Lying in the middle of Aragon province, there is a city called Zaragoza. There, in 1998 AEGEE-Zaragoza was born, with a “long and a vibrant history” as the board said, having organised countless of events including two Agoras (2003 and 2013), NWMs, Summer Universities and so on. Currently, they have 158 members who meet regularly and they organise both fun and cultural events. We asked some questions to the board of AEGEE-Zaragoza, to know a bit more about the Spanish local. 

LTC during February 2017

What is the peculiarity of your local? What makes you special?

We tend to invade events, it is very difficult to find just one or two people from AEGEE-Zaragoza in an event. Once the Open Call is on, we apply like a pack and we end up being at least eight, or up! We are a big family that does not only meet to do AEGEE related things. We have social meetings with new members and we organise informal meetings very often!  That is why we are a group of friends working together [they smile, ed.].

Which activities do you usually organise?

We have weekly meetings and we usually prepare thematic activities such as the European Day of Languages or the AEGEE day. However, everything the members are willing to do is valid. So, everybody can propose ideas.

Participants from AEGEE-Zaragoza – RENOVE VI

Name one good thing to be in AEGEE and one bad thing.

A bad thing could be that sometimes we have to prepare and do too much official stuff which might not be as useful as doing some other activities that could be more interesting for you and your local.

The good thing is the new lifestyle that you have while being in AEGEE, with experiences and people who make your life change.

How is the cooperation between your local and others in your area? And also how is it with your Network Commissioner?
Locals in La Nave [Spanish, French and Portuguese speaking locals, ed] usually cooperate with each other sharing good practices and ideas, organising events and attending to the local events. So, we can say it is very nice. The same with our Network Commissioner, we have an open communication with her and our assigned subcommissioner. We can share worries and successes with them.

Active members of AEGEE-Zaragoza

How do you implement Strategic Plan and Action Agenda with your members?

We try to do local activities to implement them as well as workshops, for example during the LTCs. This year, we participated for the Food Bank and we usually publish or participate in campaigns to raise awareness about certain topics such as Sexual Health, International Women’s day and so on.

Four years ago you organised an Agora. The experience can strengthen or break a local. How did things progress after the statutory event?

As in many events, there were some tensions in the team but apart from that, the results we had were very amazing! Among the helpers, there were many new members who wanted to collaborate with the rest of the team and who came out very motivated, eager to discover and work in AEGEE and AEGEE-Zaragoza. They built the basis of today’s AEGEE-Zaragoza. Now, these helpers share their experiences with the new members, talking about how awesome the agora was and people motivate to do another event in Zaragoza.

AEGEE-Zaragoza Summer University 2016

What are the future plans for AEGEE-Zaragoza?

The main objective would be to keep in touch with the new members, to motivate and encourage them to become active in AEGEE and to start doing things in AEGEE. We want to organise more local activities in order to empower our members to become more active both in Zaragoza and in the European bodies.

This year AEGEE Zaragoza is working on a Volunteering Summer University. We plan to stay a few days in a small town nearby, helping the local people with our young spirit, with activities such as playing traditional games, performing theatre plays, etc. Moreover, all of this will be combined with visits to the most beautiful places of this region and a lot of AEGEE spirit! We would also like to organise European thematic events… and we are starting to think about something big again in Zaragoza.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

During the Network Status Update at Autumn Agora Chisinau, Network Director Tekla Hajdu, gave everyone during the plenary some good news: a new city joined the AEGEE-Network: Málaga. Situated on the Costa del Sol in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia in Spain, it is one of the oldest cities in the world, founded as Malaka by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC. We asked some questions to two of the founders, Natalia Torres and Rafael Adrián Garcia Martin, after their participation at NWM Barcelona.

Natalia and Adri

The AEGEEan: What’s the story behind the contact in Málaga?

Natalia: We were just two young people interesting in travelling cheap and meeting other people from all over Europe. So we went to the Summer University (SU) in Bulgaria. There, we realized that AEGEE was much more, and we loved it. So we decided that we wanted a local in our lovely city. In fact, three weeks later I went to the event of University for Youth Development in Mollina (Málaga), which was tremendously inspiring, and this just reaffirmed that our decision of creating a local in Málaga was great.

How did you discover AEGEE?

Adrián: A friend of mine from the university told me in class what AEGEE was and all the possibilities that this organisation offered to students. Then I told Natalia and it seemed to us a really interesting way of discovering Europe cheaply. Our priority was just that, and we kept in mind the idea of taking part in a Summer University. But once we discovered what AEGEE actually was, it impacted us and we decided to create a local in Málaga.

How is your local doing so far?

Adrián: We are somehow shocked and surprised of the quick growth of our contact of AEGEE-Europe in Málaga. Since we received the university support, we started to give informative sessions, which have been a success, having more than 20 applicants on the intranet and almost 40 people interested in joining the association. At the moment, we are finishing the statutes in order to accomplish all the requirement for being upgraded to contact-antenna, keeping in mind our objective for being an antenna in a mid-term period.

What makes you, as a contact, unique from any of the other student organisations in Málaga?

Adrián: Even thought there are nearly 100 young organisations in the university, only a few of them have an international scope. We feel unique in the sense that not being an official association yet, we have received the university support really quick, letting us to communicate with the student community and offering us all the help that we need. Besides, the contact of AEGEE-Europe in Málaga is in partnership with the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs of the University of Málaga. We cooperate to organise events and communicating them to all the students. We are different from the rest of the associations, because we can offer all kinds of events, giving all the students the possibility of travelling abroad and enhancing competences in our courses.

What are your future plans?

Natalia: We are already planning a Local Training Course (LTC) in December, so new members can know each other and we are looking forward to organise an event about gender equality in collaboration with our university. In our planning report, we have also emphasised the possibility of organising and exchange with another local. But our real objective is achieving the status of antenna as soon as possible.

Describe your local in three words.

Natalia: Potential, enthusiastic, energetic

Malaga Mirador

Describe your city. What is the most special thing about it?

Adrián: Málaga is just wonderful: 300 sunny days per year, calm beaches, and a lively nightlife (and of course fresh barbecue sardines, our typical dish). The most special thing about Málaga in our opinion is its people. Los Boquerones, [The Anchovies, ed.] is how they nicknamed us. We are kind, charming, lovely and likable people. You are all invited to Málaga, you have to visit it [He smiles, ed].

Written By Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Announced just few days before Spring Agora Bergamo, we have a new member in the AEGEE Network: the contact of AEGEE-Europe in Vigo, Spain. All the members of the current board lived far from the Galician city and belonged to other locals, but now that they are back in the city, they decided to refound an antenna there. We asked some questions to the board, which consists on Judith Sandin, president; Flavio Junio, vice president and PR responsible; Marcos Lois, secretary; and Silvia Muñoz, treasurer.

The AEGEEan: When and how was your contact established? Was there already a local that was eventually deleted?

Judith: We started having meetings and working on it in February. We sent a request to become a contact in March, and we were finally admitted a couple of days before the Agora Bergamo. There was an AEGEE-Vigo in the 90s, and we have been in contact with its last president. We sent him an email without any hope he would reply, but he did. It was a large email full of details and explanations about how they worked, why did they “close” it and how the Agora and the SU worked on that time. When I how happy he was because of the idea to have AEGEE back in Vigo, I couldn’t believe it. Now we have each other’s number and from time to time we talk about AEGEE.

Why did you decide to create a contact in Vigo?

Flavio: The idea was on the founders since a long time ago. People from different antennae were thinking about founding a local in Vigo, we were all planning about it but the idea came up when one of us decided to text to all the interested people have a meeting in a bar. We did not know each other but the first contact was incredible. We all had had the same dreams for a long time and when we met that day, we realized we were a really good team: all experienced in our own areas and ready to develop our dream.

Silvia: There is no just one person who decided to refound AEGEE-Vigo; all the founders (Marcos, Judith, Flavio, Kateryna, Noelia, Alejandra and me) we were already active members in other antennae. However, living away from your local sometimes makes it difficult to get as involved in its activities as you would wish. It was that mutual feeling what encouraged us to start this adventure.

Who is in the board? How many people do you have already?

We have the following people in the board: Judith Sandin, president; Flavio Junio, vice president and PR responsible; Marcos Lois, secretary; and Silvia Muñoz, treasurer.

After only three months we have 27 members already, practically all of them newbies, hungry to know AEGEE by wrapping their spirit, meet other members and share experiences!

What did you achieve so far?

Judith: We got to gather almost 27 members, become a family and introduce AEGEE in their daily lives and mentality, which is really gratifying. During this summer we have sent our members to the fantastic Summer Universities and now in our meetings we clearly see how motivated they have came back and how many things they are willing to do.

What are your future plans?

Judith: The biggest plans are never said … but we can say that now we are preparing a LTC full of surprises, organising talks at the university and many meetings with our members. Hopefully we will also sign the Convention d’Adhésion in Chisinau, where at least 8 of our members are planning to go.

Describe your local in three words.

Motivated, familiar & wild.

Describe your city. What is the most special thing about it?

Silvia: Vigo, known as the “Gateway to the Atlantic,” is the largest city in northeastern Spain. Have you still not visited the beaches of Vigo? They will surprise you. Its beaches have fine white sand and clear water. Eating in Vigo is like diving into a sea of unique flavours. Its gastronomy is much more than a gourmet experience or an opportunity to taste the best seafood from the Vigo estuary at affordable prices, it’s a true ritual. The urban area of Vigo is built over a hill-fort (O Castro). If you’re interested in archaeology, the lower slope of the mountain has acastreño (Celtic) site where you see what life was like in Vigo between the third and first centuries BC. Nowadays this hill with a fortress is one of the preferred spots for people to take a walk in Vigo, because of its beautiful gardens, open spaces, fonts and also the privileged views. Based around the original fishermen’s houses the cobbled streets, bustling port atmosphere… make it a small treasure. Vigo is also a short train ride away from Portugal and Santiago de Compostela, the third most important pilgrimage in Christendom.

Marcos: Those who want to visit us here in Vigo will be surprised by the hospitality of the people, always ready to make your visit such an incredible experience. The second reason is the food, forget everything you expect when you visit Spain. There is no place here for paella, this is the land of the best seafood in the world, the wine, the meat….. so come here to taste it and discover our rich gastronomy. The third one is our paradise, the Cíes Islands with “the best beach in the world” as it was called by The Guardian newspaper. These islands are part of a National Park and if you visit our city you have to take a ferry and spend a day there, you will remember it forever.

What are you waiting for?? Stay tuned to our next events to visit us in paradise.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona

Renove is one of the most popular events in Spain, and there’s a good reason for that. It has the perfect combination of oldies and newbies, fun activities and workshops to introduce and motivate AEGEE members. Many members became active after the first Renove organized by AEGEE-Madrid, and the second Renove made AEGEE-Valladolid become Local of the Month. Renove 3.0 was organized by AEGEE-Burgos, and once again the antenna together with the Network Commission team of Pilar Lop managed to increase the motivation of many AEGEE members.

Renove 3.0 was not just an event, but a journey in many ways. First of all, because people from all over Spain and France travelled for hours to reach the destination, Belorado; and secondly, because it was an opportunity to take a journey through AEGEE and reflect upon what AEGEE means to you.

Arriving to this small village close to Burgos it was amazing to experience the energy that was created by this gathering of friends, “oldies” and newbies all together. The first stop of the Renove 3.0 journey was celebrating the famous “Morcillote” mascot of AEGEE-Burgos, having many of the 100 participants dancing around the streets of Burgos in pink.

The next day, it was time to reflect on AEGEE and the influence it has on its members. Events such as Morcillote and NWM Burgos have made this city in the North of Spain famous for cooling down the Southern Europeans. However, Renove 3.0 was different in this aspect and took the participants through a short, sunny journey while walking 12 km of the Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago). This was an innovative idea by AEGEE-Burgos to have AEGEE people enjoying the beautiful landscape of Northern Spain while getting to know people from other antennae.

On St. James’ Way

Divided in groups, the participants discussed the topic of what motivates one another to be active in a youth organisation like AEGEE. It is always interesting to hear how people have ended up in AEGEE, especially the stories that start in a different manner than “I wanted to go to a Summer University”. Friends, fun, personal development, learning, making a difference, and many other key terms were all reasons brought up by the participants and it is obvious that events like Renove contribute greatly to motivate these members.

Behind every successful event there is a strong team working hard to ensure that the participants leave with a smile from ear to ear. AEGEE-Burgos managed to do that in all ways, by hosting the people from all over Spain and few from France in a great hostel; ensuring that participants were never hungry; and making sure the participants could enjoy warm showers (many fear the cold showers when sharing with 99 other people). Before the Explorers party and European Night, AEGEE-Burgos made everybody have fun in a gymkhana, a small competition through different tests, considered an important part of the Renove as teambuilding between the members of the different antennae.

Organisation team of AEGEE-Burgos

Renove is a perfect combination of motivation, fun and information about the organisation for new members. During the last day of the event, the NetCom Team, called “La Tripulación”, used the opportunity to take participants to walk through the strategic level of AEGEE. Topics such as the AEGEE identity, the Strategic Plan as well as the Action Agenda were all touched upon.

From the strategic level, the discussion moved on to the European Level of AEGEE and introduced all the different AEGEE terms: from Comité Directeur, to the different Commissions, Working Groups, Project Teams as well as the EBM and Agorae. The event was an opportunity to prepare delegates and visitors for Agora Zaragoza, explaining everything about the responsibilities that are to consider of high importance for the ones attending the big event next month. Preparing participants is something highly valued by the Comité Directeur and Network Commission, so it was great to feel how experienced AEGEE members ensured that the next generation knows what it means to take part in an important Statutory event.

Another important topic brought on was the introduction of YVote2014 by project manager Léa Charlet, who also took part in Renove 3.0 before the kick-off conference in Valladolid, organised from September 18th to September 22nd 2013. And last but not least, the participants also got the opportunity to talk about voluntary work and what it means to be a part of an association.

Members of “La Tripulación” giving workshop about the European Level of AEGEE

In the end Renove 3.0 was organized in a perfect way; not only by the subcommissioners of Pilar Lop, but also by AEGEE-Burgos as it brought everybody together in an event of high quality in all aspects.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Thank you for the Pictures Miguel Alejandro Martinez (AEGEE-Santander)

It has not been such a long time since The AEGEEan introduced Madalena Souza who works in the CD house. Now it is time to let the Network get to know Marcos Dosantos the new intern at the house, who came a little bit better. 

What is your background? What made you interested in volunteering?

I am originally from the Canary Islands (Spain), but living in Madrid currently. I have just finished my degree in Political Sciences at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and am now about to start a Master in ‘Political and Social Leadership’. In terms of participation, I started taking part in the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexuals Transgender) movement in September 2009, which really changed my life and my perspective, I got to know more organizations in which I began to get involved in things like students movement, Spanish Youth Council, etc.

In the past you worked in a LGBT organisation right? What did you do there?

I took things step by step, from very basic volunteering to further responsibilities like representing LGBT Spanish Youth Area in upper level positions (Spanish Youth spaces and even international form like UNESCO’s World Youth Forum)

How did you hear about AEGEE?

I met some members (including Luis Alvarado Martinez, the current President) at the University on Youth and Development in Mollina, September 2011. Since then, I have met some other members in other spaces (Spanish Youth Council meetings, EU Youth Conferences, etc).

How did you end up working in the AEGEE office as an intern?

As I had already done that approach, I felt quite interested in AEGEE’s way of working and I asked myself about the possibility of doing a short internship with you guys during this Summer. I applied and, fortunately here I am.

What are your tasks in the house in Brussels?

I have diverse aims here, but most of them are mainly related to social media and communication stuff -as I am coordinating with the office the development of  a strategy to get members involved in Structured Dialogue process- and advising on LGBT issues, by contributing to AEGEE’s draft document on LGBT rights, searching for EU funding calls for potential programs, etc.

You were recently part of the Structured Dialogue (SD) event in Zaragoza. What was the event about and how was the experience for you?

No, I wasn’t, the last time I participated in a SD event was a month ago in Valencia, but not in Zaragoza. But it was a nice experience, as usual, where young people from many different parts and different kinds or organisations gathered to express our needs in terms of social inclusion.

The National Youth Council in Spain has been closed as far as I know. You were working there before, so I would like to ask what consequences do you believe that this has for AEGEE and youth work in general?

The Spanish Youth Council hasn’t been closed yet, but it is certainly in danger because our Government is not interested in listening to young people’s voice. Regarding the consequences for AEGEE, I must say that any space of participation is necessary, and of course for an NGO as AEGEE, which is doing a quite good job advocating for youth rights all over Europe, and so that work must be shown and shared in Spain, in order to let others know what AEGEES does and to strengthen cooperation with all youth movements.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-Koebenhavn

Geographically, León is one of the most diverse provinces in the whole of Spain. On one hand, it is filled with high mountains (covered in snow during winter), steep cliffs and valleys sheltering lakes and gorges. On the other hand, it is blessed with flat plains watered by León’s rivers and streams which provide herds with pastures, and farmers with land to plant cereal crops.

Towards the north-east, nearby the border with Galicia, the province of León is characterized by its rolling countryside where round mountains covered in forests and picturesque villages can be easily found. I strongly believe that tiny cities provide certain amounts of magic and mystery everywhere. I like León; I like what it offers for those who come from outside its frontiers. Let yourself be conquered by an old university town retaining its past whilst looking to the future. Leon has Roman origins. It’s standing as an encampment city, which was consolidated with the definitive settlement of the Legio VII Gemina from 74 AD. The historical relevance of León is evident from 910 due to its active fighting in the Reconquista. Since then, centuries of history have been paraded through its streets.

Its status as a main town in the way of Saint James makes it a receptive point of tourism, both national and international. From almost any point in the city you can contemplate our French Gothic style cathedral. Its stained glasses are the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are many legends lying behind its walls.

Next to it, we have the Basilica of San Isidoro, tomb of medieval kings, and considered worldwide as the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque. You ought to visit the monastery of San Marcos. It was built thanks to an altruist financial donation by Ferdinand the Catholic. Nowadays, it is used as a hotel and as a museum. Its uses have varied throughout history. Francisco de Quevedo suffered imprisonment and wrote some of his most famous novels at this monastery.

Their bows are inspired by the shapes of the cathedral. Another most interesting fact about León is that among all the museums it has, the MUSCA holds with contemporary art expositions.

León is not only famous for its art, but also for its Eastern festivity, during which the city is full of people from all over the world. There’s the tradition named “killing jews”, also known as going to drink lemonade with friends. If you come to León just be sure to taste our “tapas”. If you are fond of eating, you’ll fall in love with León and its gastronomy. ‘Morcilla’, Valdeón cheese or trout soup are some of its delicatessen … And of course, we can’t not mention our stunning local wines: Prieto Picudo, Impresiones… Apart from everything mentioned above, León is more than a city full of amazing art during the day, and crazy parties at nights. It’s a different plan every weekend. It is a paradise to rediscover each morning. You should get yourself lost in ‘Picos de Europa’. Discover Boñar and the best wildlife museum in the world; Oseja Sajambre, Posada de Valdeón and their traditions and people. Enjoy the flora and fauna of this north-west land. Take a trip to Astorga. Be impressed by Gaudí Palace and share with your friends a ‘maragato stew’. Scrumptious.

Visit Ponferrada. Go to Babia. Check first hand why it was the heaven rest of the Catholic Kings.

And the most important thing: Enjoy every second you spend in our city. A visit of a lifetime.

Written by Ruth San José Blasco, AEGEE-León

Street lighting, carols, lottery, decorated trees, nativity figures and marzipan are some of the things that welcome the arrival of Christmas time to Spain, a country with a deep Christian tradition. Although it is changing, most of the Spaniards take theses holidays to sit with their family and loved ones around a table. Some others, like those captivated by the ghost of Christmas, think about what they have done, and promise themselves to change and give something away. And there is also someone who just does not care about it, as he feels it is fake, sad and materialistic. Either way, Spain is huge and although, in general we share the same way of celebration, like eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve for example, there are some traditions that belong to specific parts of the territory.

In the Basque Country, for example, there is not Santa Claus, but “Olentzero”, a man coming down from the mountains the night of the 24th of December with presents for the young ones. In the region of León, people decorate their house with a type of handmade crown called “ramo leonés” which consists of ribbons, threads and different kinds of dried fruits in the base. Everything is being held together by a wooden stick. Twelve candles are placed at the top of the structure and while lighting up those lights, the people wish to brighten their next twelve months.

But let’s be honest. If there is something truly expected by children it is the arrival of the Three Wise Men, the night of the fifth of January. In the south, in Algeciras, it takes place along the streets. A “noisy” dragging can parade, in order to remember that the Three kings come to town and leave something nice for us. The morning after, the sixth of January, there will be gifts under the Christmas tree and a delicious large ring shaped cake called “Roscón de Reyes” will be waiting for us at the breakfast table. Inside, there is a hidden figurine but also a bean. The person who finds the bean will pay the cake, but this fortunate person that discovers the figurine will become…KING FOREVER! (or at least this is what we have been told since we were little). To dream from time to time…is not that bad.  Come what may, ¡Feliz Navidad!

Written by Ana Valiente, AEGEE-Tenerife

The AEGEEan: Remember last year that AEGEE-León was honoured with the best evaluated Summer University? This year the antenna repeated the success and organised yet a top 10 SU, this time together with AEGEE-A-Coruña. Below, you can read about what made this Summer University possibly the greatest walk of many AEGEE peoples’ lives.

Daniele: I have always been in a strange relationship to Spain… Many people I know adore the country and its people. But for me the medal for best country has always been somewhere else in Europe… Until one day a friend started talking to me about the famous “Camino de Santiago” (St. James’ way) and I realized that my refusal to go for a SU in Spain was completely unfounded! And doesn’t AEGEE exist to break stereotypes?

I have always liked extremes and only one city wasn’t enough! Just going from one city to another by bus wasn’t enough. Replacing the bus for 10km? That is for weak Agora participants! I wanted something more! Let’s walk all the 100km between them!

Plus I wanted to do something with a deep story behind it, that in one way or another I had heard of.In one word, my first real pilgrimage! (Going to university praying to have passed an exam could fit the description – but with way less enthusiasm!) Sooner than I expected I found myself in León… Full of the joy I always have in my first day but with my feet whispering: “We are going to make you pay for this!”

First stop: León

Shoes still clean and shiny, we started doing a tour of this little city in the north of Spain. I could tell you marvels about its historical ruins, or how they would develop from a small church to a big cathedral, how its oldest monastery became first a church, then a prison, then a school, then a concentration camp, then an expensive hotel, but if I told you I am going to remember the city for its history I would be lying to you… Since my spirit, and everyone else’s, was focused on what was awaiting us next – it felt like taking a coffee before boarding for a plane… You don’t really appreciate the taste…

The Walk

The time came for us to leave our comfortable beds, and start our walk into the city of Santiago. The walk is not only measured in kilometers, or in how dirty your shoes become, how many socks you throw away, or the fast decreasing number of muscles in your body that don’t hurt yet.

The walk is measured in stamps!

It surprised me at first that this century-old tradition have much in common with modern age collection madness, but indeed you must have at least two stamps a day to get your “compostela”, the certificate that you get at the end of your suffering on the way.

Immediately groups of people tend to form depending on their speed, but most importantly (let the truth be told): their willingness to stop in every single shop/bar/restaurant/whatever it is to get one stamp.

If you ever ask yourself how someone can lose so many participants on a usual city tour you may begin to realize how it was to walk 6 to 7 hours every day!

Already seeing that my physical preparation doesn’t allow shining on “who is the fastest”, I go hunting for “who is the laziest pilgrim” and stop at every possibility to fill our own ‘booklet’.

And maybe it was the influence of the holy mission we had, maybe the joy we put into our walk, maybe the awe, that the path lead us from the small city to open fields and forest that made a little miracle happen to us!

I know someone will say this were the effects of the five bar stops in the preceding two hours, but I was there and I can assure that, however surrealistic it may seem, it was just incredible luck that made me experience the Way of St James just with the persons that suit me like chords in a guitar play! The good Polish girl who went a step beyond when she got a real heart shaped stigma on her leg, then Ana from Macedonia who lectured us about how she masters guitar hero in her spare time playing with Jesus, and a pyramid!

There are many measures made to survive such a trip. Anatoly avoided melting on the street with the help of an umbrella which he

always carried with him! Then there is Gabor who – after having shared with us particular interesting details about his SpongeBob underwear – nearly finished his journey ahead of time, thanks to hurting knees that stopped him from walking for most of what was a whole day.

Five total strangers, who lived pretty different lives, brought together for some lucky random selection and forged motivation letter, to live an incredible adventure that I hope created a long friendship!

During the walk the days are not like those of any normal SU, here the Albergue (the special hostel for pilgrim) will kick you out in the night if you make any sound after 23 (when the lights are turned off).

The Albergues are pretty much all your connection with modern world during the day, your chance to get a nice shower before going to sleep (pro tip for Pilgrims: never have a shower in the morning) and electricity to recharge your modern era idols.

But rest assured that all this good luck isn’t wasted, when in the morning no later than 6:30 everyone is awake, starting to pack and leave, while you’re only being woken up. All of this when departure time is 8:30 at the latest!

If you consider that even for a HUGE match like Real Madrid against Barcelona they let us return only at 23:30, youwill understand how strict this rule was!

Santiago & Finisterre

But your shoes can only become dirtier before you stop to care, and any distance is travelled one step at time, and it all ends.

After five days of rising early and sleeping early (I know it doesn’t sound like AEGEE at all) we reached the end of our pilgrimage! Maybe it was the 100km, maybe the pain in the feet, ankles, knees and back, maybe the few (11) bars you stopped at to get a stamp the day, but entering this old city is a feeling that no direct flight can give you!

After walking on small streets in the middle of the forests, through fields of sunflowers and abandoned houses Santiago looks like a metropolis, and the huge cathedral seems even more impressive. That is when you start to realize that maybe you have been a good pilgrim for too long, or maybe at the bottom of those heavy bags you carried around there is still something at the bottom, or maybe it is just the moral weight of the AEGEE-León flag stolen that made it feel like a stone. Whatever the reason is, it means that it is time to make the stamps in your life and start having a lot of fun!

We reached our final destination in Finisterre (the end of the land in Spanish) and here we watched the sun go down on our tiring muscle and the moon rise to the happy part!

A Coruña

Once again the organisers blew our mind with accommodation – huge rooms, a lot of showers, and more food than I could ever eat.

Here we are finally experiencing the good old way of a SU! Party till 4AM, and wake up at 7:30 which was not of much difference from the albergue. Then day time brought us surf lessons, a city tour, a visit to the Hercules tower, and relaxing on the beach, and of course the Tapas Rally!

We went around the city, hunting for bars, while performing embarrassing activities such as jumping into fountains and kissing strangers on the way.

What is more is that we were even invited to a special birthday, the AEGEE-A-Coruña Birthday!

All dressed in fancy clothes we celebrated the antenna with cake.

Final Words

I am sitting in this empty airport somewhere in Europe, looking at what I brought home:

A sea shell: the symbol of the Camino to Santiago.

A Compostela: A paper that says that I walked 100 km.

A pair of shoes now officially brown and broken: My Badge of Honor!

A bag of dirty socks: the proof that I walked those 100km!

A “best participant award”: the proof that not only I had fun, but I was able to share it!

And sharing is caring!

Written by Daniele Sarto, AEGEE-Treviso

Organising an event for 200 people is no easy task. However, it is a task that is possible to overcome, and it does not matter whether or not the antenna hosting it is young or experienced. The secret recipe is to have a strong supportive network and motivation, and the result is Renove. An event that you could read about in The AEGEEan the other day and an event that made The AEGEEan team choose AEGEE-Valladolid to be honored as this month’s Local of the Month.

For many members of the Spanish speaking locals this “Renove” event has gained a special place in their hearts, despite only being an event organised once in 2011, and the second time about two weeks ago. However, this event might be even more special for AEGEE-Valladolid members because it is the first event that this antenna has organised since being “brought back from the dead” when they became an antenna in Spring Agora Enschede 2012, and the succesful organisation of this event made them deserve the title as this month’s “Local of the Month”.

One of the organisers, Patricia Garcia, is new in AEGEE too, and she told The AEGEEan about how she joined the Network more or less one year ago: “It all started in September of the past year. One day I was thinking about joining a student association, something I always wanted, but in Valladolid I only knew about Board of European Students of Technology (BEST, for engineers). Then I remembered that my cousin told me once how she had travelled to Brussels with one association that existed in León. I phoned her and she told me about AEGEE. I liked what I heard so she told me about Sergio Oliveros who was trying to create an antenna in Valladolid. Half an hour later I was talking to Sergio on Facebook, a week later I met him and Alberto Cuesta Noriega (AEGEE-Oviedo) and the following week I went to Renove in Madrid.”

Soon she became a part of the team trying to bring AEGEE to Valladolid, and together with Sergio and others she kept fighting for the creation of the antenna because they were all convinced that it was possible and worth it. Then, as history tells us, the antenna was fully created in May and soon the preparation for Renove 2.0 began. A big event to host for a new antenna, and possibly an even bigger event to handle for a first-time organiser, but Patricia managed to enjoy it:  “My first event in AEGEE was Renove so I was looking forward to assisting Renove 2.0. When we knew it would be in Valladolid I was enthusiastic about organising it. I must say it was overwhelming. It was my third event and my first time organising so I had to learn while doing everything, which made things a bit… chaotic,” she laughs and continues “It was really difficult on some occasions to manage with more than 200 people but we did our best and Renove had stuck us together. Besides people from AEGEE-Valladolid, there were helpers from other antennae that made things easier. Organisers, helpers, participants…  Thank you all!”

Another organiser of the Renove 2.0 was Sergio Oliveros, president and founder of AEGEE-Valladolid. The AEGEEan managed to catch him as well, congratulate him on being president of Local of the Month, and hear about the future of AEGEE-Valladolid.

The AEGEEan:  Congratulations on becoming “Local of the month” – what does this mean to you?

Sergio: First of all, thank you very much for this award. This is something very very special and important for us. We are a new antenna (just since Agora Enschede). It was our first event, and the challenge was very big: 200 people. As president, and one of the most experienced members or our antenna, I am proud of AEGEE Valladolid’s team, and all of our helpers of almost all the Spanish antennae, for being able to organise and manage such a big and amazing event.

Last time you told The AEGEEan that you had tripled your number of members, what does the member situation look like in AEGEE-Valladolid today?

Well, summer is a difficult time to recruit members, because of the holidays, Summer Universities (SU) etc. But after summer is the perfect moment to activate them, and the aim of this event was exactly to do so. The situation is almost the same since SU campaign but thanks to Renove 2.0 we have motivated some more people, almost all of our members were helpers/organisers in the event, and their motivation right now is close to the sky. Thanks to that we will be able to organise a lot of activities during this season and we hope to increase our number of members with them. We will also organise a Local Training Course (LTC) in November for all of our new members and newbies of the closer antennae.

Also, last time you said that AEGEE-Valladolid was interested in having a volunteer through European Service Voluntary (EVS) in your city, what does the situation look like today?

Yes, and we still are very interested in it, but it is a hard process. We have every document, and whatever we can do, but now the biggest problem is that the university cannot provide us with one office, and that fact is blocking our plans. But anyway we are going to re-start the dialogue with the university in the next week trying to get it, and finally use the possibility of EVS in our antennae, only option of EVS in the city.

You organised Renove 2.0 last weekend, how did it go? Did you have any difficulties organising the event?

AEGEE-Valladolid members at Renove in 2011

Well, all of the members of the team were newbies in organisation of events (also the main organiser), so we had to do our best to learn very fast and not to make mistakes. A big event like that requires very important logistics and coordination, but finally we got good places for sleeping, workshops, activities, meals and social programme, and all of them closer than 150m to the gym.

Organising the groups for team-building activities, dividing them and moving them for the cultural visits due to the huge amount of people, coordinating an interactive wine tasting with all the participants… But luckily, we were able to do everything thanks to the support of Serrada’s City Hall, the village where the event took place.

At the beginning we felt nervous, also sometimes kind of lost, but bit by bit everything was better and better – the nervousness became fun, and we got a nice event.

So what lies in the future of AEGEE-Valladolid?

Our feelings are amazing right now. Our motivation is really high, our team spirit is completely alive. The team is meeting once per week, increasing our motivation. Our next activity will be an LTC, to be organised the week after Agora Budapest, and then we will develop our activity plan and strategy during the upcoming season.

We will explain to our new members what AEGEE is, on a local and European level. Moreover we will have workshops about how to manage the antenna, how to work as a treasurer or a secretary, how to work in group… Everything needed for being active in our antennae.

Part of your antenna is your mascot Chazo… Why is it called Chazo and what kind of an animal is it?

The newlyweds

It was not easy to find a name for our lovely mascot. First of all we wanted to choose something representative of our city, and that animal is the most typical of our gastronomy. A lechazo is a baby lamb that has not eaten anything but milk. It is a typical meal in this province in addition to wine. Then, the name of Chazo comes from this animal, but the original name is “Chazo le Chazo” (like the 007 agent), but Chazo for friends.

Is it true that he got married during Renove 2.0?

Yes, that is true, in Renove Chazo he got married to Latxa Pela, a beautiful sheep from Bilbao, and the wedding was like a real one. We sent invitations to all of our participants, including them in one group depending of their relation with the couple, for example “Ex”, “Singles”, “Family”, “Lovers” and so on for 12 groups.

The event started with the open ceremony, presentation and live music. It was followed by an interactive wine tasting, European night and stag party, and a full programme on Friday night. After cultural visits and team-building games in the afternoon, the wedding ceremony took place. It included speeches and presents of every group. Finally the whole thing ended with a joyful dinner and party. But the wedding was much more than that. We are going to start new activities with our “wife antenna”, exchanges, and we are also thinking about the next Travelling SU (TSU) Bilbao-Valladolid.

It seems that AEGEE-Valladolid has many plans in store for the future. The AEGEEan congratulates them once more on being the Local of the Month and on the wedding of their mascot… May everybody live happy ever after!

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

Attention: If you think you know an antenna, which deserves to be honoured as “Local of the Month”, send an email with the locals’ name and the reason for nominating to aegeean@aegee.org.

Renovar is Spanish for “Renovate”, which, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means:

1: To restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding)

2: To restore to life, vigor, or activity : revive <the church was renovated by a new ecumenical spirit>

Years ago, the Spanish government started a plan called “Renove” which consisted of giving an amount of money to everyone who wanted to change his car for a new one, renovating the fleet of cars and trying to get more environmental friendly ones. Later on, many projects were called “Renove”, all of them with the same spirit: restoring something to a better state. Of course AEGEE couldn’t be an exception.

AEGEE is pretty strong in Spain, but let’s not forget that in many antennae the same group of people have been working throughout many years, without a proper generational change. That’s why the idea of renovating the boards surfaced at the NWM in Granada, and one antenna was the perfect place to put it into practice: AEGEE-Madrid.

Opening ceremony

The idea was to have one event right after the period of Summer Universities (when most of the new members are willing to hear more about AEGEE), with a big amount of fun and the correct amount of information about AEGEE, mixed with some time for the antennae to bring together oldies and newbies and create a team.

The event itself was so succesfull that people were asking: “So… where is it going to be next year?”. The seed was sown and no one could stop it, we needed a Renove 2.

After some months, Sergio Oliveros, from AEGEE-Madrid, the person trying to create once again the antenna of AEGEE-Valladolid, came up with the idea: “I have the perfect place to hold Renove 2!”, and at the NWM in Burgos, the same event where he signed the Convention d’Adhésion for AEGEE-Valladolid, he shared the great news: they were willing to organise Renove 2.

Of course, it’s not easy to organise an event like this one (200 participants is like a small EBM!), especially for a newly created antenna, with a main organiser (Sergio Oliveros) experienced in AEGEE, but an organiser for the first time nevertheless, and most of the other organisers as newbies, with no experience either. It wasn’t easy, but just like last year, many people from all around Spain offered to help. This is the AEGEE spirit, and this is how we live in our Network.

The gym with the 210 participants

The event started on Thursday, with the first people arriving in Valladolid, but the main programme started on Friday, when the 200 participants and organisers were all together in Serrada (the village where we stayed). Due to the magnitude of the event (for a new antenna like AEGEE-Valladolid this was like organising an Agora), they decided to start the event with a special opening ceremony: singing! With the guitars of Anita and Consu (from AEGEE-Coruña and AEGEE-Valencia, respectively), the amazing voices of Olga, Cristina and Espe (AEGEE-Oviedo, AEGEE-Santander and AEGEE-Las Palmas) and the… let’s say “crying-cat-like” voice of Sergio Oliveros.

Right after the show, since we were in the land of wine (Serrada is in the middle of a Protected Designation of Origin area of wine), we enjoyed some wine tasting (12 different wines in total) with “tapas” (small complement of food usually offered with wine in bars). This was right before the European Night, which was, actually, the strangest I’ve ever been to, since the place was so small that we needed to go from table to table and ask “Where are you from and what did you bring?”.

On Saturday, after a really cold night in the gym, we woke up to enjoy the morning activity: visiting a wine cellar and a vineyard. And right after lunch, the most famous part of Renove: the group games. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the place where we were supposed to enjoy the games and the organisers had to change the location to a wheat field, which was full of stubble. Due to this, the organisers had to change most of the games (which included running barefoot or crawling) in the very last moment, which was far from easy.

At night, the main event: the wedding of the mascots of AEGEE-Bilbao (a sheep) and AEGEE-Valladolid (a lamb). In my opinion, the most incredible fact of the wedding was that a truce was agreed before the event and most of the mascots attended the wedding without anyone trying to steal them (at least for few minutes). Of course, the different groups of the event, this time based on the different characters that can be found at a Spanish wedding (aunts, grandmas, drunks, gatecrashers, etc.), dedicated poems, dances, and even hip hop songs to the couple (yes, this is weird, but it’s AEGEE, and we sing French songs in European meetings…).

Finally, on Sunday, we enjoyed the training part of the event, starting with the amazing presentation of “What is AEGEE”, held by Fernando Campo from AEGEE-Santander. It was his last event in AEGEE and he wanted to say goodbye somewhere where the sky was the limit. Although this presentation was usually held by Juan Hernandez with huuuge success, Fernando chose to hold it this time, and it was more than amazing. Everybody enjoyed it quite a lot.

To finish the event, everyone was grouped in antennae and talked about their future and what people could do for the antennae. I’m pretty sure many new members will be active after Renove… once again!

Games during Renove

My congratulations to AEGEE-Valladolid for being such a new antenna and having the courage to organise such a big event like this one.

See you at Renove 3!!!

Written by Juan Sordo, AEGEE-Oviedo