After the first part of Proposals explanation, which was mainly focused on the locals, now we are turning the lights on Agora’s deadlines and timeframes. 

Agora Timeframe

Following the Motion on Informing the Network of the Agora dates, Lia Tuska on behalf of the Comité Directeur would like to change the timeframe in which the dates of an Agora have to be announced. Right now the local organisers should communicate to the Network the dates of the event at least two months before. This proposal would like to change it to eight months in order to give all the necessary time to the Network and the stakeholders of the Agora to plan ahead and have a balanced calendar of the event in the Network. In fact the proposer is also suggesting to set the time range an Autumn Agora can take place, meaning between the 1st of October and two weeks before the 1st of December.

You can read the full proposal here.

Proposal To Set All Deadlines For Publishing Official Documents at Two Weeks Before the Agora

Proposed by Evelien Kroon, Jochem Postmes and Steyn ten Kate on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede. When we talk about Agora, one of the things we might think about is meeting the deadlines. Booklets of the Agora need to be sent to the Network at least two weeks before the Agora, but not the activity report from the Comité Directeur and the annual and internal financial report from the Financial Director, which can be sent one week before. This proposal aims at setting the deadlines also for these documents at two weeks before the starting of the Agora, in order to allow the Delegates to be more prepared and better informed about what they will face at the upcoming Agora.

You can read the full proposal here.

Introducing a Preparatory Deadline for Proposals

This proposal was created in the context of the Agora Reform Task Force, but it is proposed by Maarten de Groot on behalf of the Comité Directeur, Monika Mojak, Elisa Tabbi and Joris Veenhuis on behalf of the Juridical Commission, since the Agora Task Force is not an official body of AEGEE-Europe. At the moment, if you want to put forward a proposal for the upcoming Agora, you need to send an email to the Juridical Commission, which will then upload it to the Online Voting System and they will never change until the Agora will discuss it during the Prytanium. The proposers would like to split this process in two parts, allowing the Network to discuss and still being able to edit a proposal while it is published online. The process would be the following:

• Send a draft of the proposal including at least the idea and motivation, at least 45 days before the Agora.
• After that, leave time to collect feeback from the Network.
• Submit the final proposal (which can be a different version from the first draft thanks to the feedback collected) at least one month prior the beginning of the Agora.
• In case you want to change your proposal within a month before the Agora, you can only do that in consulation with the Juridical Commission
• When you will discuss the Proposal during the Prytanium you will be requested to give a recap of the online discussion

You can read the full proposal here.

On the Candidature Application Period

As the proposal above, this one as well has been developed in the context of the Agora Reform Task Force, but is proposed by Maarten De Groot on behalf of the Comité Directeur. Since we have been facing a trend of lack of candidates during the last Agorae, the proposer would like to give the Network a wider choice. That is why this proposal would like not to close the deadline for candidates for a position until there are enough candidates for the vacant places plus one. In case there aren’t enough candidates the Chair Team will close the deadline only at the Agora.

You can read the full proposal here.

Written by Lisa Gregis, AEGEE-Bergamo & AEGEE-Verona

Jesús Baizán Barnabá has been a member of AEGEE-Oviedo for two years now, and he was a SubCommissioner of the Juridical Commission of AEGEE-Europe for the term 2016-2017. Now he wants to take his passion for law one step further by candidating as full-time member of the JC. We interviewed him about his candidature and his programme. 

The AEGEEan: How would you describe yourself with your initials?

Jesús: If I have to describe myself with my initials I would say “Juridical Beast”. My family is full of lawyers, justice assistants, policemen and guardias civiles [Spanish law enforcement body, ed.], and I do believe in the importance of the rule of law and the paper of the State officers. I participated in three different legal internships related to different types of law and I am totally sure I want to dedicate my professional life to being a functionary.

Why should people vote for you?

Being a person with that background, I do believe I could contribute to the JC and, as I said in my candidature, the next period between July and February I am going to dedicate my time to study English and Dutch, so I will have plenty of time.

What has your experience as JC SubCommissioner taught you until now? How would your routine change if you were elected?

As JC SubCommissioner, I learnt how the JC works: checking statuses, taking over Committee Elections, how to discuss legal issues internally, the operation of the register system and the close relation between the JC and the CD in order to solve problems as soon as possible. If I get elected, my plan is spending my time on language studies, working out at the gym and the rest of my time until February can be used properly in taking care of the JC duties.

What did you learn during your Election Observation Mission? How would you translate that knowledge into the JC work?

During my Election Observer Mission in Macedonia, I acquired different theoretical knowledge like the principles of Transparency, Impartiality, Rule of Law or Respect to the National Sovereignty and practical knowledge like which details you do have to observe to analyse if everything is going correctly. We cannot forget that the principal aim of AEGEE is the personal development of our members, and having a little background related to the OSCE observation method is good.

Could you give us an example of a mistake in the statuses you found (no names, just a real case scenario) and how you would improve that?

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind was ignoring to mention the financial obligations of the local with AEGEE-Europe, or the most typical cases are fails due to the use of automatic translators without a proper check before sending it. Our members have no obligation to know how to redact their statuses, for this reason I think that elaborating a template with all the basic criteria to have acceptable statutes will be helpful for everyone. In this template I would like to add some tips like “check the automatic translation if you used it” or “ask to your sub-commissioner before sending the statutes if you have any doubt”.

How do you envision cooperation and KT with future SubCommissioners?

My will is to continue with the same system followed by the current JC, consulting most of the issues with the SubCommissioners, giving them the opportunity to act directly in the legal work of the Commission, answering their questions… Basically, it consists in giving them voice and the right to explain their opinion. However, there is a new thing I would like to implement in the SubCommissioners programme. It is doing like the Audit Commission or the Network Commission and distributing the Network between the SubCommissioner, in order to get a closer relationship between the JC and the locals. But anyways, I would like to know before what Monika and Veronika (or the other possible candidates) think about that.

You can read his full candidature here.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Monika Mojak from AEGEE-Warszawa and AEGEE- Lublin is at the end of her term as president of the Juridical Commission of AEGEE-Europe, but she is candidating for a second term because she feels she still has much to offer to the JC. We interviewed her about her candidature and her programme. 

The AEGEEan: President of the JC, attorney-in-law trainee, AEGEE enthusiast: what do we still don’t know about you?

Monika: Besides law, I study international relations, that I found very interesting thanks to AEGEE.  When I find some free time (which is not easy) I am trying to write my master’s thesis. Moreover, I am an animal lover and I am engaged in some activities aimed to their protection. Sometimes I test my cooking skills on my family and friends or I play the piano (unfortunately for my neighbours). Like every AEGEEan, I cannot imagine my live without travels, adventures, and great people around me.  I am also a big fan of the 80s, French movies, English literature, Mediterranean cuisine, and everything made of chocolate.

Why should people vote for you?

I am passionate about the JC, I left a big part of my heart here and I can say that I really love working for it. I believe that when you find something interesting, it naturally increases your willingness to perform your tasks better and put 100% of your effort, but at the same time it gives you a lot of satisfaction and energy, especially when you can help other people. I am happy for what I do, and I still feel motivated to contribute to the JC more. I think that the combination of my skills, practice and knowledge can be very useful here and will help in further JC development.

You say being president of the JC was challenging. Could you give us some example?

For me, the greatest challenge of being the president is the fact of how many people rely on you, on your knowledge, skills and you as a person. That is why I wanted to ensure that everybody in the JC felt good and the atmosphere was nice, that our decisions were objective, just and in the best interest for those who were affected by them, and that people were satisfied about how the JC operates in general.  I am trying to do my best not to disappoint people.

How did the past year in the JC help you develop and what do you think can still be improved?

It was a very intense time in my life.  Of course, I learned a lot, I gained many new skills and experience that can be helpful in my future activities. But what I found the most important are all those fantastic people I met, and with whom I had a chance to work and cooperate. They gave me a lot of support, inspiration, and motivation. Sometimes they pushed me to go beyond my own limits that turned into new ideas and plans that I would like to put into practice now. Thanks to them I got new energy and enthusiasm to work harder, to keep on going with what I really like doing, to believe that nothing is impossible and everything depends on us alone. This is priceless.

I found working with the JC team great. Everybody is very motivated and hard-working, we learn from each other, we support each other, exchanging knowledge and opinions. But mostly, we are good friends. Then, our cooperation is working well. But sometimes we should increase the speed of our actions. Some cases demand precise research and time, but I am also aware that in some cases our decisions affect the operating of other bodies and we should think how to divide our work and the tasks we have to become more efficient.  I have some ideas how to improve it, and I really hope I will have an opportunity to put them into practice soon.

You plan to bring the JC closer to the Network. Do you already have some ideas in store?

I have noticed that many AEGEEans have only a general overview about our commission.  But at the same time, I was happy to discover that many, many of them are really interested in how we work, what are our tasks and role within the association and how they could get involved. That is why I would like to take care about the new website, where people could find all the important and updated information about our body. I also believe that nothing could bring the JC closer to the Network than direct contact. I would like to get the JC involved in more activities held during AEGEE events, where we can present ourselves, be more visible, meet with people just to talk with them, answer their questions and dispel the doubts they have relating all legal issues.

The second and very important thing is the fact that many members still don’t know a lot about the CIA. The CIA is extensive and can be incomprehensible for those who do not have legal background, and this is understandable. But this is the essential document that regulates the most important aspects and sets a base for our activities within AEGEE. And our role as JC is showing that the CIA is not as black as it is painted and that the knowledge about the CIA is important and helpful for all of us.  For this reason, I would really like to work on some JC guidelines, where members could find all the basic and most important information regarding the CIA. I am also thinking about workshops that we could have during Agora, NWMs, SUs and any other events, when people learn more about the JC and the CIA, but can also get some useful legal knowledge needed in their daily life.

You mention that you were not able to put all your ideas into practice in the past year. What would you like to implement if you were elected?

I would like to work on all the tools that can help bring the JC closer to all the members. As I mentioned before, this is a new website, an updated Facebook page, JC sessions during events, useful CIA presentations and our activities to help people understand our role in AEGEE.

You can read her full candidature here.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Behind the Commissioners of the Juridical Commission and the Network Commission some AEGEE members carry out an unknown but very relevant task: they are the SubCommissioners. The AEGEEan decided to talk with these guys who, perhaps, might be the next Commissioners -although someone has already been elected as a Commissioner at Agora Bergamo-.

In AEGEE you can find the SubCommie Teams in the Juridical Commission and in the Network Commission. The current Subcommissioners of the Juridical Commission (JC) are: Danila Petrovic  (AEGEE-Beograd), Elisa Tabbì (AEGEE-Catania), Lucie Ostrà (AEGEE-Brno), Monika Mojak (AEGEE-Lublin) and Mateusz Szoturma (AEGEE-Kraków). They are Law students from different countries, with different AEGEE backgrounds and different personalities, but all of them are ambitious and the right people in the right place. For this article, Monika and Mateusz were kind enough to answer our questions.
Monika Mojak joined AEGEE in 2013. So far, she has been involved in many projects, first as team member and then as coordinator. The biggest project she helped to organise was the EPM in Lublin in 2014. Then, she became a Board member of AEGEE-Lublin, PR responsible and Vice-President.  Besides this, she has been active on the European level, taking part in some statutory events and other activities organised by AEGEE-Europe: in particular, she was also Subcommissioner of the JC in the previous term (2014-2015).

Mateusz Szoturma

Mateusz Szoturma, probably a future judge but currently a backpacker, addicted to the beauty of the world, was working in AEGEE-Kraków and did many different tasks in many different projects of this antenna. His main field of interest was fundraising and, among other things, he was the coordinator of fundraising for a Summer University in Krakow.

Monika decided to apply as JC Subcommissioner because she wanted to be more involved on the European level, so she thought that the JC would be a perfect place for her. She found it very interesting as she had a chance to develop her skills, to get to know better how the work inside the team looks like and to meet fantastic people. Mateusz thinks the work of the Juridical Commission is the AEGEE area most connected with his “professional” field of interests. He believes it is a very interesting and valuable experience that might bear fruits in the future. Moreover, not only is he able to gain some experience, but he can also do some practical things for AEGEE.

Monika Mojak

About the activities as a JC Subcommissioner, Monika tells us that the Commissioners are trying to involve the Subcommie team in a wide range of activities. This is why she can feel as a real part of the team. The Subcommissioners were organising and supervising the elections of  the Working Groups and Committees, assisting Commissioners during the Agora, checking status of the locals and participating in Skype meetings. As a Subcommissioner, she could share her legal knowledge, experience and passion, and she dedicated time to prepare herself to continue her involvement in the JC as a Commissioner now. According to Mateusz, the main task of the Subcommie Team is to reduce the workload and improve the efficiency of the Juridical Commission. Many different tasks have to be done by the JC, but not all of them demand the kind of mandate that commissioners get by being chosen at the Agoras. In situations like these, the JC can always count on the Subcommissioners. As a SubCommie, for instance, Mateusz had to be responsible to oversee the election procedure for the Editor-in-Chief of The AEGEEan.

Monika achieved a good experience that would help her to work very well as a JC Commissioner, also considering that she improved not only her legal competences, but also some interpersonal skills and her ability to teamwork. Mateusz  has improved his ability to work in an international team and the art of coping with loads of e-mails arriving at the JC mailing list. Monika and Mateusz both think legal knowledge is necessary to get involved in the JC, so, it is no surprise that this Commission is  especially attractive for Law students. Monika is currently a Commissioner of the JC, after the elections at Agora Bergamo, and she thinks about a re-election if she will do well as Commissioner and the Network will be satisfied by her work.

To be continued in our next instalment.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

During Spring AgorAsturias, the new members of the Juridical Commission (JC) got elected, namely: Claudio Gennaro (AEGEE-Cagliari), Glòria (AEGEE-Heidelberg) and Salvatore Maraventano (AEGEE-Palermo). The AEGEEan interviewed them about their work and their aim for the upcoming term.

The AEGEEan: For those who do not know you yet, can you briefly introduce yourselves?
Claudio: I’m a law student in love with AEGEE, sports and music.
Glòria: I’ve studied law and I’m a member of AEGEE-Heidelberg. This term, I’m surrounded by Sicilians in the JC, so let’s see if I learn some Italian (or Italian law!).
Salvatore: I recently obtained my degree in law and now I’m dedicating myself to the JC and to my passions, travelling and surfing, while I try to find a way to start a career in the international law field.

Maybe not everyone knows what your actual work looks like. How exactly would you define the work as a member of the Juridical Commission?
Juridical Commission: You wouldn’t say it, but the work of the JC is very challenging. Basically, you have to answer questions and follow procedures according to the Corpus Iuridicum AEGEEnse (CIA). But some questions are very complicated, they have a lot of implications. It takes the right mix of knowledge, attention and creativity to solve them. We usually discuss a lot, present our argumentations and decide together. It is completely inspiring for a person with a juridical academic background. It’s like solving complicated puzzles for a math student.

Why did you apply for Juridical Commission? What is your personal motivation?
Claudio: After already two years in the JC I felt this chance as a new opportunity to be helpful for the association and its members.
Glòria: I applied for a second term in the JC because I really like the work here: it’s very interesting and at the same time you have fun with your colleagues.
Salvatore: I’ve been an active member of my antenna for three years. One of them as treasurer and two as president. At some point I felt like I had to give something more to the network and I decided to apply as subcommie, before, and as commissioner, later.
I also thought that this experience would be a nice boost to my CV and a way to learn new things. And in fact I am learning a lot.

What was your first reaction when you heard you got elected?
Claudio: It is always a great emotion to see your name on the big screen of the Agora, even when there are three places available and only three candidates.
Glòria: Although only three persons applied and three positions had to be covered, the results of any elections are always exciting!
Salvatore: I was not present at the Agora I was elected in, so I just received the photo of the screen of the results and the congratulations of the people. It was an honour. The JC is a body I consider of utmost importance and I’m proud to be part of it.

What are your specific aims for the upcoming term? Is there any concrete goal you want to achieve?
Juridical Commission: Continue with the process of simplification of the Corpus Iuridicum AEGEEnse. We dream of a smaller and coherent CIA that is easy to consult.

What about your Subcommissioners? Who are they and what are their tasks?
Juridical Commission: The subcommies of the JC are or were law students who help the commissioners in their daily tasks. They have already supervised elections and checked statutes of locals. This term, we have the luck to have an international group of motivated subcommies: Danica Petrovic (AEGEE-Beograd), Elisa Tabbì (AEGEE-Catania), Lucie Ostrà (AEGEE-Brno), Monika Mojak (AEGEE-Lublin) and Mateusz Zsoturma (AEGEE-Kraków).

Written by Lia Tuska, AEGEE-Sofia/Thessaloniki

The Juridical Commission (JC) is on a mission to find four new subcommissioners. The subcommissioners, chosen by Joris Veenhuis (AEGEE-Maastricht), Claudio Gennaro (AEGEE-Cagliari) and Gloria Llopart (AEGEE-Heidelberg), will help the JC performing their tasks.

If you have a legal background and you want to be more active on the European Level, maybe the Juridical Commission is the place for you. The JC issued an open call for subcommies to complete their team. The ideal candidate is a law student with a fluent command of legal English. “The role of subcommie is quite flexible”, Claudio says. “The tasks comprehend overseeing the election of committees or WGs, assisting the commissioners in the revision of the statutes, providing interpretations of the CIA and helping the JC during the Agora”.

The Juridical Commission stand during Agora Patra

The team will consist of four people, but “if we receive very good applications, we will be more than happy to accept a fifth member”, Claudio continues. The application must contain a motivation letter focused on the interest the candidate has to join the Juridical Commission and a brief essay of maximum 300 words about the JC in AEGEE’s organisational structure. “Applying is important, because it enables you to understand what the daily work of the JC is. By that, you can have a more objective view of AEGEE and learn the ways in which the Commission interacts with the Network. In addition, the current members of the JC were all in the same subcommie team. This experience was very useful for us to develop our knowledge, and it is a great way to do teambuilding, too”, Claudio adds.

Joris, Gloria and Claudio, who were elected during Spring Agora Patra, were subcommissioner first (along with Ilona Pukailak from AEGEE-Odessa), so Claudio adivises to apply especially if “you are seriously interested in a future in the Juridical Commission, knowing that (s)he will find a very supportive team and we are more than happy to share with him/her all the hard work and the rewarding moments of JC.

Applications can be submitted until the 20th of June by sending a mail at juridical@aegee.org.

More information can be found here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Jakub Oleksy has been in AEGEE for many years and, he started his AEGEE journey with Network Meeting Lublin and has recently organized EBM Lublin, and he still continues being motivated. This is why he wants to join Juridical Commission (JC). It is something he has wanted to do for years, so his candidature for JC, which he will present at Spring Agora Patra, can bring him one step closer to fulfilling his dream.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What do you do you for a living? How old are you? Where are you from?

Jakub: I am Kuba, I am 23 years old and I have been a member of AEGEE–Lublin since October 6th 2010. I am at my fourth year of Law, which is my passion. Since I was seven I knew what I wanted to become in the future. I study in Lublin and come from Silesia, the area close to Katowice. Law and motorization (mainly Formula One) are my two passions. I also love travelling and my greatest dream is to visit Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. While being there, I would love to watch the F1 race in Abu Dhabi.

The AEGEEan:  How did you learn about AEGEE?

Jakub: Since 2010 I have had many occasions and possibilities to learn what AEGEE is. I could enumerate many of them but I mainly learned from other members of AEGEE who had belonged to the organization for a longer time. The first person I learned a lot from was the coordinator of the Network Meeting in Lublin – Olga Targońska. For three years I have participated in many projects and events and I met a lot of very positive people. Thank to them I am in AEGEE now and I applied for the Juridical Commission (JC) member.

One more opportunity for me to learn about AEGEE was the Key to Europe, Members Manual and of course Corpus Iuridicum Aegeeanse (CiA). I gained a lot of information about the organization while being an organizer of various projects and participating in different working groups. Here, I learned more about how the organization works, teambuilding, gaining funds and many other aspects.

The AEGEEan: You have organized many different events, recently the EBM in Lublin, and have been part of Agora Zaragoza. How does this prepare you for the Juridical Commission?

Jakub: Organizing various projects is very useful for a JC member. Maybe it is not very obvious at first sight, but the JC is a commission which members should be responsible, keep up with the deadlines, correctly analyze current and future situations, have well-developed skills of time and self-management and be stress-resistant. It is impossible to learn those skills while only being a student and not being an active member of any organization or any social life unit. Being part of several projects within the organization is very helpful for developing those abilities.

The AEGEEan: Usually many see it as an advantage to know French when being part of the JC. Do you consider it an obstacle that you do not have a high level of French yet?

 Jakub: English and French are the official languages of the European Students’ Forum, however the English language is used during official meetings, for presentations and motions. Of course, a good knowledge of French would be a considerable advantage, however a basic knowledge and learning more seems to be a good choice as well. It proves your willingness to develop and gain new skills every day. The JC should cooperate with the Comité Directeur and other commissions, and also with the Language Working Group (LWG) who have many active members.

The AEGEEan: Will you ensure that you can go to the statutory events in case you are elected for the JC?

Jakub: If I become an official member of the JC, I can guarantee my participation in statutory events. For me it’s obvious that being a  JC member requires responsibility, high motivation and confidence for one’s right decisions. The JC is one of the most responsible commissions, if not the most important (without diminishing the value of other commissions). I would like to emphasize the fact that its members are obliged to participate in the organization’s statutory events, as they supervise the running of the meetings and all the procedures, and they monitor if the provisions of the European and country’s laws are respected, together with the internal legal laws, such as Corpus Iuridicum Aegeeanse.

The AEGEEan: You have been in AEGEE for many years, what keeps you motivated?

Jakub: Since 2010, when I joined AEGEE, I have not had any decrease of my level of motivation. My first project was Network Meeting in Lublin and thanks to this event I applied for the position of JC member – the commission on the European level. Being a board member of AEGEE-Lublin, taking part in many projects, events such as Network Meetings and Agorae, and coordinating the EBM Lublin are the best examples of my high motivation for so many years. After the EBM Lublin I have even more motivation, especially for being active on the European level. Would I apply for the JC member if I was not motivated enough?

The AEGEEan: What difference do you believe it makes that you have not been a JC subcommissioner?

Jakub: In 2011 I applied for the position of JC subcommissioner. At that time, according to the JC, I was not an appropriate candidate. However, now, in 2014, after over three years of my active participation in the organization, it is the right time to go for a higher level and that is why I applied for the position of JC member. Not having been chosen for the JC subcommissioner does not seem to me as an obstacle to become a JC member. I talked to experienced members on the European level connected to the JC, I watched the work of the JC during the Agora, as well as my knowledge of CIA – that all made me decide to apply for the position of JC member.

The AEGEEan: You have many things that are part of your program for the JC and are very ambitious, how will you ensure that you can realize all of it?

Jakub: In my opinion, the points in my program are feasible and possible to be put in practice. I think they are ambitious. Also important are my good will, motivation and good argumentation, so that each point from my program can be realized. I do not want to cover every point here as the answer would take a long time – even the whole interview. But a short example: 1) proposals for amendments to CIA in different languages – a simple solution – a cooperation with LWG and the translation of the proposals – that would be an easy thing to do (the JC – legal knowledge, LWG – linguistic knowledge). Yet another example – the actualization of CIA in one month. In this case it is enough to take a look at the voting results, final decisions or particular proposals to be approved and then putting them into practice in CIA.

The AEGEEan: What do you find most important of your program?

Jakub: The crucial points of my program are to verify that antennae’s statutes are consistent and agree with the CIA (Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense), a diligent observation of the legal documents of generally and internally applicable provision, legal support of AEGEE in contact with other non-governmental organizations and institutions and creating a working format for the Juridical Commission.

The AEGEEan: How would you like to bring the JC closer to the Network?

Jakub: This is a very good question. I observed that the JC is a commission of a vital importance to AEGEE and, therefore, it should be more appreciated and make its works more visible to the organization members. That is why my program also covers points like a bigger activeness on Facebook, promoting the law and the commission, the Juridical Commission European School and a CIA for dummies (maybe some feel discouraged and do not understand everything, especially legal aspects). My other proposal is to organize online meetings with the purpose to explain different aspects of CIA, legal situations and different interesting legal aspects.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

Gloria Llopart is another law student who wants to join the Juridical Commission. She studied in Madrid for her bachelor and has since then been living in Heidelberg (Germany), where she continued working and is currently taking a Masters degree of Law. Besides that, she has been the subcommissioner of Juridical Commissioner Diana Tupchiienko and now is eager to be a JC member herself.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell a bit about yourself? What do you do you for a living? How old are you? Where are you from?

Gloria: I am 25 years old, I come from Barcelona and I have a degree in Law from the University Complutense of Madrid. Since October 2013 I am doing a Master in Law (LL.M) at the Goethe-University Frankfurt. I am also a working student in a multinational corporation at the contract management of the area “Mobility”, where I revise all the contracts between my company and car manufacturers, airlines, hotel groups, etc.

The AEGEEan: How did you learn about AEGEE?

Gloria: My first contact with AEGEE was in 2011, when I was an Erasmus student. I studied the last two semesters of my degree in Heidelberg (Germany). It was there where I learned about AEGEE by participating in all sorts of activities and events that AEGEE-Heidelberg organized. That helped me a lot to become part of the young European community, and that is how I started to truly live Europe.

The AEGEEan: You are Spanish, but you live in Germany, why is this the case?

Gloria: Almost three years ago I did an Erasmus year in Heidelberg, Germany. After that I stayed there because I did an internship in the Human Resources and Labor Law department of a company. When I finished the internship I started a Master in Law (LL.M) in Frankfurt and since last January I am working ifor another company. Living abroad is a unique and a great experience that is really worth it. I love living in Germany and I hope I can stay here some more years!

The AEGEEan: How do you see it as a benefit that you speak several languages?

Gloria: If you want to work on a European or international level you must speak several languages, otherwise you are not going to be able to communicate effectively with the people. In my opinion English is not an asset anymore, because it is supposed that everybody speaks it. To me speaking several languages is the best way to communicate and interact with another person and is essential if you both want  to be on an equal footing. It also gives you the key to express yourself with people from different countries. Languages and culture are connected, so the more languages you speak, the more chances you have to learn about new cultures and ways of thinking.

The AEGEEan: What have you learned as a subcommissioner of the Juridical Commission (JC)?

Gloria: As a subcommissioner of the JC I have learned two main things.

Firstly, I became acquainted with the JC and its working method. Thanks to Diana Tupchiienko and Atanas Nachkov and their Knowledge Transfer I have learned about the sources of the JC, its tasks, its communication, etc. The JC has constant tasks that have to be always done and it is very important that its members and its subcommissioners work well together. Second, I have learned how to work in a group which members can only have online meetings. The way you work in the JC is not the same way you work in your antenna, so you have to get used to it.

The AEGEEan: You do not have any experience of attending any AEGEE conferences. How can you assure that you have enough knowledge about AEGEE to be in the Juridical Commission?

Gloria: Being a subcommissioner of the JC has been the best preparation in order to be a member of this commission. The best way to know something is from experience and the position of subcommissioner gives you this first experience. The JC works and communicates constantly with the Comité Directeur, the antennae, the Network Commission, etc., so if you are in the JC, you have a global view of the whole AEGEE.

The AEGEEan: You have also only taken part in Agora Rhein-Neckar as a helper, will you be able to take part in the upcoming future statutory events?

Gloria: Yes, I will be able to participate in the upcoming future events and I really want to do it!

The AEGEEan: You are not a board member, but organize several things in AEGEE-Heidelberg. Can you explain a bit about your tasks?

Gloria: I have arranged all kind of events and activities for students. In particular I was responsible for the “Sprachcafé” (“Language Café”), a weekly meeting where people improve their foreign languages and also teach their native languages.  In March 2014 I elaborated a new structure for our antenna that has been implemented in April 2014. The main goal of this new structure is to organize the antenna, so its members can work more motivated and the tasks can be done more productively. Since April 2014 I am the responsible of the group “Workshops and Exchanges”. In this group we want to offer the members of the antenna intern workshops in order to go into AEGEE’s structure in depth. We also want to organize external workshops for all members of AEGEE and exchanges with other antennae.

The AEGEEan: You mention keeping a close relation to the Comite Directeur. Do you have any possibility to specify this?

Gloria: It is essential that the JC and the CD keep maintaining a close and a good relation. They communicate mainly by mail, but in some cases it would be better if we could meet all together, for example once each semester.

The AEGEEan: And how would you like to bring the JC closer to the Network?

Gloria: I would like that the members of AEGEE do not see the JC as an unknown commission. I think that most of the members of AEGEE feel they don’t know a lot about this particular commission. For example, I think they do not see the CIA as a “near” way to solve problems. That is why I think that creating a workshop about the main tasks of the JC or creating a “simple-fast CIA” with the most and useful answers would help the members.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza

What about the proposals’ process? Do you know the final result, but not what happened in between? Is what was obtained exactly what the proposers wanted to? If you wondered about at least one of these things, then keep reading the interview.

1. Change of the Visitors’ selection procedure

What actually changes with your proposal in the visitors’ selection process? How will this  influence next Agora selection?

Mattia Abis: The original proposal was a drastic change for the visitors’ selection procedure: we were trying to use the same procedure that locals are using for delegates’ selection. It means a voting at local Agora to create a ranking list of them which the Chair Team could use after. As everybody can imagine, this proposal created a huge debate and it has been modified.

What were the amendments? And are you satisfied with the result?

Mattia: Three amendments were presented: one by Mathijs Waegemakers (AEGEE-Enschede), which we rejected, a second one was made by Maurits Mink (AEGEE-Maastricht) which we accepted.  The third one, presented by Mário Branco (AEGEE-Paris), we rejected as well, but after a voting on the amendment the Prytanium wanted to keep it, however as we did not agree with the amendment we rejected it for a second time. The amendment was put to a vote in the plenary which approved it. So the final proposal was as follows: the selection is made by the Comité Directeur (CD) and Chair Team, while taking into account the ranking made by the local board.

The Proposal has been approved with 81% of votes in favour. Beyond what happend to our original proposal, I can say that we are satisfied: it was the first time we were presenting a proposal during a Prytania and it was wonderful to see how many people were involved in the discussion and that we contributed to improve our Association.

2. Nationality Quota for the Mediation Commission

When did you reach the decision of making this proposal and why?

Fabian Brüggemann: The decision to hand in the proposal concerning the nationality quota for the Mediation Commission was reached after the candidature presentations, realizing that we have 3 people sharing the same (Dutch) nationality. Talking to the representative of the Juridical Commission (JC) being present at the Agora we were told that they would probably be strict with interpreting the CIA. This would have meant that only two out of the three Dutch candidates – the ones with the most votes – would become members of the Mediation Commission. Having been president of the Mediation Commission for one year and a half, I know quite well that it is important to have different opinions and point of views in the Mediation Commission. So it is better to have 4 members (plus the JC President) than only three – which would have been the case if the CIA would have been applied strictly.

On the other hand, even if the JC would have said that one of the members was allowed to use his second (German) nationality, there could have been a case where – theoretically – the Mediation Commission takes a decision, after which an antenna suffering from that decision might say “but the way the Mediation Commission is composed is not according to the CIA! So your decision is not valid.” We wrote the proposal in order to prevent both of these possible problems.

You might say this is a lot “what if” and all this is very theoretical – and I do agree with that, but since we had the chance to avoid the above mentioned situations, we decided to go for it. So concretely the Network achieved more clarity and less uncertainty. Again, this is all very theoretical, but we decided to stick to our own rules and not just say “uh, we just do it the easy way”.

3. Decreasing the number of financial presentations & Change of the term of the internal financial year

What is the aim of the first proposal?

Anna Gots: The aim of the proposal was basically to ease both the life of Financial Director of AEGEE-Europe and of Agora members by lessening the amount of financial presentations at the Agora to the amount absolutely necessary to give a full overview of the finances of AEGEE-Europe.

And are you satisfied with the result? Were there any amendments?

Anna: There were no ammendments to the proposal suggested. I assume that’s because the proposal was developed much in advance and in cooperation with another experienced member: Tom Simons (AEGEE-Enschede). In fact, initially it was his idea that was successfully realised by this proposal.

Before your second proposal the internal financial year ended the 31st of July like your CD term. How  will things change after this proposal?

Anna: To be precise, last year the CD term officially ended on 31st of August, providing a shift of one month between the end of the internal financial year and the CD year. Since in Agora Budapest the term of CD was changed in a way that it should end on 31st of July, the aforementioned shift was lost, leaving the Financial Director not many chances to close internal financial year while still being in the office. So this proposal just fixed this discrepancy, returning things to normal.

Is it the result  you expected? Were there any amendments?

Anna: Indeed, it’s the result I’ve been aiming at. There was only one amendment suggested by the former Secretary General – Alma Mozgovaja – still during the process of online consultation, which I incorporated in the final version of the proposal. The amendment concerned the amount of days Financial Director can stay in the office after the end of his/her term. Namely the fact that it shouldn’t be more than seven days.

4. Removing the Main Fields of Action

Why did you decide to present this proposal? How did you come up with it?

Ana Potocnik: During the Identity meeting, where we were drafting the new Identity document with the Identity team and CD, we realized, that the Main Fields of Action do not reflect the reality of our organisation. They are not concrete and they do not describe what we do in AEGEE, some aspects of our work (especially that of the EnWG, HRWG, Health for Youth, and Youth UnEmployment) were not covered. Moreover in the survey we launched before Agora Budapest, more than 70% of our members stated that they believe AEGEE does not contribute to two of the Main Fields of Action (Higher Education and Peace and Stability). We (the Identity team) believed that the structure of the new Identity document -which was ratified by Agora Zaragoza, presents all aspects of AEGEE. This makes the Main Fields of Action an unnecessary element of the Identity. The Identity document that we have now consist of: VISION – what AEGEE dreams about, what do we want our future to look like, MISSION – how does AEGEE contribute to this future, MEANS – what exactly do we do and what are the tools to achieve the Mission, STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES – which values do we stand for.

Were there any amendments? And are you satisfied with the result?

Ana: Yes, we and the CD are satisfied. There was only one amendment, suggested by JC. Our team missed the fact that the Main Fields of Action are also mentioned in another part of the CIA. They suggested to avoid confusion and nonsense in the Statutes by changing this part as well. Besides that there was nothing, about which I was quite surprised. The proposal was accepted easier than I expected.

5. An updated AEGEE identity

How will members and Antennae benefit from this ?

Maria Arends: With this updated Identity, it is much clearer what AEGEE is actually about. That makes it easier to explain it to members and future members, as well as externals. Even though it might not be phrases you know by heart, from this you can remember and, more importantly, understand the scope of the association, which makes it much easier to share.

Are you satisfied with the result?

Maria: Personally yes, I am very happy with it. The reason why I wanted to join the Identity Meeting and later the team, is that I felt AEGEE’s structure was chaotic and hard to explain -even if you are an active member. That’s why I think it is much better now: now I know what to tell people!

For further information: https://www.zeus.aegee.org/statutoryvote/jc/view_public.php?proposal_id=54

Written by Cosmina Bisboaca , AEGEE-Torino

Many would categorize him as a “famous” AEGEEan, others remember him as the former JC president with the Italian accent, some might know him for his current work for the Mediation Commission, and some may not know him at all. His name is Ermanno Napolitano, and he is one of the most active AEGEE members on the European level. The AEGEEan talked with him about everything that has happened from Agora Enschede to his another candidature at the Agora Budapest and more.

AEGEEan: The previous article focusing on you as the new Juridical Commission (JC) member was the most popular article in The AEGEEan for quite a while last year. How do you feel about that? Do you have any suggestions why that happened?

Ermano: It was very rewarding for me, I have seen much appreciation and many people have complimented me. I think it was the energy and enthusiasm that I put in the Juridical Commission, which awarded.

At the Agora Enschede you had a lot of work as JC member, how do you look back at your term as JC? What were the highlights? What could be improved?

Yes, Agora Enschede was one of the hardest Agorae for the JC.

The vote of confidence is  something which is very uncommon. Before the Agora, we as JC studied all possible solutions on the consequences and how to proceed if this was going to happen, but we were hoping until the end that some internal agreements of the CD could avoid it. However, looking back I am glad that I was in a team with Atanas Nachkov and Alma Mozgovaja and I am happy with the work we have done. Among the most important results was how everything was organised in order to allow the JC to collect minutes and amendments during the Agora and to prepare the new CIA without minutes by the Chair coming usually very late. That has been a big step forward having in mind what happened in the past years.

An important change was a result of my proposal, to give the responsibility of the vote counting to the JC. There are still many things that need to be improved in JC, but I think that it is moving towards the right direction now.

Another important result was to see that the subcommies stood as candidates, one Denise Zonnebeld is the current JC President and the others (Diana Tupichiienko and Alin) still work for the Commission.
If I could suggest any further improvements then it would be having a faster external communication, but this depends very much on the number of people working in the commission, and how many questions they receive.

An idea might be to open the JC to three members elected, a secretary and two commissioners, even though it is not that visible that there is much work to be done, especially before and after the Agora. However, it is also true that with a good team of subcommies it is possible to work around this requirement.

What is very important – to keep the archive updated, the CIA should be reformed, and in general its structure should be reviewed.

Quite a few votes were invalid, what do you think could be done to make the voting system easier?

Together with Wieke van Der Kroef (the current speaker of Network Commissions) I have reformed the rules for voting. There have been noticeable changes from Agora Skopje, but we are still far from a perfect voting system.
Surely, the best way is the famous electronic voting system, which would greatly reduce the number of invalid votes. However, we must always remember that some votes are invalidated consciously by the voter, for example we had ballot papers with smiley faces, drawings or comments on the ballot paper, and the only thing to improve this area is to put the trust in the common good sense of the delegates.

If you were to recommend anybody to candidate for JC, what would you say?

If you have legal knowledge DO IT! It is one of the most beautiful experience you can do in AEGEE and in your life. Furthermore, it is also very useful, it teaches you to work in groups, to speak in front of 1000 people (I remember I was shaking in Agora Alicante, but after then Agora Skopje and Agora Enschede were much easier), to make decisions and take responsibilities. In general it is an experience that makes you grow.

You are now in the Mediation Commission (MedCom) which changed its name at the Agora Enschede. How has it been to work with the MedCom, do you have any different recommendations (than for JC) for people interested in running for the MedCom?

I love working in the MedCom, especially because the potential of this commission has in my opinion changed with the new setting.
Before, as Members Commission, we worked only upon activation, and usually the problem was already serious and not solvable. I remember that one of the consequences was the imposition of sanctions for situations that were not taken in time.
Now we can be contacted directly by the antenna or by any body itself and help them to solve the problem before it becomes irreversible.

I take this opportunity to appeal to antennae to contact the Mediation Commission more, even for what may seem easy. We would always be happy to give our contribution.

Obviously, the MedCom is also responsible for other things, but I think this new element is the central core of the Commission.

Are you going to run for MedCom once again? What lies in the future of your AEGEE life?

I think that answer will be “yes” (smiles). I think that being in the MedCom for a one year opens the opportunity to implement many things. About my future AEGEE life after MedCom – who knows, let’s see if I am going to be re-elected here.

You chose to go to Helsinki & Tallinn Summer University this summer, which is a destination with less sun than in Italy and Spain. Why did you chose that SU and how was it?
I chose it because I like to try something different from my country, like fresh air, sun at 3 am lakes, sauna…everything is different there. And I must say: Wow! It was such a good SU, and I miss all the participants and organisers.

I was shocked from Helsinki organisation – very uncommon, they were providing us food all the hours of the day and night, many activities, lots of amazing places and also the residence in Mariko felt like pure heaven.

The organisation was perfect, they received a support of sponsors not only for food, but also the parties were always in amazing places. Furthermore, they gave a lot of attention to the participants, lots of cultural activities from museums to city activities and workshops. I am proud to be participant in this Summer University.

You also managed to steal the flag of AEGEE-Tallinn. How did you manage to steal it?

Yes, I stole it with Carlos (AEGEE-Santander), but I also have to thank Seppo Hälikkä (AEGEE-Helsinki) and Emanuele (AEGEE-Messina). It happened in Tallinn during the welcome party, where we stole the flag from the president while she was dancing. I remember that, after having stolen, we ran across the main square of Tallinn showing it, and since then we never left it alone. We slept with the flag and we kept it also during the shower!

What will be the punishment for them to get it back?

I still don’t know, I have to contact other thieves, but I will promise that the punishment will be funny… at least for us… AEGEE-Tallinn be ready!

The AEGEEan is looking forward to seeing what happens next with the AEGEE-Tallinn flag as well as the progress of the Mediation  Commission. The AEGEEan will of course report from the front row at Agora Budapest and keep you updated as much as possible.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København