Claudio Armandi, still at that time Network Commissioner, decided to organise the Autumn Network Meeting (NWM) before Autumn Agora Zaragoza so all the Italian-speaking and Maltese locals could gather together in Foggia. This was a first-time for the Apulian Contact of AEGEE-Europe in organising a European event and for most of the participants was also their first time in the city.

Every time we gather together, we share our doubts, our issues and we get a lot of feedback from friends, because that is what the Rainbow Network is about. We support each other, we give advice and we share our experiences. Beáta Matuszka was the Comité Directeur (CD) appointed member and we loved it: with her knowledge of the Italian language and culture, she’s now an honorary member of the Rainbow Network. Her endless energy drove us in the deepest secret of Human Resources problems and solutions. This is a topic that Italian antennae really care about- finding new members and motivating them is very hard and our Network is suffering of lack of fresh meat to take over once the more experienced ones will leave. Of course, we also had some sessions about the European Level and the upcoming Strategic plan. Plus, we were very lucky to have a member of the Visual Identity team, Francesca Russo from AEGEE-Padova.

The social program was awesome, but the European Night was just fenomenal. It took place in a mansionon the countryside, under a starry Apulian sky with the best food and drinks from Italian regions with a touch of jamón, palinka, becherovcka and Belarussian vodka. The local organizers even provided heavenly tiramisu to finish the dinner. Nobody could complain, of course!

As said before, the members of our Network are very close to each other so we were very exicted when we discovered that the Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Verona would sign the Convention d’Adhésion during the NWM. Seeing how much Larisa Smajlagic and Angie Zandonà care about the contact and the programme they have in mind helped us to refresh our motivation. The Convention d’Adhésion is usually signed in front of the whole Agora, but an exception was made and all the participants sang beautifully.

Even if we loved our time spent in Foggia, it’s undeniable that organising such a big event in a Contact of AEGEE-Europe was quite a gamble. Giuseppe Fascia, from the future AEGEE-Foggia, said that “there were definitely strengths and weaknesses. Among the strengths we can include the innate ability of some of our members to handle situations under pressure, have the self-control , and all the previous experiences of almost all organisers in organising any kind of events.” For Beata Matuszka from the CD, NWM are her favourite events and she “was really glad that Foggia was accepted as organisers as the NWM, it is indeed a great opportunity to learn and I was amazed by their enthusiasm and their perfectionism. I was really satisfied with the work of the Network Commissioner, Claudio Armandi, I think he did a great job building up the content and supporting the locals prior to the event and during the NWM as well.”

We were a little bit emotional since this has been the last NWM organised by Network Commissioner (NetCom) Claudio. He saw his Network, our Network grow (three contact were established) but he is not worried about the future. “Every new local has a different meaning to me since they have different stories. I will always bring them in my heart as something that belongs a little to me.” he said “I am happy they will be in safe hands after my term, it’s always difficult to let your babies go and walk on their own.”

During this NWM, NetCom candidate Mattia Abis from AEGEE-Cagliari presented himself and started sharing his programme with us. This was a good chance to meet personally not only him, but also other candidates for different positions in ZarAgora, too. Even if our Network is often labelled as a sleepy one and not very involved in the Europeal Level, Autumn Agora Zaragoza saw an invasion of Italian candidates, be it for Mediation Commission, Network Commission, Summer University Coordination Team and Chair Team, making Claudio even prouder.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Pictures courtesy of Gabriele Basile, AEGEE-Catania

The contact in Foggia is not even an antenna yet, but that has not stopped them for organizing a Network Meeting recently. They even thought it was really easy to organize such an event and encourage others to do the same. The AEGEEan interview Giuseppe Fascia from AEGEE-Foggia about creating the new antenna, organizing the Network Meeting and their future plans.

The AEGEEan: How did you hear about AEGEE?
We are a group of friends. All of us had experiences with other associations. Giuseppe Fascia and Gianluca Marchese were members of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Association in Foggia and they started to cooperate with the International Office of Foggia University and with Erasmus students. But they were not satisfied by the activities and spirit of ESN, so they started to look for something on European Networks and they found AIESEC and AEGEE. They liked the activities, the projects and the structure of AEGEE so much, that they contacted some Italian members to gain more information and a better understanding of what AEGEE is.

What made you interested in creating an antenna in Foggia?
After having gained more knowledge about AEGEE, Giuseppe and Gianluca involved Francesco La Salandra and they decided to create an AEGEE-antenna in Foggia. They believed that Foggia need to broaden its horizons and embrace the European mentality, and  to increase the value of its fantastic province and university.

For how long have you been working on creating an AEGEE-antenna in Foggia?
Exactly one year. In fact we sent our motivation letter to Matteo Scarpa (our Network Commissioner last year) on October 22nd 2012. We started communication from then on about how to build the antenna.

How has the university of your city been involved?
We have a great relationship with our university. Rector and International Office are really keen on this project and they will back up all our projects. We also help them with Erasmus students, promoting their projects because our students are not involved so much in university life, and we help them to develop European projects.

How many members do you have in AEGEE-Foggia?
We are 10 members. We will organize a lot of recruiting days to attract other members.

Why did you decide to organize the Network Meeting?
We decided to organize the Network Meeting because, first of all, we thought that it was a way to get to know other AEGEE members better, as well as the famous AEGEE spirit, and because we wanted to start our journey in the AEGEE world in the best possible way.

What challenges did you have while organizing it?
We didn’t have big problems while organizing it, because all of us had organized events before this one.

Would you encourage other antennae to organize Network Meetings?
Yes because it is a great experience. Organizing a NWM creates a great team spirit and facilitates personal and cultural growth.

How have you been preparing for the Agora in Zaragoza?
ZarAgora will be the most important event for AEGEE-Foggia because we will officially be founded there; we will sign the Convention d’Adhesion. We can’t wait to go there and make another step in our experience in this fantastic AEGEE world. We will be enthusiastic to live another new experience and meet a lot of new people. It is our first Agora.

What lies in the near future for AEGEE in Foggia?
We are ready to make a lot of projects with this Network. One of our purposes is to increase the value of our province and we will move in this direction. Furthermore, we are ready to cooperate with other antennae to create something important. I’m sure that you will hear a lot of people mentioning AEGEE-Foggia in the future.

How do you plan on collaborating with any nearby antenna on projects?
We are planning to collaborate with some other antenna for some important projects, and it does not have to be an antenna which is close to us. We think that collaboration will teach us something new and it will help us and our association grow. “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København