Due to the fact that NWM in Zaragoza took place only a few weeks after Agora Cagliari, it was mainly organised by former NetCom Carmen María and her team, although some members of the new team (Olga Rivero’s Tripulación) were also involved in the programme preparation and presentations.

Another Network Meeting (NWM), another pleasant and different experience with the members of our Network. We needed some winds of change in our NWMs, so we tried to implement some changes and improvements suggested by the participants in our last Spring NWM in Alicante, although the new team will have to continue working on it in order to keep improving the format. This time, we tried to make the content more practical and we held more sessions to share knowledge and experiences. There was more time for participants to talk and share their concerns, doubts and ideas, even if the outcome was not as dynamic and energetic as expected after all the discussions we had during the Spring NWM in Alicante and in our Facebook group before Agora Cagliari, where the participation in discussions increased notably.

The team was lucky to count on experienced people from different European bodies, people who contributed and shared a lot with the rest; Antonija Parat from the Comité Directeur (CD) who showed us the achievements of AEGEE so far and made us think about our motivation while also clarifying loads of interesting topics, Policy Officers Léa Charlet and Pablo Hernández who conducted a consultation on Gender Equality and Youth Employment, Speaker of the Action Agenda Coordination Team (ACT) Ruben Navarro who led a great session about the Action Agenda, Esperanza Rodriguez from AEGEE-Las Palmas who taught us more about Financial Reports and Erasmus +, Anna Gumbau from the 30^th Anniversary Team who informed us about the project, Liaison Officer Laia García who was always there to raise discussions, Regional Advisor from BEST Carlos Freire who was representing our beloved partner association and many other involved and active members from our area.

Not to talk about the nice social programme AEGEE-Zaragoza prepared! A tourist bus tour around Zaragoza to start knowing the city, their great work with the location of the accommodation and the facilities (in the middle of the city!), nice meals and many details thanks to their excellent fundraising work and, of course, a Celebrities party where participants let their imagination soar and became famous for that night. It should be pointed out that our current president, Paul Smits, was more than present there! 

Below you can find some experiences from participants and presenters with different backgrounds:

Antonija Parat from CD: ‘I enjoyed the event very much. The atmosphere was just perfect: engaged participants, caring organisers, an experienced NetCom team and quality content. For me as a CD member it was nice to see face-to-face where our members stand, what the topics are they care about, and what they hope to see in the future in our organisation. I was truly happy to be there.’

Silvia Sierra from AEGEE-Zaragoza, main organiser of the NWM: ‘It has been a pleasure to coordinate such a great event, the zNWM, and we hope this event has been really productive and fruitful. We have learned from our own successes and problems to continue growing up without falling in the same old errors. Afterwards, the organisers’ reward has been to know that our participants have been happy during the event and have enjoyed it in every moment.’

Pablo Ruiz from AEGEE-Zaragoza, subcommissioner: ‘When I think of the last Network Meeting, I smile to myself seeing the great atmosphere that surrounded the event. Excellent lodging in the center of the city, quite good meals, devoted organisers and, above all, a group of participants who have shown they don’t only share a common region, but what they actually share is a strong friendship and a really good vibe between them. Could I ask for anything else from a NWM in my beloved city? The only thing I disliked about the event is the fact it had to finish.’

Esperanza Rodriguez from Las Palmas ‘After being away from Europe for some time, I was excited but a bit afraid before this NWM. It was my 4th but after missing the previous four, I wasn’t exactly an oldie nor a newbie… But I came back with my batteries fully charged after such a weekend! For me, everything was perfect: the organisation, the content, the social program and the team spirit!’

Julien Denis from AEGEE-Paris: ‘This was my first AEGEE meeting and besides my admiration for the perfect job made by the organising committee, I was impressed by the commitment of all those young people to this association, all of them sharing a similar vision and working hand in hand. This experience made me want to commit myself to a greater extent in AEGEE and work harder to develop my antenna.’

Olga Rivero, current NetCom: ‘Even though I was expecting more discussions and productive talks at some points, I think that with this event we were really on the way of organising the kind of NWM that participants want! Everybody was really happy and motivated at the end of the weekend, and for those who work on the content of the event that is just amazing and inspiring to keep on working to make it even better.’

Once more, many thanks to AEGEE-Zaragoza’s organising team for their great help and wonderful work with the logistics of the event, making everyone comfortable and happy. Thanks again to Antonija for all her help and contribution to this NWM. And a special mention from my side to my team, La Tripulación, and the other collaborators for their support during the organisation of this NWM and their outstanding work. And of course, last but not least, thanks to every participant who took part in this NWM.

Let’s keep on rocking “La Nave” and AEGEE! 

Written by Carmen María López Banegas, AEGEE-Alicante.
Pictures courtesy of Alberto Arroyo from AEGEE-Madrid and of AEGEE-Zaragoza’s team.

Renove is a common term for members of La Nave, the nickname for the locals in France, Spain, Portugal and AEGEE-Brussels/Bruxelles. This year the 4^th edition of Renove will be hosted, bringing back the event to where it originally started, namely in a small village close to Madrid.

AEGEE-Madrid will already host the fourth edition of Renove, but even though the event has existed for years, still not many members outside of La Nave know about it. The AEGEEan therefore interviewed newly elected NetCom assistant Carmen Maria about the idea behind the event. “The idea was to have a common event right after the period of Summer Universities (when new members are really motivated and want to know more about AEGEE). An event which combines funny activities and information about AEGEE in the right doses, as well as allows antennae members to get to know each other by mixing oldies and newbies while promoting teambuilding.”

After the first edition of the event, Antonio Velez then President of AEGEE-Madrid explained to The AEGEEan that the idea included having a team based competition, some light workshops and a lot of fun and parties to make it an attractive event for newbies. “As one of the main objectives (and results) of this event was to activate new people in order to gain new board members, Maria Laglera (PR of SUCT 2011) suggested the name Renove, which in Spain is the name of a goverment program to replace old cars, and we all agreed,” he told the magazine when being interviewed by The AEGEEan in 2011.

In the last years the event has been hosted by AEGEE-Madrid, AEGEE-Valladolid and AEGEE-Burgos. The NetCom team, La Tripulación, ensured that the event created back in 2011 kept its original spirit and main purpose and has over the years taken further control of the content in order for it not to divert its aim.

As mentioned, the event this year goes back to where it started, in a small village close to the Spanish capital and again hosted by AEGEE-Madrid. Carmen Maria tells us: “Clearly, Madrid is geographically the most convenient city for the whole area. Connections are better and easier for people than to other cities. It will also be good for the antenna to motivate and activate members which is a bit difficult in such a big city.”

Renove in Valladolid

As always it will be a busy autumn for the antennae in “La Nave” having several interesting events to go to. There will be Renove in September, sending delegates and visitors to the Autumn Agora in Cagliari in October and the Autumn Network Meeting in November in Zaragoza. The AEGEEan asked Carmen Maria if she believes the event participation in Renove and later the NWM in Zaragoza will be affected by the busy schedule and she says: “Renove is taking place right in the middle of Spain and Zaragoza is in the Northwest. These cities have quite a good location regarding the rest of the antennae of our area so we don’t really see a problem. The content and aim of these events are also pretty different so they can attract a wide variety of members. Moreover, we love Renoves and NWMs!”

Next to these events, early next year there will also be plenty of work for AEGEE antennae as the EPM will take place in Burgos in February and a few months later there will be the Spring Agora in Gijon organized by AEGEE-Oviedo. The Autumn NWM as well as Renove will be of great importance for these two statutory events “They will be really relevant as many people might get active and find the motivation to take part in these upcoming events. They will also be the perfect place to learn a bit more about event’s organisation, functioning of the teams and so on, so we expect these events to be a help for the future organisers and helpers of the EPM and the Agora. They will be perfect places to bond together,” Carmen Maria tells The AEGEEan.

Renove hosted by AEGEE-Burgos

Of course The AEGEEan also interview the board of AEGEE-Madrid about their motivation to organise the event. It was already said last year that the antenna wanted to organise the event again but in the end the participants enjoyed a fruitful event hosted by AEGEE-Burgos. So instead of Renove 3.0 it turned out that Renove 4.0 would be the follow-up event for AEGEE-Madrid on their great success in 2011 and they tell us: “Well, for us, it was about time to do it.  Last year we were in a rush and we didn’t have enough time to prepare a project like this one. This year, with a fresh new board and some new active members there was a constant factor that always appeared in our projects: Renove IV. Since the very beginning, it was proposed to organise the Renove in 2014, and all the new and old board member agreed on that. As the time was passing, we were more and more excited about the idea of organising an event like this for our region.We have worked hard lately on it and finally we decided to send our application to “La Tripulación”.”

Even though about three years have gone by, there are still people in AEGEE-Madrid that have the experience of hosting the first event that will offer their expertise for the 4^th edition, for example Sergio Recuero, who was part of the team that organized the first Renove. For Renove 4.0, he will be in charge of the social programme and activities before and during the event. Also Antonio Vélez who used to be a subcommisioner for the Network Commission, and who is another experienced member from AEGEE-Madrid will help the antenna with the organisation of this big project. Javier Uceda, the Vice president, was also involved with the same enthusiasm in the first one as he is in this one. “With their experience, ideas, patience and hard work, we are sure we will make the difference for Renove IV,” the rest of the board of AEGEE-Madrid ensures The AEGEEan.

These experienced members work together with the group of organisers with new motivated members such as Alberto Arroyo and Silvia de Gregorio that are very motivated and want to get involved in the organization of such an event for the whole region. They will also make use of the experience of Cintia Pérez, Eva Alcolea and Ana Gómez (Anita), who have already organized events not only on a local level, but also in the European level, which surely will be a great contribution.

 However, the event won’t all be the same as the first year. First of all, the first thing that will be different is the accommodation. The lodging has been renovated during the last year and the participants will be in wood huts instead of a hostel. Furthermore, the owners of the place have also renovated the facilities and there will also be a greater arrangement of the parties this time around. But changes aren’t only made to the accommodation, AEGEE-Madrid has a lot of surprises in mind as well as activities, games, a big gymkana and the thematic for this Renove that they unfortunately cannot reveal yet, but they ensure that everyone is going to have a great time. “The key of the last success was the place chosen, Manjirón, (which, would be the same but a little bit changed) but also the new team of organisers, one of them will be organiser of this Renove too (Sergio Recuero) and the social programme. We would like to contribute to repeat that success this year with fresh ideas and activities to make sure everyone is going to remember this event. However, as everyone knows, we will keep in mind what happened during the first Renove, but we won’t like to reenact it, as if we were reenacting a historical battle. As Heraclitus said: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man,” the board says.

Former Network Commissioner Pauline at Renove in Burgos. The Network Commission is of course also very involved in Renove 4.0 that will be in Madrid

AEGEE-Madrid has many plans for the events and have already chosen the thematic for the making of the groups, as in other Renoves the participants will be divided into different groups during the event. “It is so great that we cannot tell you anything else, it is a secret (part of the surprises that we are planning). However, we know that you will love it. Our idea is to bring people from different places together and mixed the “oldies” with the “start-to-be-active” and “newbies”, so the event can be more fun and productive. Through this groups, we will make contact with all the participants and it will increase the relations of the people before and after the event,” the board finishes the interview with excitement for the event.

Renove is not the only event that AEGEE-Madrid is working on. Every week they gather the members to motivate new ones and get them in contact with the board and the rest of the people from AEGEE either at a meeting or a social drink. Besides that, as many other antennae, AEGEE-Madrid is also busy working on their upcoming Summer University and they have plenty more events in mind to ensure that AEGEE members will enjoy happenings hosted by their antenna several times of the year in different shapes of events.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Zaragoza.

Renove is one of the most popular events in Spain, and there’s a good reason for that. It has the perfect combination of oldies and newbies, fun activities and workshops to introduce and motivate AEGEE members. Many members became active after the first Renove organized by AEGEE-Madrid, and the second Renove made AEGEE-Valladolid become Local of the Month. Renove 3.0 was organized by AEGEE-Burgos, and once again the antenna together with the Network Commission team of Pilar Lop managed to increase the motivation of many AEGEE members.

Renove 3.0 was not just an event, but a journey in many ways. First of all, because people from all over Spain and France travelled for hours to reach the destination, Belorado; and secondly, because it was an opportunity to take a journey through AEGEE and reflect upon what AEGEE means to you.

Arriving to this small village close to Burgos it was amazing to experience the energy that was created by this gathering of friends, “oldies” and newbies all together. The first stop of the Renove 3.0 journey was celebrating the famous “Morcillote” mascot of AEGEE-Burgos, having many of the 100 participants dancing around the streets of Burgos in pink.

The next day, it was time to reflect on AEGEE and the influence it has on its members. Events such as Morcillote and NWM Burgos have made this city in the North of Spain famous for cooling down the Southern Europeans. However, Renove 3.0 was different in this aspect and took the participants through a short, sunny journey while walking 12 km of the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago). This was an innovative idea by AEGEE-Burgos to have AEGEE people enjoying the beautiful landscape of Northern Spain while getting to know people from other antennae.

On St. James’ Way

Divided in groups, the participants discussed the topic of what motivates one another to be active in a youth organisation like AEGEE. It is always interesting to hear how people have ended up in AEGEE, especially the stories that start in a different manner than “I wanted to go to a Summer University”. Friends, fun, personal development, learning, making a difference, and many other key terms were all reasons brought up by the participants and it is obvious that events like Renove contribute greatly to motivate these members.

Behind every successful event there is a strong team working hard to ensure that the participants leave with a smile from ear to ear. AEGEE-Burgos managed to do that in all ways, by hosting the people from all over Spain and few from France in a great hostel; ensuring that participants were never hungry; and making sure the participants could enjoy warm showers (many fear the cold showers when sharing with 99 other people). Before the Explorers party and European Night, AEGEE-Burgos made everybody have fun in a gymkhana, a small competition through different tests, considered an important part of the Renove as teambuilding between the members of the different antennae.

Organisation team of AEGEE-Burgos

Renove is a perfect combination of motivation, fun and information about the organisation for new members. During the last day of the event, the NetCom Team, called “La Tripulación”, used the opportunity to take participants to walk through the strategic level of AEGEE. Topics such as the AEGEE identity, the Strategic Plan as well as the Action Agenda were all touched upon.

From the strategic level, the discussion moved on to the European Level of AEGEE and introduced all the different AEGEE terms: from Comité Directeur, to the different Commissions, Working Groups, Project Teams as well as the EBM and Agorae. The event was an opportunity to prepare delegates and visitors for Agora Zaragoza, explaining everything about the responsibilities that are to consider of high importance for the ones attending the big event next month. Preparing participants is something highly valued by the Comité Directeur and Network Commission, so it was great to feel how experienced AEGEE members ensured that the next generation knows what it means to take part in an important Statutory event.

Another important topic brought on was the introduction of YVote2014 by project manager Léa Charlet, who also took part in Renove 3.0 before the kick-off conference in Valladolid, organised from September 18th to September 22nd 2013. And last but not least, the participants also got the opportunity to talk about voluntary work and what it means to be a part of an association.

Members of “La Tripulación” giving workshop about the European Level of AEGEE

In the end Renove 3.0 was organized in a perfect way; not only by the subcommissioners of Pilar Lop, but also by AEGEE-Burgos as it brought everybody together in an event of high quality in all aspects.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Thank you for the Pictures Miguel Alejandro Martinez (AEGEE-Santander)