The world of politics can be a minefield. That’s why it’s so important to have skilled diplomats to guide us through, one of such being Marta Wnuk from AEGEE-Warszawa. After joining AEGEE she’s been rapidly rising through the ranks, being involved in various successful projects, in which she has shown that she can take on great responsibilities with skill and distinction. Now she’s more than ready to take on a new great step and become your next Chairperson.

The AEGEEan: Each person is like a tiny mystery, only so little is known of each of them. Marta, what would  you like people to know about you?

Marta: Up to recently I was a student of International Relations with special focus on diplomacy and external relations of the EU, particularly Eastern Partnership, about which I wrote my master’s thesis. Currently, I live and work in Warsaw – the city of rich history, Chopin and beautiful parks, which I fell in love with after moving there from Poznań.  In AEGEE I discovered one of my passions, which is being a trainer – delivering sessions and being involved in the content work. I also love Shakespeare, British theatre and good conversation about politics.

Every book has a story. What is your (hi)story with AEGEE?

I discovered AEGEE three and a half years ago when I attended an LTC organised in spring 2012 by AEGEE-Poznań. After that event, nothing was ever the same again. I embarked on passionate and full on unexpected turns of action, fast track of self-development and discovering new possibilities. One of those new worlds was Eastern Partnership. From the beginning I was involved in the organisation of “I’m for the East!” Festival – an event dedicated the six EaP countries. I also coordinated my own charity project “AEGEE with Heart for Georgia”. Naturally, after local activity in Poznań I continued my involvement with EaP by shaping the second phase of the Eastern Partnership Project as its Content Manager. The recent success of our project is the AEGEE Eastern Partnership Youth Convention organised in Kraków in May this year. Besides EaP, I also have experience as a board member of AEGEE-Warszawa. Most importantly, after being subcommie, since Agora Cagliari I am member of the Network Commission having under its care locals located in Ukraine and in Poland. So far it’s been one of the most rewarding and intense experiences for me in AEGEE.

 “Love is a many-splendored thing.” What is it that you like most about AEGEE?

Firstly, AEGEE makes you part of a unique community – people who will appreciate you for who you are and what you do. Secondly, it is the empowerment it enables and impact it leaves on individuals. These are two components that are hard to find almost anywhere else and that’s why they bring so much value. They make all the commitment and hard work worth the effort.

“You are not what you are born, but what you have it in yourself to be.” What made you want to become the (Vice-)Chairperson of the Agora/EBM?

As I wrote in my application, I’ve always been fascinated by possibility to participate in local democracy that AEGEE provides. The Agora is the ultimate experience, from that perspective. The Chairperson plays a very special role as a facilitator of the whole event and the processes that are being conducted there.

My term as a NetCommie will end soon. But I do not treat my candidature as only the next challenge in the organisation. Thought of being a Chairperson I gives me special thrill of excitement and at the same time I am aware how great the responsibility is that this task bears. It’s always been my dream to find myself in this position and now I know it’s the right time to try to realise it.

There seem to be as many people as stars in the night’s sky. What is it about you that makes you shine brighter, and be better than all the other candidates for (Vice-)Chairperson of the Agora/EBM?

I know quite well the world of diplomacy. And I believe that a good Chairperson should be like a good diplomat – respectable, representative, knowledgeable and a master of a compromise. Secondly, having experience as a NetCommie I am not only familiar with the insights of our organisation very well, but I know the perspective of the locals, thus I’ll be able to include it more in Statutory Events and communicate better with the Network.

 “Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” What do you think would be the most challenging aspects of being a chairperson?

The most challenging is always the unexpected, I would say. After having organised several events in AEGEE I learnt that very well. It is possible to be prepared for every task, but when different situations occur out of the plan, it’s necessarily to know how to act accordingly, which can be only be built upon previous experience and ability to adapt. Agora sometimes happens to be lively and dynamic, and it’s important to take that into account when preparing for role of a Chairperson.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

You can read her full candidature here.

From the 20th to the 24th of May, AEGEE-Kraków in cooperation with the Eastern Partnership Project of AEGEE-Europe (EaP) will organise a convention on the Eastern Partnership in the city of Kraków, Poland. The convention will host 23 people from all around Europe and will tackle issues such as European integration and the international relations with the countries from the Eastern Parnership. The AEGEEan spoke to Katarzyna Kluczka, organiser of the event, and Marta Wnuk, member of the EaP.

The AEGEEan: Why did you decide to organise the event?
Katarzyna: AEGEE-Kraków has quite an experience in hosting international events, so as a strong and motivated antenna, we wanted to continue this tradition. Personally, I have been interested in the Eastern Partnership Project since I came into contact with it during Network Meeting in Poznań. I have dreamt about becoming more involved, so as soon as the opportunity to coordinate this event appeared, I had to take my chance. I wanted to be part of EaP in any way possible and this position gives me and my fantastic team a chance to become part of something great. In my opinion, here and now, we can redefine the term “integration” by showing our participants it is possible to create a united Europe with no political or economical borders, if only there is the will and ideas to change the current state. This vision makes me very enthusiastic and is one of the main driving forces to be the host of the Eastern Partnership Youth Convention.

Why Kraków?
If we ask foreigners which cities in Poland are the most familiar to them, we can be sure that Kraków will be at the top of the ranking. It attracts tourists from all over the world, offering rich history at every step – whether in words of inhabitants, or just by looking at monuments that surround us. Kraków has been the cultural heart of Poland for centuries. It has always been a symbol of many nations coexisting together in peace and harmony, sharing innovations and stories. Taking this into account, Kraków is the perfect city to host the Eastern Partnership Youth Convention and boast about cultural heritage. However, there are more than this reason why our city has the privilege of inviting 23 active, young people from the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries. For centuries Kraków was the capital of Poland and the main seat for kings. Nowadays it is called the capital of students and the little homeland for migrants. Also, I can proudly assure you, AEGEE-Kraków is very well-prepared to organise this event, being one of the most active and strongly developed antennae. Our members believe that they are young people who, today, can create the growth and innovation of tomorrow. To sum up: the charm of Kraków, the city itself, being a symbol of friendly cooperation between nations and the activity of society, are the main factors why Kraków is the best location for a project concerning the collaboration of the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries.

What can participants expect from the event?
To begin with, a warm welcome and great enthusiasm of the organisers! We can’t wait to meet these fantastic young people! I hope they will be satisfied. The workshops prepared by the Content Team sound thrilling – inspiration will be the keyword of this event. Another one can be the power of the team – I hope we will all become a well-knitted group who can learn from each other and share ideas or common experience. The location of workshops – The Embassy of Cracovians – is perfect for this kind of project – it is very cosy, well-equipped and also situated very close to the main square. You will love it! Another advantage: it is near to the One World Hostel, where the participants will be accommodated. Also, the food participants get will represent the traditional Polish cuisine – the part of our culture we are very proud of. And of course, there will be a lot of AEGEE spirit. Apart from the workshops we have planned integration activities and parties, the perfect mix for a successful event!

Can you tell us what the convention is about?
Marta: The Eastern Partnership Youth Convention is an event that will gather 23 young leaders coming both from EaP countries and EU states that focuses on foreign policy and state of relations between the EU and the EaP countries with regard to current international situation.

The participants will be introduced to the Eastern Partnership programme (EaP) and its main features. We want to identify the problems that the European continent is currently facing in this area, build an understanding image around them, and work on common approach to solve these problems.  The final result of the Convention will be a set of recommendations towards the European institutions on how the EaP programme should be improved according to young experts on the topic (our participants).

What is the role of the Eastern Partnership Project inside AEGEE?
The project’s values are based on belief that this initiative is an important element of AEGEE’s mission of bridging Europe. By our activity we would like to raise the level of knowledge about the Eastern Partnership countries and help to build understanding around issues that concern them. Our project organises various workshops during AEGEE events, writes articles and issues monthly newsletters. However, we do not restricts ourselves to delivering information. We see importance of discussion and exchange of views. We proposed the topic and helped to shape the content of EPM Burgos and right now we are in the process of organising the Convention. We see our role as advocates of the six EaP countries, which still remain an unknown part of Europe for many.

Why do you think bridging Europe is important?
It’s a question of European integration in fact. One of the biggest achievements of AEGEE was the decision on establishing new locals in Eastern Europe beyond borders of the EU. Now when our continent is free of the Iron Curtain there is still a need to create more links between its Western and Eastern parts. Awareness of the six EaP countries always remains an important issue to tackle. Bringing attention to the region helps to get more recognition and support.

Eastern Partnership is an EU programme oriented on making links between the EU countries and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. Our project within AEGEE aims to bring this vision to AEGEEans and to build integrated Europe through the bottom-up approach, by involvement of young people.

Taking in consideration the current situation of Ukraine, what can be done by AEGEEans and young people in general to make the situation better?
I believe that communication and direct contact are always the key elements in conflict situations. Common projects allowing to meet and exchange opinions in a discussion-friendly environment can lead to facilitation of mutual understanding between all sides. Young people perhaps cannot change politics in a substantial way, but they can invest in themselves by becoming more knowledgeable, aware and open-minded people and in this way becoming advocates of consensus and spread this attitude about the crisis to others.

Written by Ruben Navarro, AEGEE-Tarragona

During Autumn Agora Cagliari six new members of the NetCom were elected, namely: Andrea Schmelz (AEGEE-Passau), Boudewijn Steenhof (AEGEE-Leiden), Mario Galea (AEGEE-Valletta), Marta Wnuk (AEGEE-Warszawa), Olga Rivero (AEGEE-Oviedo) and Tekla Hajdu (AEGEE-Budapest). The AEGEEan spoke to them to find out more about these new members and their plans for the upcoming months.

Andrea Schmelz (AEGEE-Passau)

Why did you apply to be NetCom?

I have been already thinking about it since I organized Network Meeting (NWM) Passau. I saw how much a Netcom can help locals by simply listening and talking to them. I love to see the effects of connecting people and the Netcom is the perfect place to facilitate this. In my position it is not about me making an impact, but about supporting the locals to do that. And that is a very rewarding job.

 What was your first reaction when you heard you got elected as NetCom?

My face was completely red, because of the excitement in the plenary, the hours to wait for the election results and the lack of air in the plenary room. So when the results were out, I was just happy to be elected, sign the contract and get some fresh air and food.

What are your plans for the locals in your area?

First, I would like to help those who need support to flourish again and encourage those who do well to organize more thematic European events. Next to that I very much encourage the Netcom Projects such as Twin Antenna and Mentoring Antenna. It is so great to have a second home base in AEGEE. It would be also nice to see some new contacts, maybe we can fill in some blanks on the map?

What are your plans for the NetCom team?

After the Netcom Meeting in Brussels, I feel like I have thousands of plans and ideas! I mainly want to work on revising the way we work with new contacts. I learned a lot about this last year and it is not only about giving the contacts an idea of how to become part of AEGEE, but also about supporting the respective Netcom in his or her work with the contacts.

What are the nicknames for your area and team?

We don’t have any nicknames, but with Maastricht on board I try to infiltrate slowly the name AEGezelligkeit (geselligkeit/gezelligheid are the German and Dutch word for cosiness, a good atmosphere with other people ed.), a concept well-known to Germans and Dutchies. I’ll see how persuasive I am; I know I have skeptics around me (she laughs).

What is something that most AEGEEans wouldn’t know about you?

I hate orange juice with pulp. When I discovered pulp as a 4-year-old kid in kindergarten, I thought they look like grubs and I stopped drinking orange juice for 12 years. I started to drink it again, but I am always quite happy when I see the cheap, pulp-free juice packages at AEGEE events.

Boudewijn Steenhof (AEGEE-Leiden)

Marta Wnuk (AEGEE-Warszawa)

Why did you apply to be NetCom?

I was driven by a huge sense of responsibility towards my network and great care for the people that are part of it. I was a SubCommie the previous year, so I gota  very valuable perspective that allowed me to get to know the functioning of the locals quite well and provided me with a good starting-point experience. I knew Polish-speaking locals needed a good NetCommie and since I was approached by many asking me if I would run for the post, I decided to take up the challenge.

What was your first reaction when you heard you got elected as NetCom?

It was a combination of relieve and happiness. Relieve because the closing ceremony was considerably delayed and I was waiting for the results quite intensively. Happiness because I achieved my dream goal and didn’t let down the trust of many who supported my candidature.

What are your plans for the locals in your area?

One of my priorities are Local Training Courses (LTC). Among Polish-speaking locals these are already well-established and bringing good results using the common format of LTC: a whole-weekend training based on workshops, case-study system and integration of new members. I would like to make sure that its implementation in every local is right and raise its quality even more as successful LTCs are one of the key elements of running a local. My next priority is setting up good communication within my area that is aimed at knowledge transfer, exchange of experiences and good practices. Ideally, weaker locals should learn from stronger ones and SubCommies, who are my team of experts in specific fields, are there to help them. Thirdly, the organization of NWM Warszawa is very important and a lot of work will be focused to create the best content for the event.

What are your plans for the NetCom team?

It’s very important for the NetCom to fulfill its work plan for the current term. I want to contribute to developing the set of common topics of NWMs and finishing the Toolkit for Boards. I would also like to be involved in the process of creating a Non-Disclosure Agreement  for SubCommies and support the CD with their initiative regarding LTCs.

What are the nicknames for your area and team?

This would be a quite boring answer as there is not any official name of my area. There is only a name that works as a bit sarcastic inside joke that is not specially worth of translating here. As for my SubCom team I simply call them what they are – the best team ever!

What is something that most AEGEEans wouldn’t know about you?

It’s pretty known that I live in Warsaw and before that I lived in Poznań. However, I don’t think that any one knows that I actually grew up in a very little village in North-West Poland. I’m really proud of this fact and I would never change it for a childhood in a big city. It gave me wonderful memories and shaped my character positively I think.

Olga Rivero (AEGEE-Oviedo)

Why did you apply to be NetCom?

Ever since I became interested in the thematic bodies of AEGEE and started going to statutory events, I knew that the role of a Network Commissioner was the most inspiring and suitable for me. That’s why I decided to take the first step by becoming SubCommissioner of Pauline Létard, and later of NetCom Assistant Carmen María López. As I could prove during all those months, I wasn’t wrong about my perception of a NetCommie, and since my motivation kept growing and growing and I felt more confident and prepared everyday, I asked myself: why not run for such a position?

What was your first reaction when you heard you got elected as NetCom?

As there was another member candidating for my same area, I remember feeling a burst of motivation and gratefulness at the same time, while I thought I was in a dream. 2014 was the year in which I reached the goals I had had for some time in AEGEE, no doubt about it!

What are your plans for the locals in your area?

My team and I are working a lot on getting closer to each local. We want to gain their trust and make them feel that we are present in their daily life, so if there’s something going wrong they don’t hesitate to share it with us. We want to be a proactive team towards the locals we are in charge of because we think that is the basic step to take before implementing new ideas or developing new strategies. We are also working hard on creating common strategies for locals that have the same weaknesses, such us FR, HR… And, of course, offering our help for the organization of the next two statutory events, EPM Burgos and AgorAsturias!

What are your plans for the NetCom team?

My NetCom colleagues and I are working in close cooperation on developing some new ideas we had at the start of this new term, which in some cases involves improving some of the things that already exist.

What are the nicknames for your area and team?

The nickname for my area is La Nave, and my team is informally called La Tripulación. From what I know, the name of La Nave was born some years ago (I wasn’t a member yet), when the mailing list we use for communicating in the area was called subealanave (which would be translated as “get on board in our spaceship”). The name was a joke that was raised from the fact that all of the non-AEGEE people saw us a bit like a sect, like there were some aliens that were going to come to look for us to get on board on their spaceship. It eventually developed to calling our Facebook group and our area La Nave (“the spaceship”) in an informal way, and the NetCom team of the area got to be known as La Tripulación (“the crew”), as if they were the ones that drove the spaceship. There’s even a kind of structure in Santander that looks like a spaceship where every AEGEEan from the area takes pictures with.

What is something that most AEGEEans wouldn’t know about you?

I’m a biotechnologist specialized in Microbiology that was born in Oviedo (north of Spain) 23 years ago. I lived there until one year ago, when I moved to Madrid to finish my studies and where I will start my PhD soon. I love music (I have played the piano for almost my whole life), traveling (big news, I guess!), TV series (I’m a big fan of Breaking Bad, Friends and Modern Family) and movies (thumbs up if you have watched all Woody Allen movies like me).

Tekla Hajdu (AEGEE-Budapest)

Why did you apply to be NetCom?

I applied as a NetCom, because I was in close contact with Brigitta Puskas (AEGEE-Budapest), the previous NetCom Assistant, and I got inspiration from seeing her work with her antennae. I was always the kind of person who is not afraid of bigger tasks, so I decided why not go for it? Also, I got a lot of support from Brigitta, from my board and from older members from Budapest as well, and when I met with the previous NetCom team in person, I was sure that I wanted to belong to the Network Commission too.

What was your first reaction when you heard you got elected as NetCom?

I was very delighted, because I was the last one to apply amongst the candidates (the “dark horse”), and I was afraid that I wouldn’t get elected. It was definitely amongst my remarkable happy moments in AEGEE [she smiles, ed.].

What are your plans for the locals in your area?

First of all, I want to strengthen the area, because in the previous years, it has been very fragmented, and now it is the time to have someone to whom they can turn to. I want to strengthen the cooperation between them, and to help them out as much as possible. In the long run, I want to promote the Twin Antenna project to my locals, and I would also like to implement the Mentorship System in the area. So far I have been welcomed with open arms, so I have high hopes for my long-term plans.

What are your plans for the NetCom team?

In the NetCom team, I would like to be an active and useful member. I wish to concentrate on the content of Network Meetings, the tasks of SubCommissioners, and the process of accepting Contacts.

What are the nicknames for your area and team?

I did not really hear of a nickname for my region so far. Usually, I call it Middle European Area or Central European Area, because I have antennae from five different countries from Central –Eastern Europe – but I’ll ask my SubCommies if they have any ideas!

What is something that most AEGEEans wouldn’t know about you?

I am actually a “horsey girl” – I have been riding for more than 6 years, and when I was in high school, I used to go to competitions as well. Since I started university, I only occasionally have the chance to ride, but my love for horses will never change.

You can find Network Commission Working Plan for the current term (Agora Cagliari-Agora Oviedo) here.

Written by Svenja van der Tol, AEGEE-Nijmegen