One event. 13 days. Six cities. 23 participants and almost 25 organisers. “Our Big Fat Greek Winter University” was the New Year Event organised by the greek speaking antennae of AEGEE-Athina, AEGEE-Peiraias, AEGEE-Patra, AEGEE-Ioannina, AEGEE-Thessaloniki and AEGEE-Kastoria, between the 28th of December 2016 and the 9th of January 2017.

This NYE was one of its kind! An ambitious plan and a profoundly challenging event with one and only aim: to emphasise the diverse beauty that Greece has to offer to its visitors during the winter. Usually, when people think about the country, the first thing that pops automatically in mind, is the S triplet: sun, sand and sea! The journey followed a different path this time. Participants got to travel and see both the urban everyday life of the big cities and harbours, as well as the picturesque, suburban areas with the vivid student life.

As for me, this was a self-discovering and an amazing experience. When I joined AEGEE a year ago, trying to find my footsteps aside from school and my comfort zone, I would never imagine that I would be mainly responsible for such a thing. This is why, when my antenna proposed to me to be in charge of AEGEE-Ioannina part in this event, I felt it like a challenge.

No matter the difficulties that the organisers had to face considering it was a collaboration between six antennae, we managed to make the dream of many people, even before us, come true. We definitely surpassed the Greek stereotypes that want many people when working together, arguing with each other with no result. The biggest proof is what one of our participants, Leyla Gasanova from AEGEE-Moskva, said:“In general I want to say big thanks for this event! We could see a reeeally good job and a lot of preparation”.

The NYE started in the Greek capital Athens, of course. During the time in Athens, the participants had the opportunity to see our cultural inheritance. They visited the National Archaeological Museum, the state-of-the-art Akropolis Museum and Akropolis Rock. This was a life dream for many AEGEEans, who added a check to their to-do lists. They also paid a visit to the Ancient Agora and Pnika, the place where the ancient Athenians were gathering to discuss and vote. As Athens is a modern city, which combines perfectly the old with the new style, we could not miss an opportunity to walk in the alleys of the centre with full of bazaars, as well as shops with a modern and alternative essence. Lastly, the organisers of AEGEE-Athina took a good care of the social nightlife and partied along with the participants in various clubs. Everybody agreed on the fact that Athens had the best and craziest parties of the event.

The participants left with a great first impression to move to Patras, the second biggest harbour in Greece. The most enjoyable moment was during the city tour and the city rally when they visited, among others, the orthodox church of Saint Andrew and closed the day in the lighthouse near the marina, where we saw the sunset by the sea! It was a serene moment during this trip, perfect to meditate, as one of our participants did. The NYE party in Patras was a typically Greek celebrating meal, late in the evening. After we welcomed 2017, we ate the New Year’s Pie, a custom in the country. The pie was cut into pieces and served to guests. In it, there is a coin and whoever has it in his piece, is the lucky one for the year that has just arrived. It is connected to the orthodox Santa Claus, who is called Saint Vassilios, and he was the first to offer such a pie to the poor. Foteini, president of AEGEE-Patra, was the winner. After the meal, it was time for the party in the local bars!

Following destination… Ioannina! It is the small town in the north-west of Greece, as known mostly for lake Pamvotis and the mountainous sceneries. The time here is like stuck in the past, in the era when the Ottomans ruled. This impression was increased by the byzantine castle, the remaining mosques and the legends still alive in every corner. Travelling through places of the Medieval Age astounded the participants. We also visited the island in the lake, the one with its permanent inhabitants. We had a dance workshop there with local dances from Epirus and the Ionian Islands.

Of course, we did not miss the chance to dance the syrtaki as well. It would not be a Big Fat Greek Winter University without it, anyway! The highlight of the day: other visitors were passing by and staring at us. However, who really cared at that moment? Another workshop given by Netcom Spyros Papadatos was both interesting and fun. It was about “An interactive way to introduce AEGEE so that both the new and the old members could contribute and enjoy”. Ioannina ended its part with the European Night, which was organised in accordance with the guidelines of the “Drink-wise Project”. As the main organiser on behalf of my antenna, I had the “Eurotrip” through all the tables of different nations and opened the night with Spyros. And yes! I am able to say we survived!

Next in the row was Thessaloniki, “The Nymph of the North”, as locals proudly call the city. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and an eternal competitor with Athens. The participants had an amazing time in the city tour. One of the highlights was the byzantine castle, which was built in the 4th century. It offers a breathtaking and panoramic view from the highest point of the city to the beach and to the White Tower. During the two nights that they spent there, they got a taste of the legendary nightlife in Greek style tavernas with local foods, drinks and music. The pub crawl was a social activity which they also enjoyed much. In Thessaloniki, the organisers from other locals gathered together, created a lovely feeling to be all together for the final days of the NYE.

The event was meant to finish in Kastoria. The phenomenal snowstorm, though, that stroke Greece this winter, had another opinion on this. Under extremely low temperatures, AEGEEans took part in Ragoutsaria, a carnival that has its origins to the bacchanalian ceremonies that were exercised in the area. In Kastoria, the organisers also introduced them a real Greek night. The best part was definitely the moment that the participants tried to sing the mainstream Greek music. Unfortunately, the weather was a constant enemy and Murphy’s law “If something can go wrong, it will”, worked exceptionally well. With the whole country entering in a freezer, problems in the accommodation came up and the event had to finish ingloriously. This made us all disappointed, as we were all looking forward to the three-days party with the wine and the unstoppable dancing with the rhythm of Balkan music all around the alleys. Yet, every bad situation comes out a good result…or at least a funny incident.

We made it to the news! Two brave AEGEEans, during their visits to the frozen lake, walked on a very thin sheet of ice. Next day they became viral as the Kastorians who walked on the lake! Of course, we knew otherwise!!! To sum up, this NYE has been a pleasure and an adventure for everybody. As all NYEs, it was the perfect start to a year with full of travelling, meeting new friends and getting to know another country. More specifically, it was a chance to visit many Greek cities from the north to the south, learn about the culture and the particular cultural characteristics. Even though it might have been a little tiring swapping between six destinations, we were very happy to be able to show a different and more representative aspect of Greece. This would have been impossible without the friendly atmosphere we managed to create among the group of organisers. It was a surprise to me to get closer with our fellow antennae in such a way. We also owe this all to the most challenging and patient group of experienced AEGEE members that helped us to make it happen. And as once said… why not? Let’s turn this into a tradition!!!

Written by Vasiliki Andrioti, AEGEE-Ioannina

In late 2016 I started thinking about applying to a New Year’s event and, even if they were a lot and all really amazing, I did not really need to get through all the options that AEGEE offered this year because I knew from the start that I wanted to go to the one taking place in Skopje. I decided to apply to “Win Up: It’s Snow Time Deluxe Edition” because the programme was incredible, with lots of fun activities, but also because I had heard beautiful stories about it so I wanted to experience it at first hand.  

The event took place in the Macedonian capital city from the 30th of December 2016 to the 5th of January 2017, even if my first day was the 31st of December. In fact, on the 30th of December in the early morning, me and two other girls from AEGEE-Cagliari took the plane from Cagliari to Milan and then from Milan to Sofia. We waited seven hours in a bus station and at midnight finally we found a bus. The bus was really small and the luggage was placed in a small cart trailer, but after this long trip we finally managed to arrive to Skopje in the early morning the next day.

They took us in a wonderful city tour showing Saint Mother Theresa’s House, the Old Bazar of Skopje –  which is the second biggest bazar after Istanbul’s one from the time of the Ottoman empire, the Fortress of Skopje, the Holocaust Museum and the beautiful city centre, where we closed the day ice skating. Afterwards, we suited up for the NYE party, which was really amazing. Before it started the organisers held a workshop about alcohol and during the celebrations in a room close to the dance floor they prepared for us some typical food and chips, pretzels etc.

On the 1st of January, the organisers took us to the wonderful Vodno Mountain, where some of us climbed the mountain to reach the top, while others took the cableway. The view from the top was incredible, and it was one of the greatest experience I have ever had in my life.

Then we joined a workshop about Orthodox Christmas. The organisers offered us some Rakija and a typical cake and showed us some pictures. One of the traditions is a bread which has a coin hidden inside, and the one who finds the coin will have a lucky year. After that, we went to the city centre to play to an alcoholic treasure hunt. We were separated in different teams, each one with a team leader. We had to execute some tasks to have clues and each task earned you some points. Imagine what inhabitants could have been thinking seeing a group of more than 30 AEGEEans running around in the city centre of Skopje. The following day we changed location and we moved to Bulgaria, in Bansko. The journey was quite long so we just had the time to accommodate in our rooms and enjoy the first part of the European Night.

On the 3rd and 4th of January some of us took the chance to ski down the incredible Pirin Mountain, or to enjoy the beautiful Bansko and the Hotel SPA; while part of the group went to Sofia to spend the day there instead. We also enjoyed European Night part 2 and 3, since AEGEE-Skopje’s crew decided to separate the European Night in three different nights. I think that this was a smart decision, because we could appreciate more the alcohol without getting totally drunk and I have noticed that we put more passion in the presentation of our countries. Monika Borovcanska, one of the organisers, told me that the decision to split the European night in three parts was made “so that we would have three special nights. The result was amazing. In this way we avoided food/drinks leftovers and it was more exciting for everyone. Those who were supposed to present their countries put a lot of effort into doing it in the best way. All of them had the possibility to be better heard by everyone, since the whole concept was like a Treasure Hunt. There were five groups and five rooms with different presenters. All of the presenters had around five minutes to present their countries to the groups, that were coming one after another”.

On the last day, the 5th of January the group split in two; some of us went back to Skopje, while the others went to Sofia, because we had our flights back home from there. Organising an event in two different countries might seem difficult, but it was a desire that Monika had for some time now: “Organising an event in another country is always a challenge. However, skiing in Bansko is something that I have been doing for the last ten years, so I can say that it was easy to get in touch with some contacts.

The Bulgarian language is close to the Macedonian, so the communication was not a problem. An event in there has been my wish for some time and finally it happened”.

I have seen a lot of amazing things during this event, like the beautiful monuments in both Skopje and Sofia and, finally, real snow.

I come from an island settled in the Mediterranean sea, so for me it was surreal to be in a winter wonderland. But I have also learned a lot through the workshops and talking with people who have different cultures than mine. In the end, I can say that this event was really deluxe, they treated us like princes and princesses, we slept in real beds during the whole event -and for an AEGEE event is not that bad-, we ate a lot of delicious typical things and the social programme was insane. We definitely perceived the passion and committment that the organiser put into this event.

Written by Paola Letizia Murru, AEGEE-Cagliari

There are so many key moments that happened to me and I could share with you about the experience that lead to what I lived some weeks ago. Some of these moments include the one when I received a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that AEGEE is a must in terms of experiences that help develop young people or even the moment when, with a deep breath and a lot of courage, I signed up for my first AEGEE event: Improve your skills – AEGEE Bergamo’s NYE event.

How many things do we secretly dream of? We always know that we can do actions to ensure more than our daily comfort, but, oftentimes, we forget about our passion for travelling and we live in our daily routine, we follow our schedule and we do not dare going beyond the limits of our soul. One day we will all be old, we will look in the mirror and see that every wrinkle is a dream that was never fulfilled, a year that passed by without doing what we felt we had to, what defines us, what we once dreamed of doing.

My decision to apply for AEGEE focused on my desire to go out of the comfort zone that has enveloped me for a few years, out of the vicious cycle defined by the limits imposed by my university and the volunteering activities I participated in, but which restricted me and kept me within the borders of my country. Like many young people in Romania, I believed that in order to be professionally successful, all I had to do was study, but I forgot that all professional achievements do not mean anything as long as there is no fulfillment when it comes to the things that your soul desires. AEGEE was the experience that made me remember that there is no place in this world I would not want to visit with the people here.

Bergamo is a ravishing beauty. I believe many people view Italy through the prism of the most iconic touristic attractions of the country, while ignoring the beauty of the small towns that hide away and impress through their simplicity, order, good taste, warm people who blend in this fairytale environment, all of which, together with the people I had the opportunity to travel with, have made this trip unforgettable.

The event started out in the best possible way: an awesome party where I managed to talk to at least half of the participants. I did not believe my memory would manage to store all the names of those I talked to by the end of the event. This is why I took it upon myself to learn more about the people not through their names or their countries of origin, but through the things that bring us together and the things we have in common. I remember a game I played outside, before going in to the party, which required all the participants to spell out their name and I came to regret the fact that my name, Ana, is so short, and that I do not hold the world’s record for the longest name in the world. The evening ended with a sleeping session in our sleeping bags which were placed in the gym, something that made me want to repeat the experience. This may be the reason why, when I returned home in Romania, the first thing I did was taking out my sleeping bag and put it on the bed. Of course, this could also be thanks to a pattern that was ingrained in my memory during the experience.

My expectations regarding Bergamo came true the following day when I visited the city and came in contact with our guide’s humorous side, which kept us entertained throughout the day. The first major cultural difference hit me the following day, when we went out for a coffee with the Italian organisers and participants. Romanians ordered Americano, obviously, something that confused Italians who only drink espresso – a type of coffee that Romanians define, after several Italian lessons, “too piccolo” [small, ed.]. I am a food lover, which is why I could not miss the opportunity to go visit the place where stracciatella ice cream was first invented. The road from Bergamo to Temu was very useful and productive, as I managed to take Italian language lessons for three hours while reading through the news feed of all the Italian participants, thus learning all kinds of words which I only hope I could be able to form sentences with. The evening concluded with a big AEGEE style party, obviously. I discovered that AEGEE is made up of complex people, all of whom together create a sum of cultures and places that they visited.

The next two days were spent skiing. The organisers dedicated their time and energy to teach us and to practice the saying that defined this event: Improve your skills, something that made me realize that this word, ‘skills’, did not refer only to skiing, but to a lot more things that we managed to improve without realising. When it comes to me, I believe the purpose of the event was to go back home in a better version of yourself than the one you were prior to the event, at least regarding skiing. However, I am certain that I came back with much more than this: I came back with a luggage full of friends from the entire Europe.

European Glitter Night was the evening when Martina and Roby, the organisers of this event, won our entire admiration because they agreed to “sacrifice themselves” to taste all the traditional drinks and foods. I could even say that this helped me set a new AEGEE-like goal for future events. I was astonished to see that most of the participants were familiar with the traditional Romanian drink named palinca. I also found out that this was the drink with the highest alcohol concentration out of all the ones that were present that evening. In other words, if anything bad happened that evening, you can blame it on the palinca.

In the same evening, NYE also took place. This was the first NYE away from home, but not the first one away from my friends, because I felt like I was in the right place, surrounded by the right people, as well as the first NYE which I had the opportunity to celebrate three times, based on each time zone. This celebration based on each time zone reinvigorated this event, because people’s joy was also our joy.

During the last day (and also the first day without the wake-up call – which I never believed I would miss, but once I got home, I started hating my phone’s alarm clock because it was too mainstream and I began missing AEGEE), we went visiting the mountains with the so-called “ciaspolata” – a type of ski, small in size, but which make the climb easier. For three hours, I felt the need to take a picture every minute, something that drew the attention of the other participants who gave me the nickname “the Romanian girl who is more Chinese than Romanian”.

We ate pizza, but here I once again drew all the attention because of the way I chose to eat the pizza: with ketchup, same as the majority of the Romanians. This was my last experience of this kind and in order to prove myself, I decided to start an anti-ketchup campaign for my friends as a sign of respect for all my Italian friends. During the course of the same evening, I came to regret that Bombardino is not a traditional Romanian drink, which is why after I got home, I tried preparing it myself, but of course, the Romanian Bombardino did not have the same taste as the Italian one. Not because I did not know how to prepare it, but because you need some people with you in order to enjoy certain things.

Now, at the end of my message, I do not know if I should talk to those who never tried the AEGEE experience with the purpose of convincing them to try it or whether I should thank the people who deserve this because of the experience they set me up for, while allowing the others to see the motivation behind all the thanks I give: to the organisers – because every small detail made a huge difference, for all their patience and joyousness – and to my colleagues – because they turned this experience into a unique one, because each and every one of them managed to teach me something. Thank you for making me smile all the time during the event!

Thank you, AEGEE!
Written by Ana Mardare, AEGEE-Bucuresti

This year every member of AEGEE can choose from lots of New Year’s Events to spend the last days of 2016 with some European friends outside their native city. Many Antennae are planning a NYE such as: Utrecht, Maribor, Zagreb, Skopje, Naples. In this article we will provide you more information about some of these events. This is part 3. For part 1, click here, and, for part 2, click here.

AEGEE-Bergamo, ‘Improve your skills’

This event, from the 28th of December until the 2nd of January, will be mostly about skiing, and one, apparently supervised, snowball fight. The entire event will take place in the Italian Alps, and might be the best NYE to learn how to ski, and other ski-related issues.

You can find more info here, and you can apply for the event, by filling in the intranet form, here, and by filling in the Google form, here.

AEGEE-Kraków, ‘Royal Birthday & Highlander’

AEGEE-Kraków also seems to capitalise on the folkoric and cultural aspect of their country. However, there are three important aspects, that make this local stand out: (1) there can be up to one hundred participants attending this event, (2) the event coincides with AEGEE-Kraków’s twenty-fifth birthday, and (3) each participating member of AEGEE can also sign up one friend, who is not a member, to join in the festivities.

You can find more info here, and you can apply for the event, by filling in the Google form, here.

AEGEE-Moskva and AEGEE-Kyïv, ‘Capital Cities #3’

This New Year’s Event is already the third instalment of this transnational celebration, during which the participants will visit both Moscow and Kiev to celebrate, what they call, a “true USSR NY celebration”. A lot of the programme consists of the classic activities, such as city tours, winter games, and cooking workshops, but the event sticks out from other NYEs by offering its participants activities such as the visit to a sauna and to do some fortune telling.

You can find more info here, and you can apply for the event by applying via the intranet and by filling in this Google form.

AEGEE-Samara, ‘Snow Russian Cocktail’

Marketed as a “Winter University”, AEGEE-Samara is going to host a New Year’s event for fifteen participants between the 30th of December and the 7th of January. The most important goal of this “WU”, reportedly, is to let the participants discover the Russian spirit, and many activities are planned to do so; one of which is horseback riding.

You can find more info here, and you can apply for the event, by filling in the Google form, here.

AEGEE-Thessaloniki e.a., ‘Our Big Fat Greek Winter University’

The final NYE on our list is another one marketed as a “Winter University”. For this event, all Antennae in Greece, that is to say AEGEE-Thessaloniki, AEGEE-Ioannina, AEGEE-Athina, AEGEE-Patra, AEGEE-Kastoria, and AEGEE-Peiraias, have banded together to organise one big event in six cities on the course of just thirteen days. The participants will visit a lot of places and sights that are significant to the Greek culture, however, only thirty people can apply.

You can find more info here, and you can apply for the event by applying via the intranet and by filling in this Google form.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

This year every member of AEGEE can choose from lots of New Year’s Events to spend the last days of 2016 with some European friends outside their native city. Many Antennae are planning a NYE, such as: Utrecht, Maribor, Zagreb, Skopje, Naples, Budapest. In this article we will provide you with more information about some of these events. This is part 2. For part 1, click here.

AEGEE-Maribor, ‘NYE vol.10’

AEGEE-Maribor’s ‘NYE vol. 10: Go BIG or go home’ is absolutely huge. This Antenna from Slovenia will host more participants than any of the other Antennae will on their NYE: 70. At this event, participants will barely find some time to rest. Besides skiing, which is basically the main activity, they will experience wine tasting in one of the oldest wine cellars in Europe, a trip to Bled where they can take a boat to the island in the middle of the lake, a spa day in Maribor and much more. And if they don’t like skiing or snowboarding, that is not a problem. They can choose any of the other bits of the programme like ice-skating, snow games, a trip to Ptuj, one of the best escape rooms in Europe, and more. AEGEE-Maribor is also offering its participants seven epic parties in six different clubs and, most importantly, they will be meeting awesome people from all over Europe.

It is a rarity to have skiing slopes right next to a city; at this NYE, you can try your first ski curves with the lovely view of the city of Maribor. And what is better than accommodation in the city centre, which is only a five-minute-walk away form the clubs? Every AEGEE member that already attended this NYE before can tell you that nightlife in Maribor, and Ljubljana, is amazing. This is why the Slovenian Antenna decided to offer its participants a visit to the capital of Slovenia as well. Plus, this year will also be the 10th anniversary of AEGEE-Maribor’s NYE.

You can find more information here. Apply for the event filling in the Google form here.

AEGEE-Skopje, ‘Win Up’

“Win Up: It’s Snow Time Deluxe Edition” is  the title of the NYE organised by AEGEE-Skopje, with help from some very experienced AEGEE members like Ivan Janevski, and Goran and Monika Borovcanska. The social programme of the event is mainly a big surprise. Monika can reveal the same things that everyone can already read in the description, but for  the rest she would really love to see the participants’ faces when they experience the activities [she smiles, ed.].

According  to Monika, there will be European Nights (yes, plural [she smiles, ed.]), a treasure hunt through the thrilling city, and very interesting workshops; including a drinking workshop, a snow workshop, a Macedonian Orthodox Christmas workshop. Furthermore, the participants will go ice-skating and wage a snow war. The whole event will be full of interesting games, competitions with lots of surprises, different sports, arts, and more stuff you simply cannot imagine.

AEGEE-Skopje will provide you with three (or more) meals per day and free drinks. The Macedonian Antenna will show you the modern and the ancient Skopje and, if you wish, you can travel to Sofia as well. They will also take you to the Pirin Mountain at the Bansko Ski resort, where everyone can ski or play snow games, and, when you go back to the hotel, you can relax in the spa. AEGEE-Skopje will host 30 awesome participants.

You can find more information on the event here. Apply to the event filling in Intranet here.

AEGEE-Budapest, “Be the bravest in Budapest!”

The Hungarian Antenna is planning to organise an ongoing quest during the whole NYE. This means that there will be competitions (challenges, quests, drinking games) where the participants can collect points in different aspects. This does not mean that there will be a first, second and third setting, then everyone will get a title at the end of the event (for instance the most creative, the funniest, the bravest, the loudest, etc…). There are two optional programmes and one of these is a typical Hungarian programme : spa day. This will take place on the first day of 2017. The other optional programme is ice-skating in the beautiful Városliget (popular Hungarian ice-skating place). As for the non-optional programmes, there will be some of the typical Hungarian-AEGEE activities like city-rally (where the participants will have the opportunity to explore Budapest and its famous attractions), European night, pub-crawl, Hungarian day (Hungarian dancing and cooking lessons). And, of course, wine-tasting. At the beginning there will be ice-breaking games (speed-date), and the organisers will do everything in order to create a friendly atmosphere. Before New Year’s Eve the organising team is planning to devote time to write resolutions for the new year and to recall the ones of the previous year.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

This year, every member of AEGEE can choose from lots of New Year’s Events to spend the last days of 2016 with some European friends, outside their native city. Many antennae are planning a NYE such as: Utrecht, Maribor, Zagreb, Skopje, Napoli. In this article, we will provide you more information about some of these events.

AEGEE-Zagreb- “Zagreb ADVENTure”

The first NYE, even though it’s held between 8-11 December, is Zagreb ADVENTure: Walking in the Christmas Wonderland. Nika Alujevic, the Main Organiser, told us some details about the event. “During the ADVENTure, the participants will visit a Christmas market under thousands of lights that create a special, magical atmosphere and make you instantly feel as if you stepped into the fairy tale. The AEGEEans will be dancing at the numerous concerts on the streets, skating next to the DJs from a rink in front of a theatre. After that,  they will warm up with mulled wine, punch and hot chocolate, and try some Croatian traditional sweets.

Apart from living in a Zagreb Christmas Fairy Tale, the participants will have some workshops about Croatian history and culture, an Europtimism workshop, a Christmas (and maybe snowy) treasure hunt, a pub crawl with some intriguing Christmas & Croatian drinks and really original tasks. Of course, every evening will end with a party. The AEGEEans will have a chance to discover the nightlife variety  Zagreb has to offer (the live AEGEE-Zagreb concert battle of the bands, a Christmas party, karaoke, and more surprises).

Now, warm up with watching some videos like this one here.  Still hesitating? Are you eager to meet the famous AEGEE-Zagreb people and see how the second best organizers of the Summer Universities 2016 and organizers of EPM 2017 celebrate Christmas in their beautiful city of million hearts? [she smiles, ed.] This is your unique chance! Don’t miss it!”

AEGEE-Zagreb will accept 20 lucky participants that will show the best motivation for joining their event.

You can find more information on their Facebook event clicking here, apply on Intranet here and fill in the Google form here.

AEGEE-Napoli- “Neapolis on Fire”

William Andrea Mazza, the Main Organizer of “Neapolis on fire: a Nap(less) experience!” and the IT Responsible of AEGE-Napoli, told us that AEGEE-Napoli is working hard these days to arrange all the activities and, of course, the social programme for the event. The Italian antenna is planning to have the best NYE night AEGEE has never seen: a dinner with typical Neapolitan dishes and crazily weird, superstitious traditions to let their participants fully discover their culture and live the NYE night. At midnight they will see the fireworks and after they will keep celebrating at the seaside party held every New Year’s Eve in the city.

There are so many good reasons for AEGEE members to apply to the event:

• Napoli is a city full of unique traditions and daily routines that reach their best at a NYE.
• The Church of St. Gregory of Armenia and the nativity scene statues’ shops, markets and the music everywhere conjure an unique atmosphere.
• So do the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, the castles, the breathing views of the gulf, the churches, the monuments etc.
• The activities the organisers of AEGEE-Napoli have planned will let the participants totally immerse in the Napolitan culture and lifestyle. They will be able to see the historical centre, the seaside, the castles, the archaeological site of Pompei, Salerno and the “Luci d’Artista” that makes the city a must during Christmas holidays.

AEGEE-Napoli will host 20 participants and it will do the best to have the most culturally different group.

You can find more information here, apply to the event filling the Intranet form here and the Google form here.

AEGEE-Utrecht- “Bucket List”

The third NYE on this list is AEGEE-Utrecht’s Dutch Up Your Bucket List!. This year, the programme   will include many exciting activities. It will have a thrilling fire breathing workshop from a circus expert, beside experiencing new kinds of foods and participating in an old Dutch tradition of diving into the sea at the first of January. Furthermore, there are lots of parties in a vibrant student city of Utrecht.

The legendary European night. Adventure edition, visiting student clubs, an awesome New Year’s party, and a pub crawl are also included in the event. The participants will thus not only discover the nightlife of Utrecht, but cultural activities such as: an underground tour of the city, ascending the ancient Dom tower and a class in Dutch as well. Plus, there are more nice surprises!

So, there are many reasons to apply to the event. For example, where else can you find the event that will change your life, push you out of your comfort zone, combined with the best parties and best people? This is the best start of the new year that anyone can wish for. Utrecht is definitely the place to be this year!

The Dutch antenna will accept 25 participants. You can apply for the event by filling in the Intranet form here and the Google form here. You can find further info about the event here. You can also watch their promotional video by clicking here.

Good luck to everyone!

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

AEGEE-Mannheim is organising a Network Meeting (NWM) on the end of the next April. We have spoken with Chantal Schmalkoke, Responsible for Internal Issues, who also tells us something about the future plans of the German Antenna.

The AEGEEan: Why did you apply to host the NWM?

Chantal: We wanted to host a European Event but a SU would have been too big for our small Antenna. We wanted to show who we are and what it means to be an AEGEEan in Mannheim.

When will the NWM Mannheim take place ?

From the 22nd of April to the 25th of April 2016.

Which will be the focus of your NWM?

As usual, we will have many organisational things in the workshops prepared by our NetCommie Mareike. But our focus is to show the cultural variety and diversity of Mannheim.

Can you tell us something about the NWM’s social programme?

We will have a pub crawl on Friday, a special city tour on Saturday and the European Night on Sunday.

Who will be part of the organization team? How many people are going to help with the NWM as organisers?

The main organiser is our Board. But we will do only the rough planning. We will build working groups. Our members will join them and organise a specific part of the NWM. On the weekend we hope to have some help from other Antennas like Heidelberg.

Do you have any local municipality or university support?

Yes. Our university has helped us a lot with the workshop rooms and the gym for accommodation. We also hope that some regional firms will support us.

What kind of fundraising strategy have you used?

For fundraising we’ve also built a working group. We try to concentrate on regional firms.

What is the title of your NWM? Can you explain the reasons behind it?

‘Diversity – Square your Potential in Mannheim’. As I’ve said, we want to show the cultural diversity of Mannheim. And maybe some people already know that Mannheim streets are arranged in squares like it is in NWM.

What is special about the city of Mannheim?

We have many different people from different cultures and that is why it is very international. Most people think that Mannheim is just an ugly city. But you can do a lot of things. There are great offers and possibilities.

Why should people come to Mannheim?

People should come to Mannheim to see what it really means to live here and that it is not just ugly. They should experience the special spirit of Mannheim.

Is it easy to arrive in Mannheim?

Yes, I think it is. There are many airports in the region, for example Frankfurt am Main, Karlruhe Baden or Saarbrücken. And from the airports it is easy to travel to Mannheim by train.

What are the next plans of AEGEE-Mannheim?

Our biggest project is definitely the NWM and we are using all our power to make it as great and unforgettable as possible. After that, we will see what comes next.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari.

For some, New Year’s Eve is about friends and family, for some it’s about partying, while others focus on reflection about the year that is passing… But some of us decided that this New Year would be about adventure and discoveries.

This New Year Event (NYE) took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands, so of course visiting and getting to know the city was a must, and a delight. On our first day there, we challenged our shyness in order to fulfil as many tasks as possible in a crazy city rally; the tasks varied from ordering oysters in fast food restaurants to proposing to strangers, but they also included some that allowed us to get familiar with the city as well as with the Dutch culture. Another activity that was really interesting for us was an atypical city tour offered by a man that had been homeless.

One of the highlights of the program was a conference held on the second day of the event at the university about the conflict in Former Yugoslavia and the peace movements that aroused during those years. Given the actual political and economical situation in Europe, the conference was incredibly interesting and enlightening for us. On that same day, we also visited The Hague (or Den Haag in Dutch), a beautiful and historical city that serves both as headquarter of the Dutch government and as international court of justice. In order to get our energy levels filled up again, and also to rest from the last day’s visit, the last day of the year was mostly dedicated to a workshop about minorities, discrimination and conflicts. However, due to our great interest in the conference, the workshop ended in a lively and interesting debate about conflict-solving, peace and the use of violence in the actual world.

The New Year’s celebration was held at the top floor of a student’s dorm building, from where we had the pleasure of seeing the whole city bloom with joy and fireworks at midnight. The first of January, challenging our tiredness, the freezing wind and the cold weather, we joined the Dutch people in the New Years Dive, and wearing the typical orange hats, we dived in the cold sea to come back minutes later, freezing, but immensely happy and proud of our achievement. Certainly, few of us are likely to forget the experience any time soon.

Changing the typical winter holidays scenario of home and family for an unknown city and a “bunch of strangers”, may seem weird at first, but attending a NYE is a decision you’ll hardly regret. If you ask me about the highlights of those days I would say they were the conference, the New Years Dive and the workshop (especially the debate) but there’s more than just that. Of course, a NYE should be entertaining and funny, but I’m glad to say that not only do I come back with funny memories of a different New Year, but I also brought new ideas and broadened views with me .

However, there is also one factor that I cannot omit, and it is the group with whom I shared this event. Indeed, if there is something I truly love about AEGEE and its events it is the possibility it brings to interact with so many different people with different nationalities, who have been brought up surrounded by different cultures. We had the luck to count with an amazing and funny group of participants and a dedicated team of organisers, that added the extra ingredient to this NYE that made this event even more unique and unforgettable. I could certainly keep writing about this fantastic and groovy NYE, but there would still be a part of it that words won’t be able to grasp. I hope I have succeeded in encouraging you to join a NYE yourself, because isn’t New Year about change? Therefore, what better way to spend it than travelling, which is all about change and opening your mind?

Written by Eugenia “Ena” Casariego Artola, AEGEE-Oviedo

From the 29th of December to the 8th of January, AEGEE-Kyïv and AEGEE-Moskva organized the best New Year Event (NYE) in 2014, at least for the participant. For the first time in AEGEE’s history, these two locals collaborated to prepare an awesome and hipster event for 16 participants. Among them, there were people from Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Slovakia and Romania.

After mentally preparing for a lot of difficulties to get the Russian visa – which actually turned out to be quite easy, fast and cheap (free) – the participants got on their planes and arrived in the freezing cold, but beautiful capital of Russia on the 29th of December. The welcome ceremony was followed by warm up games, where the participants started to get to know each other and the first night began. Very typical Russian food and beverages were provided by the lovely organisers, and from there the evening just got better and better. On our way to Papa’s Place (very recommended) we passed through the Red Square. Amazing first night!

So was the next morning. After the organizers woke the participants up, a great home-made breakfast was served – like every day during the event. The organisers explained the program and the participants began their real Russian adventure with an approximate 10 km long city tour on a windy -20ºC weather. Viewing the Moscow Kremlin in first person was a great experience, but also a very short one, since everybody’s hands were freezing. It was the coldest day of the event, but also one of the best thanks to Artem’s city tour.

The next day was already New Years’ Eve day! First we went to the huge Tretyakov art gallery. This wasn’t just a visit to a museum – no. We were divided in teams and we had to find different images in more than 60 rooms, based on the hints that we had, such as “Best SU 2014” written on a post-it, or a chocolate bar called “Alenka”. They were the best two and a half hours spent in a museum ever. Afterwards, it was time to celebrate the New Year. At what time did you celebrate it? In Moscow we started at 14:00! Because Russia has ten different time zones, we started celebrating when it was the 1st of January of 2015 in the far east of the country. Every 60 minutes after that, we had another time zone to celebrate for. Of course, the organizers had also prepared some beverages for each celebration. An hour after our time zone’s year was started by listening to Putin’s words, it was time to celebrate the new year in Kyïv. Afterwards, our long lasting fancy private party started! The rest of 2015 spent in Moscow was filled with ice skating in the biggest ice skating rink in Europe and a metro tour, and then on the 2nd of January it was already time to say bye to Russia and to go to the west to explore Ukraine.

The train ride was quite an adventure. European participants had basically no idea what to do after entering the train. It was the cheapest way to get to Kyiv and it is called “platzcart“- there were beds, which were too high and had to be repositioned, there was no place for the luggage (until Ukrainian and Russian organisers came to save the troop, showing us where we could store them). Adding all the people passing around with almost no space, this was quite a new experience for everyone.

Drinking “coffee” in Starbucks cups and “Coca-Cola” as a prize for winning the Museum quest, and finishing with beers at the restaurant wagon, we spent a hell of a night. We also had to go through 2 сustoms and we were a bit worried and nervous because of the situation between the countries, but it seems that it’s all rumors – both times we were checked fast by smiling officers, who actually loved looking at Spanish passports.

We were in Kyïv! It was 9:00 and some girls from the local antenna came to welcome the whole group, dressed with traditional costumes, bread and salt, which is a traditional way of welcoming people in Ukraine.

After seeing our hostel, and the opening ceremony of Kyïv’s part of the event, we went on an amazing city tour guided by Anna Smailikova. We had the chance to see many places of Kyïv, but something outstanding was for sure Maidan, touching moment for many participants. The day finished with a great typical dinner and a visit to the Christmas market.

After a “very easy” waking up, we went to The National Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, which touched the group deeply. We realized how much war hurts, no matter where or when it happens, and how much Ukraine has suffered in the last years. We changed the mood ending the day with a Hipster and Ukrainian workshop, singing Pidmanula, Pidvela and learning some very useful phrases. The next day consisted of a city quest, where participants had to do very crazy tasks, taking selfies of everything as proof #HipsterEvent and a pub crawl, to discover more of the nightlife of Kyïv.

Two days before ending this dream event, we visited the Chernobyl museum and we saw how it affected the whole country. Then we went to our private house for one night. Amazing wooden house in the middle of nowhere, -15ºC outside and quite warm inside. Why? Because we had a sauna for ourselves! Master Ksenia Lupanova (AEGEE-Moskva) was there to show us “how to sauna” and give us a special massage with a bunch of oak leaves. But the sauna didn’t get all the attention of the day, since we had a great and huge traditional Ukrainian dinner, prepared by chef Olha Denesiuk and AEGEE-Kyïv. They explained how to eat everything, how to do it and what to say before eating. It was a very special moment. The last day finished with a great European Night, certificates and presents.

The organizers did such a great job, that the participants gave them a little surprise during the closing ceremony. Two flower crowns, decorated with the colours of the countries, Russia and Ukraine were signed on the ribbons by all the participants, and given to both antennae. Best organizers Anna and Ksenia came on stage to take the presents for their antennae. This was, in my opinion, the most memorable and the best AEGEE moment of the whole event. The second I gave the Ukrainian colors crown to Anna, and the Russian one to Ksenia, they exchanged them without hesitating, and put them on. This small detail explains the whole AEGEE spirit and the spirit of the event #NoPoliticsJustFriendship and how well bonded AEGEE-Kyïv and AEGEE-Moskva are.

I believe that this event was very important for AEGEE to show the network and our friends, that these two countries are not dangerous, that stereotypes are just generalized prejudices, that Russians and Ukrainians work together quite well and that friendship has no barriers, even when politicians and the media get in the middle of it. These days were very special for me, because I got to meet amazing people, learned some of their traditions and shared unique moments with them. Seeing them organise activities together so well as they did was quite inspiring, and I really hope that I will see these two and other Ukrainian and Russian antennae cooperating together soon.

Written by Jorge Sánchez Hernández, AEGEE-Dresden

Many AEGEE-events take place at the end of the year to celebrate the last and welcome the upcoming new year. One of the already well-known events takes place in Gdańsk every year, this time under the motto “Oscar Party”. The AEGEEan spoke to the main organisers of this event and even an Oscar-winning participant and found out a lot about how to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the most stylish fashion – AEGEE-style!

“Class, splendor and elegance” is written in the booklet that AEGEE-Gdańsk prepared for the participants of one of the biggest New Year’s Events within AEGEE. That is what they offered the almost 150 guests and it was, at the same time, what they expected from them. Fancy dresses were wished for and suits, ties and shiny shoes were a must if one wanted to step on the red carpet that AEGEE-Gdańsk laid out in the night of the 31^st December.

It was June 2014 when a main organiser for the event was chosen and by July, the preparations started. At least thirty people were involved in these preparations during the following six months.
During the New Years Event (NYE) itself, 24 organisers, including helpers from AEGEE-Gliwice, AEGEE-Wrocław, AEGEE-Katowice and AEGEE-Warszawa, helped to make this event unforgettable. “We worked well together because we are one big AEGEE-family”, Lisa Zeltinger, vice organiser, tells us. “We know each other well and so everything went smoothly. Our team around Dominika Calińska was filled with AEGEE-spirit!”

Since everything was under the motto of an Oscar party, participants had the chance to see a well-decorated gym with self-made posters of famous Oscar-dresses, “AEGEEWOOD”-banners and lots of mirrors which were to be used for a lot of tie-binding. And already during the first night, many participants dressed up and men had to spend time in front of these mirrors to get their ties to look good. During the evening, participants were asked to bring masks to the club and it was rather interesting to see around 150 masked and dressed-up people going by train to the party location. The party itself was a great success, but only went on until 2.30 a.m. so that people could save some energy for the next day.

The 31^st of December began with a breakfast followed by a city tour. While doing so, the Oscar theme was put into practice and in teams, the participants had to fulfill certain Oscar-related tasks. After some free time, everyone had an early dinner so there was enough time to dress up! And the result was quite amazing. From the always fashionable little black dress to floor-length evening dresses in shining colors, everything could be seen, just as on the real red carpet.

But before the whole group left for the party, it was time for the actual award show. The organisers had the idea of an Oscar Party when they thought about an opportunity for participants to spend New Year’s Eve in a unique and elegant atmosphere. Shortly after came the idea of movie contest, in which all the participants could take part by uploading short self-made videos.

Around twelve participants of the event took part in this contest and sent in videos for one of the three main categories “Best Oscar Gala Parody”, “Best Love Story” and “The Most Spectacular Flag Stealing”. Nevertheless, they had more than one chance to win a trophy as Alfio Bonaccorsi from AEGEE-Catania proves, who came back home with two (!) Oscars. “My video was called ‘The Waterpunch‘ and it is inspired by the movie ‘Jackass 3’”, Alfio tells us. It won the prize in the category “The Most Spectacular Flag Stealing” and tells the nice story of a girl (played by Ambra Tabbì) who wants to steal Alfio’s flag, but is too short to do so. She finally succeeds by sneaking up on him from behind, splashing a cup of water in his face on the one side and then punching him with a boxing glove from the other side. What then appears to be good acting in terms of portraying pain, is actually real pain! “It did hurt!”, Alfio says. “Ambra, the star of the video, is one of the sweetest persons on earth and the longest part of the shooting session was convincing her to hit me properly, since she didn’t want to do it”. But when she was finally convinced, she gave her best! This led to a splendid few extra seconds of filming material in which an unhappy-looking Alfio says that he hopes to win an Oscar now. In the end he won two, since this extra scene got him an Oscar for the category “Behind the Scenes”, one of the three extra categories!

Other awards of the evening went to Matteo Oldani from AEGEE-Milano for “Oscar Party for Party!!!” (Best Oscar Gala Parody) and Roman Poluden from AEGEE-Grodno for “Best Love Story Ever” (Best Love Story). An Oscar for the category “Second Plan Master” went to Yauhen Yuntsevich, AEGEE-Grodno, for “Adventures pie with potatoes in a supermarket“. The final of the six Oscars was voted upon by the audience already on the arrival day. And the Oscar in the very important category “Best AEGEE-Spirit” went to… Yigitcan Ucar from AEGEE-Istanbul for his sweet movie “Cookie Love“.

After all of this award-giving, celebrating the winners and taking pictures, the party could start! All participants went to a club (with a red carpet at the entrance, of course) and could celebrate the last hours of the old year in the most stylish way. Golden balloons, pictures of stars and starlets and again an “AEGEEWOOD” banner were perfect for the atmosphere! And when it was finally midnight, everyone around had the perfect chance to get a New Year’s Kiss from a real (AEGEE) celebrity as – of course – everyone was a celebrity that night!

All in all, the event was a huge success as countless pictures on Facebook prove. But besides a good organisation and very fancy parties, the biggest success for Lisa was that “it was really nice to hear from some people that after our event they felt the spirit and that they decided to become more active AEGEEans”. Anna Bokhmat for example, a girl famous for never being seen without her selfie stick, had never been on an AEGEE-event before. She was amazed: “It was my first Aegee event and I really liked it! Never met so many people, who are into traveling and making international friends!”

AEGEE-Gdańsk is happy with the result and conclusively wants to thank the helpers who came to Gdańsk and worked hard with them for this event and also the participants for visiting their beautiful city and being awesome AEGEEans. Hopefully, there will be another NYE in Gdańsk in 2015, but “so far it is our little secret… But don’t worry, one day you will find out. News about our NYE will get loud as always”, Lisa says.

Written by Katja Sontag, AEGEE-Aachen

Pictures by AEGEE-Gdańsk and Anna Bokhmat

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