Although AEGEE-Gdansk is a very small Antenna with very young members, the Polish Local got nominated as Local of the Month of March because they organised their first NWM, also followed by national mass media. Read this interview to the President Wiktoria Rajek and to Yevheniia Pavlenko and find out how you can prepare a perfect LTC in your Antenna.

THE AEGEEan: Congratulations, you were nominated as Local of the Month of March! Introduce yourselves, please, and tell us your AEGEE-Gdansk story. How did it start? Can you tell us a bit more about your local?

Wiktoria Rajek and Yevheniia Pavlenko: Big thanks for the nomination! We still cannot believe it. We are from AEGEE-Gdańsk, a small antenna with around eleven active members now. The majority of our board were new members, we did not know each other, did not know the structure of AEGEE, did not have any experience, and did not even have many more members (besides the board) [they laugh]. But it did not stop us from doing great things! We were motivated to develop ourselves, recruit new people, and to get into all of this!

How did you come to idea to organise a NWM and managed to succeed in it?

It was a hard decision for our local, because at that moment we had only new members and a new board without any experience in organising events. At the same time Agata (one of our members) was organising a Local Training Course, Daria was organising a charity project called “Helpers’ generation” for potential future donors of bone marrow, which lasted one week (we are very proud to announce that we have registered one hundred-eighty potential donors), and Marta was responsible for the recruitment process at that time. So as you see, it was a really busy time for us, but we thought that if we had not tried, we would not have gotten any knowledge and remained as inexperienced as we were before. Thank God, we (Wiktoria and Yevheniia) decided to undertake coordination of the whole process of organising NWM. And we can say for sure that it was one of the best decisions than we have ever made.

What are you working on at the moment?                                                     

At this very moment, we are just after elections. Our candidates for future board members have great plans to thrive our local. They would like to organise a European event (not only one), so stay tuned, follow our fanpage on FB, and maybe in the nearest future you can apply for them!

Did Polish TV follow your NWM? Which has been the feedback about that?

Yes! Thanks to Dorota, who was PR Responsible of the NWM, besides many articles, radio and, of course, usual promotion of the event, we went a step further and she managed to invite a big Polish television. They made a short material not only about the event, but also about AEGEE in general. We think it was great in terms of PR, and it really helped to make AEGEE visible in our city. The feedback was really good! Participants were happy and a little bit shocked [they laugh] at the beginning, and for some of us it was the first time when we were interviewed. It was for sure an unbelievable experience.

Can you tell us the secret to prepare a perfect LTC?

In our opinion the key to the successful LTC is very simple. Firstly, you have to place yourself as a contestant and determine your expectations of the workshops. For example, what do you want to find out, what is the problem for you with entering into a labour market. Then find trainers, and describe them your vision. You can devise some theme for LTC and prepare workshops connected with one subject then. During that step, take care of the promotion of your event – it is very important for two reasons, because you are not only promoting the workshops, but also your antenna. We are still shocked about how our LTCs get around one hundred applications. It only shows the keen demand for self-development of young people in Gdańsk. And last but not least: remember that it is impossible to do it on your own – the strong team is the key!

How did it feel to find out that you were nominated?                                                                           

Ooooh [they laugh]… It happened during the closing ceremony of NWM, Stas Mahula, our Network Commissioner, and Maarten de Groot from CD recorded a short video and officially nominated us with the support of all one hundred participants. Needless to say, it was a very touching moment. There were a lot of other locals which organised NWMs this year, and were active, but AEGEEans decided to nominate Gdańsk as a local of March. For us it means that all our efforts were not in vain, and everything we did had and still has a big impact on the members’ development. After our NWM some of the participants joined even the European working groups, such as PRC. It is our best accomplishment, to know that our event actually motivated somebody to strive for more.

What is your motto? Can you describe your local in one sentence?

“Size doesn’t matter” or “nothing is impossible”, hard to choose. We like both and we think they suit the character of our local. This event and every other which we organised at that exact moment taught us one thing which we would like to share with you – if you really want to do something, you will find a way. If you don’t, you will find an excuse.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

Some weeks ago AEGEE-Debrecen organised a Network Meeting with a very small number of participants, but very interested in every activity proposed by the Hungarian Antenna. The Network Commissioner Alin Georgescu and the local students’ organisation “Zerophobia” have been fundamental for the success of this event.

THE AEGEEan: Let’s begin by giving us a little information about your Antenna. Who is AEGEE-Debrecen, how many members does it have and how old is it?

AEGEE-Debrecen Board: The foundation of AEGEE-Debrecen started in 1990, and we officially became an antenna in 1992, so we are one of the oldest antennae in Central-Eastern Europe. Our antenna has been continuously operating since then, and we organised many local and international events (Network Meetings, Summer Universities, conferences) in these twenty-five years. In the past few years we had 30-40 members, and fortunately nearly ten active members this year. Our antenna was always maintained primarily by the students of the University of Debrecen, which has been attracting many youngsters from our region, and recently from all over the world as well. The title of our Network Meeting was “NWM Debrecen – The phoenix rises again”, referring to the symbol of our city – the phoenix, and because we want the revival of AEGEE-Debrecen after the relative quiet of the past two years.

Was this the first time you organised a Network Meeting in your local? And if not, when did you organise the first one and what new did you plan to bring new to this NWM?

AEGEE-Debrecen organised several Network Meetings, I know of three at least, with this year’s meeting. But the last one took place in 2010, so it was time to organise one again [he smiles]. The new thing was a successful collaboration with a local students’ organisation consisting of Hungarian and foreign students here in Debrecen. They are called “Zerophobia” and they fight against xenophobia with different activities. They also delivered a session about the importance and power of communication and words themselves. It was a great success, every participant liked it very much.

Could you present us the core team behind this NWM?

Practically all of our active members were involved in the organisation, everybody helped where they could. So I don’t want to highlight anybody, maybe just our president, Evelin Király. Apart from organising, getting venues for sessions, food, etc, she always motivated us to move on with the organisation process, and make sure our participants never get bored or tired during the programmes.

What was the main theme of this NWM? 

The main theme was to learn how to get new members to your antenna, and how to make them active, but there were also discussions about current problems and the future of AEGEE, and the opportunities our organisation can offer. There were a lot of constructive, open discussions about these important questions. Thanks to our NetCommie, Alin Georgescu, for the good content.

Were there also thematic parties? If yes, what kind of thematic parties?

There weren’t thematic parties this time, but I saw our participants were satisfied with the pub crawling and the European Night [he smiles].

How many participants did you accept?

To be honest, there were only ten applications despite the hard promotion, but all of them were good. At the end five participants attended the event officially, but there were also some participants from Hungary, from AEGEE-Budapest, and from our university. It was a small NWM, but the feedback was very positive, and I have also experienced in AEGEE that sometimes smaller events are the better.

Which was the easiest way for participants to reach Debrecen?

Debrecen is easily accessible from Budapest, it takes only two hours by train. Our city also directly available by plane from some European cities. So I can say getting to here is not an issue.

Did you give the participants a city tour or an optional trip?

Yes, we gave them a city tour. Introducing our city to the participants was important for us, so we inserted the city tour to the middle of the official programme. I think it is important in order to build a good event. As an organiser you have to be aware of it, even in a busy NWM.

Tell us something interesting about Debrecen that few people know. 

I would like to tell about the flower carnival which takes place every year in Debrecen, on the 20th of August, on Hungary’s national holiday. On that day, fifteen big cars totally covered and overdecorated with flowers go around the city, once in the morning, and once in the evening. Several music bands, dance groups, and other creatures accompany them in this crazy event, and of course it is finished with a big firework performance. If you want to attend, just call us. You are always welcome here in Debrecen.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

NWM -Thessaloniki was held from the 30^th March to the 2^nd April in Thessaloniki. It was one of the first couple of NWMs that opened the spring season this year. It was attended by 30 participants, Spyros Papadatos from NetCom, Réka Salamon from CD and experienced trainers, such as Damien Moon Latacz from MedCom and Lucia Gavulova from Summer University.

The title of this article, which was inspired by Spyros Papadatos’s motto “Make the impossible, possible”, sets the beat and describes in the best way this NWM. It was a united collaboration between the local organisers, that surpassed every obstacle, and the European contribution of NetCom, CD and the other participating commitees. The result was a well organised NWM in both the logistic and the content-related aspects.

The participants came from various parts of the Network. Even though the element of the antennae coming from the distributional area where the NWM was organised was not prominent, this enriched the opinions and practices that could be shared during the whole process. The sessions were held in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and some of them in the local youth council settlement. Specifically, the participants had the chance to learn about the structure of AEGEE, prepare and present a SWOT analysis for their antenna, work on FR, HR recruiting and team management. Apart from this, there were sessions about Agora preparation and “Democracy in AEGEE”, a discussion about the future of AEGEE which was presented by Réka. The highlight though, according to many participants, was the Best for My Local session in which each antenna had the chance to share the knowledge and their best practice for recruitment. It was very helpful and enlightining, especially if we consider the fact that our Network is more and more threatened with shrinking. Moreover, the Open Space Technology, which hosted different discussions, from the Brexit to specifying the Point System, was the one that everyone enjoyed the most, due to the fact that they could be involved and participate actively. Laslty, there were very interesting sessions about the youth carrers within EU, which were presented to us by a representative of Europe Direct.

Despite the hard working during the sessions and the commitment with which everyone handled with it, the social life was enjoyed by everyone.  Thessaloniki is a city well known for its nightlife, tasty food temptations and hospitable people.

The participants had the chance to meet all of these through city tours, partying like superheroes in an alternative style pub, travelling back to disco times and tasting the local liquors in traditional tavernas, even when the NWM was finished. We couldn’t exclude the legendary European Night, which was mostly enjoyed by Spyros, our NetCom, Marios, the local representative, and Alperen from AEGEE-Istanbul, who won an Interrail ticket in the Best of my Local competition.

All these wouldn’t have become a reality without the amazing team of organisers from AEGEE-Thessaloniki and the main organiser, Stella Krokou. Within a hard economical situation in Greece, they managed to keep up to everyone’s expectations and hold an inspiring NWM. The have succeded in fundraising, covering all logistics, gaining the collaboration of the university (whoever comes from an antenna with a difficult collaboration with the university can understand how important this is). The quality of their effort was eminent from the fact that everybody had a wonderful time both during the NWM and after it. Personally, as a participant myself on this NWM, I would like to express my gratitude towards them and wish this NWM to reflect on them the same inspiration and create an equal motivation to them as they did for us all!

Written by Vasiliki Andrioti, AEGEE-Ioannina

I never thought I would just sit on my computer and start writing about an AEGEE event, but here I am. Having one of the best events of my AEGEE life, I felt that I need to share my thoughts and feelings about this event to appreciate both organisers and trainers’ efforts with the whole network.

Before the event, organisers did their best and found a place –a place with real beds– to accommodate for more than 60 people, which seems almost impossible considering the city’s population and size. The event was located in Berriz, a small town near Bilbao, in a ‘plaza’ where we could sleep, eat, have workshops and party at the same time! I can say that it was really efficient because we did not have to move anywhere but downstairs.

During the event, it was hard to see the organisers except for coffee breaks, as all of them were working like bees! A group of organisers were preparing the food for us, while the others were getting prepared for the coffee breaks and god knows what else. During meals, we were eating the food that was prepared by local organisers and everything was delicious. Starting with the salad, we had a meal for both meat-eaters and vegetarians, followed by dessert and fruit! I could see that the organisers had a really good fundraising strategy, as they served a lot of things such as cold drinks (coke, Redbull, etc..) for free.

Most importantly, AEGEE-Bilbao managed to integrate the new members with the other members, motivating them to get to know AEGEE and its ‘charms’. All of the new members were totally motivated as both organisers and participants, and I can assure that they will become beloved AEGEEans for the next years.
When it comes to praising trainers, I can easily say they did a great job! As I have mentioned during the evolutions, I was not expecting workshops to be so comprehensive and instructive, as most of the times I was faced with weakly-constructed workshops in AEGEE. However, this event changed my views for good. The trainers encouraged people to join European bodies, analysing our skills and experiences, filling our gaps about AEGEE-Europe and its bodies.

We had a great insight of Civic Education, Conflict Management(#DramaManagement), Role of Netcom, Future of AEGEE, Equal Rights, Migration IG, Youth Mobility WG and other things I cannot recall at the moment. The sessions were really informative for both new and old members. As we worked on proposals, we had many discussions on different topics which we kept discussing in the following days -even though the event was over-, and we actually learnt something to put in practice!

I am writing this article as special thanks to all organisers and trainers, wishing them much more AEGEEan years with a lot of change.

Oh, and one more thing: TİPİ TAPA TİPİ TAPA KOR Rİ KA!

Written by İlknur Demir, AEGEE-Ankara

AEGEE-Moskva is mainly known in the AEGEE world for its SU “Transsiberian Dream”, but the Russian antenna held a very successfull NYE. Moreover, the new board gave us a positive feedback of their last NWM, and this local has very active members also at the European level of AEGEE. Enjoy this interview.  

The AEGEEan: Present your local.

AEGEE-Moskva Board: AEGEE-Moskva is the biggest Russian local, and it was founded in 1991. Recently we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our beloved local. We have a pretty rich history and for already twenty-five years we have been offering amazing opportunities to visit Russia for members of European locals.

Every year we organise a lot of different events and we are always glad to show our wonderful city and country. We have two big international events during the year. One of those is the legendary Travel Summer University “Transsiberian Dream”. During more than two weeks, 35 participants cover 6000 km through almost ¾ of all Russia. This year will be the 9th of this amazing journey. Another one is the New Year Event “Capital Cities”. We are making this event together with AEGEE-Kyiv and last winter was its 3rd edition.

You recently organised your NYE event. How did it go?

It was amazing! It was a mixture of braveness, craziness and AEGEE-spirit! Almost a new team of organisers in Moscow and in Kyiv, awesome group of participants, some of them are really dinosaurs and for some people, it was the first AEGEE-event. The programme was not changed a lot in comparison with the previous one; it was just improved according to the feedbacks. The New Year was celebrated in Moscow with a true Russian tradition: with champagne, red caviar and “Russian” salad. We listened to the president’s speech and chime of the Kremlin.

There was also Ded Moroz (Russian Santa) and Snegurochka (his grand-daughter) who gave a present to the bravest participants. In Moscow, we did ice-skating, city-tours, Tretyakov gallery quest, metro-tour, Moscow State University tour, Izmailovskiy Kremlin. Then, we crossed the border by train. In Kyiv, there were lots of different city-tours, a city-quest, II World War museum, snowboarding, Vareniki workshop and sauna. In both countries, we did language and folk dance workshops and also thematic parties.

Did you attract new members in the fair for freshmen organised by your partner university? How did you manage to become more recognisable?

Sure we do! Every year in autumn our partner university organises a big event in the central park of Moscow. This is an amazing youth festival which attracts thousands of students and most of our new members join the organisation because they have seen us there. Also, it is a very good opportunity to contact other students organisations and make new partners and friends.

As for recognizability: first of all, we turned to a single style in social networks and Internet. This is the single style for any post and article about us and from us. That makes people understand that we represent a big organisation. Also, we increase the number of info-partners and universities where we can spread information about us and our events.

Can you give us feedback about the NWM you held in December? Did you collaborate with “Your Vision for Europe” and “BEST” projects?

The NWM went really great and smoothly. We could not have done it without the greatest team of organisers, their motivation and fire in their hearts. And, of course, without our beloved Netcommie, Kristina Reshetova. The participants were great, participated in all sessions and seemed to love our NWM – and that makes us really happy and proud! Yes, we collaborated with “Your Vision for Europe” project and NGO “BEST”. They provided us with wonderful sessions which were interesting and really helpful!

Are you already selecting the core team of your next SU?

Yes! We are doing this since 2015. It was a really great experience and it enhances the quality of our SU. Every year for our SU, the organisers of previous years choose the coordinator and core-team. And last year it brought amazing results. Transsiberian Dream took the 5th place in the rank of Summer Universities. We were extremely happy! So we are waiting for new achievements from this year’s organisers.

Did you vote for a new board? Who are the board members? Tell us something about them.

Our new board was elected at the beginning of November, so it is not so new. Current board-members consist of pretty old and new members of the local. Some of them joined the organisation a couple of years ago, some less than a year ago. However, all of them are very creative, motivated and full of futuristic plans. Old and new members complete each other and that helps us to make interesting ideas real.

Are there any members who are active also aside from your local events? Can you tell us something about them?

Yes, we have members in European bodies: Kristina Reshetova – Network Commissioner and Youth Mobility WG; Maria Smirnova – Policy Officer in Youth Mobility WG; Maria Kochkina – Audit Comission and Events Quality Assurance Commitee (E.Q.A.C); Katty Cherednichenko – Events Quality Assurance Commitee (E.Q.A.C); Anna Kuprickova – Faces of Europe (part of project “Your Vision for Europe”); Tatiana Rodina and Daria Lovkova – Editors in last Key to Europe.

What are the future plans of your Local?

We have a lot of crazy ideas but plans are more realistic than dreams and thoughts. So the first one is to grow more AEGEE-educated members in our local. The second one is to become a more recognisable local in AEGEE. The third one is to prepare our local and AEGEE in general for Transsiberian Dream vol. 10. Also, we are working on some other cool things!

What makes AEGEE-Moskva special?

Our local gathers people from almost all parts of Russia. And this multi-nationality brings pretty interesting and crazy ideas. We are organising one of our most difficult projects and partying all nights long. We are the biggest antenna in the biggest country. Yes, we are on the side of EU and sometimes it is hard to put practice into some projects and events but our passports are full of visas. So that is why our members are everywhere.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

Spring is right in front of us and Spring Network Meetings follow closely. The Network is once again presented with ten amazing opportunities to grow stronger together, create fruitful alliances and share best practices. Here you can find AEGEE-Bamberg, AEGEE-Gdansk, AEGEE-Novi Sad, AEGEE-Torino and AEGEE-Yerevan. For the previous five, click here. 

NWM Bamberg: We’ll be Royals [upgrade yourself]!

Royals – Lorde AEGEE-Bamberg

And we’ll never be royals.

It don’t run in our blood,

That kind of lux just ain’t is for us.

We crave a different royal kind of buzz.

Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen  Sir Heinrich II

And baby I’ll rule (I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule)

Let me live that fantasy.

My AEGEE friends,

Your majesty Sir Heinrich II invites his imperial followership to an accolade and induction of his most faithful supporters to receive a knighthood in his beautiful city of residence, Bamberg!

“Upgrade yourself by attending this gathering of 25 members of the noble AEGEE-family that will take place between the 20th and 23rd of April. You will not only be offered inspiring workshops, discussion panels and debates in a royal city flair, but plenty of extras that will constitute the royal flair of this event!”

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/735094903322354/

NWM Gdansk: The Greatest ones Do Now! 

Yo, did you miss Agora? The event when dozens of people have a time of their lives? If the answer is “yes”, or “maybe”, or even “no”, just think for a while if you want to improve yourself and learn something essential by the beautiful Baltic Sea. Baltic Sea, huh, doesn’t it sound exciting? NWM Gdansk is your best option! Or at least, organisers think so! Now imagine: 100 amazing AEGEEans will come together to discover different areas, share their ideas and present themselves! Fantastic trainers from AEGEE and BEST! It is going to be something new, stunning, fabulous, something that AEGEE has not seen before… Well, there are a lot of catchy phrases, so to check all of them out – just apply until the 6th of March! It is your occasion to be the Greatest! #GDN

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/632077763643140/

NWM Novi Sad: European by birth. AEGEEan by choice. In Novi Sad on purpouse. 

The second largest city of Serbia, the industrial and financial center often considered as the co-capital of Belgrade, the European Capital of culture of 2021, European Youth Capital for 2019, the Youthful musical city where the Best Major European award-winning festival EXIT happens ever since 2000- the new era of a new age and… is there more? Oh, there is more. YOU can add more by getting more! And if you are thinking “When would be the right time to go? Does Spring 2017 seem like a good time?”, it is certainly the right time! Visit the Balkans, especially if for the first time. Afterwards, you will always want to come back. Right next to the warm and welcoming spirit of the city together with a lot of rich cultural learning, the total catch is simply to come and see- new FA, AEGEE (huge!) achievements: we know how and where, we know why, we are just missing with whom. Networking and strengthening, blending the joint visions into common missions, it is all about getting better. Acknowledge your European self and… Get to learn, get to lead!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/209560836180310/

NWM Torino: Not a Waste of Money! 

AEGEE-Torino is a crazy antenna and their events always have to be huuuge. That is why we decided to have 60 participants in our NWM. The sessions are going to be held in an amazing location in the middle of a park, a few minutes away from the main square and on the Po river bank. The programme will be fun and interactive, the social programme will be tremendous (participants will have the opportunity to take part in the famous “use your tongue” aperitif) and it will be also the best season to visit our great city. It is going to be absolutely fantastic and you are going to pay for it (but we promise it will be No Waste of Money). Save the dates!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1835333460083036/

NWM Yerevan: HAY power! 

NWM Yerevan: HAY power. You are probably wondering what does these 3 letters mean. Sorry, but I am not going to tell you that right now. All I can say is that if you come to Yerevan in May 2017 you will not regret it. Intensive sessions during the afternoon, national dances and music in the evening, an international team and hospitable local organisers, delicious cuisine and a wonderful city, a place for discussion and motivation to be born. Forget about borders in your head and distance on the map. Come and get inspired!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1439540256344976/

This is part two of a two-parts article. For part one, click here.

Written by the Network Commission of AEGEE-Europe

In their Facebook Page, you can read that the Network Commission is always open. It is not far from the truth! The NetCom has been established in 1996 and it has been caring and serving our locals for 21 years already. In Autumn Agora Chișinău we elected six new Netcommies, who, together with the Network Director Tekla Hajdu, are working hard to collaborate, protect and look after our locals. We asked them some questions and here are the answers of Aleksandra Mojsova, Alejandra Piot, Alin Georgescu, Pablo Palazon and Spyros Papadatos. 

Aleksandra Mojsova
netcom-aleksandra@aegee.org

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself.

Aleksandra: I am Aleksandra Mojsova from AEGEE-Skopje and also a member of AEGEE-Nis. I have been an absolute fan of the association since I joined AEGEE and since day one, I was interested in the Network Commission. I also took all the other opportunities to contribute to the AEGEE life.

Alejandra: Hey! I am Alejandra, a member of AEGEE-A Coruña since September 2013 and the former president of my local. I love photography, books and music. I am totally in love with AEGEE and travelling. It is the most beautiful and amazing thing that I can imagine.

What is the strongest point of your assigned locals? What are your plans for the locals in your area?

Aleksandra: They are passionate and good-spirited. Some of them are good in PR, some of them in FR, some of them have amazing teamwork and great spirit, always offering something to each other! My plans are to work on some tips and tricks files with each area’s expertise – Board functions mostly – to upload them in a common drive, to offer them other tips and tricks for training workshops.

Alin Georgescu
netcom-alingeorgescu@aegee.org

Alejandra: Most of them have a really good relation with the universities and their support, so it’s easy to promote AEGEE there. Also, some of them work a lot with Erasmus students, which is also a good point. I want to promote the idea of following the Action Agenda and Strategic plan more to have more members interested in the main goals of AEGEE, and also promote the idea to be involved in European Bodies.

Alin: Hard to say because geographically, they are very well-connected to each other. There are less active locals, but also very strong and active locals, so there is a balance, a balance which I will use to build up my Network more. As I said, I want to have this legacy of AEGEE, to keep members motivated, focus on locals needs more, fill the gap between local and European bodies. My biggest challenge is to make members work more under Erasmus+ programme.

What is the meaning of the NetCom Motto “To Serve and Protect” for you?

Aleksandra: To literally be on duty 24/7. To be always available for all of my locals, whatever they ask for, whatever they need. It sometimes sounds like exaggerating, (or at least, what I have heard), but indeed a Network Commissioner should be protective and caring!

Alejandra: Basically, that we are there for and with the locals, to help them with everything, literally, give advises and be there for them.

Alejandra Piot
netcom-alejandra@aegee.org

Alin: Exactly as a team, what we are doing are taking care of our locals, answer to their needs, help them to grow and become more and more active.

Spyros: For me, these four words summarise the essence of this commission. The NetCom was created to serve and protect the Network, the locals. We all may have started from a local, but as a NetCommie you feel part of many locals at the same time because your locals feel like parts of you. So for me, the most important thing is not only trying to maintain them but to bring something new, work to achieve the best and generally bring it to the next level.

A day in the NetCom shoes. How does your typical day look like?
Aleksandra: Oh, it is easy to dedicate your day to the Netcom once you start. If you do not have an alarm nearby, you can easily have two. Checking local’s activities, duties, submissions, reminding, answering, helping them with anything (PR, FR, Members Portal, events, etc.). Apart from that, there is the internal Netcom cooperation and the communication with other bodies of AEGEE daily.

Spyros: A lot of work from your computer. You might be talking to five, six people at the same time, writing a lot of emails (especially in the Speaker Team) and living on Skype (or Hangouts sometimes for the change). But all this seems so small when you meet your locals during events or in their cities, which is priceless in my opinion, and fills me with motivation.

Pablo Palazon netcom-palazon@aegee.org

Alejandra: Our day always starts with Podio, some of us love it, others hate it, but it is our day. Skype calls more or less two or three times per week, sometimes more. WhatsApp, Facebook, e-mail… We can not live without that. Questions, suggestions, more questions… Always like this! Sometimes it is crazy, but, I love it!

Alin: A typical day like one of other young people of my age. There is nothing special, just more responsibilities and more deadlines. Maybe more travels, more Skype meetings and AEGEEan lifestyle. [He smiles, ed.]

Why did you decide to run for a place in the Netcom in Autumn Agora Chisinau?

Alejandra: I had this motivation to do it since Agora Bergamo, but I did not feel confident at all until the former NetCom of La Nave and one of my lovely subcommies told me that I was quite good for this. I really love the Network Commission. Being in this body which is in touch with the locals the most. It is amazing, you can learn a lot from the and be able to help them.

Alin: I have joined AEGEE three years ago and I started from the local level step by step, managing a local, learning about AEGEE and its opportunities. It is a path that I decided to follow. I determined that now is the right time for me to move on, make a big step and join this Commission. After all, it is a legacy made by people like me, taking responsibility, one after another. I want to be part of this legacy, maybe this is the strongest reason that keeps me motivated and made me choose to run for the Netcom.

Spyros Papadatos
netcom-spyridon@aegee.org

Spyros and Alejandra have being elected as Speaker and Vice-Speaker of the commission. Why did you decide to run for the speaker team? What are your main tasks?

Spyros: Last term, I decided not to run for speaker team because I wanted first to test the waters as a regular NetCommie and see how I am pulling through. Yet, this term, I decided to run as speaker because it felt like the right thing to do and I wanted to contribute even more to the internal part of NetCom. My main tasks are to organise the internal work of NetCom, coordinate our weekly meetings, keep an overview of our work and our projects. It was a great honour that my fellow team members trusted me. Together with Alejandra, the vice-speaker, we are trying every day to the best. This is also a big thank you for Alejandra because without her it would be impossible!.

Alejandra: I just joined the Network Commission in Chisinau, but for me, it was also a challenge to run for the Vice-Speaker. I was curious about how the work was and also how to be more involved there. My main tasks take minutes during the meetings and accept reimbursements and take care of the budget. We also have weekly meetings and more tasks that Spyros and I shared depending on our availabilities.

You met in Brussels for your team meeting. How did it go? What were the main topics of discussions? Were there funny moments?

Alejandra: It was amazing. As I could not be in Chisinau to present my candidature, I didn’t know most of them in person and I realise that they are really cool as workers and persons. We were discussing many topics, but mostly about Spring NWMs and the State of the Network, how we can improve it and how it is now. Also, about the NetCom projects, more news will come!

Pablo: It went really well! We have a quite good environment among Netcommies and also between Netcommies and CD members so everything was quite good! The “problem” of the Netcom Meetings is that they last reaaaally long, On Saturday we had dinner at 1 in the morning, so you can figure out that we were quite tired! We had a lot of discussions about the state of the network, activity plans, projects and feedbacks from the last term! One of the funny moments is when one of our Netcommies (not giving the name, he smiled. ed) felt asleep on the table during one looong discussion. I guess everybody deserves a little moment to disconnect!

Network Director Tekla Hajdu
network@aegee.org

What is the Netcom Plan for Chisinau-Enschede Term?
Pablo: We are going to be working on a lot of stuff. Emphasis will be put in creating an AEGEEnda with all the events. Locals from the Spanish, Portugues and French Network (or La Nave) have one, we are just going to try to make them share it in a more official way! Twinder will also be working on, Toolkits for contacts, visibility of the NetCom, etc…. Lots of cool projects that you will see the results in the next few months!

How is it to work with the Commissioners?
Tekla: In one word: Awesome! But to explain it a little bit more, I think the team dynamics is going well currently, we put emphasis on bringing up several topics and viewpoints to discuss openly within the team. We also highlight the importance of teamwork within the Commission, as the workload is huge and giving support to each other has a great importance – that’s why we also did a lot of team-building activities during the NetCom Meetings apart from the sessions. I am trying to be transparent to both the Network Commission and CD as my task within the Commission as CD responsible is also to bring the initiatives and the views of the two teams together.

You can read their Activity Plan here. Do not forget you can attend one of the ten Network Meetings that will take place this spring in Thessaloniki, Debrecen, Nijmegen, Torino, Yerevan, Gdansk, Bamberg, Novi-Sad, Heidelberg and Bilbao.  

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Before anything, I feel like I need to introduce myself. I am Pablo Palazón, Network Commissioner (Bergamo 2016-Enschede 2017) and this article is to express my very own and personal opinion about AEGEE. Many of my colleagues in the Network Commission, as well as many fellow AEGEEans, will disagree with me, and I kind of like that. That is what, I think, AEGEE should be— disagreements and agreements while respecting each other.

Sharing my opinion on this topic has long been in my head and I hope that it will generate some debate or at least some thoughts. When I first heard about AEGEE, four years ago now, I loved the idea. Young people fighting for a borderless Europe, fighting for the construction of bridges between cultures and fostering the European identity is just a gorgeous idea. My first Summer University only confirmed my love for AEGEE and how much I wasted my time before! But now, after four years, that teenager crush for this organisation evolved to something more like “I love you despite yourself”.

My first Agora was quite shocking: 800 people gathering together! Well, not really… Just about 100 paying attention, about 250 sleeping or taking selfies (#Agora #SavingEurope) and 450 not even present, visiting the city or cities nearby. Why would AEGEE make the effort to organise such a big event and gather so many people? Finally, we understood it— the Agora Reform Task Force is working on improving it and there is some progress, but the core problem remains there and I doubt it is going to be solved. In general, Agora is quite boring. Is it a problem of the Agora itself? Is Agora too long? (Agora Enschede will last five days. Crazy, right?) Are we having too many discussions about non-crucial things and not enough about important stuff? Would it be better to have way shorter Agoras, to give one afternoon off for social programme and have most of the voting online or done by other means? Would that change the experience of the participants?

I feel Agora is the biggest show of AEGEE. The image towards externals is quite good. Local newspapers cover it like a massive gathering of youth working to make Europe a youth-friendly continent. The city mayor gives an amazing speech empowering youth. But what I see when I go to an Agora is the gym divided in “Spanish Federación”; “Italian Mafia”; “Greek ghetto”, etc…  I see plenaries and prytannia half empty. I see people approving activity reports that basically say: “Well, we did not do much this year”. I even feel a little concerned when I see the after movie, and most of it is based on clips from the parties at the Agora. The best part of the Agora is not the Agora, and that is scary!

And the worst part of the problem is that Agora is just an example. Than, Network Meetings where we have 9 hours of training per day. We make the effort to go to amazing cities and wonderful places and we spend 20 hours on trainings. Is that again too much? Would it be better to have fewer sessions and make NWM more appealing? For me, it is not a matter of trying to show how to improve your local and how to benefit from projects in one weekend. It is the perfect place to actually network, to get to know people from other locals, to share problems and solutions. The most common feedback that I generally get from NWMs is that it was a pity not having time to visit the city where the NWM was hosted, or hike around the accommodation if it was away from the city. If we want to empower people and make them more aware of what AEGEE is and how awesome the network is, maybe it is about being more relaxed about training and focusing more on making people enjoy it on a different way. Weekend events with 20 hours of training do not generate active members, they generate sleepy people.

The level of complexity that AEGEE has reached is a problem. People involved in European Bodies or Projects are asked to spend hours and hours on internal issues. We fail to foster the organisation of thematic events and we are seeing how the number of locals decreases. We suck the energy from the most active people and we ask them to give even more free time than they are keen on giving away. AEGEE’s backbone is a bunch of people stressed by the amount of work they need to do. Again, have we grown in a too complex way? Are we, by trying to achieve too much, not achieving enough? Is the amount of work we ask from CD and active people in AEGEE just unbearable?
I am a biologist and I have seen it before. It is a common rule in ecology- when a system becomes too complex, it collapses and needs to restart from scratch. How to regenerate the system? Mother Nature does it with natural disasters. And I fear that AEGEE will need a natural disaster to fix its complexity. But the question is: is the natural disaster already occurring in AEGEE? Maybe it is just in front of you and you have not seen it yet.

A few months ago we (and I say “we” because we voted it at Agora) started an amazing thing called European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). We aimed to reach 1.000.000 signatures to push the European Parliament to put Civic Education on their political agenda. We knew  it would be difficult and we thought: even if we don’t succeed, we will be raising awareness about it, at least. A few months later, we have just a little more than 700 signatures (www.morethaneducation.eu if you have not voted yet). Not even people present at Agora, where the ECI was approved, have signed it! I do not want to be in the position to explain to people that AEGEE is an organisation that cares about Civic Education (since it has been one of our focus areas for the past three years and will be for the upcoming three years), meanwhile I can’t get my members to spend two minutes filling a form for the European Parliament.

AEGEE needs to rethink what it is and what it wants to be. And it might need to simplify things and change lot of stuffs. Those changes will be controversial for sure, but they will need to happen. What is clear to me is that, when Franck Biancheri founded our beloved organisation, AEGEEans could save Europe. In contrast, now I have the feeling that we would rather enjoy the very last European Night while Europe is collapsing. The beauty of AEGEE is that in 5 years time, just a few of us will still be an active part of AEGEE, but whatever step we take now will influence the future generations. I think it is time to act and ask ourselves: AEGEE, where are you going?

Written by Pablo Palazón, AEGEE-Manchester

The month of November brought us a new Local of the Month: AEGEE-Manchester, a new local, managed to do beautiful things in the past year. We talked to Bryn, one of the founding members and the Human Resources Responsible, and asked him to tell us how few people can accomplish what they want if they have will.

The AEGEEan: First of all, congratulations! Tell us a little bit about how AEGEE-Manchester began to write history.

Bryn French: Both myself and Pablo felt something was missing in our lives in Manchester, and when we thought about it we realised it was our active lives in AEGEE! I was a member in Toulouse and Durham, and Pablo was a member in Alicante. We met up with each other and agreed to start AEGEE-Manchester! We got in contact with Domitille, who founded the European Union Society at the University of Manchester some weeks before, and everything went on from there.

How did the NWM that you organised at the beginning of November go?

In April 2016, Pablo was elected as Network Commissioner and we thought that if we have a NetCommie from a UK antenna, we’d better have a Network Meeting in the UK too. We had three people in the Core Team (me, Bryn – Main Organiser, John – Treasurer and Silvia – Incoming Responsible). We spent lots of time planning, but this really paid off during the event. There were more than 50 applications for the 26 places we had. Close communication with Pablo, our NetCommie, and between the three organisers meant everyone knew what was happening. The event took place between the 4th and the 7th of November. We had a variety of trainers and members delivering different workshops, a great European night and even some time to explore the beauty and nature of the local area. All the participants enjoyed the event and expressed how much fun they had.

How do you see the development of the local in the last months?

I think in the last months, while working on the NWM, different members have developed various skills, particularly regarding the soft skills of communication and organisation. We have improved links with the University of Manchester Student Union and found a great venue for possible future events with the Youth Hostel Association. We have improved our fundraising experiences and again raised our profile within the AEGEE network.

How do you keep you members motivated?

As a very small antenna, we work together closely. It is really a family feeling, where all the members know each other. Every member is able to contribute as much or as little as they feel like, depending on what is needed at the time and the project we may be working on.

The United Kingdom just has a few AEGEE locals. What is your impact on the community?

The majority of students in the UK have never heard of AEGEE. It is always a difficult job to explain what we do and to recruit new members. At universities in the UK there are lots of different societies and associations for students to be involved in and it can be difficult to make an impact. We have started to branch out and cooperate more with similar societies such as AIESEC and European Movement.

What is happening next in AEGEE-Manchester?

We have been thinking about the NWM for the last 6 months and right now we do not have a project in the pipeline. This is in fact one of our tasks for the first meeting back after the Christmas holidays. We are continuing to send our members to events (EPM, Agora, etc) and will continue to collaborate with other antennae in the UK. Promotion of the Summer Universities will take place in the Spring term like every year and this should help raise our profile within the University of Manchester.

How do you see the local at the end of 2017?

I would like to see fresh new members returning from Summer Universities motivated to make an impact on the European community at the University of Manchester and in Manchester in general; contributing ideas and projects for us to improve European harmony, particularly following whatever may happen nationally!

Written by Raluca Radu, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca

Every month The AEGEEan selects a member of the month from the inputs we receive from the Network. In November the choice was Francesca Zorcolo from AEGEE-Cagliari. She has been a member of our association for some years, being in the team of Agora Cagliari 2014 organisers and President of the board of the Italian local 2015-2016. In November she was the Main Organiser of the Network Meeting (NWM) in Cagliari, the first in the history of the local, and was selected as SubCommissioner of NetCom Gabriele Scollo (AEGEE-Firenze) helping Italian and Maltese locals in FR. 

The AEGEEan: Who is Francesca in AEGEE?
Francesca: I have been a member of AEGEE since February 2014, and my passion for it has been growing since the first Agora I have been to, Spring Agora Patra, and even more with Autumn Agora Cagliari. I was part of the executive board for two years and my mandate has just expired. If people ask me who I think I am in AEGEE I always answer that I feel like I am kind of a mom to AEGEE kids. This year I am SubCommie for the Network Commissioner Gabriele until Autumn Agora Catania.

Who is Francesca outside of AEGEE?
I am a desperate economy student, a basketball referee and the former founder of a local LGBT association, as well as the founder of a start up about lateral thinking.

You have been nominated as Member of the Month of November. How do you feel?
I am embarrassed… Ahahha, just kidding, I feel very honored and proud, and I really want to thank everyone for it!

Your term as President of AEGEE-Cagliari just finished. How would you describe this year? What do you think is your biggest achievement with your board?
This past year has been one of the greatest of my entire life. One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that we were able to share more information about the European opportunities for our members and we were lucky enough to create a very well connected group of people!

You were the Main Organiser of NWM Cagliari. How did it go?
It was amazing! We pictured this event so many times before it happened, and when it did, our expectations were exceeded. This was because of the incredible people that participated and worked for it. I especially want to thank former Network Commissioner Lisa Gregis (AEGEE-Bergamo) and Financial Director Zvonimir Canjuga! We had so much fun, but it was also a learning experience for everyone.
What were the biggest challenges in organising the event? What were the biggest rewards?
I always want to keep up with everybody’s expectations. We were really worried about something going the wrong way, or not as we planned. But, as soon as we saw people very happy and proactive, we understood that everything was going in the right direction. I am very happy that we were able to talk about joining forces with other teams and many members have now double memberships. That is how networking works!

Name one good thing in AEGEE and one bad thing.

A downside can be that sometimes we are not able to share our stories with people outside AEGEE, and to let others know what we are, and in my opinion that is one of the reasons why the number of members is dropping.

On the other hand, the thing I love the most is the fact that it lets you feel like home in each part of Europe you are, and that inside AEGEE everyone gets the chance to grow and get experience in what interests them.

Let’s play a game. Describe yourself by using adjectives that start with the letters that compose your name.
Friendly

Reliable

Active

Naive

Curious

Emotional

Skilful

Creative

Altruist
What’s next for you?
I am not sure right now, but after spending these two amazing years working at local level, I think it is time to expand my horizons, and that is why I am very glad to be a SubCommie in Gabriele Scollo’s team, for something else we will see!

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona