Determining how to make AEGEE a more active organisation thus contributing to combating physical inactivity in Europe is on the agenda of the Sports Working Group (SWG). Part of the key to the answer is to organise events, loads of events to reach as many members as possible.

Let’s move it  – Lets Shake it up  Europe – Sport as tool for Summer University (SU)

If your antenna wants to make this summer more active and healthier, the SWG is here to help you incorporate physical activity and sport in non-formal education in your SU. SWG is a brand new Working Group of 2012, full of eager and motivation, ready to come closer to the Network and combat issues such as racism and homophobia in sports which can all be used in the organisation of a SU. Many SUs have already had the theme of sports last year including Brescia, Madrid, Oviedo, Athens and many more; the SWG hopes to make SUs even more sportive this summer, at the same time incorporating the action agenda of AEGEE in this . At the moment the SWG is in talks with the Scandinavian Dream Summer University, organisers AEGEE-Helsinki and AEGEE-København, as well as AEGEE-Tiranë trying to make their SU more active and hopefully more antennae will use the SWG in their SU.

Using the famous games to organise a motivational event

A few weeks ago the SWG issued its first Open Call asking for a local to host an event inspired by the Olympic Games. The SWG recognises a lack of a motivational event that gathers members from all over the Network, with the aim of cultural exchange, team-building and social activities and it has the belief that sports can create the surrounding for such event. The SWG aims to organise an inspiring as well as motivational event of a duration of four to seven days that could open up for a stronger co-operation between antennae and potentially an opportunity to cooperate with other interesting organisations such as ESN, AIESEC, BEST and more, which could have members interested in taking part in such events as well. The SWG values Youth Participation highly and it has been agreed that having such event where members can network not only within AEGEE but also with other associations will help better AEGEE. Since there is still one more week until the deadline of applying to be host of such event, the SWG will keep all opportunities open and is eager to receive mails tick into their gmail account.

Whether it comes to having SUs focus on inclusion of minorities, or being active in youth participation organising interesting events such as AEGEE Olympics, the SWG keeps developing ideas on how to contribute to combating physical inactivity and on non-formal education through sports with the Action Agenda in mind. Hopefully a strong collaboration between local level and European level will reaffirm the SWG and the Network that the SWG has a great potential working together with antennae from all over Europe.

Written by Sabina Begic AEGEE-Wien, and Patricia Anthony AEGEE-København

Renovar is Spanish for “Renovate”, which, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means:

1: To restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding)

2: To restore to life, vigor, or activity : revive <the church was renovated by a new ecumenical spirit>

Years ago, the Spanish government started a plan called “Renove” which consisted of giving an amount of money to everyone who wanted to change his car for a new one, renovating the fleet of cars and trying to get more environmental friendly ones. Later on, many projects were called “Renove”, all of them with the same spirit: restoring something to a better state. Of course AEGEE couldn’t be an exception.

AEGEE is pretty strong in Spain, but let’s not forget that in many antennae the same group of people have been working throughout many years, without a proper generational change. That’s why the idea of renovating the boards surfaced at the NWM in Granada, and one antenna was the perfect place to put it into practice: AEGEE-Madrid.

Opening ceremony

The idea was to have one event right after the period of Summer Universities (when most of the new members are willing to hear more about AEGEE), with a big amount of fun and the correct amount of information about AEGEE, mixed with some time for the antennae to bring together oldies and newbies and create a team.

The event itself was so succesfull that people were asking: “So… where is it going to be next year?”. The seed was sown and no one could stop it, we needed a Renove 2.

After some months, Sergio Oliveros, from AEGEE-Madrid, the person trying to create once again the antenna of AEGEE-Valladolid, came up with the idea: “I have the perfect place to hold Renove 2!”, and at the NWM in Burgos, the same event where he signed the Convention d’Adhésion for AEGEE-Valladolid, he shared the great news: they were willing to organise Renove 2.

Of course, it’s not easy to organise an event like this one (200 participants is like a small EBM!), especially for a newly created antenna, with a main organiser (Sergio Oliveros) experienced in AEGEE, but an organiser for the first time nevertheless, and most of the other organisers as newbies, with no experience either. It wasn’t easy, but just like last year, many people from all around Spain offered to help. This is the AEGEE spirit, and this is how we live in our Network.

The gym with the 210 participants

The event started on Thursday, with the first people arriving in Valladolid, but the main programme started on Friday, when the 200 participants and organisers were all together in Serrada (the village where we stayed). Due to the magnitude of the event (for a new antenna like AEGEE-Valladolid this was like organising an Agora), they decided to start the event with a special opening ceremony: singing! With the guitars of Anita and Consu (from AEGEE-Coruña and AEGEE-Valencia, respectively), the amazing voices of Olga, Cristina and Espe (AEGEE-Oviedo, AEGEE-Santander and AEGEE-Las Palmas) and the… let’s say “crying-cat-like” voice of Sergio Oliveros.

Right after the show, since we were in the land of wine (Serrada is in the middle of a Protected Designation of Origin area of wine), we enjoyed some wine tasting (12 different wines in total) with “tapas” (small complement of food usually offered with wine in bars). This was right before the European Night, which was, actually, the strangest I’ve ever been to, since the place was so small that we needed to go from table to table and ask “Where are you from and what did you bring?”.

On Saturday, after a really cold night in the gym, we woke up to enjoy the morning activity: visiting a wine cellar and a vineyard. And right after lunch, the most famous part of Renove: the group games. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the place where we were supposed to enjoy the games and the organisers had to change the location to a wheat field, which was full of stubble. Due to this, the organisers had to change most of the games (which included running barefoot or crawling) in the very last moment, which was far from easy.

At night, the main event: the wedding of the mascots of AEGEE-Bilbao (a sheep) and AEGEE-Valladolid (a lamb). In my opinion, the most incredible fact of the wedding was that a truce was agreed before the event and most of the mascots attended the wedding without anyone trying to steal them (at least for few minutes). Of course, the different groups of the event, this time based on the different characters that can be found at a Spanish wedding (aunts, grandmas, drunks, gatecrashers, etc.), dedicated poems, dances, and even hip hop songs to the couple (yes, this is weird, but it’s AEGEE, and we sing French songs in European meetings…).

Finally, on Sunday, we enjoyed the training part of the event, starting with the amazing presentation of “What is AEGEE”, held by Fernando Campo from AEGEE-Santander. It was his last event in AEGEE and he wanted to say goodbye somewhere where the sky was the limit. Although this presentation was usually held by Juan Hernandez with huuuge success, Fernando chose to hold it this time, and it was more than amazing. Everybody enjoyed it quite a lot.

To finish the event, everyone was grouped in antennae and talked about their future and what people could do for the antennae. I’m pretty sure many new members will be active after Renove… once again!

Games during Renove

My congratulations to AEGEE-Valladolid for being such a new antenna and having the courage to organise such a big event like this one.

See you at Renove 3!!!

Written by Juan Sordo, AEGEE-Oviedo