Mario Galea (AEGEE-Valletta) is an experienced member who became subcommissioner for NetCom Mattia Abis last year. Now, he is running for the Network Commission of AEGEE, showing a strong passion “to serve and to protect”, as the NetCom’s motto says, and help with the development of his locals. The AEGEEan got to know Mario Galea better, while he shared his ideas and motivation with us.

TSU Catania-Valletta 2012, Mario’s first approach to AEGEE

The AEGEEan: First of all, please introduce yourself. Who is Mario Galea?

Mario Galea: Hello! I am Mario and I come from the very south of Europe, a small island under Sicily: Malta. I am 26 years young and studying Architecture and Civil Engineering. I have been active in volunteering in different sectors for the last eight years, which is something that, along with travelling of course, I am really passionate about.

When and how did you join AEGEE?

I joined AEGEE around two and a half years ago, and, like in most romantic stories, it was completely unplanned. AEGEE-Valletta was at that time organising the first Travel Summer University (TSU) together with AEGEE-Catania and an old friend of mine, Annetto, was main coordinator. He had been telling me to join some activities for months, promising great fun, great parties, cheap travels, meeting lots of new interesting people, etc, but I never got hooked up and I was always declining, telling him I was too busy with work and studies. This time he told me that a big group of fifty people were coming to Malta and that he needed help in the kitchen for preparing the meals, and given that I worked in catering in kitchens and that I like to cook, it was easy for me to give him a helping hand. I accepted right away, but not before making him promise that I wouldn’t be requested to get out of the kitchen and meet with the people, as I wasn’t a social animal like him.

During the following months, I started getting engaged while building the team, creating the program, looking for sponsors, etc, and when a couple of weeks before the TSU started a place was freed for a Maltese organizer to go to Catania for the first part, I took the decision. In a week with one of the best teams of orgasmizers ever and with a really enthusiastic group of partycipants, I fell in love with AEGEE, and from the following week onwards, Ihave been just trying to work hard to repay this large family for changing my life.

You were subcommissioner for Mattia Abis – what was the biggest lesson you’ve learnt during this time?

During this last year, I have learnt lots of things from Mattia, but the most important of all is that if you believe in something, there’s nothing that can’t be done, given that you work really hard for it with great passion and a sense of sacrifice.

And which do you think has been your biggest achievement as subcommissioner?

What satisfied me most in my role is when I had the opportunity to discuss with and advise a particular member, faced with an important decision to take in a delicate situation. Hoping that with experience I might have been of help, makes me feel useful and having a scope.

Mario, Mattia Abis and CD member Ivan Bielik at NWM Brescia.

Which is going to be your top priority, if elected as Network Commissioner?

My ultimate priority would be to serve and support all my locals to develop themselves and each other to their full potential as a whole. I know this sounds vague and maybe not smart, but that is what my vision for the network is. The way I would try to reach this is through the various means I pointed out in the program, like effective large scale knowledge transfer and sharing through common database, LTCs, RTCs and NWMs or new collaborations with common projects, but these are just means. They can work and set the way or can be re-adapted to the evolving locals’ needs.

The locals that you would be likely taking are the ones in the Rainbow region. According to you, which are the strengths and weaknesses of the region?

After the last NWM in Brescia, I can proudly say that the biggest strength are the members themselves. We were sharing together and working on innovative approaches to tackle various issues and motivation and determination were really high. At the same time a weakness often present at the local level is the number of active members, which though, as was clear during the NWM, can be overcome by sharing resources and working together as a whole.

Have you formed any team of subcommissioners, yet?

My idea for the subcommissioners was to continue the reform Mattia started in the team last year. Apart from the normal managing duties, they will also have specialised competences making each a point of reference for particular fields. The team should consist of both fresh motivated members willing to learn ‘the job’ so that they eventually could take my eventual place, and of experienced members who will both be a backbone of knowledge for the network and reference for the new ones. The team is not formed yet, as for everyone to have equal opportunities, an open call would be duly issued searching for the most motivated members.

Do you plan to establish new locals, too?

Whoever I meet outside of AEGEE, I am always trying to recruit them into a nearby antenna, or if there isn’t, encouraging them to form one themselves. However, for my locals, I would like to consolidate the ones we already have, making them reach higher levels, recovering and strengthening those in difficulty and supporting the new ones to develop their potential. I believe that after building a strong interlaced network, it will then be more easy and sustainable to open new ones, backed by the power of a unified network.

Mario at ATOQ 2014

You also mention that you would like to bring the Erasmus+ programme closer to locals. Which is your experience with this type of grants?

Right now, I am just back (actually I am still travelling towards home) from an intensive branded training course called ATOQ (Advanced Training On Quality Youth Exchanges). It has been a very fruitful week where I have learned a lot of technicalities and best practices on what is important to write and do from project concept and application submission to activity execution and final evaluation and follow-up. This wasn’t the first training course I followed and every time I improve my competencies.

What I could clearly notice while sharing with other organisations was that we already do most of the things required in our events, and sometimes much better, the only problem is that we are not aware so we don’t acknowledge our achievements. With a little guidance and tweaking in the program and putting in words everything we do, we could easily benefit from the great opportunities of the grants framework. This would tackle two of the major problems: limited financial resources and fundraising, and underestimation of the power of our association.

My path through these opportunities is just at its beginnings so I will ask guidance and advice from the several more experienced members we have amongst our network aiming to collaborate for the creation of great projects.

There’s always the saying that there is “a gap between the local and the European level”, how do you see it?

What I could notice around, is that this ‘gap’ is somewhat virtual and is alimented mainly by lack of good communication from all parties involved. If we all manage to clearly transmit and understand the vision, needs, objectives and activities of everyone else, there won’t be any ‘gap’, but just one coherent body working easily together and for each other towards a common vision, and the role of the NetCom is mainly to facilitate all this.

You say that you’d like your locals to “push the European level instead of being pulled”, how do you plan to achieve it?

Following the previous argumentation, the locals have logically more power and potential as a collective, to unleash all their creativity and innovation fuelled by their motivation and enthusiasm. Having common vision and goals, if well coordinated, all this should be of thrust to achieve our objectives and there should be no need in trying to always ignite a spark to get things moving by putting lots of bureaucratic constraints.

NWM Brescia 2014

One question from our readers: We know you have a lot of experience in various kinds of events all around Europe, as a partcipant. You’re one of the most known members in the network. We know you’ve spent some months travelling around Europe and taking part in several events, but now, what do you want to do to improve your network? Are you able to continue the rising of your network, as the former Netcommies have done?

As the reader rightly said, especially this last year, I have been travelling a lot with AEGEE and spent more time abroad than in Malta, although I don’t think that I am that famous. All these events, both participated and organised, helped me achieve a wide view of the network, seeing and experiencing several better and worse practices, strengths, weaknesses and potentials of various areas and locals all over Europe.

With the NetCom team, I would like to foster an inter regional sharing of best practices which can provide various views and approaches to similar problems and situations. I can’t say from now if I am able or not, but I believe that hard work and passion along with advice from experienced members, will help in the development of the potential of all antennae resulting in a stronger global network.

One last question, from one of our readers: what do you think if Mattia Abis would apply again for NetCom?

Hahaha dear reader, actually this is a very interesting question. That was the same question I asked him several months ago, but he told me that he is fond of his remaining hair and his heart health. He was one of the hardest-working and effective NetCommies during this mandate and one of the two who resisted until the end. During the last months we have been working closer together, I have learnt much more and started believing in myself. Still, I am the first one acknowledging all the hard work Mattia has done and in the unrealistic case of his last minute candidature, there might be several options. I could step down and do another year of close work with him to get even more experience, because even though I believe that I am ready, there will always be place for improving. Another scenario, maybe more interesting, could be, if both of  us were elected, to work together in the NetCom and do even greater things. Since the regions assigned are not definitively separated, the largest one of 29 antennae can be reshuffled with maybe some interesting intake of closeby ones and shared between the two of us. Of course, this is now all fantasy, but working shoulder to shoulder in the same team would be thrilling for me. But maybe Mattia can answer you better…

Comment by Mattia Abis (Network Commission):From the question I can recognise the pen of Antonio Morelli from AEGEE-Catania… [he laughs] Anyways, Mario is right, I do not want to lose hair and health for another year. A term in the Network Commission is very long and it would be difficult for me to have the same motivation of the first year. So you will not see me as Netcommie again and I am happy to finish my best year in AEGEE and probably also my experience in Cagliari, my city.

Written by Anna Gumbau, AEGEE-Barcelona

And the Local of the Month of July is…. AEGEE-Udine. Located in north-east of Italy, AEGEE-Udine “in the last months was the most dynamic within my area (Italian speaking locals, AEGEE-Valletta and Contact of AEGEE-Europe in Lugano ed.), and probably in the whole Network” quoting the words of Mattia Abis, Network Commissioner (AEGEE-Cagliari). We spoke with the President Alberto De Nardi and two active members, namely Laura Garbelotto and Giancarlo Nicolò, about their past events and their upcoming plans.

The AEGEEan: Tell us a little bit about the history of your local.

Alberto: I could write a book! Where should I start? I’d say that we are experiencing a positive trend started more than one year ago, characterized by an increasing number of active members, projects, partnerships and promotional activities. In the first months of the year we introduced many changes, mainly with the purpose of giving visibility to the antenna and creating a distinctive image of the association to the external public: new logo and stickers, new t-shirt and hoody, new mascot (Mandi), new flag and banner, new web site. The next phase of this improvement process has just started. It will be deeper and it will take some time. It’s a structural change in the antenna and in the human resources management. We are introducing the committees, the mentor system and a kind of membership criteria that each member has to fulfill. It won’t be easy to implement, but the idea is to have active and motivated members from the moment of their subscription. They have to feel like part of a family and we wish that they don’t take the membership for granted, but as something that has to be conquered.

The AEGEEan: You organized a conference about CIEs (immigrants’ detention centers) and immigration problem in Europe. Why choose such a delicate topic? How was the reception?

Laura: We believe that caring about this topic is our responsibility, as citizens and AEGEE members. Being aware about the social and political reality around us doesn’t mean only to learn how to socialize and respect the different culture of the European natives. We need to consider also how the freedom of people’s mobility inside the European Union emphasizes the existence of an external border around Europe and raises the difference in the rights between European citizens and those who comes from outside, who do not have the same freedom of movement. After the conference, more than a few were surprised and astonished. People would have never expected that this could be happening inside the borders of the civilized and advanced EU, a few kilometers away from their houses, in the total silence of the mainstream media.

The AEGEEan: Not only Udine, but the entire region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The EVS Tour with Europe Direct was organized in Trieste, can you tell us more about that? Why Trieste?

Alberto: Despite the fact that our region, Friuli Venezia Giulia, is quite small, there are two universities: Udine and Trieste. As Udine is the only local of our region (AEGEE-Trieste was deleted during Autumn Agora Budapest 2012), we decided to promote AEGEE in the city of Trieste too. The promotion is of course not as intense as in Udine, but we still manage to publish some posts online about AEGEE events. The EVS Tour was organized by the youth association Europe Direct Trieste, and consisted in the organization of many events around the region to present the EVS project. We thought: what a good chance to promote AEGEE amongst youth locals. So we contacted them and attended two meetings introducing our association and activities.

The AEGEEan: The BBalkans were hit by floods and a lot of locals and members showed a lot of support. You organized an info desk to get funds/goods for the flood victims. How did you come up with the idea? How did it go?

Giancarlo: As soon as the floods hit the Balkans we wanted to do something to help our neighbors, so we decided to contact the local Balkan community. Udine is close to the border and lots of people from the Balkans live in our region. The first idea was to inform and make students aware of the situation, so we began to collaborate with other university associations in order to be more efficient, according to the Balkan example United we stand. The result was a conference to explain the project, to inform about the emergency, the sanitary problems, the needs and the collection points. Then we created an info-desk inside the university campus to give information and collect goods to ship to the flooded territories. The whole process was very difficult to manage due to time limits and very slow official communication channels of the university, but thanks to the AEGEE spirit the result was great.

The AEGEEan: AEGEE-Udine in the last year almost doubled the number of members and elected a brand new board. How do you deal with knowledge transfer and activating fresh members?

Alberto: At the moment,  knowledge transfer is the most important task of our local. That’s why we organized a Regional Training Course (RTC) in December and a Local Training Course (LTC) in April. The timing of the LTC was strategic: right after the end of the application period for the SUs, because we had the highest number of fresher members. The LTC took place for two full days during the weekend (no classes), far away from exam sessions, not overlapping other events and completely for free. Then we created an online database to store all the useful materials we need such as documents, forms, tool kits, flyers, presentations, contacts and so on. Finally, besides the direct knowledge transfer between each role of former and new board, we just started to introduce the mentor system and the committees as these are two powerful ways of training and integrating new members in the team.

The AEGEEan: Three of your members went to the European School 1 (ES1) in Enschede and one to the Summer University Project School (SUPS). How was it? How important are for you those kind of trainings?

Alberto: Besides them four, another member attended the Training for Trainers (T4T) and one more applied to the IT School, but it was unfortunately cancelled. Personally I attended the ES1 and I’m extremely satisfied with the program and the trainers of the Academy. We covered all the important managerial aspects for a local, the sessions were stimulating and most important the School was inspiring because I came back with some very useful suggestions that we already started to implement. In the same way, another member went to SUPS in Izmir and claimed that it was an incredible experience as well. Trainers were really experienced and motivating and they shared a lot of good ideas. So we strongly believe in the power and utility of trainings and European schools, we always push our members to attend them giving also a partial reimbursement.

The AEGEEans: What are the next plans of your local?

Alberto: First of all, our Travel Summer University, that will start in Ljubljana in a couple of days. We’ll spend seven days in Slovenia and seven in Italy. Everything is ready and we are very happy about the collaboration with AEGEE-Ljubljana. There is a big team of motivated organizers and the program is fantastic, so we have all the ingredients for a great event. But we have also started to work already on the next big event organized by our antenna…drum roll…the 3rd RTC in a row. The first two were memorable, so we are thinking to repeat it every year. Last year we had 60 participants and we reached the limit of the lodging place and we don’t expect less people to come this year. The dates are already set: 5th-8th of December.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

Pictures courtesy of Gabriele Basile, AEGEE-Catania

After serving as President in his local (AEGEE-Napoli) and as Subcommie in the Network Commission (NetCom) for a year, Claudio Armandi feels that becoming Network Commissioner is the most natural step, as he mentions in his candidature.

In this interview, Claudio discusses his experiences, plans, goals and motivations.

The AEGEEan: Being a Subcommissioner for one year, you should have learned a lot. What do you consider to be the biggest learning point? What was the most difficult situation that you had to face?

Claudio: They happen to be the same moment: the deletion of AEGEE-Macerata. I had some friends in the antenna and I was so sad for that, but I can say we did our best to save them and that it was unavoidable. But I had many happier moments in my year as Subcommie!

You come from the same region of Italy as Matteo, the current Netcommie. Would your getting elected reinforce the development of a certain area to the detriment of others?

It is just a coincidence, actually our cities used to be strong enemies! I would have worked with Matteo regardless of the city he came from. I am sure he chose me as a Subcommie for criteria other than my city of origin, so no clue about that!

Are you still involved in AEGEE-Napoli after being President of this local?

I am now living in Berlin, so I cannot be a board member in my antenna anymore. Anyway, there are a lot of new active members in my antenna and I am sure that they will be able to guarantee a good future for AEGEE-Napoli! I will be watching them as an oldie.

You gained experience in the Italian/Maltese Network, but you said that you are living in Germany now. Are there any locals which you would particularly like to take care of?

I would like to coordinate the Rainbow zone. I am sure I can do it properly even if I live in Berlin. The city has better and cheaper links to many Italian cities compared to Naples. Furthermore, the whole team of subcommies, including Matteo, declared they would be happy to stay in the team. This means that I can count on them in any case.

In your opinion, what is one weakness and one strength of the Rainbow Network?

I would like to see more competent people at the European level and more theme-focused events. On the other hand, I can assure you events in Italy and Malta are always unforgettable, and not only because of the wonderful places you get to see. It is the way of organizing them and the approach of people that make them special. Again, I recommend every AEGEEan to try attending them at least once.

You are already active on European level by being the Financial Manager of the Eastern Partnership Project. Do you consider involving more people into projects and Working Groups as one of your aims as Netcommie? How would you do it?

Being in a project team really teaches you a lot. It is an experience I would recommend to any motivated AEGEEan. I will do my best to sponsor projects and Working Groups in my area, both to search for new potential members and to organize joint events.

You write in your candidature that you have been working in the purchase department of an international company for a year and half. How do you think this role would help you in NetCom?

It taught me how to survive in a basket full of snakes! Actually, it also taught me how to negotiate and how to find interesting spots in the market.Nothing strongly task-related, but every skill counts in AEGEE.

“I would like to let Italian locals join the Italian Youth Council, if they demonstrate a serious will to do so.” Have the structural problems related to joining the Council been solved?

Thanks to the last reform about the role of the Netcommie, they have been solved. However, I would like Italian antennae to show more interest in that matter. We can reach this goal only with a strong cooperation from them. It will be the Netcommie’s task to motivate them and to show the possible benefits to be achieved through this move.

In your candidature twin antennae are not mentioned. Do you still believe in them as an instrument of cooperation?

Of course I do! But I think Rainbow has other priorities now, like being more content-oriented when organizing events and more “serious” in a general way of speaking. Obviously twin antenna agreements are warmly welcome!

One example of a “serious” event is EBM 2013, which will take place in AEGEE-Valletta, therefore in your area of the Network. Do you feel ready to help this local with such an important event?

I am sure the guys do not need a lot of help, but I would be there to work my bottom out anyway! I am really happy a statutory event is coming back to the Rainbow after a while.

Being part of the Network team is also an opportunity for personal development. What would you like to achieve from this experience?

More personal AEGEE experience for sure. I think being a Netcommie develops a lot of soft skills you will need in your future life.

The Agora will be an opportunity for Claudio to present himself better and show the soft skills that he already owns. The AEGEEan wishes him plenty of luck!

Written by Martina Zanero, AEGEE-Torino

It’s nine months already that I’m walking down the streets of the Rainbow. No I’m not daydreaming neither I’m under drug effect. I’m talking about the roads that connect the Italian speaking locals.

These roads have always been tough, tortuous and full of obstacles; the Network Commissioners’ (NetCommies) work here has not always been a piece of cake. Hard work and passion sometimes could not fit all the holes of the human understanding, especially for a relatively new generation of the AEEEEans that have to face old slags of rooted “customary laws” that have become almost traditions.

How to deal with them? How to proceed to a better understanding? How to find solutions? How to…? There are many questions that need time and patience to be answered and most of all need a path. Culture and tradition walk in parallel in our territory, gaining strength each step they take together. The more time has been passing, the more it has been hard to extract out the bad roots they took along the road and implement the new ones. But there are times to do so in any society (history speaks for that), and rainy days, even if not so welcomed can give you a hope for good times to come, can wash away the waste and let you see a new rainbow.

Someone said: “When it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”

It seems it rained quite a lot along the streets of Italy, and in some part it is still raining, but exploring, travelling, getting to know better our streets and people who walk around them, I can witness a new will that is slowly growing. The will to look up rather than down. The will to change things and move on for better things.

What made me to think of that? Participation, motivation, involvement and passion, as simple as that.

Network Meetings (NWM) in Pisa and Napoli, last five months have brought together many active and fresh AEGEEans that have discussed and questioned many topics of huge importance for the growth of our Network. Fresh members are taking over trying to implement new ideas and newly born locals are showing the “oldies” how learning by doing is working also in Italy – you just need a little motivation. This process has started already one year ago with the NWM in Catania, boosting the Italian speaking locals, and keeps going on.

My trip along this new Rainbow is not finished yet, I have some months ahead still to work with people who gave me a lot during my period as Netcommie and I’ll make sure I’ll give them back all my best to try to admire a shiny Rainbow at the Autumn Agora Budapest 2012.

But now, as the summer time has come and the Rainbow locals will host many AEGEEans coming from all over Europe, I just want to wish good luck to all the locals organising SUs and summer events. I’m sure you will do a great job and you will show how the heart and soul of young Europeans is still beating along the streets of the Rainbow.

Written by Matteo Scarpa (the Network Commission of AEGEE-Europe, AEGEE-Salerno)

Photos by Network Commission

Remark by The AEGEEan: This article reflects the personal opinion of the author.