Did you miss the Public Relations European School (PRES) event which took place last year between 23rd and 30th November in Poznań? Read this article and find out more insights about the project from the training manager, Zsófia Komáromi. We also talked to her about her overall impression of PRES, how it was like to be in the position of training manager as well as her future plans, personal hobbies and life outside AEGEE. 

 The AEGEEan: As the training manager, what was your overall impression of PRES? 

Zsófia: I am very happy about the outcomes of PRES. We had 25 great participants whose contribution made the event a success. I am also incredibly thankful to the trainers’ team (Inez, Ksenia, Mayri, Bálint and Gerar) and the organisers from Poznań. We worked well together as a team, and were able to develop a program for PRES that was challenging, but at the same time leaving room for creativity. We were focusing on topics where the knowledge gained by participants would be beneficial for their locals, as well as later on in their professional life. Just to highlight a few areas we covered: we dealt with social media, online marketing, presentation skills, media relations and video editing.

The event was also a good example of cooperation between NGOs, as we had several participants from other non-profit youth organisations. I have been part of two more PRES events (PRES2 Novi Sad in 2011 as a participant and PRES Nova Gorica in 2012 as a trainer), and can say that this one was the best so far – though I am probably very much biased. [she laughes]

Did you encounter any problems during the event? Which one did you consider to be the biggest challenge?

We had the usual challenges that many events face: last minute cancellations, difficulties in finding good training rooms etc. The biggest challenge for us trainers was to decide on which topics and sessions to include and which ones to leave out. One week might seem like a long time but once you start planning, you soon see that it is not nearly enough to accommodate all the topics you want to cover. We actually felt that the field of communications and PR would merit several individual events, and even had the idea of creating an Online Marketing European School – let’s see what the future holds for this.

How was the position of training manager? Do you intend to apply again for this position in the upcoming events?

It was a great experience! With our trainers’ team we have become good friends and we keep in touch even now, several months after PRES. I think that managing a European School is a very important step in the development of every trainer. It’s the next step after planning individual training sessions, and you can learn and experience how to design an impact-full one-week training course where all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. It has been also extremely rewarding, as I received a lot of positive feedback from participants. Several of them have even become the PR responsible of locals and projects – it’s great to see that all the work we did has had an impact. So the answer is a yes, I would consider applying again for the position of training manager.

 What piece of advice would you give to a training manager? 

Dream big! We had high hopes for PRES, and if during the process we realised that not everything can be implemented as we initially imagined, our goals still motivated and inspired us through the whole preparation phase and the event as well.
On a more practical level, I think it’s important to find out what each of your team members do best, and support them in pursuing those fields, because that’s how you will end up with great quality training sessions.

 What other things did you do in AEGEE that are worth mentioning?

I have been active in AEGEE since 2009, I was a board member in my local, AEGEE-Budapest, Speaker of the Public Relations Committee (did you know I was one of the founders of The AEGEEan?), communications responsible of the first edition of Europe on Track, and CD assistant in 2012. These days I deliver training session as a member of the Academy, in the fields of PR, project management and teamwork.

What are your future plans in/out of AEGEE?

I am now working in the field of marketing for an airline, and communications is a field I am very passionate about, so I would like to keep pursuing that in the future. I am very happy to continue delivering training sessions to AEGEE members through the Academy and in Budapest, as I have learned and developed so much in this organisation, and it’s a great feeling to give back.

How is your life outside AEGEE? What are your hobbies? 

Coming from an AEGEE member it will sound like a cliché, but I do love traveling! When I’m not traveling, working, reading a book, or spending time with my friends, I like to think about starting my own company. One important thing that I have gained through the years is entrepreneurial spirit, and I can’t wait to put it to use!

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

Do speaking in public, leading presentations and creating successful PR campaigns seem like pure magic to you? Or do you feel insecure about promoting your own organisation without spending too much money? Well then, PRES is just for you!

This year the 19th edition of AEGEE’s PR European School took place in Poznań, Poland. Hosted by the local antenna, all participants were taken care of with great compassion and consideration. Participants were hosted throughout the week in a hostel in the city centre, where everything was within a 15 minute walk. A three course meal was offered every day and the participants had the possibility to explore traditional Polish cuisine.

The most significant part of the weekly program was of course the training itself.  For six days in a row the participants had the possibility to be engaged in campaign development and to study in detail the components of success.

The workshops were divided into themes: day one consisted of a general introduction into the topics of PR and branding, lead by the lovely Zsofia Komaromi (AEGEE-Budapest), Mayri Tiido (Projects and Communications director) and Ksenia Lupanova (AEGEE-Moskva). The following day was especially dedicated to analytics – how to analyse the media you use, your competitors and how to manage your organisation’s profile on social media moderated by Bálint Tóth (AEGEE-Budapest) and Zsofia.

But what is all that worth when you’re unable to present your organisation the right way? Paulina Inez Wenta (AEGEE-Toruń), Mayri and Bálint dedicated their time to making presentation pros out of the trainees. The session included improvisation and short presentations, prepared by the participants themselves. By that point, everybody knew where their NGO stood in the social media pecking order and possessed the ability to make themselves noticeable. But what do we actually present? What are our tools to show the world who we are?

The answer was given by Ksenia and Gerardo García Díaz (AEGEE-Oviedo) – video materials, posters and logos: a full two days training in Photoshop, CorelDraw and Adobe Premiere with the possibility to put what was learnt into practice. Branding and marketing were also vital points for this session – well-known brands were analysed and their strategies were modified for NGOs.

The participants were given the chance to express themselves also in a non-formal environment. Every evening case studies took place. The trainees were divided into working groups, developing their own projects throughout the whole week. One of the groups was given the special task of creating a working PR strategy for AEGEE-Poznań as a way of thanking the organisers for the effort they put into making PRES happen. The KEY studies allowed all the participants to put to use the knowledge they had gained – to see in real life situations how they can apply the theory of PR.

Through this a wonderful campaign was born – the so called “Banana Project”. Max Reitmeyer (AEGEE-Dresden), Folckert van der Molen (AEGEE-Utrecht), Anna Bortoletto (AEGEE-Udine) and Aivar Yorick (AEGEE-Tallinn) put their creative minds into a wonderful long term project to present Poznań with the help of bananas. The idea enchanted everyone and the bananas became the mascot of PRES 2014.

The participants also had the task to maintain the social media profile of PRES – another way to be interactive and creative. Many good ideas were born in the process, for example an interview with the president of AEGEE-Poznań Ola Domejko.

Of course, as all of you know AEGEE is never only about work. The social program was at its peak every night. Trips to clubs and bars were organised for the participants, allowing them to blend in with the locals and experience the Poznań nightlife first hand. The cultural aspect was not missing either. An interactive Poznań tour was arranged for the trainees so they explored the old and new part of town.

By the end of the programme, when the time came to go our separate ways once more, one could not see more sad faces in one place. The people that arrived a week ago as strangers were now friends. The insecure participants were now standing straight up with confidence in their eyes. PRES was not only a training course in PR, it was an event that allowed people to feel more secure in their social and cultural interactions, to enrich their point of view and see how colourful the world is. And once you are part of that, you can never go back.

Written by Lilia Georgieva, AEGEE-Berlin