tasks, from developing strategies to being in constant contact with the network and answer its needs. No matter how different things could seem in the Brussels bubble, the CD members always have to act representing the network’s opinion and keeping its best interests in mind.”

We were able to ask two questions to the elected members of the CD:

How do you feel about your new team? 

Maria Arends resigned from her position in June. After launching several Open Call, the newly elected Comité Directeur and the current one appointed Maryana Semenyak (AEGEE-Lviv) as interim member of the Comité Directeur.

 Written by Gabriela Cioată, AEGEE-București

At the upcoming Agora, Teo Šarić, President of the new contact of AEGEE in Split, Croatia, and member of AEGEE-Zadar, is running for the position of Financial Director (FD) of the European Board. The AEGEEan spoke with Teo about his candidature, his different fields of interest within AEGEE and his motivation to become part of the new Comité Directeur (CD)!

The AEGEEan: Teo, even though you have already been active in AEGEE for quite some time, some of the readers might not know you. Briefly introduce yourself and your history within the network!

Teo: Teo Šarić, a Policy Officer on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) topics, a topic which is really hard to deal with because a lot of hate is shown to the people that identify themselves as different. Not a problem in AEGEE yet, I must proudly say. The President and the founder of AEGEE contact Split. (I do a lot of work with our) 30th Anniversary team, a coordinator of our 30th Anniversary on AgorAsturias where we are going to have a super fancy celebration. Zadar’s coordinator of our Summer University with Bratislava and Maribor and HR responsible in the local.

You are running for Financial Director. Please present your programme in one sentence!

My programme will be to support all kinds of projects and also every body in AEGEE, not only one project or one body, so we in AEGEE need to do more different kinds of projects, not only because we have to, but because we can, which means, for example we miss art projects and projects about human rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and gender equality) and I will do everything what is in my power to do this job as good as I can.

When and why did you come up with the idea to run for a position within the Comité Directeur (CD)? Why did you pick the position of Financial Director specifically?

Well honestly, I knew that I will apply for the position within the Comité Directeur after I started to be a Policy Officer, I knew I can give much more to this organisation. I have chosen this position because it is very connected to my studies, which are very useful for the position of Financial Director. I study on Alma Mater Europaea – ECM’s European Business Studies (Project Management) Master Program and the purpose of my studies is to educate and prepare students to become innovative managers who will lead businesses and create new policies.

In your programme, you state that you plan to “support all kinds of projects“. Can you be a little bit more specific as to what kind of projects are the most important to you?

Of course I will support the projects that are active now, but my opinion is that we need more projects in general, we don’t have anything about art, we don’t have enough projects about human rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and gender equality). We need this in AEGEE a lot, I think. I will try my best to make these projects happen and I think that AEGEE as an organisation has much more potential than we usually think.

You are very active in LGBTI topics and you mention that projects about human rights are an important part of AEGEE. How will you try to combine your work as Financial Director with the involvement in such projects?

A lot of people imagine that finances are a boring job with a lot of bookkeeping, numbers etc, but it really doesn’t have to be, especially when you are trying to help, educate and motivate people who are feeling scared or different. I can start with simple things, you will probably see me wearing different kind of clothes, still official but just different. Even though I am good with the finance, I have very strong statements about every subject, and of course I am not scared to show it, which is in my opinion very important for this position. I am also a member of Rišpet – Dalmatian LGBTI organisation. I will fight my entire life for human rights, as much as I can. We, in my country Croatia, in my region and in the eastern part of Europe in general, need more brave people to fight for their rights and I honestly feel as one of them. One of the reasons why I badly need this position is because it will be a huge step in my career. Yes, it is different from my current position, but as I said my studies are very close to the position of Financial Director, and just because it is different from my current position, however ambitious it sounds, I feel I will move mountains after it. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise that. Even our former Financial Director and my dear friend Anna Gots now works for ILGA – the biggest worldwide federation of 1100 member organisations from 110 countries campaigning for LGBTI rights.

Whilst you write a lot about the contact you founded and your efforts in the LGBTI movements, you do not write a lot about your experiences in the topic of finances. What experiences do you have in the fields of bookkeeping, fundraising or finances in general?

As I already said my studies are very connected with the subject. Maybe some of you don’t know, but AEGEE-Zadar is a small antenna and it was all on the back of three or four of us. We were the only active members, so we had to do everything in it from fundraising, finances, bookkeeping to PR, HR… I mean everything. I was also an HR responsible and I succeeded to bring more new members. I think it is a better situation now. I also started from the bottom when I was establishing a new contact in Split. I included a few friends in it, and now we have around 25 members, and we just started! We already have a space to work in, we started cooperation with the biggest organisations in the region. I did all the work by myself mostly, I have huge amount of great friends and contacts that are always gladly ready to help. I will really try to support more new projects, more new trainings, and involve more members to be interested in the topic.

Just recently, you founded an AEGEE contact in Split, Croatia, and, as you point out in your candidature, you are the President. What will happen to this contact in case you move to Brussels soon?

We have a wonderful cooperation with the Rector and the Prorectors from the University of Split, and I will say big thanks to them even in this way. Thanks also to our board members Ivana, Ivana, Marina, Mia, Sara, Tamara and Tamara for their help. We now have around 25 very talented members from all fields of studies from writing, art, design, IT to law and management and we just started. It really seems that people from Split are interested in AEGEE and I just know that in the future we will be an excellent AEGEE antenna. I will persist to support them, but I am already sure that they can do the rest of the job alone if I get this position. I hope to sign the contract during the Network Meeting (NWM) in Zagreb in April.

The other candidate for Financial Director is already living in Brussels right now and working as a CD assistant. Have you been in the CD house before, too? Have you worked with others who are running for a position within the CD?

I was in Brussels in January with my faculty and we were in the European Parliament and the EU Commission, where I also represented AEGEE externally. I also visited the CD house, sadly only shortly I must say. But I hope to be in it much more in the near future. I know this is not my weakness because I worked and cooperated very well with everyone that applied for the position, all of them. The only reason why someone is a CD assistant and I am not is because I already had a position of a Policy Officer before. Too bad I don’t have more hands to do more tasks. I think this AEGEE generation will be impressive. Aleksandra Klucka (Comité Directeur), Andrea Ugrinoska (AEGEE-Skopje), Antonija Parat (Comité Directeur), Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), Anna Gumbau (AEGEE-Barcelona), Réka Salamon (AEGEE-Aachen), Pablo Hernández Rodríguez (AEGEE-Thessaloniki), Mayri Tiido (Comité Directeur), Balazs Kovacs (AEGEE-Debrecen), Ander Guerrero Ruiz (AEGEE-Zaragoza), Maria Arends (AEGEE-Tarragona) and Natalia Ivleva (AEGEE-Voronezh) are just some of the people that I cooperated and worked with, and I hope to do it more in the near future.

In your programme, you mention the names of eleven other AEGEEans, thank them for their inspiration or for working well together with you. Can our readers assume that you are a team player?

Honestly I am a big team player, I have a lot of AEGEE friends and I just had to mention some of them. I was born in Mostar, BiH, during the war so I have lived in Croatia, Split for the most part of my life. As a child I couldn’t even dream of having the opportunity to travel so much, work at this position and meet so many different people. I am always thankful to the people with who I worked well or who have helped me somehow. I will mention it publicly too, for example my dear friend and our Secretary General, Antonija Parat, to support us, the Policy Office, without any mistake ever. That girl is out of this world. I never saw so much positive energy. Also a President of AEGEE-Zadar, Ivana Kovačević, who accepted me in the board in a very sensitive period of my life. I suppose she is very proud of my work, as I am very proud of her loveliness and hard work. In the end my AEGEE role models and my gorgeous friends Marko Grdošić, Luis Alvarado Martinez, Réka Salamon. Seeing you speaking on the stage feeds my hungry melancholic soul. Even though I am a team player, I am also a big solo player, which means that I am not scared to be different and do my own thing. For example, it was only my idea to make a position of a Policy Officer on LGBTI topics in AEGEE and I suggested it, and the CD accepted it. I consider myself a fast learner and a progressive leader. I speak Croatian, English, French and now I’m learning Spanish. It would be an amazing opportunity and also a big gift for me to be the next Financial Director, I will try my best in that position. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise my potential and quality.

One of our readers asked: May you, please, point out the most relevant aspects of your candidature?

After I started to be a Policy officer, I knew I can give much more to this organisation. I have choosen this position because it is very closely connected to my studies (European business studies), which are very useful for the position of Financial director. I will really try to support more new projects, more new trainings, and involve more members to be interested in the topic. We don’t have anything about art, we don’t have enough projects about Human Rights (for ex. LGBTI rights and Gender equality). We need this in AEGEE a lot I think. I will try my best to make this projects happen and I think that AEGEE as an organisation has much more potential than we usually think. Also I will support everyone with a good idea. I will really try my best on that position. I must be honest, after the position I have even bigger plans. I will devote my entire life to fight for human rights, as much as I can. We in my country Croatia, in my region and in eastern parts of Europe in general, need more brave people to fight for their rights and I honestly feel as one of them. One of the reasons why I badly need this position is because it will be a huge step in my career. Yes, it is different from my current position, but as I said my studies are very connected with the position of Financial director, and just because it is different from my current position however ambitious it sounds, I feel I will spread my wings after it. I hope that AEGEE members will recognise that. Even our ex. Financial director and my dear friend Anna Gots now works for ILGA – the biggest worldwide federation of 1100 member organisations from 110 countries campaigning for LGBTI rights. I think that we in AEGEE for the CD need real leaders, not the followers. I consider myself a fast learner and a progressive leader. I hope that AEGEE members will officially regard my potential and quality.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Since a few weeks ago, Ander Guerrero Ruiz, AEGEE-Zaragoza, is living in the house of the Comité Directeur (CD) in Brussels as an assistant. Apparently, he likes it so much that he now will run for the position of Financial Director (FD) for the next term. The AEGEEan talked to Ander about his candidature, his qualifications and his future plans.

The AEGEEan: Ander, even though you have already been active in AEGEE for years, some of the readers might not know you. Briefly introduce yourself and your history.

Ander: That is something normal, when you are part of such a big organisation like AEGEE, where every year a lot of members join. I will try to do it: I am a positive, idealistic, down-to-earth, smiling guy from Zaragoza (Spain) who really believes in the potential of AEGEE and who expects to improve the association next year in Brussels.

You are running for Financial Director. Please present your programme in one sentence!

I want to continue ensuring the financial stability of AEGEE in the short and long-term in order to keep on carrying out our activities, looking for more funds and using them wisely, and also dedicating my time and ideas to increase our activities.

When and why did you come up with the idea to run for a position within the Comité Directeur? Why did you pick the position of Financial Director specifically?

Being part of the CD has always appealed to me, saying anything else would be lying. However, I’m quite realistic and I knew that I couldn’t candidate for it until I finished my studies in Spain, because I am undertaking an intensive and restrictive studying programme and I cannot stop them like in other countries or for other bachelors. I have always said that if one day I would finally apply, I would do it either for External Relations or for Financial Director since I feel prepared and motivated for both. However, during the meeting for possible candidates we had with the CD during the European Planning Meeting (EPM) Burgos, nobody else from the members wanted to run for FD. I know how important and what a risk not having any candidate for FD is, so the next day I talked with Ioana (current FD) and I saw it (even more) clearly. Also, being FD is not just managing money or accounting. When you are the Financial Director, you are also a member of the CD, so you are in charge of more responsibilities, projects, activities, etc., which is, I think, the most important part of the position and where you really can contribute to improve AEGEE internally and externally.

Since the 25th of February you are assisting the CD in terms of finances and you are even living in Brussels right now. What did you learn in the past weeks and how do you think this will help you if you are elected as the next Financial Director?

Yes, I am currently Fundraising Assistant of the CD. However, I am also helping Ioana with finances, which enables me to already start learning about some tasks of the position of Financial Director. But, as I said before, being a CD member involves much more, especially office work, which is the part that regular members do not see when they think of CD work. So yes, this may give me a chance, but I really want to believe that if I am elected, it is because members trust on me, they realise how motivated I am and they think I can be a good CD member.

In your programme, you listed a lot of non-AEGEE experiences that are supposed to be helpful for your intended position as FD. Please name the three most important experiences that qualify you.

First, for sure my studies in Business Management. During six years, I have had several subjects related with the position of FD (accounting, budgeting, finances, etc.). Now is time to go from the theoretical part to the practical part. With a good Knowledge Transfer for sure I will make it. Second, also related to my studies and my internship, is that these extra activities have given me a lot of patient working with some tasks that I have to do and I didn’t like at all. The same can be applied to some people. Third, I have undertaken several trainings and courses that have boosted my presentation and training skills. When you are a member of the CD you have to attend meetings or facilitate workshops.

In your programme, you state that you plan to “remove the prejudice that finances are complicated and boring [which] will encourage our members to be more interested in the topic“. How exactly are you intending to do that?

Is it clear that for a lot of people everything related with finances, accounting or budgeting sounds ‘like Chinese’ and does not catch their interest. But this is not true: accounting is sexy! Jokes aside, it is important for members to realise, for the internal purposes of the organisation and for their personal lives, that a correct management of finances is essential. But in terms of the internal performance of the organisation it is even more important for everybody to understand where the money comes from and for what it is used; otherwise, false prejudices and myths are created and members get confused about what their money is used for. To achieve my goal and avoid people sleeping during the plenary while the FD is explaining the financial report, we should be slower and explain in a way everybody can understand it. The current FD explained in Agora Cagliari in a closer way to the members, which I really liked and appreciated. That is the way. Trying to facilitate a few workshops in budgeting during Network Meetings (NWMs) or Agorae could be positive as well. But in this case, the only setback is time I’m afraid.

You state that right now is the perfect time for you to move to Brussels as a member of the CD since you are about to finish your studies. Do you have a plan B in case you are not elected? What is it?

Being in AEGEE has taught me that there is always an opportunity or an option, you just need to look for it. However, in this case, I am really looking forward to move to Brussels to be in the CD. It is the perfect timing, I feel prepared and motivated and my ideas can have some impact in the organisation. In the unlucky scenario I won’t be elected, I think I would go to an European Voluntary Service (EVS) or similar. It is time for a break from Spain (unless due to personal or family reasons something would attach me to my beloved Zaragoza). We are at the moment for doing what we love – to experiment and discover new things. My parents never had the opportunity to go to university or traveling while they were young, and they have sacrificed many things to support my brother and I in all ways, and they really encourage us to go and follow our dreams and to do something positive for society with our time and life as long as they can support us if needed. I really have a lot to thank them for, and I wouldn’t be here without their help and encouragement, so thanks! I really want to be part of the CD and achieve one of my dreams.

In your candidature you write a lot about your qualifications and ideas concerning becoming FD. But what about the work within a team, especially one in which the team members live so close with one another? Do you see any chances or challenges for yourself when it comes to working together with others?

For sure starting in a new team is a challenge, and living and working in the same house with different personalities and cultures can be a mess or a blessing. I was an Erasmus student, so I know the feeling. I know some candidates and I know I can do quite perfect with both. But, it is true that a few of the candidates I don’t know at all. However, I consider myself quite patient, tolerant and open-minded. You have to give something in order to win, and this case is the perfect example, respecting always some limits. Of course, there will be some challenges, this is not the perfect dream, but I would like to believe that I am quite transparent and honest towards the rest of the people, which is good in order to increase the trust between the team and achieve a better performance while working and living together. For sure the experience can be extreme in both ways, but the one who doesn’t take risks in this life doesn’t win at all. As always time will tell.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

The Comité Directeur still has one available place: Financial Director. Ioana Duca applied for this possition, currently being the interim Financial Director. She is a proud member of AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca and always willing to discover more of the AEGEE mystery. Read the answers she gave to The AEGEEan to find out more about her!

The AEGEEan: Ioana, you started in AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca as secretary, then president, and now you are running for the position of Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe. Do you think your experiences in your local helped you?

Ioana: I started in 2010 and I was Secretary, President and Summer University (SU) Coordinator, and now I’m Board Advisor. All the experience and work in the board of AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca helped me a lot to grow and to understand a lot of things. Even if I was never Treasurer in my board, I worked very close with all the treasurers, I helped them and supported them since I was Secretary. Moreover I was in contact with our accounter all the time, working with her and helping her, dealing with our finances. And of course all the experience with all the budgets for all our local events (SU, European Days of Languages, etc) and being Treasurer in several SUs helped me a lot.

How did the experience you gathered while being a CD assistant influence you?

Being CD assistant influenced me a lot. First, I was assistant for the archives in 2012 for two months. During this period I had the chance to be in Brussels, to understand how life as CD is and also to understand the history of AEGEE and all the processes better, as I was working with the archives. Since then I was thinking that if I will ever want to run for CD, I will probably choose the position of Financial Director, but it was to early for me, I needed to grow. My second experience as CD assistant was this year as Financial Intern, which is more close to finances. It helped me a lot to get more experience and to understand even better the work of Financial Director, dealing with budgets for several projects, reimbursements, reports, preparation for Agora etc. I was very lucky to have the experience of working with two CD teams and to see different people, different teams and different dynamics. Understanding the people and your team is as important as having enough experience for the position.

You are the interim Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe since August, so the position for the Financial Director was free before and during Agora Patra. Why didn’t you run back then?

As you can read in my candidature it was a problem of principles. After I started my term as Financial Intern, I got an internship. One of the most important things for me is to respect my commitments and promises, so I couldn’t run without solving this problem first. But I can say that during Agora Patra I was very sad because of the situation (people around me can confirm) and moreover I was sad that nobody ran for the position of Financial Director. After Agora Patra and during the open call for interim Financial Director, the situation with my internship was resolved so I was finally free to apply. I was very relieved!

Sometimes it is hard to find a candidate for the Financial Director position. Have you thought about any strategy or plan to find candidates for the next term?

It is true that it is hard to find a candidate for the Financial Director (FD) position, but I’m not planning to hunt people down to apply for this position. I don’t have any strategy as I don’t think this is the way, but I’m not saying that I don’t care if somebody is applying or not for this position. I care a lot and I will give all the necessary support to the people who will be interested to become FD. Maybe these people can come in Brussels for a few weeks before Agora Oviedo so they can see and understand the work of FD better, but I will not force people to run. One of the most important things is to be aware of the tasks and to want to do all these tasks and then you can learn a lot.

Do you still keep in touch with your local? Do they support you?

Of course I still keep in touch with my local. I’m very proud of my local and the people from my local. They are the reason that I am here, without them nothing of these would have  happened. In this moment I’m in the Advisory Board of my local, I’m still following everything that is happening and giving all the necessary support for all the events, recruitments or bureaucratic staff. Sometimes it is difficult to find time for this, but they know that I’m there for them anytime they need my help or my support. They support me a lot! And I want to make them proud of me as I’m proud of them!

How do you get along with the new CD and living in the same house with them?

The new CD is actually my 3^rd CD, so this is not a new experience for me. It is interesting and it is good that I had all these experiences with previous teams, it helped me a lot in some situations. The difference is that this is my CD and I’m not only an assistant anymore. I love my CD and I feel we are like a family, sharing all good and bad moments and not only those related with work and AEGEE, so like a true family. We are not perfect (as there is no perfection, no perfect family in this world and who is saying this, usually is hiding something or has no clue about real life), but we are growing together. And yes we are a family (it’s not just for the eyes of the world) as we are working together, we are sharing our thoughts, we are eating together, cleaning the house and supporting each other in good or bad moments (when we have some good news or results, or when we have stressful days before some deadlines). The most important thing is that we are together!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

During Spring Agora-Patra 2014, unfortunately there was no candidate for Financial Director for the Comité Directeur 2014-2015. Soon after Agora-Patra, an open call was issued to find an Interim Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe until Agora-Cagliari. According to the open call,  it is expected that this person will officially run for this position in front of the Agora to be fully elected by the network. Ioana Duca, member of AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca since April 2010, has been selected for this position and she will act as CD assistant, with no voting rights in the CD, as she was not voted by the Agora. 

How have you been involved in AEGEE until now, both  on local and European level?

I joined AEGEE in April 2010 and since then I was involved a lot on local level as I’m in AEGEE Cluj-Napoca’s board since April 2011 ( Secretary 2011-2012, President 2012-2013, SU Coordinator 2013-2014 and now as Board Adviser). I have organized a lot of events in my local: 6 SU’s, local trainings, network meetings, European Days of Languages, Culture Action Days, recruitment and SU presentations. I was mentor of AEGEE-Ploieşti for 1 year and trainer in some LTC’s for AEGEE-Iaşi and some other small things.

On European level, I was not involved that much, but enough to get some experience as I was CD Assistant for 2 months in 2012 working with archives and Financial Intern since 17th of March this year.

What pushed you to apply for the open call issued by the CD?

The fact that I liked to work with finances and budgets. I was thinking “I’m already working as financial intern and I know almost everything related with the task, why not?”

Why didn’t you run for the position before, at Agora-Patra since you were present?

I didn’t run at Agora-Patra because of some of my principles. At that moment I already had another commitment, an internship in Brussels due to start at the beginning of June. For me it is very important to respect my commitments, even if I wanted to candidate I had to solve somehow this situation with my internship first.

Everything  got solved just on time, one week before I was supposed to start my internship it was called off. “Everything happens for a reason” I was thinking. I considered it a sign and I applied for Interim Financial Director.

You are already living in Brusells in the CD house as financial assistant of Anna Gots, yet next year you will be working with a whole new CD. How will it be different for you?

I don’t see big differences, but of course it will be different. Mostly because of the amount of responsibilities and the fact that I will work in a new team. Lucky me, I already had some experience in working with two CD’s already. This will be the 3rd CD I will work with and, most of all, it will be my CD  as I will not be only an assistant.

You will be Interim Financial Director until Agora-Cagliari. Are you planning to stay after the Agora?

I will be Interim Financial Director untilAgora-Cagliari, but my plan is to continue, so I will run at Agora-Cagliari because I want to be with my new team until the end of the CD’s term. I’m looking forward to work with them.

At Agora Enschede we saw how many ladies were selected. You may wonder who these ladies are and this article will give you a deeper insight Anna Gots who is moving to Brussels in August to take over the position as Financial Director. 

The lady who is going to make dealing with numbers FUN

Anna Gots is the new Financial Director, and she is most definitely not new to AEGEE, and points out that her best moments in AEGEE so far have been the Fall Agora Kyiv 2009, her Summer University “How Creative UA” 2010, and being in the Audit Commission Skopje-Enschede. However, despite being used to “dealing with a crowd”, having spoken in front of many people numerous times in the past, she still got nervous at Agora Enschede. Describing how it was to stand in front of the Agora she says: “It was very terrifying! It is actually quite strange since I got used to the stage in general. Moreover, I even did a report to the Agora the day before, thus experienced the audience already. Therefore, I blame the overall stress accumulated and realization of the huge importance of that exact moment for making me too nervous then. Thankfully, the audience happened to be very tolerant with me and supported me a lot! So, I do promise that my next presentation to the Agora will be more confident and calm!”

Anna was the only candidate for Financial Director, and she does agree that having no contenders made her feel a bit more secure than the other candidates, but on the other hand, it made her try even harder to prove that she should be elected for this position not because she was the only one running for it, but because she is worthy of it.

Preparing for Brussels

She describes the first minutes after the result announcement as a euphoria of delight and relief, but she also remembers it as becoming aware of the fact that in that instance her life had been changed dramatically and the biggest challenge has just been accepted. She started preparing her move to Brussels already, which can seem a bit too soon for some, but there sure are a lot of things to be done:

1. Announcing it to the boss, check!

2. Applying for the Certificate of Good Conduct from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, one of the most time-consuming in terms of preparation of documents for visa application, check!
(Among all other requirements she also has to prove that she is a decent, law-abiding citizen)

3. As well as all the other newly-elected CD members, engaging herself in a series of important and interesting discussions about the upcoming term, check!

Getting ready to walk down the aisle

Besides preparing for Brussels, Anna is preparing for a wedding as well. The wedding of one of her best friends who is getting married this summer. She is absolutely in love with the preparation, loving to be able to see her beloved ones happy, and of course glad to share that happiness with them! “Moreover, it is certainly great that both of us are facing some serious changes in life at the same time, it keeps us together even more and makes us even more excited about the nearest future,” Anna says with a smile.

Working with the Audit Commission

Having a past in the Audit Commission should make Anna’s life as Financial Director easier. Furthermore, Anna is already very good friends with the President of Audit Commission (AC), Esperanza Rodriguez Medina, who had nothing but kind words to share about Anna. “We barely knew each other when we were elected together in Skopje. It was a great coincidence that we were flying back on the same plane and shared some hours of scale in Prague. We started talking and I knew right there that we would have a great AC term.
I think we really have a connection. We are very similar in many ways, we share a lot of thoughts. We just understand each other perfectly! We never had a disagreement because any time one of us had a different opinion, she made the other see her point of view very easily. Furthermore, we also complemented each other very well in terms of task division. I just cannot explain it, but everything was going so smoothly! I never thought two people that were born so far away (hot Las Palmas vs. cold Kyiv) could understand each other so perfectly. And after this time, now we share one of those friendships that you want to keep forever. Even if this opinion is really subjective, I can be objective too. She is a really hard worker, very organised and perfectionist. She really cares about her job and is committed to AEGEE, so she has been preparing herself for the FD position even before she was sure about running for it. And another very good quality of hers is that she is not afraid of asking when she does not know something, and she learns very fast. I can assure you that AEGEE money will be in very good hands in the next CD term!”

AEGEE is a bit feministic isn’t it?

The large number of elected ladies made The AEGEEan wonder what is going on, and what the elected ladies think about it. For Anna it comes as no surprise. “For me AEGEE has been associated more with the female community from the very beginning, since it is not a secret that in our area the number of the female AEGEE members has been dominant for years, among the board members as well.And as the northeast part of our Network is becoming more and more active on European level, it might also trigger some tendencies typical of it.”

Anna acknowledges that there are a lot of great women out there, and she respects them for their achievements and their attitude towards life. However, when asked if she has any female idols, the answer was no, but she does add that “Right off the bat I can name Coco Chanel for being different, and most importantly not being afraid of being different; but also influencing and encouraging the other women not to be afraid either.”

Stay tuned to The AEGEEan for more information about the ladies of AEGEE!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

What does a Financial Director do in AEGEE? Checking reimbursements, making money transfers, bookkeeping…But actually Elena Antova does a lot more and shows her ongoing interest in AEGEE events and other fields. She shared with us her memories of her term in the CD house, her hobbies, plans and more. Enjoy reading to get to know more about our lovely Financial Director (FD), Elena Antova.

Dear Elena, it’s been already 8 months that you are moved in with 6 other CD members in headoffice, how things are going so far?

Elena: For me every day in the CD house is like an adventure.

European School 2 in Poznan was one of her first steps to big AEGEE career

We are really different people, who have their own perception how the things should be handled. It is really nice and interesting to live, to work and to spend your free time with them. I think that for these eight months I am here in Brussels, I changed. I hope it is for better!

So did you find time for some different activities, except for your work, while you are in Brussels? Maybe starting to learn another language or something like that?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to start learning a new language. It would take too much time, which I don’t have. After the EBM, I joined the course of Dr. James Skelly “Global Conversation”, which aims are to raise our awareness about the importance of the climate changes. His lectures are really interesting and inspiring. In the other time, I like to walk around the city, to visit one or another museum, or just to enjoy the atmosphere itself.

Can you tell us more about Dr.James Skelly’s course?

It is an online course, where a new lecture for different thematic is published once per week. Also we have group tasks, but last days I don’t really have time for it. Still I am trying to be up to date with the lectures.

So it is good you have time for this at all. Tell us more about your work as Financial Director. It seems like a lot of  bookkeeping, reimbursements, doing transfers, but what are the bigger challenges or different sides of your work, according to you?

I cannot say which is the biggest challenge for me in my work. Everyday there

Long time ago with beloved AEGEE-Sofia

is something new and different. Actually you described it quite well. The bookkeeping, reimbursements and transfers are taking quite some part of my time, but also I am updating the budgets and financial reports, attending NWMs as a part of the CD, which I really like because sometimes I am missing the contact with the network, assisting the Audit Commission. Something, which I can call a challenge but not only for me, but for all of us from the CD, is fitting in the deadlines, but I think we are all managing with this quite well.

You also started a nice initiative with creating a Reimbursement Manual, how do you feel about that?

I hope it is useful and understandable for our members. This is the most important for me. After some questions and requests I started working also on a manual how the locals can calculate their membership fees to AEGEE-Europe and what is the procedure to make payments. Before the last Agora we received some bank transfers without any description of the local, which make it a bit harder to find who wants to pay us. But at the end everything was fine. I hope after the new manual this cases will become more rear. I am planning to finish it in a week.

That’s good to hear! But as in all works some things may go bad as well as they can be good mostly. So curious about good and bad moments of your term as a CD member, can you share with us the happiest memory of this year and a time, when things got pretty wrong and became challenging for you?

One of the saddest moments for me was when I had to leave the Juridical Commission. I was member appointed by the CD but after 5 months in the team, I realised that the position requires too much of my time and I am not able to combine it with my other tasks. It was a really hard decision, because I really like this matter and I still miss the Commission very much!

One of the happiest moments was when we learned that we are receiving 100% of the amount for our administrative grant application from the European Commission. It was a really great feeling that all our efforts worth it. The same evening we had a celebration in the garden.

Well. I am sure life in the CD house is not only work. Tells us what is your connection with “Game of Thrones”?

Well, I am a bit addicted to this series :) Actually everything happened in the CD house. I was watching the first season during my knowledge transfer period last August and I was really sad that I have to wait almost 8 months without any information what will happen next. I have found and read the 5 released books, which includes the time of 5 seasons, but there are still two more books, that need to be compiled in order the story to end. I was really not passionate to see the second season, because I wanted to compare it with the book. I have to say that I really like it so far. Most of the things are exactly as I imagined them, but I am missing the surprise moment as I already know what will happen next. I recommend this series to everyone who likes fantasy or adventures. It is really good!

Good advice, sometimes it is better to see the series then read the books maybe, so it won’t be like the example of  Harry Potter for most  people. Are CD people also interested in, so you watch all together?

I was also disappointed with the Harry Potter movies, so I know what you mean. The first season we were more people watching it, now it is only me and Luis. Most of the CD people are now out of the house because of holidays or NWMs but I am sure that soon we will be more fans!

At last, can you give some advices for people, interested in the Audit Commission and also maybe for the Financial Director candidates. Should they  be scared or to go for it? :)

My advice is to go for it! If they feel like doing it, than this is the right decision! I really like the quote that one day we are sorry not for the things we did, but for the ones we didn’t have courage to do.

Elena, we were all surprised to see your candidature about secretary general. Why such a change? And actually how big change it is?

Actually, I can’t call it such a change as I would like to continue working on the organizational part of AEGEE. I am

Elena with her Goodbye present from AEGEE-Sofia

working for one term as Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe and I really love my position, it is strict and clearly stated, full with numbers. As the end of my term started to approach, I started to think, what I want to do with my life from now on, and what my next step in AEGEE is. I didn’t want my AEGEE life to finish together with the end of the CD term. I was not ready for this. AEGEE means too much to me. At the beginning it sounded like a crazy idea for me, applying for Secretary General, but after spending hours on this and thinking about it, I realized that’s exactly what I want to do in AEGEE.

Was the CD experience what inspired you to “dream” about the job of the secretary?

Yes, I can say that the time I am spending as a part of the Comte Directeur helped me a lot to change my perception for the position of Secretary General. It is really a great position, frequently underestimated, providing great possibilities to work at the same time in many and different fields in AEGEE. For over eight months the respect to the position is grown in something bigger until it became a dream for me. I felt inspired from both the CD experience and from the Network, realizing that this position collects the tasks, I want to devote my time for. I finally found what I was looking for so long!

One more year living from Agora to EBM. What you are going to sacrifice because of this?

I don’t see the situation as a sacrifice of something; if I did I would not apply for the CD for one more term.  True, I will be away from my closest ones and I have to postpone my studies for one more year, but at this moment AEGEE is more important for me. I realize that after one year in the CD, I am more motivated than ever and I am not ready to leave it without having my ideas achieved.

Why to vote for Elena for Secretary General? What is your asset in front of the others?

Unfortunately, I cannot give an answer to this question. I know both of the other candidates in person. I have seen what they are doing for AEGEE and really respect them and their work. I see that we are all really motivated, prepared and in love with AEGEE and each one of us has the potential to do a great job during the next term.

Well, we wish you good luck!