AEGEE-Groningen members are preparing their ship to set sail on their new NWM (Network Meeting) that will take place between the 13th and 17th of April. We talked to Anna van den Berg, the Captain of the crew, to find out further information about their NWM and their plans for the event.

The AEGEEan: At the beginning, let’s find out some information about your antenna. Who is AEGEE-Groningen, how many members does it have and how old is it? 

Anna: AEGEE-Groningen is the northernmost local of the Netherlands. It was founded in 1988 and we currently have around 300 members. We organise many local and European events, but we also organise excursions and hitchhiking competitions about six times a year.

Is this the first time when you organise a Network Meeting within your local? If not, when did you host the first one and what will be different in this NWM?

It is not the first time we will host a Network Meeting. Six years ago, we conquered the island of Schiermonnikoog, but this year our ship will set sail for the lovely island of Ameland. Of course, we will also show you our beautiful hometown: Groningen.

 Could you present us the core team behind this NWM?

Our committee consists of six highly motivated pirates. Captain Anna, who prefers to be called Koekwaus, has only one goal in life: to find the secret stack of rum! There is nothing in the world that could stop her from finding it. Her servant, or actually First Mate, Lisette, is quoting everything that has been said, in her diary. She will publish it afterwards to get rich, so she will be able to spend it all on travelling. Treasurer Mark began his voyage at the far eastside of the Netherlands, in search of treasures to finance our journey to the island of Ameland! On his trips, he always brings his own secret stash of rum, and keeps it hidden from his Captain.

And then we have our three masters. Patrick is our Sailing Master. He is responsible for our promotion, so we may find the landlubbers brave enough to join us during our grueling journey. Also, do not overlook Leny, our Master Gunner, she may be quiet at first, but when she is sailing on the Wadden Sea, she feels like being at home. And don’t forget Frank. Frank is just…Frank. He is our Quartermaster and beware of him as well. He has a dangerous skill: his sarcasm will blow your mind.

What is the main theme of this NWM? Please describe it in 3-5 lines. 

The theme of our NWM is Pirates of Ameland. People of AEGEE-Groningen are adventurous and they like to travel, and we would like to offer our participants the opportunity to be part of our adventure by taking them to Ameland on our boat. We will make sure that this is going to be an adventure that they will never forget.

Are there going to be thematic parties? If yes, what kind of thematic parties? 

There will be a thematic party in Groningen, during which you will get the opportunity to show your inner pirate. Of course that on the island, we will organise a European Night. Besides that, we will have more parties, many games and a lot of interesting workshops.

How many participants do you plan to accept?

We will accept a maximum of 30 participants to join us in our adventure.

How much is the participation fee for this event?

This event costs only 65 euros, and it includes our travel to Ameland.

Which is the easiest way for participants to reach Groningen?

Groningen is easily accessible by train, bus or airplane. The airport Groningen-Eelde is located just a few miles away from the city. In addition, there is also a direct train connection between the city and Schiphol airport (Amsterdam). It is also easy to reach Groningen from Eindhoven airport or Bremen airport by train. Flixbus also offers many different connections between Groningen and other cities in Europe.

Do you also plan to give the participants a city tour or an optional trip?

The participants will get tours of both our hometown, Groningen, and the beautiful island Ameland. There will be the opportunity to learn about AEGEE and to develop themselves during the workshops, but we will make sure that they enjoy the beauty of the Netherlands as well.

Tell us something interesting about Groningen, something that a few people know.

Groningen is a city that never sleeps: in our city, the bars do not close until the last person has gone home. So if you are up for the challenge of partying all night long, Groningen is definitely the right city for you!

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

As the Agora Asturias 2015 is approaching at a high speed, our ‘Proposals for Dummies’ series is still ongoing! Today we are taking a look at three proposals which mainly concern Statutory Meetings, namely Agorae, European Planning Meetings and Network Meetings, and which aim at introducing some changes to the Antenna Criteria and the Working Format of the Agora.

The first one of the proposals that we will analyse today, Proxy voting for locals, has been proposed by Léa Charlet from AEGEE-Paris, Olga Rivero from AEGEE-Oviedo and Ruben Navarro from AEGEE-Tarragona. It addresses a problem that some of our locals are facing since some of them don’t the money, time and resources to send their delegates to the Agorae. It means that these locals cannot participate in the decisions taken at the Agora, as they are unable to cast their votes. The proposal suggests that locals who cannot attend the Agorae can delegate their votes to another antenna, who will cast it on their behalf.

The proposers argue that smaller locals often face disadvantages, as they usually have lesser chances to send delegates to Agorae. Moreover, they argue that often, the city where an Agora takes place “is also decisive for a candidate to be elected or a proposal to be approved, just because the attendance from the nearby antennae is bigger” than others.

However, this doesn’t mean that antennae who delegate their votes to others will fulfil the antenna criterion of being present at Statutory events. It will only mean that some other antenna will vote on their behalf, so they will not be in any way present in Agorae. According to the initial proposal, antennae who would like to delegate their votes would have to inform the Juridical Commission two weeks in advance, and approve their decision of delegating the vote in their own local Agora. Find the proposal here.

The second one of the proposals we will take a look at today concerns the attendance to statutory meetings, too. It aims at Changing Criteria for Representative Attendance during Meetings, referring to Agorae, European Planning Meetings (EPM) and Network Meetings (NWMs). Mario Galea (AEGEE-Valletta), on behalf of the Network Commission, proposes to change the current criterion of attendance to plenaries (currently stated as “full attendance”) and set a minimum percentage of plenary attendance instead (80% of them), and as many prytania per slot as it has representatives – so, if a local sends only two delegates, this local should send these two delegates in two prytania slots.

Concerning Network Meetings, Mario argues that the current criterion implies that locals have to send a participant at a Network Meeting, but this presence is not usually counted – meaning that participants can be free of skipping the sessions or simply visiting the city. The proposal aims to avoid this by setting a minimum percentage of the sessions to be attended in order to make this criterion fulfilled. The full proposal can be found here.

Our last daily proposal, Providing Room for Deliberation on Motions, is proposed by Gijs van Amerongen and Maarten de Groot, from AEGEE-Amsterdam. Currently, there is enough space for deliberation before voting candidatures and proposals. However, this doesn’t happen when it comes to motions, which are proposed during the Agora itself and often voted on within the same plenary session, with not enough space for discussion.

As the proposers from AEGEE-Amsterdam suggest, sometimes delegates do not have the time to deliberate and to discuss before making a decision. Because of that, they propose a minimum of three minutes during the plenary session in order to provide the delegates with some time for deliberation among one another and the members from their local. The full proposal can be found here.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona