One event. 13 days. Six cities. 23 participants and almost 25 organisers. “Our Big Fat Greek Winter University” was the New Year Event organised by the greek speaking antennae of AEGEE-Athina, AEGEE-Peiraias, AEGEE-Patra, AEGEE-Ioannina, AEGEE-Thessaloniki and AEGEE-Kastoria, between the 28th of December 2016 and the 9th of January 2017.

This NYE was one of its kind! An ambitious plan and a profoundly challenging event with one and only aim: to emphasise the diverse beauty that Greece has to offer to its visitors during the winter. Usually, when people think about the country, the first thing that pops automatically in mind, is the S triplet: sun, sand and sea! The journey followed a different path this time. Participants got to travel and see both the urban everyday life of the big cities and harbours, as well as the picturesque, suburban areas with the vivid student life.

As for me, this was a self-discovering and an amazing experience. When I joined AEGEE a year ago, trying to find my footsteps aside from school and my comfort zone, I would never imagine that I would be mainly responsible for such a thing. This is why, when my antenna proposed to me to be in charge of AEGEE-Ioannina part in this event, I felt it like a challenge.

No matter the difficulties that the organisers had to face considering it was a collaboration between six antennae, we managed to make the dream of many people, even before us, come true. We definitely surpassed the Greek stereotypes that want many people when working together, arguing with each other with no result. The biggest proof is what one of our participants, Leyla Gasanova from AEGEE-Moskva, said:“In general I want to say big thanks for this event! We could see a reeeally good job and a lot of preparation”.

The NYE started in the Greek capital Athens, of course. During the time in Athens, the participants had the opportunity to see our cultural inheritance. They visited the National Archaeological Museum, the state-of-the-art Akropolis Museum and Akropolis Rock. This was a life dream for many AEGEEans, who added a check to their to-do lists. They also paid a visit to the Ancient Agora and Pnika, the place where the ancient Athenians were gathering to discuss and vote. As Athens is a modern city, which combines perfectly the old with the new style, we could not miss an opportunity to walk in the alleys of the centre with full of bazaars, as well as shops with a modern and alternative essence. Lastly, the organisers of AEGEE-Athina took a good care of the social nightlife and partied along with the participants in various clubs. Everybody agreed on the fact that Athens had the best and craziest parties of the event.

The participants left with a great first impression to move to Patras, the second biggest harbour in Greece. The most enjoyable moment was during the city tour and the city rally when they visited, among others, the orthodox church of Saint Andrew and closed the day in the lighthouse near the marina, where we saw the sunset by the sea! It was a serene moment during this trip, perfect to meditate, as one of our participants did. The NYE party in Patras was a typically Greek celebrating meal, late in the evening. After we welcomed 2017, we ate the New Year’s Pie, a custom in the country. The pie was cut into pieces and served to guests. In it, there is a coin and whoever has it in his piece, is the lucky one for the year that has just arrived. It is connected to the orthodox Santa Claus, who is called Saint Vassilios, and he was the first to offer such a pie to the poor. Foteini, president of AEGEE-Patra, was the winner. After the meal, it was time for the party in the local bars!

Following destination… Ioannina! It is the small town in the north-west of Greece, as known mostly for lake Pamvotis and the mountainous sceneries. The time here is like stuck in the past, in the era when the Ottomans ruled. This impression was increased by the byzantine castle, the remaining mosques and the legends still alive in every corner. Travelling through places of the Medieval Age astounded the participants. We also visited the island in the lake, the one with its permanent inhabitants. We had a dance workshop there with local dances from Epirus and the Ionian Islands.

Of course, we did not miss the chance to dance the syrtaki as well. It would not be a Big Fat Greek Winter University without it, anyway! The highlight of the day: other visitors were passing by and staring at us. However, who really cared at that moment? Another workshop given by Netcom Spyros Papadatos was both interesting and fun. It was about “An interactive way to introduce AEGEE so that both the new and the old members could contribute and enjoy”. Ioannina ended its part with the European Night, which was organised in accordance with the guidelines of the “Drink-wise Project”. As the main organiser on behalf of my antenna, I had the “Eurotrip” through all the tables of different nations and opened the night with Spyros. And yes! I am able to say we survived!

Next in the row was Thessaloniki, “The Nymph of the North”, as locals proudly call the city. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and an eternal competitor with Athens. The participants had an amazing time in the city tour. One of the highlights was the byzantine castle, which was built in the 4th century. It offers a breathtaking and panoramic view from the highest point of the city to the beach and to the White Tower. During the two nights that they spent there, they got a taste of the legendary nightlife in Greek style tavernas with local foods, drinks and music. The pub crawl was a social activity which they also enjoyed much. In Thessaloniki, the organisers from other locals gathered together, created a lovely feeling to be all together for the final days of the NYE.

The event was meant to finish in Kastoria. The phenomenal snowstorm, though, that stroke Greece this winter, had another opinion on this. Under extremely low temperatures, AEGEEans took part in Ragoutsaria, a carnival that has its origins to the bacchanalian ceremonies that were exercised in the area. In Kastoria, the organisers also introduced them a real Greek night. The best part was definitely the moment that the participants tried to sing the mainstream Greek music. Unfortunately, the weather was a constant enemy and Murphy’s law “If something can go wrong, it will”, worked exceptionally well. With the whole country entering in a freezer, problems in the accommodation came up and the event had to finish ingloriously. This made us all disappointed, as we were all looking forward to the three-days party with the wine and the unstoppable dancing with the rhythm of Balkan music all around the alleys. Yet, every bad situation comes out a good result…or at least a funny incident.

We made it to the news! Two brave AEGEEans, during their visits to the frozen lake, walked on a very thin sheet of ice. Next day they became viral as the Kastorians who walked on the lake! Of course, we knew otherwise!!! To sum up, this NYE has been a pleasure and an adventure for everybody. As all NYEs, it was the perfect start to a year with full of travelling, meeting new friends and getting to know another country. More specifically, it was a chance to visit many Greek cities from the north to the south, learn about the culture and the particular cultural characteristics. Even though it might have been a little tiring swapping between six destinations, we were very happy to be able to show a different and more representative aspect of Greece. This would have been impossible without the friendly atmosphere we managed to create among the group of organisers. It was a surprise to me to get closer with our fellow antennae in such a way. We also owe this all to the most challenging and patient group of experienced AEGEE members that helped us to make it happen. And as once said… why not? Let’s turn this into a tradition!!!

Written by Vasiliki Andrioti, AEGEE-Ioannina

AEGEE-Patra proposed a magnificent TSU showing the best of Peloponnese on the initiative of Flo Fotini Karagrigori, Stavroula Kostakopolou, Secretary of this Greek Antenna, Vasiliki Petrakou, President, and the extraordinary help of an amazing team. Journalist Matteo Lai reports on this international event that was in collaboration with the Democracy in Practice project.

The Summer University of AEGEE-Patra began on the eleventh of July 2016. In Athens, I had already met some participants, Ana and Alvaro, and one organiser, Spyros, who hosted me during the previous weekend, and gave us a small city tour of the Greek capital. With other guys, who were joining the event, we reached Patra very late by bus; about nine p.m. The Greek organisers, however, could not let us miss out on some ice breaking games, so that we at least got to know the name of the other participants.

They came from every corner of Europe: Dario Renna (Italy), Natalya Turun (Ukraine),  Ihor Raynovskyy (Ukraine), David Ferre (Spain), Olga Revilla (Spain), Ana González García (Spain), Robert Bullesfeld (Germany), Joyce Schulte (the Netherlands), Álvaro Alonso Larré (Spain), Anna Zaiats (Ukraine), Strahinja Kocijasevic (Serbia), Enrica Griggio (Italy), Diego Laino Rebollido (Spain), Alessandro Boffa Fasset (Italy), Irene Ballester (Spain), Matteo Delfino (Italy), Adela Hurtikova (Czech Republic), Anna Temerko (Ukraine), Matteo Sberna (Italy), Merli Martin (Estonia), Sophia Talvoysh (Russia), Maria Calin (Austria), Alicia Jiménez Nosti (Spain), Julia Sohu (Spain), Mikel Larra Arca (Spain), Ella Katkova (Russia), Fernando Berniola Cassorán (Spain), Lili Dozsa (Hungary), Arbenita Hasani (Austria), Kagan Kemal Tuna (Turkey) and a girl simply known to us as Burcu (Turkey).

The organisers were: Noemi Lowy (Democracy in Practice Trainer, AEGEE-Debrecen), Vasiliki Petrakou (Main Organiser and President), Petros Spyratos, Spyros Ntouroukis, Fotini Flo Karagrigori (Main Organiser and Secretary), Stavroula Kostakopoulou (Main Organizer and Incoming Responsible), Raphael Angelis, Stavros Vlatakis, Giota Grintzou, Petros Vezos, Katerina Anastasopolou (AEGEE-Athina), Akis Tampachaniotis (AEGEE-Peiraias), Costas Frem, Costantinos Fasourakis, Yiota Mitropoulou, Anastasia Karantza.

After a quick dinner outside the hotel, we all went together to a lounge in a pub, ten minutes away from the hotel that was our accommodation for the first four days. I was really tired after the long trip from Athens to Patra, but I could not wait for the interesting programme that the organisers had crafted for us. Patra is famous for the Rio-Antirrio Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Europe. In Patra, I also visited the Apollon Theatre, which was designed by the famous German architect Ernst Ziller and completed in 1872. The Apollon is located east of Georgiou I Square, one of Patra’s most popular squares. The theatre is a micrograph of “La Scala” in Milan, and is the oldest existing enclosed theatre of the same era. The Apollon Theatre has been the main stage of the Patras Municipal and Regional Theatre since 1988, and can hold up to three hundred people.

The TSU was in collaboration with the ‘Democracy in Practice’ project. For the newbies in AEGEE, the aim of the project is to raise awareness among young people about the importance of human rights as the basis of a healthy democracy, in order to promote social and political participation of young people at local, national, and European level. This can be achieved in two ways: by means of training, and by means of advocacy. Therefore, the members of Democracy in Practice set some learning objectives and some advocacy objectives. The former required the participants to explain what the interconnections between human rights and democracy are, to develop a campaign for Human Rights, to direct their own learning through the process, and to develop a concrete action plan in order to start a follow-up process. Advocacy objectives are various as well: the participants can identify the local stakeholders for human rights education; the participants are able to advocate for human rights education in their local communities, specially targeting universities and other educational centres.

There have been many sessions that allowed us to know each other better and to discuss about Europe. For example, at the Gythio campsite, Noemi asked us to write down some words that we associate with Europe: peace, freedom, security, human rights, prosperity, language, mobility. She also proposed us to watch a movie titled: “The Untouchables”, which topics were discussed during our stay in Patra.

On the third day, we spent the evening in Plaz, a beach close to Patra’s city centre, where we enjoyed the European Night, a traditional activity in every Summer University. The organisers decided to surprise us by showing their European friends the basics of some popular Greek dances. Then, Stavroula would not be amiss to show us the famous ‘Ouzo’, an alcoholic drink very similar to Sambuca with the flavor of anisette.

On the morning of the day after, we followed a Democracy in Practice session about the structure and organisation of AEGEE. Noemi also talked about several AEGEE projects you can join, such as The AEGEEan. Later, the protagonists of this amazing Greek adventure visited the Achaia Clauss winery where they relaxed, chatted and made some group photos. In the Youth Mobility Workshop, David explained to us the incredible advantages of living on a new planet with his “Apollo Mobility Program”.

The participants were involved in D.i.P. activities almost every day, but we also went to Ancient Olympia, known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times. In the 10th century B.C., Olympia became a centre for the worship of Zeus. The Altis – the sanctuary to the gods – used to contain one of the greatest collections of masterpieces from the ancient Greek world. In addition to temples, we saw the remains of all the sports structures, which had been erected for the Olympic Games that were held in Olympia every four years. The first ever Olympic Games were held in honour of Zeus. After some hours at Kaiafas beach, we visited Kalamata. The city tour was guided by Dimitri Eliopoulos, former director of Alpha Bank, who spoke more Italian than Greek or English. On Sunday, we went to Polylimnio for river trekking. The course ended at a lake and some Spanish guys inaugurated a dive competition from very high rocks. In Methoni, we managed to make some group photos over the rocks near a castle without falling into the water.

The day at Kalamata’s city hall was the best for me. After we were welcomed by the mayor, we made an analysis and comparison of the situation of human and fundamental rights in several European countries. We were divided into small groups on the basis of our country. I still cannot believe it, but I talked in front of forty people in a foreign language about the Italian Constitution, while expressing my opinion about some current problems of Italy without getting nervous. I would have liked to answer some questions, but it was also important to talk about countries where the problem of human rights is probably much more felt, countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

In Kardamyli, thirty-five kilometers southeast of Kalamata, in the region of Messenia on the Mani Peninsula, we admired the Mourtzinos Tower and the Church of Ayios Spyridon. After enjoying the sun at Stoupa beach, we reached the third Greek town of this vacation, Gythio, where we celebrated at the Hippie Hippie Shake Party.

One of the places that fascinated me the most was Monemvasia Island. Monemvasia is a town and a municipality in Laconia. The town is located on a small island off the Eastern coast of the Peloponnese. The town’s name derives from two Greek words, “mone” and “emvasia”, collectively meaning “single entrance”. Many of the streets are narrow and can only accommodate pedestrians and donkeys. A small hamlet of about ten houses lies on the northwest. The most interesting aspects of the island were for sure: Christos Elkomenos Square, the church of Agia Sophia, and the fortress. There was a very strong wind around the island, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a wonderful excursion. Another interesting archeological site was Mystras, a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, always in the Peloponnese, situated on the Taygetos mountain, near the ancient Sparta.

In the next chapter of our journey, we arrived in Mycenae (or Mikines). In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centres of Greek civilisation. I got petrified when I saw the Lion Gate, because I had only seen it in my history of art text book. On the last two days of the TSU, the accommodation was in a campsite in Napflio. During those couple of days, we went on a cruise discovering the Hydra and Spetses islands. In Hydra there were no cars, but a lot of mules instead. On both islands the water was crystal-clear. At the end of the SU, the organisers brought us to the ancient theatre at Epidauros: among all the ancient theatres, this one was the most beautiful and best preserved. And although it was very hot, I could not resist the temptation to climb up the steps to the top of the theatre.

The organisers of AEGEE-Patra did a really good job; some of them have been very affable with the most shy participants, and they have created and nurtured a group that wanted to have a lot of fun. Sometimes they had to modify the timetable for the evening programme by the request of most of the participants; such as when we asked to include one more party on Gythio beach. In the discos, someone among the organisers could not bare to see you sit on a chair, so they immediately grabbed you by your arms and made you fly on the dance floor. They showed to be very experienced after their Agora in 2014. Not everything  was perfect and there were some aspects that need to be improved for next year, but the organisers were also warm-hearted. When I got sick, guys like Raphael, Vasiliki and Stavros took care of me without hesitation.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

Have you ever noticed similarities between your country’s and other countries’ traditions for Christmas? There are many symbols attached to this holiday in Europe, and each country has kept its own identity and traditions, while enriching them with influences form various other sources. This diversity and richness prove the importance given by Europeans to the Christmas holiday. This year the AEGEEan asked and found out how people celebrate Christmas in Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

Let’s start from the place where the festive period begins really early. In Romania, celebrations start on November 30th, the day of Saint Andrew. Customs say everyone should hang plenty of garlic and a crucifix next to all doors and windows of the house to keep evil spirits away from their home. At the beginning of December, the Christmas lights are turned on all over the streets. Moş Nicolae comes and gives children presents. Children receive their gifts early in the morning of December 6th, or late at night on December 5th; traditionally, gifts are put in their laced up boots. On December 20th, Saint Ignatius Day, Romanians start the last preparations for Christmas. On this date, they slaughter pigs for the Christmas Eve supper. “Around this date, people usually buy their Christmas trees from public markets or supermarkets.”, Ioana Nedelcu (AEGEE-Ploieşti) told us.
December 24rd it’s Noaptea de ajun, the day children usually start caroling their neighbours. Music is an important part of Christmas celebration all over Romania. There is a special genre of music, related to Christmas carols but with more traditional/Christian lyrics. These are named colindă, which are also popular in Moldova. On the same date, women bake traditional cookies to give children for their caroling. By this time, the Christmas tree must usually already be decorated. During Christmas, Romanians bake or buy various special dishes, including desserts and sweets. Romanians most usually bake cozonac, a type of sweet bread. You can fill the cozonac with walnuts, cocoa, raisins, Turkish delight and in Transylvania: poppy seed paste (cozonac cu mac). Plates heaped with small pastries and cakes (corni și baclava) are prepared to serve to carollers when they call. A boiled vegetable and chicken salad held together with mayonnaise and decorated with olives and boiled eggs is often prepared. It is called Salată de boeuf (from French), although it usually does not contain beef. Other Christmas dishes include piftie, sarmale and pork dishes.

In Moldova, although Christmas is celebrated on December 25th like in Romania, January 7th is also recognised as an official holiday. On Christmas Day, families are having breakfast and/or lunch together.

In Greece, Christmas caroling is also very popular and there are actually three official caroling days. The custom is that children go from house to house singing the carol, with the accompaniment of a triangle, and residents of the house give them a small amount of money. Greek Christmas carols (calanda) are sung on the mornings of Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and January 5, the Eve of the Epiphany. About thirty to twenty years ago, carolers were getting cookies for singing the calanda.

Homemade kourabiedes

Melomakarona and kourabiedes are the two varieties of Christmas and New Year’s cookies in Greece. The first are semolina, cinnamon, and clove cookies drenched in honey, while the second are fresh butter cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar that are normally served on New Year’s, but many succumb to temptation and begin consuming them earlier. Vasilopita is a cake that is eaten on New Year’s Day. Before the cake is baked, a coin covered in foil is placed in it. The person who cuts the cake makes the sign of the cross three times above it and then starts serving the pieces, one to each person, the house, Christ, The Virgin Mary and Saint Vasileios. Whoever has the coin in his piece of cake will have luck for the rest of the year.
On the 1st of January, Saint Vasileios (Saint Basil the Great) from Caesarea, Cappadocia (Turkey), brings the gifts to the children. People in Greece also celebrate Epiphany on the 6th January. In the Greek Orthodox Church, Epiphany celebrates Jesus’s baptism when he was a man. There are many events throughout the country where young men dive into really cold lakes, rivers and the sea to try to be the first to get a cross which has been blessed by a priest and thrown into the water. Whoever gets the cross first is meant to have good luck during the coming year.

“Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun” this is how you say “Merry Christmas” in Turkish. However, how Christmas and the new year is perceived depends on where you are in Turkey. Christians who live in Turkey celebrate Christmas at churches or with family gatherings. In many districts of major cities the lights, Christmas decorations and trees appear in early December. In Turkey Christmas is of course not celebrated as a religious holiday. It can, in many ways, be comparable to Father’s day, Mother’s Day, Valentines Day and so on. Christmas is brought to Turkey by the major stores and supermarkets who have seen their chance to implement this festive celebration. There are some very natural differences to the way other Christian countries celebrate Christmas. In Turkey there is no dancing around the Christmas tree and sing Christmas carols, just like Christmas cookies and socks over the fireplace are not a part of the tradition yet. But they have Christmas trees and Santa Claus and gifts! In the last years in Turkey they started celebrating the New Year by exchanging gifts.

On the other hand, in Ukraine the festive period starts on New Years Eve. Ukrainians usually congregate in a house of their families and/or friends. They have many dishes at the table, so they start with food, watching different TV shows and chatting. When it is 00:00 the champagne is opened, and there are exclamations “Urrraaaa” (Hurrah) and people wishing everyone Happy New Year. “After midnight, children find their presents under the New Year tree, some other people are just exchanging presents, telling nice words to people. Then Ukrainians call other friends, who are not celebrating with them and congratulate everyone they think is important. Very often the mobile network is overloaded. Then we have parties till the morning, and go to bed at 02:00-08:00 (it depends). In the morning celebration continues.”, says Hanna Polishchuk (AEGEE-Kyiv).
On the 6th of January it is Sviat Vechir (Holy Evening). In the evening, after 6pm all family congregates at the table, which has 12 dishes (obligatory). The main dish is called Kutia (sweet grain pudding), and everyone should eat at least one spoon of this dish first. After dinner, children (and sometimes adults) wear traditional clothes and go around carol singing. People give them sweets and close friends give also money. The next day (January 7th) is Christmas. In the morning people tell each family member “The Christ was born”, and they answer “Glory to Him”. They tell this three times, and each time people kiss the cheek of the person, to whom they tell these words. On this day people continue going round carol-singing. There is a tradition to forgive everyone on this day.

Photo by Szabina Hellinger

In Hungary, Santa is called Mikulás and comes on the 6th of December instead of Christmas. He brings presents to children in their boots in case they have been behaving well all throughout the year. If they have been naughty, they get some rods (for being whipped with) from krampuses instead. “On Christmas night, the 24th of December (Szenteste = Holy Night) we decorate our Christmas tree indoors and “Little Jesus” (Jézuska) is supposed to bring nice presents for the kids untill the next morning, placing them under the tree.”, Balázs Kovács (AEGEE-Debrecen) told us. The Christmas decoration involves szaloncukor, special Hungarian goodies.

Hoping you enjoyed reading this article, the AEGEEan would like to wish you Merry Christmas anywhere you are!

Written by Lia Tuska, AEGEE-Kastoria/Sofia

One of the best existing events is called Summer University. AEGEE-Thessaloniki organised one for the first time in seven years. 25 participants from the whole of Europe were the lucky enough, to enjoy this Travel Summer University through Greece, where they had an amazing time in the four destinations.

Thessaloniki

The sun was shining bright, the mineral water was cold, and the gym was ready next to a school in beautiful Thessaloniki. This was the place and city for the Summer University, which was promising to be a great one. As more people arrived, beds were set up and games were played in order to get to know each other. The beautiful day turned into night and everyone had a Greek dinner, then moved to the dock and the salsa bar, where we could show either our dance moves, or our nerves.

The next morning we woke up and we showered at the gym, which would be our home for three nights. After a great breakfast, in the city centre of Thessaloniki, where the white tower is always lighten, we had a city tour. We learned about the history and landmarks of the second biggest city of Greece. After a great learning experience, which included a boat trip, we went to party and destroy all the newly developed brain cells. We discovered that it was not a lie, when the Greek talked about their amazing nightlife.

To ask for indications in Greece, some Greek language lessons came in handy, but what we mainly learned were bad words and how to hit on guys/girls, which was actually more useful. A scavenger hunt, combined with a pub crawl made the group become even closer, and international friendships were created. The day after the crazy European night, the planetarium and eating next to the city wall, where is the best view of Thessaloniki, we packed our stuff, and tried to get some sleep before the next crazy destination, Possidi.

Possidi

After the exams all the students from Thessaloniki grab their tents, swimsuits and booze to spend some time in Possidi, which is a student camping ground full of music, pretty girls, cute boys and a lot of “yolo”. The moment that we arrived, we ran directly into the sea.

The awesome time in Possidi was full of parties and hanging out with each other. We got to know each other so well, you couldn’t tell we had met half a week ago. The theme of the Summer University was environment issues which were covered in a workshop. The four groups, in which we were divided, had created instructive presentations, videos, interviews, posters and even a renewed garbage can. Just like in Thessaloniki, some more games were played which involved random people. For the last and most artful activity, we walked the beach during the amazing sunset. We got some paint and energy to “go totally Picasso” on our new friends. The result was a mixture of paint on all of us, which looked like anything from good paintings, to funny things, to a toddler’s creation. After some fun, running, fooling around, and some bottles of paint, the result was awesome. We ended the night with wishing balloons, and then went to drink and party. To be totally in the Possidi spirit, the amount of sleep that night was even less then we had before. With a lot of καλημέρα [Goodmorning in Greek, ed.] screaming from one tent to the other, at six in the morning, we packed or stuff and went for our next destination, the amazing city of Volos!

Volos

The old city looks over the sea as many beautiful cities in Greece do. Even better than the time we spend there, was the place we stayed. For two nights we had the luxury of our own room. Of course that’s not what Summer University is about, but it gave us the opportunity sleep and get some rest for the days that followed. In Volos we had a little city trip which presented us the atmosphere, history and life of Volos. After a water balloon fight and a lovely day spend in the boulevards and in the city, we had a resting evening to gather energy for the next amazing thing. Volos has mountains where at night light shine, which create a gorgeous view. A tour guide showed us the way up via an old stone path which the locals where using in the past to go from the mountains to the seaside. During the adventures and tough climb, we could slowly see Volos becoming smaller and the authentic villages becoming bigger. It felt amazing when the walk ended, and we reached, our literally, high goal. It was breathtaking! Next on our schedule was a party in a bar with in tequila, dancing and some real Summer University romance. When everyone was tired, we got on the ferry and went to, sadly, our last destination called Skiathos.

Skiathos

The island of Skiathos, full of beautiful places and beaches, was a good destination to slowly get to the ending of our amazing trip. The water was blue, the sun was hot. Some people were lucky enough to see dolphins jumping in the water on the trip there. The first night in Skiathos the positive words about the Greek night life were again confirmed. After came the city trip. We walked around the city and learned about it, we saw the great sightseeing places and crystal clear waters.

One if the most amazing things was the boat trip. It wasn’t the boat that was so special, but the places we went to. The first stop was a beach so beautiful that it was like a postcard. An all-white beach with rocks and water more clear than the liquid which flows from the tap. We climbed on the rock, to jump from a high point into this postcard sea. It was amazing! Next stop was a beach which was located next to the old town. The only one hour we could spend there, was not enough to fully see it all. We climbed up a hill with stones and some demolished stairs, which brought us to the top where in the past used to he houses. The town was full of old houses and little churches, and at the end of the hill there was this view from which you could see as very far. The view was of gorgeous beaches, mountains, the sea and rocks.

During our time on the island, we visited a museum, more beautiful beaches, clubs and parties. The most popular beach, Bananistas was also on the list of the beaches we visited. We saw many people wearing merchandise from this beach and the beach club that came with it.

The two weeks were almost over, which was a big pity. Back in the gym, which was our home on this island, we had a workshop about national stereotypes. After that, the graffiti party was on. We wrote on each others t-shirts as a way to say goodbye, and imprint the great memories we had experienced with all these people. The result were t-shirts full of text, jokes, names and love.

The worst part about the Summer University was here: the goodbyes. One by one people said goodbye to the others. A lot of hugs, kisses and exchange of numbers. The last persons to leave thanked the organisers with all their hearts.

The Summer University was amazing, two weeks of meeting people, travel, gaining knowledge and love. We hope that the organiser felt the same, and we are forever grateful to them. Those where the last words we said/thought as we waved them goodbye. Thanks so much!

Written by Midas Veraart, AEGEE-Nijmegen

He has been called “the Greek Robin Hood” by many – Alexis Tsipras, the 40-year-old leader of Syriza, won the elections last Sunday in Greece and got 149 seats in the Greek Parliament, only two seats away missing for the absolute majority. Syriza has become the first radical left party to take office in the European Union – and some predict similar results in Spain, where ‘Podemos’, a party with strong ties with Syriza, is leading the polls for December’s general elections.

On the first days after the elections, Alexis Tsipras has managed to form a coalition government in a remarkably short period of time (it has not taken long for Syriza to find an ally in ANEL, the Independent Greeks, a conservative party); to announce its cabinet of ministers, which has been widely criticised due to the fact that no woman has been appointed; to release the first measure of this term, a bill that will raise the minimum wage to 751 euro per month, and have with first meeting with the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, who already warned that Greece is heading for ‘very controversial’ talks concerning Greece’s debt.

Moreover, with its victory, Syriza has channeled the Greek voters’ hatred against New Democracy and PASOK, the two Greek parties that have ruled the country since the end of the dictatorship and, for many, the ‘guilty ones’ of the situation of despair Greece is currently facing.

Tsipras’ “paradise on earth”

Evangelos Venizelos, former Greek deputy prime minister, claimed that Tsipras is a Harry Potter-like magician who promises “paradise on earth without sacrifices, a return to prosperity in some sort of magical way”. Tsipras does not only want an end to austerity measures, but a call for debt cancellation and an increase in the country’s social expenditure.

The newly-elected Greek prime minister wants to tackle tax evasion, corruption at all levels and, especially, the sky-high unemployment and poverty rates in the country. However, he will indeed have to work his magic to keep his promise, and both the new anti-bailout government and Greece’s international partners will have to seek an agreement, mainly concerning Greece’s debt, worth 177% of its gross domestic product (GPD).

The trio of institutions that form the so-called troika (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) have already been clear that they do not even want to hear about debt forgiveness. Greece is still dependent on the bailout, and Tsipras has few options other than moderating his own speech and seek for realistic renegotiations, going through an unilateral default that would eventually lead to a ‘Grexit’, even if he has repeatedly spoken of “winning new trust” between Greece and the EU institutions.

There is the high risk that Greece could break with its international partners, but it also poses a big challenge to European institutions – it is undeniable that the austerity measures have proven its inability to bring growth and stability back in the country. Reaching an agreement always takes negotiation understanding from both sides, so, a scenario where the new Greek government and the EU work together, and where Tsipras carries the structural reforms needed, could make the spiral of austerity of the last five years come to an end.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

My last article was about Turkey… now it’s about Greece.  It seems like an Eastern Europe human rights violations “journey” is happening often these days,  with agressive acts by the police in Turkey, LGBTQI rights violations in Russia and now Greece. A journey that’s not very happy indeed. So now in Greece there is a new Health Minister named Adonis Georgiadis.

Currently, a new Health Minister has been named in Greece: Adonis Georgiadis was a member of the previous nationalistic party that entered the Greek Parliament, LAOS. When they lost their position in the Parliament during the last elections he and another congressman, Makis Voridis, moved to New Democracy and with the last reformation, after some moves Adonis Georgiadis became Health Minister.

In May 2012, the previous Health Minister, Andreas Loverdos came up with a Ministerial Decision stating the police has the right to arrest people to force them in HIV/AIDS tests (if needed) and that police may also publish the personal data of arrested people with HIV.

That decision results in 17 women being arrested, in May of 2012 and found HIV positive. What followed was the police that made their personal data public through the media and the Greek Police website, because of “public health” protection. Those women were mostly prostitutes and drug addicts BUT their clients paid more for unprotected sex, which led them to be found HIV positive.  Although Greek court of law decided they were innocent regarding their connection with sex industry because there wasn’t any proof, the lives of those women and the ones of their families were already destroyed.

Although it was soon abolished by the former sub-minister, Fotini Skopouli, the current Health Minister, Adonis Georgiadis brought it back on the news with the same excuse: the protection of public health!

After that provision has been reintroduced, many local LGBTQI and HIV/AIDS NGOs raised their voices. On July 3rd there was a protest in Thessaloniki followed by a protest on Monday July 8th the following NGOs: Act Up, Athens Pride, Colour Youth, Positive Voice, Center of Life, Praksis, Homopgonia-Thessaloniki Pride, Synthesis, OLKE, Good As You(th), Proud Press, Lesbian Community of Athens, Lesbequal, Queertranss, World without wars and violence and the Green Party of Greece, protested outside the Ministry of Health, in Athens. From the beginning in May 2012 till now that Mr. Georgiadis reintroduced it, ACT UP Hellas began the reaction to the provision by impeaching the provision.

This measure didn’t leave the international community speechless. Among the several reactions, the French HIV expert and Medicine Nobelist  Françoise Barré – Sinoussi stated in her closing speech of IAS (International AIDS Society) at Kuala Lumpur: “As we keep repeating over the years, there will be no end to the HIV epidemic without advancing Human rights in parallel”, and asked Greek Government to withdraw the decision immediately.

On the opposite, Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, Charalampos Athanassiou, didn’t say a word about the reintroduction of the decision, nor the Secretary of Transparency and Human Rights Sourlas Georgios. Nevertheless we would like to remind them the International Declaration of Human Rights Greece as part of the EU, Greece as an UN Charter signatory, Greece as a democratic country has to follow its duties and serve human rights.

Article 5: No one is allowed to submit in torture, penalty or violent, inhuman and/or degrading treatment.

Mandatory HIV tests are a use of violence. Also when the personal data become public it is a pillory of those people which is an inhumane treatment.

Article 12: No one is allowed to suffer arbitrary interventions in their private life, family, home and mail, neither attack in their honor and reputation. Anyone has the right to be protected by the law from interpretations and that kind of insults.

When someone is sick it is their right to tell people or not. If the police does it, it’s a clearly violation of that right because the police intervenes in their private life. That right too is protected by the Greek Constitution.

Written by Amorgianou Dimitra, member of the Human Rights Working Group

Pictures are courtesy of Hiro Photography

It came as a little surprise to many that next Spring Agora organiser will be AEGEE-Patra. Representatives from the antenna already told The AEGEEan about their plans, when they were elected as Local of the Month and in Mannheim it was announced that they will indeed be the hosts next year.

The AEGEEan took the opportunity to interview the main organiser: Costas Deltouzos about the next Spring Agora.

Congratulations on being selected! What made you apply for Spring Agora 2014?

Thank you dear AEGEEan! All of us were really excited when the Comité Directeur announced that Spring Agora 2014 will take place in Patra. We decided to apply for the Spring Agora for a number of reasons, but I think the most important one was that there has not been any Agora in this part of the Network for more than 10 years.

 You mention members from other Greek locals in the Local of the Month interview. How will they be involved in this Agora? Do you already have a team?

Organising an Agora requires a lot of human resources. As you know AEGEE-Patra is not as big of a local as the previous Agora organisers (Enschede, Budapest, and Zaragoza), so it would be difficult to organise such a big event without any help. Luckily a lot of members from other locals, mostly from the Greek speaking ones (but not only), have stated that they are willing to help us. So we’re expecting a lot of external organisers! The core team itself, consists of experienced members from AEGEE-Patra, AEGEE-Peiraias, AEGEE-Athina and… AEGEE-Riga!

Can you tell The AEGEEan when you came up with the idea of applying?

My first event as a participant was the Autumn Agora 2003 in Zaragoza! I was amazed by so many young people gathering in one place where they can meet, share cultural backgrounds, exchange ideas and decide on what kind of assosiation we want to have. Over the years I was hoping to see one Agora being organised in Greece, but it’s difficult for a local to take on a big responsibility like this. Now the time has come for the Agora to return to its birth place!

What have you done in the preparations so far?

Even though it’s almost a year till the Agora will take place, we kept ourselves busy with preparations. We have already gained the patronage of Mayor of Patras and the Rector of our University. We have also pre-booked the gym that will be used for lodging and the Conference Center of the University that will be used for plenaries. The fundraising team is making its strategy to acquire all the necessary funds for this Agora.

 What is Patra famous for?

Our city has a long history but nowdays is mostly famous for the big carnival that takes place here. It starts every year in the middle of January and ends in February/March and I strongly suggest everyone to visit it! Also while being here you can visit the attractions like the Fortress, the Roman Odeon, the St. Andrew cathedral and the bridge of Rio-Antirio.

Give us five reasons people should attend Spring Agora 2014

Plenaries and sessions will be hosted in a well equiped conference center;

Always helpful organizers everywhere;

Take a walk along the seaside;

Relax under the warm Greek sun;

And much more!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Bread, education, freedom: the three basic human rights according to students who started a rebellion on November 17^th, 1973 in Athens against the dictator, and finally managed to initiate something that would bring dictatorship in my country to an end.

But how different is our government today, especially on the subject of education? My country has been severely damaged by the economic crisis, making it difficult for many to even have food on the table for their family, or even for themselves. Also, freedom of speech has been wiped out by the media that, instead of focusing on the peace demonstrations fighting for our rights or opinions, they prefer to focus on the minority that joined the group and that starts vandalizing the city of Athens, and using it as propaganda and spreading havoc to the rest of the world, eventually creating stereotypes about my country. Freedom of speech is coming to an end, but what about education? In my country, a war has just started last week between the Minister of Education, and professors and students of third level education. But let me start from the beginning and get you to understand this better.

I study Accounting at the Technical Educational Institution (TEI) of Patra. It is, if not the best, one of the best throughout my country when it comes to Accountancy. It is a department within the  Faculty of Management and Economics (FME), where there are three other departments. The TEI of Patra has three faculties, and is one of the oldest TEI in Greece, with at least 25000 students altogether. Throughout the year, I heard that many departments of TEI throughout the country would either be absorbed by other departments, or would be closed down. “This is ridiculous,” was my only thought on the subject, and did not dwell on it more, because it sounded as if people were underestimating the Minister of doing something so stupid and creating rumors.

Thursday, January 31^st, 2013
As everyone knows, amidst exams all students  study and try to pass as many exams as possible, as I was doing as well. I logged on to Facebook to see if there might be anything on my departments group page that might help my studying (like notes), and I saw quite a few comments implying something I never believed I would see, but only telling us to catch the eight o’clock news.

So I did, and heard something unbelievable: out of the many TEI departments playing a dancing game on the map of my country, moving from one city to the other, absorbing into one department all departments throughout the country, was my department and all of FME moving. The TEI of Patra is threatened by the finally announced plans of the minister that it will lose one third of its students. The Accounting department would move to Mesologgi, and become one with the department there. “Has the minister gone nuts?” I was thinking, “Will the value of my diploma be downgraded just because a minister is taking me to Mesologgi in September 2013? Will the minister choose for me what to study, by broadening the subject of my studies in the new department, although I chose what to study myself? I must do something about it.” It seems that online were many students feeling the same, and a few implied that our professors are agreeing with us. We decided to have an FME meeting the next day.

Friday, February 1^st, 2013
What a great way to start your month, by knowing you are a pawn on a chessboard for a minister! What next? Does he want me to tour my country from corner to corner? My exams today were cancelled, because we chose to occupy all FME departments and have the meeting at 1pm, so everyone would be present. After a three hour meeting, because a meeting of 7000 students is difficult to manage, we decided upon two routes for our peace demonstration in the city center, on two separate dates: Saturday and Monday.

Saturday, February 2^nd, 2013
So our gathering today was at 12pm at Georgiou Square, in the center of Patra. Today our goal was to raise awareness of the people of Patra that they were losing 7000 students, and show them that this isn’t acceptable, even for their own community’s economy. Patra is a student city, and mainly depends on them. So by raising awareness of the population and permanent residents, we may be able to pressure the Minister himself! I mean, we are not the only city having students on the streets protesting! “You, staring at us walking on the street! Come and join our cause and help us stay in Patra!” was one of our cries while our peace demonstration on the streets. We walked for five kilometers, and by the time we finished our demonstration, all professors from FME had joined us! We were back at the square again, shouting for help and awareness of our cause.

Monday, February 4^th, 2013
Our meeting today was at 10am, and started from the one end of Patra, all the way to the center, walking once again five kilometers, to reach the mayor this time. Our professors had a meeting today at the TEI figuring out other proposals to negotiate with the Minister. When we started blocking the road to start our demonstration, the police arrived, only to tell us that they support our cause and would like to accompany us of the minimal possibility of anyone getting hurt. Of course no one got hurt, but it was nice that the police did not stop us and showed people in the cars behind us that they supported us. Our cry out of the many today was “We want diplomas of value, not passports to unemployment!”

So we reached the mayor after two hours of walking, and we spoke to him. After speaking with him, he said that he was on our side, and to make it official he would, that very day, declare it in the press and on the local channel. The channels that were there, not only invited the mayor for a live interview during the lunch news, but also students to go and speak on television about their cause and problems.

At 6.30pm, we went to the Responsible of the Western Region of Greece. There, came all representatives of all TEI of Western Greece (Arta, Mesologgi, Nafpaktos, Agrinio, Patra, Amaliada, Aigio, Pirgos, Kefallonia, Zakinthos), since they were facing similar problems as well. In a nutshell, Mesologgi will lose many departments that will move to Agrinio. Arta, Nafpaktos, Amaliada, Aigio, Kefallonia, Zakinthos and Pirgos will seize to exist in September of 2013, and Patra will lose one of it’s three pillars which will move to Mesologgi. After the two hour meeting, the Responsible of Western Greece gave a chance to us students that were attend the meeting in the same room, to speak about our problems to him. Finally, the outcome was that on the 18^th of February, another meeting would be scheduled to negotiate on proposals, and to send them to the Minister himself.

To be continued? Surely yes, but hoping the Minister of Greece takes back his future educational plan, and all of us would be able to say that this was only just a dream, but I may be dreaming myself for a day like this to come! I won’t leave Patra on their terms, especially for something like this, and for someone to downgrade my diploma!

Written by John Eikosidekas, AEGEE-Patra

Are you finally planning your long-awaited trip to Greece and you are not sure which places to pick? Do they all seem beautiful and attractive but you can only choose a few? Well, no worries, the choice is obvious: pick Heraklio! But why should you go there? Read on and find out.

Heraklio is the capital city of the island of Crete and the 4^th largest city in Greece. It was built in 824 AD by Saracen pirates and was used as a safe harbour for them. In 961 the city was taken over by the Greek forces of Nikephoros Phokas and until 1204 it remained under Greek control. It was then bought by the Republic of Venice and for more than 400 years stayed under their control. In 1669 the city was taken over by the Ottomans and in 1913 it returned to Greek control.

The city has the biggest port and the largest number of connections to ferries or planes on the island. Its airport is the second busiest Greek airport and the ferries connect Heraklio with many other islands in the Aegean Sea as well as with the capital of Greece, Athens.

Heraklio is a very energetic city and many students live here due to the variety of study courses one can take in the public as well as the Technical University. Thus, there are many places for young people to go, such as cafes and bars but also clubs that operate until sunrise. There are tons of things one can do in Heraklio but of course not all of them can be mentioned here. Keep reading and I will let you know about the places you must definitely visit once you are in the city.

The Palace of Knossos

Probably the number one thing visitors tend to see when they visit Crete are the ancient ruins of the Palace of Knossos, the centre of the Minoan civilisation and cradle of Western civilisation. The ruins are located about 6km from the city centre and are easily reachable by a bus which runs frequently from the main bus station near to the port. There is much to see in the ruins and guided tours can be arranged. Make sure to plan a visit in the early morning to avoid the hot sun.

The centre

Heraklio’s centre is not very big and it can be explored easily in one or two days. The focal point of the centre is the Lions Square (also known as Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, however the locals rarely use that name) where a Venetian Fountain consisting of four lions can be found. Many shops are located in the “Dedalou Street” which begins at the Square and connects it with the city’s other main square,  Liberty Square. Another road (beginning close to Lions Square and called “Chandakos Street”) is a nice road for a walk or to taste hot or cold chocolate at one of the most famous cafes in the city called “Ουτοπία” (which means utopia). Around the Square there are many places where one can eat or go for a drink and also many roads full of bars, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops.

The traditional market

Starting again from the Lions Square (I told you it is the focal point) you can find “1866 Street” where there are many shops selling traditional products, from goat cheese and meat to raki and honey. Also some restaurants are located there, serving very tasty food at moderate prices. If you walk all the way to the end of the Street you will find yourself in yet another square, “Kornarou Square”.

The Venetian fortress

On the North side of the Lions Square the “25^th of August Street” begins which leads you to the Venetian Fortress, also known by most locals as “Koules”. You can watch the waves crashing on the breakwater there or take the long walk of 2.3km to reach the lighthouse where you can enjoy an amazing sunset.

The Natural History Museum and Talos Plaza

Starting from the entrance of “Koules” you can walk your way along “Eleftheriou Venizelou Avenue”, which follows the coast. Less than a kilometre away you will find the Natural History Museum, a great place to see animals and plants which live and grow on the island but also some models of prehistoric beings. If you keep walking in the same direction soon you will come across the Talos Plaza; a modern mall where you can enjoy a coffee or a snack next to the sea but also satisfy your shopping needs or watch a movie at the cinema.

The city walls

The “old centre” of the city is surrounded by thick stone walls built by the Venetians. One can climb up those walls from many different points and enjoy a tour around the city “from above”. There are three main gates to the walls. The grave of the famous Greek writer Nikos Katzantakis is a “must stop” during your walk.

The beaches

Of course no visit to Heraklio would be complete without enjoying the beaches of the area. “Ammoudara” is an easily accessible (by bus from the main bus station) seaside area with lots of hotels and hostels but also restaurants and bars. Another choice is the beaches in “Ammnisos”, an area reachable also by bus from the main station. However, the most unspoilt (and least visited by tourists) beaches are the ones in the South part of the Island, connected with rural buses from the main station.

The food and the drinks

One of the greatest things in Heraklio is the vast variety of food and drinks one can taste. Make sure to try the well-known Greek salad, sided with a portion of “apaki” which is smoked and fried pork meat. Also, the sausages with vinegar and the Cretan “dakos” are great choices. For those who want to go a step further, “kokhlee” or fried snails is a good start. Don’t miss the chance to try Raki, traditional Cretan alchoholic drink or even better try “rakomelo” which is Raki mixed with honey.

Now you should have a pretty good idea of Heraklio and I hope that you have already decided to book your tickets. I can assure you that your holidays there will be an experience worth remembering and that you will find yourself wanting to go back time and time again.

Written by Kyriakos Avgoustis, AEGEE-Heraklio

Hello my dearest readers, and welcome to my article about my experiences participating in the AEGEE-Athina Summer University. In a minute I will tell you all about my time in Greece, visiting the cities of Athens and Nafplion and the beautiful island of Lefkada, but before I continue I would first like to state something else.

I could have written two very different versions of this article and, in fact, I did. I wrote one article about everything that I did not like about the Summer University I participated in and I wrote another one about the truly amazing time I have had despite these issues and downsides. I have deleted one and you are reading the other: The positive one, because one week after returning to my beloved city of Utrecht it is a lot harder to remember the negative parts than the positive. Enjoy!

Athens

When I got off my plane and first set foot onto Athenian soil I immediately cursed myself. Not because I just remembered I forgot to feed my fish back at home or because my foot slipped on the airplane stairs. No, I cursed myself because of the intense heat my body would have to get used to for the next 14 days. It was 37 degrees Celsius, a mild day by Greek standards, but it easily doubled the amount of degrees I encountered when I left The Netherlands.

Maybe it was because of this heat, but in my experience, time in Athens goes very slow. In just 48 hours I met 37 new young people from 18 countries all over the world, learned all of their sometimes very ‘interesting’ names (I can tell you ‘Fanni Kiss’ was one of the crowd favorites) and learned the sentence ‘Who are you, sleeping naked by my side???’ in Greek by heart.

On our third day in Athens we climbed the Acropolis. I think it is safe to say that this climb created more togetherness and group spirit than any introduction game in the world would be able to. But the reward after this ‘experience’ made up for all of : A beautiful ancient temple which we learned about in the Acropolis Museum and a magnificent view of the truly enormous city of Athens.

Nafplion

Of course there is a lot more to write about my time in Greece, but for the sake of convenience I will fast-forward to our bus-ride to Nafplion. After we left the current Greek capital, we traveled to the first capital of modern Greece: the seaport town of Nafplion. There, we had our first encounters with another one of the beautiful things Greece has to offer: the clear, deep blue ocean. While heroically risking the well-being of our hands and feet due to the all the sea urchins, we took our first dives in the fresh salt water, something we would do a lot more during our stay on the island of Lefkada. The next day, on a safer part of the sea  we had water sports, which was a lot of fun but unfortunately prematurely ended the Summer University of Marta Nowak, whom we of course wish all the best.

Lefkada

Lefkada is an island that is known for its beautiful beaches, and we have sure seen our fair share of them! After just one day there, in an instant we all believed in the mantra organiser Nikos Magounis was trying to indoctrinate us with on our daily bus-rides: Like here, nowhere.

We spent six days on Lefkada. Six days of lying on the beach, playing the odd game of volleyball and six nights of partying in togas, partying in regular clothes, laughing about the pronunciation of the word ‘water’ in Austria (‘wòdá’), the word ‘exactly’ in Romania and the word ‘cruise’ in Greece (‘Cru-iz’), drinking every time that we forgot to say ‘Kiss’ after somebody said ‘Funny’ and having a European Night that some of us might never forget and others might never remember. 35 students, great weather and a beautiful environment. What better way to spend a vacation?

Like there, nowhere

Our theater plays, the photography workshop and the Greek dances; the beautiful ocean, the archeological sites and the great people I’ve met.