During Agora, some people are meant to be in charge of conducting the sessions, giving the timetable, taking minutes and solving any possible problem with the IT infrastructure. They are the Chair Team: Chairperson (Marta Wnuk), vice-Chairperson (Erika Bettin), Secretary (Gabriela Geană) and IT (Jani Dugonik). They have been recently selected to prepare and manage Spring Agora Enschede 2017, and The AEGEEan interviewed them for you. 

Marta Wnuk – Chairperson

The AEGEEan: Please introduce yourself

Marta: I am a member of AEGEE since 2012. I have been active locally in AEGEE-Poznań and AEGEE-Warszawa. Then I became the Content Manager of the Eastern Partnership Project and a Network Commissioner for locals in Poland and in Ukraine.  Recently, I had the opportunity to work on Statutory Events as Vice-Chairperson.

Erika: I am a member of AEGEE since 2011, back then joining AEGEE-Venezia and now I am a member of AEGEE-Verona. I have been part of some team, but my most relevant activity was being Editor- In -Chief of both The AEGEEan and Key to Europe. Speaking about the work of Chair Team, I have been job shadower for Autumn Agora Cagliari, secretary assistant in three Agoras and chaired two prytannia in Autumn Agora Chisinau.

Gabriela: Hello, my name is Gabriela Geană and I am from AEGEE-București. I am 24 and recently employed, I also graduated Communication and PR Faculty, a field which I am really interested to find out more about. I joined AEGEE in autumn 2011 and ever since I have been an active member both in my local and on the European level. I am currently a member of the Public Relations Committee and former journalist for the AEGEEan magazine, which I am really proud of having been a part. I love cats, good movies of all kinds, people who can make me smile, the little things in life. [she smiles, ed.]

Jani: Hello, my name is Jani and I have been an official member for two years and a board member as a representative for IT. I graduated in Computer Science and Information Technology, and currently working at the university as a researcher and teaching assistant. Also, I am in several associations as a board member (IT, disciplinary board,…). I love animals, travelling, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and having fun with my friends.

Erika Bettin – Vice-Chairperson

Why did you decide to apply for the Chair Team?

Marta: Chairing a statutory event is both exciting and demanding task. It is a unique experience that teaches a lot and gives a lot of satisfaction. Each Agora is a challenge. Moreover, I realised I am willing to take up this challenge once again. At the same time, I wanted to assure continuity of the Chair Team’s work to make sure that Agora is handled in the best possible way.

Erika: Because I wanted to be part of the team for some time. I always loved the Agora, even if the sentiment was not always mutual, and I have been fascinated by the work of Chair Team.

Gabriela: I decided to apply to the Secretary of the Agora because I always thought I can do more in AEGEE and learn a lot at the same time. I was also thinking of this job before applying to the secretary of the agora, but I felt it was not the right time for me then. This time I did not hesitate, I took the opportunity and applied. It will be challenging, but definitely worthwhile.

Jani: I was always interested in organising conferences and other events. Also, I love challenges and Agora is certainly one of them.

Marta, a second term is in front of you. What will your major challenge be?

Gabriela Geană – Secretary of the Agora

The motto of the Chair Team should be “expect the unexpected”. In other words, the challenge always is to handle the unexpected situation that may occur during the Agora. The challenge is to make fast, accurate decisions that are in line with rules and procedures and which lead to quick resolutions taking all the involved factors into account. Everything else is a matter of a good preparation.

Erika, what will your contribution to the team be?

For now, I already created the hashtag #blueeyedchairteam. What undoubtful contribution, right? [she smiles, ed.] Jokes apart, I hope to bring some ideas that I have for the team and for the agenda. The lack of time is a well-known enemy in our statutory event, so I hope that we will manage to fit everything.

Gabriela, how important are minutes for our association?

Minutes are essential, as they are one of the main sources of information during the Agora, not only to people where the information reaches but also to the people who deliver it. Minutes are messages delivered to the people we want to reach and a constant source of information for all of us at Agora.

How do you envision the cooperation with your fellow Chair Team members?

Erika: For now the cooperation is going well. We all have been members of this association for quite some time and we lived the Agora in different roles: delegates, visitors, envoys, organisers, that I am sure it will bring some different perspectives. We will have the chance to do some team building in Brussel when we will meet in person, in order to be a perfect oiled machine in Enschede.

In Agora Enschede, what is the thing you are most looking forward to?

Marta: The Opening Plenary, I would say. The beginning of the Agora is always a big moment that is a transition point between preparations and the Agora itself. It is a great feeling after the months of preparations to seat finally behind the Chair table with the whole team and take up the challenge of chairing.

Jani Dugonik – IT responsible

Erika: An Agora in Enschede is said to be legendary. I have heard so much about Spring Agora Enschede 2012, that now I am dying out of curiosity to finally taste the touch of the Dutch local at first hand. Needless to say that the thing I am most looking forward to is the very first plenary when all our preparatory work will see the light and the chairing part will start.

Gabriela: The thing I am most looking forward to of the Agora is seeing my friends again, of course. Agora is the best event to meet again with all of your friends or at least a part of them and catch up. I am also looking forward to being on the other side of the table and learning valuable things.

Jani: I am looking to gain even more experience in the IT field as well as in organising such big events and teamwork.

Written by Federica Soro, AEGEE-Cagliari

Most of you, during the Agora, watch the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson preside over the meeting. But how about the Secretary of the Agora? The only thing people witness of him/her, is them typing during the Agora, but being Secretary of the Agora has some privileges!

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1. You are in the spotlight.
Together with the rest of the Chair Team, you are the centre of the attention for a couple of days. You are the one who creates and revise the agenda. So, when people have questions or what to change something, they will come to your table and ask you for assistance.

2. You cannot miss a Plenary.
You are on stage during (almost) all Plenaries, cause it’s kind of your duty to record all the minutes of the Agora. But, if it’s your thing, you have the added benefit of not having to speak. Speaking of standing in the centre of a spotlight, sometimes they literally shine too brightly onto the stage. Luckily, that’s just an opportunity to put on some cool shades.

3. You can skip the queues for meals.
This might sound like something form George Orwell’s Animal Farm: ‘all AEGEEans are equal, but the Chair Team is a bit more equal than others’, but it actually has an important function. As a Secretary of the Agora, you have to be present at a Prytanium before it even starts, and since queuing up for food might take forever, you might not be able to finish you meal, or not have any food at all. Therefore, it becomes sort of necessary to queue barge… sorry, hopefully everyone can understand.

4. You have your own assistants.

You may be important, but you’re not all-powerful. During the Prytania slots, there are three parallel sessions and it is impossible to cover them alone. That’s why you need assistants to help you during the Agora. Also, after the Agora the assistants need to finish their sessions and you might need some proofreaders to help you. Thanks you guys!

5. You have internet access most of the times.

The internet is pretty great; the U.N. even deemed it a basic human necessity. However, while some people will even ask you for the WiFi-password for… personal things, you need an internet connection to access the agenda, which might change considerably during an Agora. You also need the internet to constantly communicate with the rest of the Chair Team and with your assistants. It’s kind of an important tool for chaos prevention; the internet, to a secretary, it’s more than just Tumblr.

6. You know everything that happened during the Agora.

You have recordings, and sometimes video footage, of all the Plenaries and Prytania.
After the Agora, can listen to the recordings or watch the videos in order to deliver accurate minutes of the Agora. You know, for everyone who doesn’t have the photographic memory of BBC’s Sherlock.

7. You don’t  pay the Agora fee.
Also, after you deliver the minutes, you get reimbursed for your trip. A lovely ‘thank you’ for doing a nice, good job.

If you are interested, you can apply for Secretary of Agora Chişinău till the 20th of June.

Written by Lia Tuska, AEGEE-Kastoria/Sofia

Just like we did for the last Agorae, for Spring Agora Bergamo we want to provide you with a short and easy summary of the proposals submitted for the Agora again. In this first round, we will be explaining you four proposals that are aimed at changing the elections and the work of Juridical Commission, namely “Requiring support of two bodies besides the submitting body to discuss a proposal at the Agora”, “A new procedure for elections and polls, part I (public ballots)”, “Appointing instead of electing the Secretary of the Agora” and “Giving the Juridical Commission the power to fix small mistakes”. 

Now you may wonder: “What is this CIA you are talking about? Is AEGEE-Europe secretly American?” Simply said, the CIA (Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense) is a document with over a hundred pages containing all the rules which govern AEGEE-Europe. It is therefore considered as the legal framework of the association, and all members are obliged to follow its provisions. Although no secret agents are involved in it, it is one of the most important documents. In the CIA, which you can read here, you can find, for example, the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe and all kind of rules (like the antennae criteria and financial rules), and, in another document, the Working Formats of the different bodies.

Requiring support of two bodies besides the submitting body to discuss a proposal at the Agora

This proposal was submitted by Lucas Zoetmulder on behalf of AEGEE-Delft and by Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede, but it was conceived by the Agora Reform Task Force, which has been working since Autumn Agora Kyïv on improving our Agorae. The proposers want to reform how a proposal is submitted to the Agora. Currently, every member and organ of AEGEE-Europe can present a proposal by themselves on behalf of their body, resulting sometimes in easy withdrawing of proposals. This proposal therefore aims to have two additional bodies or locals to support the proposers. The principal submitter is still the one defending the proposal in front of the Agora, but they can be assisted by the supporting members or organs.

Appointing instead of electing the Secretary of the Agora

This proposal will be presented by Svenja van der Tol, the Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe, on behalf of the Agora Reform Task Force. This proposal starts from the assumption that the elections of the Secretary of the Agora cost time not needed, since normally there is only one candidate for the position and often even less, forcing the Chair Team to appoint anyway an interim Secretary. With this proposal, the Autumn Agora only elects the Chair Person and the Vice-Chair person and the Secretary is appointed following the same procedure of the IT assistant for a period of one Agora. S/he can extend his/her term for more Agorae if the Chair and Vice-Chairperson appoint her/him to. These proposals won’t change the accountability of the Secretary who is still required to send minutes two months after the Agora – not receiving any reimbursement if s/he is not in time with the delivering – and remains in charge of all the changes until the Agora approves them.

A new procedure for elections and polls, part I (public ballots)

Eveline Joore, Evelien Kroon and Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede are the proposers of the proposal that aims to change how the votings are conducted. The suggestion of the proposers is to replace the current run-off voting system with the Schulze method. This method allows voters to order candidates according to a preference order, resulting in having as a winner the candidate, who is preferred by a majority over every other candidate in pairwise comparisons. According to the proposers “AEGEE should move beyond the traditional practises of democratic decision-making that have proven to be unsatisfactory”, without any specific reference on when the system we have now proved not to be up to expectations. Proposers specify that they want to apply it, in the beginning, to public ballots, such as EPM topics. There, with a list of topics, delegates would rank the topics according to their preferences, instead of voting for only one topic. According to the Schulze method, the k top-ranked topic will be the winner.

Giving the Juridical Commission the power to fix small mistakes

This proposal will be presented by the Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe, Svenja van der Tol, on behalf of the Agora Reform Task force and it was developed by Lucas Zoetmulder of AEGEE-Delft. The aim of this proposal is to give the Juridical Commission the possibility to intervene directly in the CIA for changes, as it happens now, but without having to prepare a proposal to be voted on. Instead, the Juridical Commission will present the changes to the Agora in order to be ratified by our General assembly. All the changes must be notified to the Network one month prior to the Agora. The system will be the same as the one already used with the minutes of the Agora, and, in case the changes are not ratified, the non-ratified version of the CIA is still the one to be considered valid. According to the proposers, this can ease the work of the JC and remove long-lasting discussion during prytania, making them more accessible to new members. Of course, the JC will have the power to fix minor mistakes and inconsistencies and they can not altered the text by any means.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

European Planning Meeting will see the debut of the Chair Team of AEGEE-Europe 2015-2016. For two years in a row, Tom Simons (AEGEE-Enschede) will be the Chairperson of the Agora/EPM with Marta Wnuk (AEGEE-Warszawa) acting as Vice-Chairperson. The line continues with the Secretary of the Agora – Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Kastoria/Sofia), and the IT assistant- Erik Steenman (AEGEE-Enschede).

 
The most experienced team member is Chairperson Tom Simons, who successfully run for a second time during Autumn Agora Kyiv. Being member of AEGEE-Enschede since 2010 and having attended many statutory events, he has certainly a big expertise when it comes to statutory events. Those can, however, be implemented and Tom has a clear vision on what can be changed. “In my opinion, there is currently an imbalance between discussing CIA (Corpus Iuricum Aegeeanse) text and time spent on elections. I hope that in the upcoming Agora we will have a plan in place to properly balance these two aspects.” says Tom. He will certainly have a useful hand with the Agora Reform Task who is currently studying our principal statutory event. “As Chair Team we still have a lot of standard work we need to take care of. So, having a motivated team to think about improvements is very much welcome.” he states, “But definitely it would also be a challenge when it comes to implement all the eventual changes during the next Agora. In fact they are currently working on a lot of good ideas to make the Agora more efficient, improve the quality of existing content and add new content.”

 
Marta Wnuk, the Vice-Chairperson, is thrilled to be a part of the team and she is looking forward to working for Spring Agora Bergamo and Autumn Agora Chișinău and seeing eventually their results. Also for her, reforming our statutory event is very high on her agenda, therefore Chair Team’s one, and she identified two major problems she would like to work on. “I see the importance in tackling lack of time for asking questions and sufficient debate and at the same time, losing precious minutes on parts of the agenda that are not of utmost relevance. Secondly, I would look at ways to make prytania more efficient” she continues. Coming from a year working in the Network Commission, when she worked closely with the local, she thinks she will be ‘able to bring more of local perspective into work of the Chair Team’. “What I mean by that”, she continues “is that I will try to include in our actions what I learnt during my term as a NetCommie – how Statutory Events are perceived and what challenges are connected with them. I believe it’s beneficial that Chair Team has a broad overview of the organisation.”

 
After losing the elections in Agora Cagliari against the current Secretary General Svenja van der Tol, Lia Tuska was elected in Kyiv. She was already secretary assistant several times and she said that secretaries need to have a good time management, be organised and have good listening skills and “you need to love what you are doing” she adds. The Secretary of the Agora is a task that not everybody wants to take, but minutes of the Agora are very important for us, as Lia confirmed: “I’ve been member of three different locals and only one of them actually shares the minutes of the local Agorae. I don’t live close to any of those cities anymore, so I cannot attend the local Agorae feeling that I don’t know anything about what is happening there if I don’t ask some of the members. […] That’s why I believe that minutes are important for people who cannot be there at the Agorae, for future generations, but also for the ones who are there to read what happened from an objective point of view”. According to CIA, minutes must be delivered within two months after the Agora/Epm and Lia is confident she will be able to meet the deadline. “I am glad that one of the most useful things that Leadership Summer School taught me is time management. I have already organised my time for after EPM and Agora Bergamo in order my minutes to be on time” she concludes.

 
Last but not least, Erik Steenman is the new IT assistant who decided to apply for the position because “ it will likely be my last chance to get a real taste of AEGEE-Europe. […] When I heard the applications for the IT-Responsible would open, I realised that if I would look back on my student life at that moment, I would likely regret not using my membership with AEGEE to go out into Europe more”. The IT position is prominent in an event that rely a lot on presentations and internet connection, that’s why Erik’s main task will be “making sure the Chair Team has a working internet connection, and that the correct presentation will be on-screen at the correct time. This shouldn’t be too hard if everyone would hand in their presentations in time. But of course that never happens”. Of course he will be actively involved in all Chair Team tasks. Erik will also deal with the Euth project that will be introduced during the upcoming Spring Agora Bergamo. Despite not being actively involved in the current work, he says that he will be in “setting up the infrastructure so we can test the new tools for the EUth project during the upcoming Agorae”.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Because Svenja van der Tol, former Secretary of the Agora, was elected as Secretary General of AEGEE-Europe, the Chair Team opened applications for the Secretary of the Agora for the upcoming Autumn Agora Kyïv. Jeanine Ossentjuk from AEGEE-Groningen was selected as new Secretary of the Agora. Let’s find out who the new girl on stage is!

The AEGEEan: For those who don’t know you, can you please introduce yourself?
Jeanine: Hi! My name is Jeanine, I’m 21 years old and I study Human Resource Management. Last year I was Secretary and PR-responsible in the board of AEGEE-Groningen and this year I am in the advisory board and in the travel committee of my local.

Why did you decide to apply for Secretary of the Agora?
AgorAsturias was my first Agora and I really loved it. At the end of the Agora I was determined to become active in AEGEE-Europe. I knew that there had to be an interim Secretary of the Agora since Svenja got elected for CD, and since I really liked my tasks as Secretary in the board of AEGEE-Groningen, it was the perfect opportunity for me to take this experience to the next level!

Not everyone might know what your work looks like. How would you define your work as Secretary of the Agora? 

My main responsibility is taking minutes during the plenaries and some of the prytania at the Agora. Another important part of my work is coordinating my secretary assistants. I’m very lucky to have five amazing assistants for the upcoming Agora. They will take minutes during the prytania and it’s my job to assign them to the prytania and prepare them for their work so they will know what they are expected to do. But apart from these specific ‘secretary’ tasks, I’m also a member of the Chair Team which means supporting Tom Simons and Andrea Ugrinoska wherever I can, for example with drafting the agenda, selecting participants, sending emails, keeping track of everything that is discussed and doing some random small things that come up.

What is your favorite part of your work? 
I love to get a look ‘behind the scenes’ of the Agora. Being part of the Chair Team means that you’re very involved in the whole process of Agora preparation and it’s interesting to see all the things that have to be taken care of. Also, working together with the other members of the Chair Team and with Svenja is awesome. We’re a super-efficient team and we get along really well, which obviously makes working a lot more fun.

Do you have any specific aims for the upcoming Agora?

Since my tasks mainly take place during the Agora, I’m very excited to finally really start ‘working’! I’m also looking forward to visit Kyïv and of course to meet a lot of new people.  I don’t have any specific aims, but I just hope everything will go well and that this Agora will be the best!

Is there anything you want to add?

The three things I like most in life are travelling, Spanish music and doing shots. So if you want to make me happy during the Agora, try playing some Spanish music or offer me a delicious Ukrainian shot [she laughs, ed.] Looking forward to meeting many of you!

Written by Wietske Jousma, AEGEE-Enschede

She has a lot of European experience with various positions and attended many European events. Some of the positions she has had were Vice-Speaker of Information Technology Committee (ITC), Secretary of Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Network Commissioner, and more recently, the PR Responsible of Democracy in Practice Project and currently the Project Manager of Democracy in Practice Project. Lia Tuska doesn’t want to rest, she is running the second time for Secretary of the Agora. We asked her a few questions about her motivation and program. 

The AEGEEan: Let us begin by telling us three words that describe you and why you chose them.  

Lia: Laugh: one of the most important things for me is laughing. I like seeing people laugh and I do the same. I laugh a lot and I really like making others laugh. The world is better when you are laughing, and I believe that when you smile the universe returns good things to you, so if you are reading this please smile.

Inspire: from a young age, I liked inspiring people. When I became trainer at the Youth Trainers Academy, I had to randomly pick a wooden cube with a word written on it. The word I received was “Inspire” and so far, I have inspired some participants as a trainer. When you can inspire others, you feel like the happiest person in the world.

Authentic: it is impossible for me to lie, I am too honest. Actually, more honest than I should be. I have this principle “treat people the way you want to be treated”. I am true to them and I expect the same from them.

Why do you want to run the second time for Secretary of the Agora?

First Plenary as Secretary’s Assistant

First of all, it’s not a secret, I love being Secretary. The first article I wrote for the AEGEEan was Being the Secretary of the Agora. Writing it motivated me to apply as Secretary Assistant at Agora Zaragoza. Of course, the support I got from Elena Antova, Secretary of Agora Zaragoza, kept my motivation high. That’s the reason I ran the first time. Not been elected didn’t affect my motivation, and that’s why I was Svenja’s assistant at AgorAsturias and after it, I helped Danae with the Agora Cagliari minutes. The recordings had really bad quality and we were working on them many hours every day. Both of us believe that it was better to write down everything it was said and it was really hard to achieve that. When the Open Call for Interim Secretary of the Agora was issued, the idea of applying passed my mind, but in the end, I decided to not do it.

Answering your question, I think it’s a pity that nobody applied for Secretary of the Agora. Unfortunately, this position (except last year) usually has one or no applicants. I understand that it is considered a hard, tiresome and maybe boring position, but there should be someone to do this job. I don’t mind doing it. After all, it’s a dream and I never stopped believing that I will make it come true. It’s also another challenge for me to dare to do it. I am looking forward to work as Secretary of the Agora for a full term.

How would you explain the role of the Secretary of the AGORA to a 10 year old?  

With Danae Matakou, Secretary of Agora Cagliari

I have already done it for my 9 and 11 year old cousins last year. There are those important meetings, Agorae that happen two times per year and they last four or five days. Everything that is said in those meetings needs to be kept. A secretary’s job is to write down what people say. The Secretary of the Agora is an important person, who needs to be very patient. Most of the time he/she is on stage, not talking, listening carefully to everything that everyone says, trying to not miss something and typing. Thankfully, there are recordings so the Secretary will hear them afterwards to fill in parts that are missing. That’s the “boring” part. The cool part is that the Secretary can skip the really long queues for meals and has internet access (most of the time).

According to you, what would be the best characteristic of a Secretary of the Agora?

I believe that it cannot be just one characteristic that makes you a good Secretary of the Agora, but if I have to choose one, I would say good listening skills. Firstly, you hear different accents and secondly, you cannot always be sure about the quality of the recordings.

How fast can you write? (approximate words per minute)

Last time I tested my speed, my score was 47 words per minute.

According to you, when does a Secretary have to publish the minutes of an Agora?

First Prytanium as Secretary’s Assistant

As a perfectionist, I would say that the ideal time for the minutes to be published is one month after the Agora. People are back to their normal life, they can check their mails and what happened at the Agora is still fresh in their memory. After my experience with the Agora Cagliari minutes, and hearing stories from older Agorae, I say that it depends. The minutes should be published when the Secretary is 100% sure that they don’t need any more improvements from their side. Lastly, in case of any issues appearing, the Secretary should inform the Network about the status of their work.

Can you elaborate on “create a team of Secretary Assistants”  in your candidature regarding the program? What did you mean exactly by that and what would be their role? 

With Elena Antova, Secretary of Agora Zaragoza

The Secretary of the Agora cannot (yet) clone themselves to attend all the parallel Prytania, so they need to appoint Secretary’s Assistants. Before every Agora an Open Call for Secretary’s Assistants is issued. Those assistants are helping the Secretary by taking minutes during parallel sessions and after the Agora, they receive the recording(s) of their session(s) and they are given a deadline to send their part of the minutes. I want to create a team which hopefully I will keep to both Agorae. I will be there for the team to support them. As I said, there is a lack of applications for Secretary of the Agora, and this is a problem that should be solved. My goal is to motivate at least one of my assistants to go for it and dare to apply for such a responsible position.

With Svenja van der Tol, Secretary of AgorAsturias

How much time can you invest in helping the Chair Team?

I have a lot of free time since I finished my studies and I work as virtual assistant, which means I spent a lot of time online and I check my mails frequently. My working hours are very flexible, and I can assist the Chair Team anytime if they ask me to.

Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București

You can read her full candidature here.

The Chair Team is changing its members during every Autumn Agora. The newly elected team is preparing for the statutory events that are coming, because preparation is the key to a successful event, in this case first of all for the European Planning Meeting (EPM). They have responsibilities that need to be respected so that the event goes on as planned. The AEGEEan got in touch with Tom, Andrea, Svenja and Gianmarco in order to find out more about the new team.

As many of us already know, the Chair Team was elected during Autumn Agora Cagliari. It is represented by four people: the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and IT Responsible. The Chairperson, in this case Tom Simons (AEGEE-Enschede), as well as the Vice-Chairperson, Andrea Ugrinoska (AEGEE-Skopje), lead the meetings. The Secretary, Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), is responsible for taking the minutes of the sessions and the IT responsible, Gianmarco Rodriguez Aviles (AEGEE-Genova), has to take care of all technology needed during the events. The Chair Team is responsible for two Agorae and one European Planning Meeting (EPM).

Red hair, blue eyed Dutch-German girl with a really positive personality: Guess who? We are talking of course about Svenja van der Tol (AEGEE-Nijmegen), in three words: hyperactive happy and caring. No doubt about that! We can confirm her hard work just by taking into account her engagement both on the Local and the European level of AEGEE. She has been also called mommy by the AEGEEans she worked with because of her caring personality. For these and many other reasons Svenja has been elected as Member of the Month (MoM) of December. Do you want to know more about her? Check this out!

The AEGEEan: Hi Svenja, you’ve been elected as MoM, congratulations! How do you feel about it?

Svenja: Very, very happy and thankful, especially to Ruben Navarro (AEGEE-Tarragona) who wrote a very sweet (and very unexpected) nomination! Of course I’m glad in the end I was elected too, but the nomination alone was already enough to make me really happy [She smiles].

Did you expect this nomination? Why?
Honestly, I didn’t and I was a bit shocked at first when I found out. I know that I am doing quite a lot of things in AEGEE, but I don’t feel like I am doing something super exceptional like the things former Member of the Months have been elected for or that I’m unique in the AEGEE Network. However, I’m still very happy I was nominated, because it does feel good to get recognition for the work you do, even if you don’t think it’s that special yourself.

Who is actually Svenja van der Tol?
I’m a twenty-two year old Dutch-German girl, who lives in Nijmegen, where I followed my Bachelor in Dutch Language & Culture. In January, I will be starting an internship in communication, which I’m looking forward to very much. Other than that, I love to travel, wear dresses, meet new people, talk, talk, talk, write, read, eat and sleep. Fun fact: my favorite animals are cats, even though I’m allergic to them, which I used to deny when I was younger because I wanted to keep my cat, leading to me always looking like I had a cold as a kid.

Tell us three words that describe you the best.
Happy, caring, hyperactive.

Since when are you an AEGEEan? Why did you decide to join our network?
I joined AEGEE-Nijmegen in Spring 2012, because I was looking for an association without the so called “ontgroening” – initiation rite in which the newbie has to do embarassing stuff during his/her introduction period – many associations in the Netherlands have. Next to that, the travelling part of AEGEE really attracted me, so after the introduction period I decided to become a member and shortly after Ι was elected as Secretary of the new board.

Can you briefly introduce to our readers your experience in AEGEE, both on the Local and on the European level?
I started as the Secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen in 2012 – 2013. After my board year, I stayed on as advisory board for the newly elected board, but I wanted to do more, so I decided to explore the European level too. I started as a Journalist for the AEGEEan, later becoming Editor of the Network section, where I met Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia). Not too long after, we decided to apply to be Editor-in-Chief of the Key to Europe together. Around the same time, I became SubCommie to Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Sofia) and after Autumn Agora Cagliari Boudewijn Steenhof (AEGEE-Leiden) for the Dutchspeaking locals. Because I wanted to do more with the thematics of AEGEE too, I became a member of the new Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT) in July, where I am the Project Manager of the Guidelines. During the last Autumn Agora in Cagliari I was elected as Secretary of the EPM and Agora, so right now I’m busy preparing the upcoming statutory events with the Chair Team. Meanwhile, I’m also active on the local level, where I’m Incoming Responsible for the second year for our Summer University and I am President of our Europe committee, which recently organised a Network Meeting of which I was Main Organiser. I think this is more or less everything [she laughs].

What is the activity/role did you enjoy doing most in AEGEE? Why?
Right now, I think I have found a good mixture of different activities, covering all the different aspects of AEGEE, so I can’t really pick one favorite activity among them. However, in the teams and events I have been in, I tend to be very caring and I often get called mommy, so I think my favorite role would be the mama.

You are involved in so many activities. Where do you get your energy from?
Probably from the amazing people I have the pleasure to work with, who never fail to motivate me to do more and better, some of them also becoming good friends. It probably sounds like a cliché, but I truly believe that if you do what you love most, it won’t feel like work and you will be happy to spend a lot of time on it. Of course, sometimes I’m tired too (the fact that I’m a night animal doesn’t really help), but since the people I work with often are also my friends, I always have a place to go too and relax so I can recharge my battery again.

How about your plans for the future and your life beyond AEGEE?

As for my life beyond AEGEE (if there is any), I would like to become a travel journalist one day, writing articles or even books while travelling all over the world. Within AEGEE, there are still a few things I would like to do, but I think the most important goals are to stay active, be happy, travel around Europe and meet a lot of new friends.

Written by Larisa Smajlagic, AEGEE-Verona

After entering AEGEE, Svenja van der Tol quickly rose to prominence both within her own local and on the international scene. With her many contributions over the years as secretary, writer and proofreader she has shown skill, ambition and passion for the things that are close to her heart. And with her candidature for Secretary of the Agora she has furthermore proven that her star might still be rising. At the AEGEEan we like to look at the heavens to define our future and so we decided to sit down and ask a few questions.

The AEGEEan: People can be as diverse as there are pages in a book. To those who don’t know your story yet, Svenja, who are you?

Svenja: Exactly twenty-two years ago, my German mom and Dutch dad had a little ginger girl, who they decided to call Svenja without other fancy names (to my regret). Over the years, their baby grew into a proud sister of three younger brothers, book obsessed linguistics student, baking fanatic, girly-girl and most of all, a little bit crazy twenty-something who isn’t really good at doing nothing and has a huge obsession for all things cute, especially rainbows and unicorns (or the combination of both).

“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.” Svenja, what is it that you love most about such a large and diverse forum as AEGEE?

What is there not to love? Three years ago I joined AEGEE-Nijmegen, mostly because I was looking for an association without the weird Dutch introduction tradition called ‘ontgroening’ which most associations in the Netherlands have, and the traveling aspect of AEGEE caught my attention. Little did I know that the association soon would grow into a big part of my life, where I made a lot of friends, saw a lot of countries I’d have never visited otherwise and most of all learned a lot about myself and how to contribute to a more active society. I love that in AEGEE all the people I meet are happy, open to anyone and more than willing to share a piece of their life and culture with you, which never fails to amaze me. Also, I love the parties.

People don’t drift coolly out of nowhere and apply for a position at the Agora. Svenja, could you tell us something about your experiences with AEGEE?

I started my AEGEE career as the Secretary of AEGEE-Nijmegen’s board, where I got my first experience with taking minutes and administrative tasks. After that year, I also learned a lot more about AEGEE-Europe, and decided I want to contribute to it too. First off, I joined The AEGEEan as a journalist and proofreader, where I became Editor of the Network section not too long after. After Agora Patra, Erika Bettin (AEGEE-Venezia) and I decided to run for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Key to Europe, and I started to help Lia Tuska (AEGEE-Sofia) as her SubCom for the Dutch locals. Last but not least, I joined Action Agenda Coordination Committee (ACT), where I again used my love for writing and became the Project Manager of the Guidelines, which will be sent to the Network soon. Did I mention already I’m not good at doing nothing?

Of all the positions you could have chosen from, why did you decide to run for Secretary of the Agora/EPM?

Because I’m a great believer in the saying that you should do what you’re best at (and you love too). Maybe it’s my German side, but I really love proper written texts, deadlines and correcting mistakes, which are all important in the life of a secretary. Next to that, I have taught myself to type really fast because I spend quite some time at the computer and it’s a good way to save time, and it happens to make taking minutes easier too. Last but not least, I think it’s really important to have a written record of what happens during the Agora and EPM and I think I would be able to take care of it.

Everyone is unique, even identical twins have different fingerprints. Svenja, what is it specifically that would make you an excellent secretary?

I think it would be my love for writing, because taking minutes is basically writing down the stories people are telling you, so it’d be something I would like doing. I won’t go cheesy all the way and say I love it, because after a while it will get boring of course, but unlike most people I do not have a deep hatred of taking minutes.

“Nobody said it was easy.” What do you think are the most challenging aspects of being a Secretary of the Agora?

Following what everyone is saying, especially when the Agora gets interesting and people have a lot of questions (which I encourage, of course!). Next to that, having a life with other tasks too (like studying), making the deadline would be something that will need good planning, but since I managed to get my bachelor within the standard time given while doing two board years I don’t think it will be too much of a problem. I think most of all having a good Chair Team behind you for support is important, because at the end of the day, teamwork is still a very important factor in AEGEE – and I’m glad it is.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen

Whenever you do an internet search on ‘Lia Tuska’ and ‘Agora’, you will find a multitude of articles written by her. She
decided to step out of the fringe and into the limelight as she announced her candidature for Secretary of the Agora. The AEGEEan wondered, whether there is more to know about this honourable member of AEGEE-Sofia and decided to ask her a few questions.

The AEGEEan: People can be as diverse as there are pages in a book. To those who don’t know your story yet, Lia, who are you?

Lia: I am Lia Tuska, currently member of AEGEE-Sofia. I found out about AEGEE more than two years ago when with some other students in Kastoria, we established AEGEE-Kastoria. I already had experience with bureaucracy from other NGOs and I helped a lot there. I was member of the board for two years (IT in 2012 and secretary on 2013). Later, I joined Information Technology Committee and in June of 2013 I got elected Vice-Speaker. On October 2013, I got elected Secretary of Human Rights Working Group. At Agora Zaragoza, I got the chance to be Secretary’s Assistant. After that, I was Subcommissioner of Arsenis Tselengidis(AEGEE-Thessaloniki), responsible for AEGEE-Athina, AEGEE-Nicosia, AEGEE-Patra and AEGEE-Peiraias. That motivated me more to apply as a Network Commissioner myself and now I am responsible for the Dutch-speaking and (after Arsenis’ resignation) the Greek-speaking locals. Last but not least, my passion on Human Rights led me to join the core team of Democracy in Practice Project with the position of the PR Responsible.

People don’t drift coolly out of nowhere and apply for a position on the Agora. Lia, could you tell us something about your experiences with AEGEE?

I have experience of doing Secretary tasks inside and outside AEGEE. I am Secretary of a local cultural center in my hometown, Serres. I was Secretary of AEGEE-Kastoria. I was Secretary’s Assistant at Agora Zaragoza. I kept the minutes of the Prytanium “An Updated AEGEE Identity”. I am Secretary of Human Rights Working Group. I finished my six months internship as secretary’s assistant in a Lifelong Learning Center in May.

Of all the positions you could have chosen from, why did you decide to run for Secretary of the Agora/EPM?

For some people the Secretary’s position might seem boring and difficult, but I really love every moment of that. I was thinking of applying as Secretary of the Agora for a long time. After attending Peace Revolution European Fellowship, I spent a lot of time thinking of what am I going to do next in my life. The retreat helped me a lot to see things more clearly and decide what I really wanted to do. I love challenging myself. Someone told me to follow my dreams. So I decided to do it!

Of course you’re not the first member of AEGEE-Sofia to apply for the position of Secretary, Elena Antova has fulfilled the position of Secretary of the Agora in Mannheim in 2013. Have you two been in touch or exchanging tips?

Elena is one of the members that I admire in AEGEE. When she sent the open call for Secretary’s Assistants, I was really busy with exams so I missed it. The deadline for applying was extended, so I took the chance and I applied. I was so happy when Elena announced me a couple of months later that I was going to be her assistant. It was like a birthday gift (yes, it was on my birthday). She was really helpful preparing me before the Agora. During the Agora, we had some meetings and she gave me some advices. Later, when we met after the Agora, for AEGEE-Sofia’s Birthday Party, she told me that I was the best assistant she had so far.

And now a question from our readers: you are involved in many projects, you are a current Network Commissioner and, should you be elected as the Secretary of the Agora, your duties will extent past Statutory Events. How will you deal with such a big workload?

After Agora Cagliari, my only AEGEE activities are Network Commissioner and PR of Democracy in Practice Project. I have worked with Elena Antova as her assistant and we have discussed, with her and also with current Secretary of the Agora, Danae Matakou, about the workload before the Agora. They both agreed that the biggest workload of the Secretary of the Agora is after the Agora. I have managed to do many things in the same time and I have succeed. After Agora Asturias, my only activity will be being PR of Democracy in Practice and I am sure I can deal with it. After all, I’m not going to work alone. I’ll have my team of assistants.

Written by Willem Laurentzen, AEGEE-Nijmegen