Have you ever seen these weird people who sometimes sit in the back of the pub during your students association’s social drink? They seem connected, however, that’s not possible, they don’t interact with the rest, not to mention they’re too old to be a member. That is to say until one of the oldest members of your association stops by and strikes up a friendly conversation. You don’t see them anymore, they definitely don’t show up on parties or even Network Meeting (NWM), but at the next general meeting they sit on the front row, ask incredibly meaningful questions and give even more welcome advise. They turn out to be former board members, or to have held very important positions, not to mention that they are generally extremely nice and compassionate people. Even though their student days are gone, they’ve stuck around because their job was not yet done. In AEGEE these people are referred to as Les Anciens.

Who are Les Anciens?

Les Anciens is filled with former AEGEE members, who are still working to support AEGEE. Les Anciens d’AEGEE, as is their full name, is an alumni association of AEGEE, which consists of over six hundred members between the ages of 20 and 60, who at one point had all been active members on either a local or European level within AEGEE. They maintain connections between supporters and other alumni of AEGEE and support the current active generation of AEGEE by providing them with advise, supporting them with contacts in the business sector or in international institutions, or by aiding them financially by means of the Les Anciens Continuity Fund.

Les Anciens Regime

During the EGEE VI meeting of May 1990 Les Anciens was founded in Paris by Johannes Heister. This was back in the day when the de facto language of AEGEE
was still French, hence the name ‘Les Anciens’ instead of ‘The Ancients’ or more colloquially ‘The Oldies’. Les Anciens is divided into a legislative branch and an executive one. The former consists of all members of Les Anciens who gather annually to vote on new and existing rules and regulations in the General Assembly. In between these assemblies power resides with the five members of the executive board, which are elected every two years.

The Eventful Days

Before you start to think Les Anciens is nothing but a high society collective of benevolent benefactors, consider this less formal side of the proverbial coin.While it could be said that Les Anciens’ primary goal is to assist the current antennae of AEGEE, this would not fully do them justice. Some members of Les Anciens attend the Agora or organise Summer Universities, but there is also the possibility for them to attend the Oktoberfest or partake in a Sailing Regatta. There is the annual General Assembly, but roughly a same number of people, that is to say between sixty and eighty, also attend a yearly weekend filled with more informal activities called Back 2 Brussels. Some members of Les Anciens have gone as far as to invite other members to their respective birthday parties or even to their weddings. In the end the idea of Les Anciens is not to just continue with the same line of work they used to do in AEGEE, it is also to continue to meet each another and to have fun.

AEGEE is unfortunately disappearing in Sweden. Thus having fought for months to keep AEGEE-Lund alive it appears that Network Commissioner Karolina Mazetyte and subcomissioner Patricia Anthony have to say “see you soon” to AEGEE in Sweden at Spring Agora Rhein-Neckar.

Some AEGEE members in Lund have decided that they need to move on from our organisation, and others will join former twin-antenna AEGEE-København just across the bridge. However, there is also a third option and that is Les Anciens, the body of AEGEE where former active AEGEE members can join at some point in their AEGEE life. This is the choice made by Carolina Andersson and The AEGEEan interviewed her about her past and future AEGEE life.

AEGEE-Lund members a few years ago

The AEGEEan: How long time have you been a member of AEGEE?

Carolina: I joined the local mailing list of AEGEE-Lund already in 2002, but regrettably I didn’t get active until around 2007 when I was about to finish my studies… Better late than never, though!

Why did you join AEGEE?

Having studied abroad twice through the Erasmus exchange, the first time in Göttingen (Germany) and the second time in Lancaster (England), I was happy to continue interacting with people from all over Europe and also help organizing AEGEE events. Furthermore I have been blessed with many great friends and unforgettable moments thanks to AEGEE! 

You have recently joined Les Anciens, why?

Since I’m no longer a student (apart from an evening class in Italian) and AEGEE-Lund is about to close down due to lack of active members, I have started to mentally prepare for life after AEGEE… Then a friend of mine suggested me to join the New Year’s Event with Les Anciens in Berlin, and I thought “why not?”… It turned out to be a good choice! 

You spent New Years Eve with Les Anciens, how many were you and what did you do?

We were about 40 Les Anciens members celebrating New Year in Berlin, and it turned out that the AEGEE spirit was still very much alive and kicking! We went to restaurants and pubs, had a guided tour through the Stasi museum, drank Glühwein at the Christmas market near Alexanderplatz, visited Potsdam and the Sanssouci Castle, and last but not least the highlight of the event: The huge open-air party by Brandenburger Tor, a two km long party zone with about a million visitors and artists like Bonnie Tyler, Pet Shop Boys and Loreen performing live… An unforgettable night! 

Are you planning to become more involved with Les Anciens?

I definitely plan to become more involved with Les Anciens! In mid-March I’m going to Brussels to attend the annual Les Anciens gathering “Back to Brussels” and in the summer we are planning a Midsummer event in southern Sweden. And before that there is the annual General Assembly, which will take place in Malta in the end of May. I have never been to Malta before, so I’m really excited about going there! To be continued…

The AEGEEan wishes Carolina good luck with her future AEGEE life, and hopes to see that a miracle will happen and AEGEE-Lund won’t close or that it will return sooner than later!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København