Thirty-three events were organised by AEGEE locals to celebrate the European Day of Languages (EDL), and all of them managed to make the Language Interest Group (LIG) proud once again. Although our EDL is officially held on the 17^th of November (which is seven weeks after the official EDL of the Council of Europe, due to the academic calender), AEGEEans were free to organise any kind of event around that date, with a little help from the LIG.

This time, language lovers started gathering from late October until the second half of December. AEGEE-Bamberg and AEGEE-Heidelberg could not get enough with one event, so both of them organised two! It is a remarkable fact that their events reached one thousand young people and successfully fulfilled some of the main objectives of the LIG, such as underlining the importance of multilingualism, promoting and encouraging the learning of foreign languages, improving language skills and various related topics.

Most of the locals organised more than one activity, combining presentations, workshops and discussions with videos or games (language quiz, language tandems, language speed dating, karaokes, tongue twisters, memory games etc). For example, AEGEE-Zagreb members shared their experience in translation with each other, discussed about how translators are perceived and which problems can be encountered during a translation, and they watched a few videos related to the topic. AEGEE-Madrid watched a documentary in foreign languages and afterwards had a discussion about it, while AEGEE-Athina presented the history of languages, had speed courses in five languages and added a language quiz on top of it.

The language quiz was definitely the most popular activity, since it was organized by eleven antennae. The ones by AEGEE-Heidelberg and AEGEE-Bamberg were held during their LTCs, whereas LIG members held one at NWM-Aachen.

The multilingual dinner was the second most common activity, since AEGEE-Heidelberg, AEGEE-Catania, AEGEE-A Coruña, AEGEE-Tenerife, AEGEE-Kraków, AEGEE-Cagliari and AEGEE-Osnabrück organised it and invited foreign students to present typical dishes from their home-country and speak in their own language.

The diversity of spoken languages was different from local to local and it followed their interests, needs and various kinds of creativity. For example, AEGEE-Cagliari mainly focused on the Arabic language, AEGEE-Voronezh on Japanese and Vietnamese, AEGEE-Bilbao put an accent on numerous minority languages, while AEGEE-Pécs mentioned and spoke thirty-three languages in total! Of course acknowledging EDL was significant for every antenna, but it was particularly special for AEGEE-Kyiv, as it was the very first event of the new board. Even though it was a freshman endeavour for them, they did an enviable job by managing to break stereotypes with their members whilst finding a common vision about the importance and benefits of being a polyglot.

More so, LIG would also like to state that the Audit Commission and MIGR team stood out with a celebration of EDL combined with the International Day of Migrant (18^th of December). They presented themselves with the message “I am a migrant” in their mother tongue through an online campaign shared in twelve countries.

It would be legitimate to state that the outcome of the EDL events in 2016 was more than satisfying, and that every antenna managed to meet their own expectations, followed by excellent decision-making. This proves once again that we are on the road to breaking borders. The EDL ventures greatly contribute to forming a collective state of mind that is open to the differences and diversities that we are surrounded with, and, most importantly, that bring us closer together.

Written by Isidora Braljinac, AEGEE-Beograd

Summer seems distant, but AEGEEans, as busy bees, are already in the process to organise Summer Universities. The Summer University Coordination Team gave the future SU organisers the possibility to collaborate with AEGEE bodies and give their Summer Universities a content twist. We asked the bodies involved to give us some more information about how they envision the collaboration. In this second article we will understand more about Drink-wise Project, Language Interest Group, Mediation Commission, Action Agenda Coordination Committee and The AEGEEan.  

Drink-wise is the latest addiction to our pool of projects, and it aims at highlighting the cultural diversity and richness of our drinking traditions, but also promotes healthy drinking habits. And what about the European Night? If you are afraid that collaborationg with them will prevent you from having any form of alcohol in your Summer University, you cannot be further from the truth. Adonis Meggos, the project director, sais that “Drink-wise does not mean that you are forbidden to drink, but to drink with caution. We are a group of drink lovers. But there is not only alcohol. Juices, Smoothies, Coffee and Tea are all welcome! We love to explore all those different tastes all over Europe. To enjoy the traditions of drinking cultures, of course, but also to know our boundaries”.

You can contact them at drinkwiseproject@gmail.com

There are no better places than AEGEE events to test the knowledge of your foreing language(s). The Language Interest Group, a “diverse team of language-enthusiast AEGEEans”, using the words of their PR responsible Eryfili Evangelou, proposes a Summer University related to languages and adds that “the idea of a collaboration with us is easy to implement and can be added to an existing concept”. Not only learning languages, but also speaking about multilingualism in Europe, or the issues related to language policies, minority languages and language diversity. Eryfili continues explaining that the Interest group “can provide you with material and guidelines for the content and cool language related activities during the social programme. The main topics of the SU could be Multilingualism in Europe, courses of the local language or English, and can be adjusted to your needs and wishes!”.

You can contact them at lig@aegee.org. 

The Mediation Commission is the body that helps AEGEE in solving the disputes that may rise. After some successful sessions during NWMs, the commission decided to take them one step further having a Summer University in team management and conflict resolution. Damien Latacz, president of the Mediation Commission, says that the main topic will be “of course conflict solving, but going much deeper than what you would probably think, not just the basic workshop we all did at some point. From the differences in understanding between people and cultures, to how to react in front of conflicts and challenges. We want participants to actively think about emotions and communication. But because introspection is quite demanding… some good fun between session to relax is also needed!”. And if you are looking for yet another reason for choosing the Mediation Commission as “partner in crime” for the Summer University, Damien jokes: “Well… there would not be any trouble organizing something with us, because we would solve conflicts right away!”.

You can contact them at medcom@aegee.org. 

Acties during their team meeting

Act (Action Agenda Coordination Committee) Vice Speaker Miljana Vulevic, when asked why locals should cooperate with them answered: “Because we solemnly swear we are up to no good!”. With this Harry Potter joke premises, resisting them might seem hard, but she continues: “We are cool people, always ready to help and find a solution to whatever. Most importantly – we care. Choosing ACT means having a reliable partner willing to give its best to deliver an unforgettable, life changing SC”.  The main topic of the Summer would be project management, with a little twist: the implementation in an AEGEE context. “As complex as it sounds -Miljana says- it is a quite simple concept really! You have a “layer” of Project Management that teaches you the skills you need to create excellent projects in your local and another “layer” of introducing and discussing Focus Areas they will use as content for their projects. It is actually not a Summer Course, it is an AEGEE cake. Who says NO to a cake? Imagine all those applications!”.

You can contact them at act@aegee.org

Media and press are increasingly important in modern society, thus making more vital to have informed and prepared readers. The AEGEEan proposes local organisers to help their participants to get familiar with the journalism and writing world, by organising workshops about basic writing, editing and proofreading, about the different types of journalism, media platforms, the history of journalism and storytelling. During the leisure time some ad hoc excursions can be organised, for instance to houses of famous writers. Members of The AEGEEan will be there to help you in doing the lectures, but this can be a perfect opportunity to bond and create a network with several youth organisations that deal with press and citizen journalism.

You can contact us at aegeean@aegee.org

You can read about the other bodies you can collaborate with here.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Katharina Jiménez Weese is a very active member, not only on a local level, but also on a European level. You can find her at many Agorae, Network Meetings (NWM) and other AEGEE events. She used to be a board member of AEGEE-Bamberg, and recently she decided to take part in the organising team of Agora Chișinău.

The AEGEEan: Can you tell us a few things about yourself?

Katharina: I am a twenty-three-year-old Spanish-German European Economics student from Heidelberg living in beautiful Bamberg. I love the sun, travelling, skiing, everything with cheese, Barcelona and, of course, AEGEE.

When did you join AEGEE? Which projects do you work for?

I joined in April 2014, and since then I was active in my local board as Secretary and President. Now I am the moderator of the Language Interest Group on the European level.

What kind of activities do you usually do in the Language Interest Group (LGI)?

In July 2014, I joined the former Language Working Group, and since then I am actively taking part in all our projects and activities. Our current projects are the Travel Dictionaries, Summer University cooperations, workshops at statutory events, online and live meetings, and we have some new ideas like a survey on language learning among AEGEEans, which we are developing at the moment. Our biggest and longest ongoing project is the yearly European Day of Languages, which is taking place on November 17^th this year, and antennae all over Europe will be celebrating language diversity on that day.

Can you explain us the initiative “More than education”? Which is its aim?

The “More than education” initiative is a European Citizens’ Initiative which, by collecting one million signatures within one year, has the aim of putting civic education on the European political agenda. It wants to call on the European Commission to make a legislative proposal to change education in a way that it shapes active, responsible and democratic citizens.

Can you tell us something about your experience at the spring break event in Tenerife?

The spring break event in March 2016, organised by AEGEE-Tenerife, was one of my greatest AEGEE experiences so far. Starting from the beauty of the island itself, to the hospitality of the lovely organisers to the amazing group of participants and the program. Highlights were a hitchhiking challenge across the island and the day trip to the 3700 meters tall volcano Teide, followed by swimming in the sea some hours later. Absolutely recommendable!

Why did you choose to become an organiser for the Autumn Agora Chișinău?

It all started with the Pre-Event of Agora Kyiv 2015, organised by AEGEE-Chișinău. It was also one of the best events I attended and, by then, there was no local that applied for hosting the Autumn Agora 2016 yet. During the event, we somehow came up with the idea that AEGEE-Chișinău should apply as a host but, AEGEE-Chișinău was quite small and inexperienced in organising such big events, all participants promised to come as helpers and voilà, one year later I was sitting at the incoming desk of the Agora! I am really grateful for this experience and I am very proud of AEGEE-Chișinău for having successfully mastered this challenge!

You look like very experienced in AEGEE. Have you ever thought to present your candidature for an European position like the CD?

Right now I am happy with my LIG moderator position, and my active member status in AEGEE-Bamberg. Before I move any step forward, I first have to finish my Bachelor studies. But afterwards… never say never!

Tell me the thing you like the most in AEGEE and why.

AEGEEans. They are just so warm-hearted and inspiring! My studies in Bamberg, my Erasmus in Barcelona, and all the events I attended would not have been the same without my AEGEE friends. And I love reunions!

Which skills did you develop in AEGEE? Do you really speak five languages?

I developed skills like event and project management, leadership, intercultural communication, but I also improved my English and I gained self-confidence.

Yes, I really do speak five languages! Having parents from different countries and growing up in Germany, which has a really good school system, helps a lot. You can talk to me in German, English, Spanish, Catalan and French.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

In this article we are talking about the various languages spoken among AEGEE members.  We know that English is the most common language in the world, but also other languages find some space in our Network, therefore  we have asked Erifyli Evangelou, a member of the Language Interest Group, to tell us something about the situation of the languages inside our students’ association.

We know for sure that English is not the only foreign language spoken in AEGEE, even though it represents the one we use to communicate among us in ninety per cent of the cases. There are other languages such as Spanish, not only inside Spanish Antennas but also diffused in many Locals, where there are many students who study Spanish for example. We can also consider German an other language you can find in many European countries. However, we do not have any statistics yet. That is why the Language Interest Group reveals to us their plan to make a survey about languages in AEGEE. In this plan, the Interest Group will answer to the following questions: which are the most spoken ones, where do people learn the languages and what do they do to improve them.

We also know that not all nationalities are able to speak English in the same way. According to the opinion of most AEGEE members, Italians and Spanish show the worst spoken English. Some AEGEEans say that the best English is spoken by Dutch guys. Dutch is a bit similar to English, being an anglo-germanic language within the Germanic languages, meaning it shares a common ancestor with languages such as English, German, and the Scandinavian languages. That’s why it shares many common words with English. At the same time, we do not have to be limited to these stereotypes linked to the language families in which English belongs, and Italian and Spanish do not.  We will have to wait, then, for the survey of the LIG in order to discover the answers to our questions. The same question presents and discussed in many lunches or dinners among AEGEE members.

The goal of the Language Interest Group is to raise awareness within AEGEE about the value of multilingualism, encourage and help AEGEEans to learn more foreign languages and discuss issues related to language policies, minority languages and language diversity. The group has different ongoing projects, like the European Day of Languages or the Travel Dictionaries Project. Furthermore, it is cooperating with Language SUs, giving workshops at Agorae and EPM and it is present at the Fairs. Additionally, it also has temporary projects like the AEGEE Day video or preparing language quizzes and games. In fact, with the help of some active members and many Antennas, the LIG has collected multilingual greetings from all over the AEGEE network. Every AEGEE member can watch our video here.

About the next plans, Erifyli tells us that the LIG is planning to create a multilingual European music playlist, so that AEGEEans can listen to cool songs in every AEGEE language. Furthermore, they are going to publish soon their Travel Dictionaries in many languages and if you attend Agora Bergamo it could be that you see some members of the LIG recording many different people saying something in their language.

Erifyli Evangelou gives some tips for AEGEEans who want to improve their English. In particular, the LIG encourages them “To go to many events and once being there, don’t be only with people who speak your language. Talk a lot to people from other countries, do not get frustrated if you make mistakes and be patient with yourself!” Other options to improve a language are organising a language tandem or other language activities in your Antenna or get involved in a European project, because there the working language is for sure English. “The most important thing is to get out of your comfort zone and not be afraid of speaking English! Only those who try, can succeed!” adds Erifyli.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.